Amaryllis 1-8

I have gotten seriously behind in posting pretty flower pictures this winter  I have orchids, and succulents, and amaryllis.  Let's start with amaryllis.

First to bloom was Apple Blossom #2 in November, which I got as a box kit from BiMart.  I bought one of these last year as well, but it still hasn't bloomed and I was determined that I needed an Apple Blossom.  The bulb was a little worse for the wear, but it bloomed five flowers on two scapes.  It still hasn't grown roots, and I don't know if it's too exhausted to recover.  Box kit bulbs are not top quality.  Hopefully a summer outside will build it back up.



Next up was Nyora, also in November.  This is a rebloom from last year and still very pretty.  Only two flowers this time around, and no sign of a second scape yet.



Next was Snow White, a new bulb this year.  I got this one on sale at a nursery in Portland, 75% off because it was mostly done blooming.  It had eight huge flowers on two scapes, but I only got to see two of them.  A lovely frilly double white.



The next five bulbs are also new, from a 60% off sale after Christmas.  I mean, come on.  I wasn't going to buy any amaryllis this year, but how can I pass that up?

Karoo bloomed in January, another big solid red. I apparently collect these.  I really like the reds. This one is very nice, with the pointy petals like Red Pearl.  (It's not as dark as Red Pearl, so that one still holds the title of The Best Red.)   It bloomed eight flowers on two scapes.



Amalfi also bloomed in January, a very pretty mini. Eight flowers on two scapes.



Apple Blossom #3 came along in February.  This was a huge bulb, and had nine flowers on two scapes.  I think I may see the start of a third scape peeking out on this one.



Hot Lips opened last week, another pretty mini, with four flowers on the first scape and another scape on the way.



And lastly, Fire Dancer also opened last week. This is another mini, and it is GORGEOUS.  It's perfectly proportioned in its tiny cuteness, and I love the deep red color with the frilly edges.  Four flowers on the first scape and a second scape on the way.



So there you go, the first eight to bloom.  I still haven't brought most of my bulbs from last year up out of the basement, so the show is later this year.

The last amaryllis, and a roundup

The last amaryllis of the season opened yesterday.  This is Minerva.



Strangely, it looks completely different from how it looked the first time it bloomed in January 2016.



Isn't that weird?  Such different flowers from the exact same bulb.  Must be a temperature thing.

So here's the amaryllis roundup for this year.  I had 38 bulbs that flowered, giving me 64 scapes and 259 flowers. I have 11 other bulbs that did not bloom this year, for whatever reason (still too small, travel trauma, etc.).  The flowers on the first bulb opened in September 2016 and bloomed for three weeks, then there was a two month break, and then I had flowers continuously from the first week in December 2016 until mid-July 2017.

It was a lovely display.

Christmas Gift #1

Amaryllis #37 to bloom for the year is Christmas Gift #1, which is the one that was weirdly streaked with pink last year.

It still has some pink again this year...



...but that's not the weirdest part.  This year, one of the flowers had four of each part, instead of three.



Four petals, four sepals, four lobes on the stigma, and eight anthers instead of six.

This bulb is so confused.

Benfica

Amaryllis #36 for the year is Benfica.  I finally got one, after last year's disappointing mislabeled bulb that turned out to be Cybister Rose.



I'm a little underwhelmed, because the flower is pretty small.  It has really nice color, though, and I probably shouldn't judge it too harshly because it has been struggling a little and the bulb is still unrooted. Next year the flowers will probably be bigger and more impressive. Still, its shape is a typical amaryllis, with the rounded petals, and the color is not significantly darker than most of my other reds.  It's pretty but not outstanding.

Thus concludes my informal quest for The Best Red (for now).  I declare the winner to be Red Pearl, with Grand Diva a close second.  I really like the more star-shaped pointy petals of Red Pearl, which barely edged out the slightly darker Grand Diva.

Roots!

Triumph!  This amaryllis, Cybister Rose (mislabeled, it was supposed to be Benfica), which I bought in the fall of 2015 and which first bloomed in April 2016, finally has roots!



