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  • Amateur Gardening

    Ask John Negus

    Dec 17, 2019 8 minutes

    How to keep your hippeastrum happy

    Q My grandchildren always give me an indoor amaryllis for Christmas, but I never know how to care for them. What can I do to help it flower more than once?

    Kathleen Ward, Oxford

    A From January until autumn, keep your amaryllis (also known as hippeastrum) happy by keeping it on a sunny, warm windowsill. Water to keep its compost moist, and feed weekly with a liquid houseplant fertiliser.

    Stop watering in late September, and let the compost dry out and the leaves turn yellow and wither. When the foliage has shrivelled and the bulb is dormant, place it in a spare room where the temperature is at least 10ºC (50ºF).

    In late winter (February or early March), repot the bulb in John Innes No1. Remove faded leaves and dead roots, and reset the bulb to half its depth in its existing pot. There should be a 1in (2cm) gap between the bulb and the pot wall. If necessary, use a larger pot.

    Ideally, moisten the compost and squeeze out excess water before planting the bulb. Do not water again until a flower bud emerges.

    Will forced bulbs flower again?

    I grew some forced ‘Paperwhite’ Narcissi on an indoor windowsill. I assume they won’t flower again next Christmas, being specially forced?

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