Amaryllis Lemon Lime
I’ve never met an amaryllis I didn’t love and ‘Lemon Lime’ is no exception. The flowers are slightly smaller than many cultivars, compared to that of ‘Orange Sovereign’ for example, however, the plant often sends up two and three stalks at the same time. The exquisite pale chartreuse complements nearly every color scheme imaginable and is wonderfully fresh and spring-like to help stave away those dreary drab winter-hued blues.
Three lush stalks simultaneously!
See ‘Orange Sovereign’ in a previous GMG post: Orange, Brought To You By Amaryllis
Read More On How to Grow Amaryllis:
How to Grow Amaryllis ~ Excerpt from Oh Garden of Fresh Possibilities!
Living in New England the year round, with our tiresomely long winter stretching miles before us, and then a typically late and fugitive, fleeting spring, we can become easily wrapped in those winter-blues. Fortunately for garden-makers, our thoughts give way to winter scapes of bare limbs and berries, Gold Finches and Cardinals, and plant cat- alogues to peruse. If you love to paint and write about flowers as do I, winter is a splendid time of year for both, as there is hardly any time devoted to the garden during colder months. I believe if we cared for a garden very much larger than ours, I would accomplish little of either writing or painting, for maintaining it would require just that much more time and energy.
Coaxing winter blooms is yet another way to circumvent those late winter doldrums. Most of us are familiar with the ease in which amaryllis (Hippeastrum) bulbs will bloom indoors. Placed in a pot with enough soil to come to the halfway point of the bulb, and set on a warm radiator, in several week’s time one will be cheered by the sight of a spring-green, pointed-tipped flower stalk poking through the inner layers of the plump brown bulbs. The emerging scapes provide a welcome promise with their warm-hued blossoms, a striking contrast against the cool light of winter. Perhaps the popularity of the amaryllis is due both to their ease in cultivation and also for their ability to dazzle with colors of sizzling orange, clear reds and apple blossom pink.
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Those are really beautiful! Are they newly planted, or blooming the second or third year? We have one that we kept dormant through the past few months and are trying to revive…curious about any experiences you may have had in this regard. While we are waiting we have some new paperwhites that have gone from bulb to not-quite-blooming, over a foot tall, in two weeks. Love green and blooming things in the cold dark winter!
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Hi Rob, Thank you! I wrote a bit about amaryllis in my book on garden design and the following is an excerpt. I hope it is helpful. Please write back if you need more detailed information:
My aunt has a friend whose family has successfully cultivated the same bulb for decades. For continued success with an amaryllis, place the pot in the garden as soon as the weather is steadily warm. Allow the plant to grow through the summer, watering and fertilizing regularly. In the late summer or early fall and before the first frost, separate the bulb from the soil, cut off the foliage where it meets the bulb, and store the bulb, on its side, in a cool dry spot—an unheated basement for example. The bulb should feel firm and fat again, not at all mushy. After a six-week rest, the amaryllis bulb is ready to re-pot and begin its blooming cycle again.
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Beautiful and during this time of year when windows are closed due to weather – this great and natural glade is always better thanks Kim 🙂 Dave & Kim 🙂
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Thanks Dave! Happy New Year to you and Kim!
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This brightened my day, thank you!
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Very welcome Maria, thanks for your comment.
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Oh that shade would be perfect gracing my “Annapolis Blue” walls! I’ve only seen the white ~ Lemon Lime is beautiful. Your post reminds me of a February granddaughter science fair project conducted at my house ~ Do Paperwhites grow better in natural light or artificial light. You must know the natural light paperwhites were a wonderful addition to my winter. However the artificial light paperwhites turned my basement laundry room into a jungle ~ some needing to garden sticks as they approached 3 feet!
Your Amaryllis are beautiful ~ and I have enjoyed your Garden of Possibilites ~ still to try the orange wine ~
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Happy New Year ~
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Happy New Year to you too Mary! Looking forward to seeing you in Gloucester in 2015!!
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Sounds like a super fun science project! I keep ours in a darkened basement for the first week or two, until they start emerging, so they don’t get leggy.
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