Yes, that's right. This bulb produced 13 flowers on two scapes last year, but never grew any roots or leaves. Not a single one.  I babied it along on a perfectly luxurious bed of sphagnum moss, but it just sat there and did nothing.

Now, finally, 21 months after it arrived at my door, it has produced little tiny roots! There is hope!

Four new and a repeat

I have a plethora of amaryllis blooms to show today, although not too much variety.  The first four are new bulbs for me this year, and the last is a repeat.

If you're keeping track, these are Amaryllis #31, #32, #33, #34, and #35 for the year.

This is is Black Pearl #2,



and Black Pearl #3.



Very pretty, and so dark that my phone has a really hard time capturing the color.

Next is Magical Touch #2, which is kind of wonky because there were two scapes that bloomed out at the same time, and the eight flowers were really crowded.



And Magical Touch #3, much more symmetrical.



Last up is Red Lion 2011, a repeat bloomer. This one hasn't bloomed since 2013, so hooray for you, bulb!



So those are new bloomers for the past little while. 



Amaryllis are so pretty.

I still have a bunch of flowers open on second and third scapes for bulbs that I've previously shown, seven scapes still developing, and a few bulbs that still aren't showing signs of flowering this year. I'm thinking that this show will go into July!

Gervase #1 and Picotee

Up today are two amaryllis, both rebloomers from last year.

Amaryllis #29 for the year is Gervase #1.  This variety is known for its random streaks of red over a pink background.  The amount of red streaking can vary wildly between blooms on a single stalk, and on the same bulb between years.

This exact bulb bloomed out much redder this year than last year.  Here's the first flower this year:



And here's the second flower on the same scape this year.



Such variety!  I like the single solid red petal.  So jaunty.

Amaryllis #30 for the year is Picotee.  Unlike the Gervase, this one has less red than last year.  The thin red piping around the edges of the petals is there, but much thinner this time.  The petals are also narrower this year.



Both these bulbs only put up one scape this year, and only two flowers on the scape.  While somewhat disappointing, it wasn't unexpected.  Gervase had three big scapes last year, and Picotee had two.  Blooming that much on newly-shipped bulbs without roots takes a significant toll, and it can take a while to build up their reserves.  I expect that next year will be better.

Ammocharis coranica

I have another non-amaryllis bulb blooming today... not an amaryllis but an amaryllis cousin.  This is Ammocharis coranica, native to grasslands of South Africa, often in or near depressions that are seasonally wet.

I got this bulb in February, as a completely un-rooted, un-leafed bulb.  I potted it up and watered sparingly, and within two days I started seeing leaves growing.  In its native habitat, this bulb goes dormant during drought, and is able to "wake up" and start growing leaves within hours of a rain storm.  I didn't expect it to bloom for at least a year.

I brought it to work and watched it growing a cool fan of leaves for a couple months, and then last Monday I came in after the weekend and was dismayed when I saw what I initially thought was one of the leaves turning yellow.  I thought I had killed it with too much water, but then I looked closer and saw that it was a flower spike!!!  I swear this spike was not evident the previous Friday, though I may have just overlooked it since it's behind the leaves a bit.  Either way, it grew fast!

This is it on Monday, 5/8/17.



And this is it on Wednesday, 5/11/17.  The spike is a bit longer and the buds are starting to open.



And this is yesterday, Monday 5/15/17, just one week after I first noticed the flower spike.  About half the flowers have gone by and the leaves are starting to yellow.  This is a fast-lane plant that is well-adapted to take advantage of any available water in a dry region.



The flowers are very pretty, and are fragrant, smelling sort of like sharp dusty orange oil.  Or, as I realized when I made my after-lunch beverage, actually a lot like an Earl Grey tea bag just as it first hits the hot water.



This is a relatively uncommon bulb in the houseplant trade, but I really like it.  I played bee with the flowers today, and I can't wait to see if I get any seeds.

Floofy

Ahhh, so pretty!  This is amaryllis #28 for the year, Aphrodite.



This is a replacement bulb that the company sent me after I reported a mislabeled bulb (the second Dancing Queen).



I'm so glad it was correct this time.  It's so floofy and frothy and delicately colored.

The Pearls

My Red Pearl amaryllis flowers opened today, bulb #27 for the year!



