Amaryllis sparkles with surprises

Some weeks, the topic is so rich that the articles practically write themselves and I thought this week’s choice of the Amaryllis flower would easily fall into that category. These plants have become part of the flamboyant decorative aspects of the holiday season and cause amazement for their size, color and distinctive structures.

Over the years, I have had a few of these plants on my windowsill. They always bloomed as advertised and then, despite following the instructions, they never bloomed again. Eventually, I would throw them out and buy another one. One day, I went online and the site I read said to just put them outdoors during the summer while still in their pot and occasionally water them. Bring them indoors as fall sets in, cut off the foliage and expect new flowers. And that worked for several years. Last year, nothing seemed to happen for weeks after bringing the pot indoors and I actually went to throw the bulb away. I pulled it out of the pot and saw all the tangled roots, which appeared pinkish and plump with water, and I said, “these do not look dead to me.” I replaced the bulb in that selfsame pot and shortly thereafter saw new leaf growth and eventually the usual four magnificent red flowers.

In my article on daylilies (“Daylilies pop, pop, pop in local gardens,” July 14), I discussed hand-pollinating flowers. Since the flower structures of the Amaryllis are so large and distinct and so similar to daylilies, I thought I would experiment and see if I could produce seeds. Indeed, I could with the plant producing-large, three-seamed capsules, which eventually opened exposing a multitude of seeds. I planted a whole bunch of them in spring 2016. Right now I have six baby Amaryllises, which could take up to five years to mature to bloom size. If it didn’t take so long from parent to seed to new bloom, I might have invested in several more bulbs to see what kind of new colors and shapes I could produce.

The name Amaryllis derives from the Greek amarysso - to sparkle. Greek mythology tells a story about a young maiden, unsurprisingly named Amaryllis, who was in love with an uninterested youth named Alteo. Alteo’s main interest was flowers and he declared that he could only fall in love with a maiden who brought him a new and delightful bloom. The Delphic Oracle advised Amaryllis to prick herself and let the drops fall to the ground. Eventually, a large crimson flower grew from those drops, which had fallen on Alteo’s doorstep and thereby, she won his heart. These flowers have come to symbolize pride, determination and radiant beauty.

But nothing is ever simple when it comes to plants. It turns out that the plant – related to daffodils – that we all know as an Amaryllis is not an Amaryllis at all; in fact it is a Hippeastrum and the true Amaryllis is an altogether different plant. The true Amaryllis is a South African plant, native to the Western Cape region. The plant  that is known as Amaryllis but is really a Hippeastrum is a South American plant – found in tropical and sub-tropical areas all the way from Argentina to Mexico. The German botanist Eduard Friedrich Poeppig (1798 to 1868) spent many years in Chile, where he discovered the Hippeastrum growing on a hillside in 1828, while searching for new plants.

Let us examine each plant separately. First the True Amaryllis, known botanically as Amaryllis belladonna. This plant grows in zone 7-9. In theory, that means that we could actually try growing it outdoors in Riverdale which is listed as zone 7a, meaning that minimal temperatures here range from 0-5 degrees Fahrenheit.  It is always amusing to test the limits of plants but if I invested in a few bulbs, I would be prepared to lose them despite the Zone 7designation. The mostly pink flowers are scented and up to 12 of them may grow on a single solid stem. 

The unscented Hippeastrum grows in zones 9-11. They were already brought to Europe in the 18th century and have been extensively hybridized. The bulb seems to grow best when crowded in its pot. It was given the name Hippeastrum by the Reverend William Herbert – a British botanist, botanical illustrator, and  poet. In 1819 he separated the plants – the true Amaryllis and the Hippeastrum – into two separate genera based on his own research and is known for his book “Amaryllidaceae” published in 1837. While my Hippeastrum only has four flowers on a hollow stem, the number of flowers can reach 14.

So enjoy your Amaryllis  –whoops, Hippeastrum – for years to come!