Pictured here is my Minerva amaryllis bulb. She stopped flowering at the end of earlier this month, but I had to show her off all the same.
I had purchased the amaryllis bulb from a big box store last fall and completely forgot about it sitting in a constrained plastic bag until it was nearly too late.
I put her in a pot anyways in mid-December and gave her some LOVE (ok, maybe it was more the sunlight and water that did the trick...but the LOVE didn't hurt). And this is what the poor thing looked like after a week or two in the pot...pathetic.
I thought for sure that was all I was going to get and that I'd just have to wait for next year to try Minerva again. But to my surprise, after the first flower stalk died, she shot up another stalk (straight up this time), Not only that, but the new stalk bloomed TWICE. The first set of flowers lasted about two weeks, and then the second set of flowers lasted about two weeks, giving me almost a full month to enjoy her beautiful blooms.
That settles it, Minerva is my new favorite amaryllis. Don't get me wrong, Red Lion was definitely a showstopper for Christmas, but the blooms only last a week or so. I really LOVE how Minerva keeps going...and going...and going. You really get the biggest bang for your buck.
Now the question is, do I plant my Minerva and Red Lion bulbs from this year out in the garden beds, or store them away and force them inside again next winter? Knowing me... I'll place them in the garden AND buy more bulbs next year to force indoors. I do LOVE my amaryllises!
I am in the "plant this year's spent bulbs in the ground" and buy new ones next year camp. I have a couple of areas here that are slowly filling with amaryllis plants, of the unforced variety. I love their strappy leaves (those not so fun inside the house!) and their giant blooms. Many of mine are near where I grow fennel for butterflies, so the contrast between fine and feathery and strappy and bold is easy to enjoy.
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