They are streakier than I remember them being last year, but very beautiful.



As a comparison, here are Black Pearl (left) and Red Pearl (right).  As you can see, they are about the same size, and Red Pearl is slightly darker and more of a true red, not as orangy.  I also like the more star-shaped flowers with the pointier petals better.

I have one more red amaryllis to open (Benfica), and then I will be able to declare The Best Red.  So far, Red Pearl is still winning.

Three amaryllis

I had three amaryllis open yesterday.

First up is Red Lion 2008, the same bulb that kicked off the 2016/2017 flowering season for me in September so this is its second scape for the season.  This bulb has very orangish-leaning tendencies, especially when my eyes are used to looking at all the dark true reds I've had blooming recently.



Next up is #25 for the year, my second Magical Touch to bloom.  One of the places I ordered from last fall only sells their bulbs in bundles of three, so that's why I have multiples of some varieties.  I may be selling and/or trading the extras in the future, since I don't really have room for so many. This Magical Touch bloomed out nicely.  Love that raspberry red with the white picotee edge.



Last up is #26, which is unfortunately another mislabel.  It was supposed to be Flamenco Queen, but is Samba.  Sigh.



This is from the same company that I got the mislabeled Hercules and Ambiance from as well.  I ordered six bulbs from them, and three of the five that have bloomed so far are wrong.  Will the last one bloom correctly and hold the mislabel rate to 50%?  Time will tell.  Either way, whether it's half or two thirds, I'm not impressed.

It's still a pretty flower, though.

Christmas Gift

I am very happy with Amaryllis Number 24.  This is called Christmas Gift, and it is a lovely big open white flower.



This is a new bulb this year, and is just what I was hoping for.  You may remember that I got a Christmas Gift bulb last year as well, but it bloomed out weirdly streaked with pink. I really want a pure white, so I got another to try again.

This one is great, just what I wanted.  Last year's bulb hasn't bloomed yet this year, so we'll see if it has the pink streaks again.  If it doesn't- oh well, I'll just have two nice white ones!  If it does- oh well, I'll have one with pink streaks!

Black Pearl

Amaryllis number 23 for the year is the long-awaited Black Pearl.



I must say, I'm a little disappointed in this one.  While it's pretty, it's not the dark, dark glorious red that I was expecting.

Here's a comparison of Grand Diva (left) and Black Pearl (right).



Grand Diva is slightly darker and Black Pearl is slightly bigger. 

Does that sound familiar?  I thought so.  Here's a picture I showed a couple weeks ago, of Grand Diva (left) and Queen of Night (right).



According to this, Black Pearl is pretty much identical to Queen of Night. Of course, there's always the possibility of mislabeled bulbs, so who knows.  I have three other Black Pearl bulbs, so we'll see if they look the same as well.

I still like Red Pearl best.

Evergreen repeat

This is a repeat of Amaryllis #5, Evergreen, first seen way back in January.



I was surprised to see a third scape developing on this, especially considering the silly bulb still hasn't grown any roots.  It just sat there for months, doing nothing, then started blooming again.  However, there is hope!  It has a couple leaves peeking out now, too, so maybe there are roots in the works.



When this bloomed last time, I hadn't noticed that there was a distinct darker stripe down the center of each petal. I like these flowers, they're very calm and graceful.



This scape has six flowers, bringing the total flower count to 20, on three scapes!

Barbados

Amaryllis number 22 is Barbados, a rich red with a white star in the center.



Another new one this year, and very pretty.



This is a definite keeper.  It looks so stately.



I like the little ruffly "ears" at the base of the petals.

Reds, compared

Amaryllis Number 21 is open, named Grand Diva.



As I mentioned a couple days ago, this is another step in my informal quest to find The Best Red One.  Here is Grand Diva (left) compared to Queen of Night (right).  How convenient that both are blooming at the same time!



Grand Diva is slightly darker red, and Queen of Night is slightly bigger.  I really like the color on Grand Diva, but neither one wins the title of The Best Red One.  I think that still goes to Red Pearl.

Turns out I did, really...

Can you guess what this pile of boxes and lumber will become?  I'm very excited about it!!!