Growing Hippeastrum (or Amaryllis) Bulbs

A Christmas favourite that lights up the home with its showy flowers during the autumn and winter months. Commonly and erroneously called Amaryllis. These easy to grow bulbs will flower between 6 and 8 weeks after planting and can be kept from year to year, flowering again and again. They are often purchased gift boxed with all you need to get these bulbs into flower, the kits include the bulb, a pot and compost. They can also be purchased as a loose bulb. Some of the giant Hippeastrum (Amaryllis) bulbs are enormous and can have a diameter of 45cm or more. In this article we explain how to plant and care for one of these giant Hippeastrum.

Hippeastrum (Amaryllis) in flower

This is a picture of Hippeastrum (Amaryllis) Lunar showing the amazing white flowers. This was planted as a giant Hippeastrum (Amaryllis) bulb, the flower stalks reached almost 5 ft high.

Step 1

Choose a good quality Hippeastrum (Amaryllis)  bulb. Bulbs should feel firm when gently squeezed. Reject any that feel soft or squishy. Do not buy bulbs that show any sign of mould. The mould on bulbs is usually a blue green colour. Do not buy bulbs that have started to shoot.

Step 2

Choose your pot. The pot should be just bigger than the size of the bulb. Terracotta pots are a good choice as they are heavy and add stability to what will become a very tall plant. In this example we have used a half pot which is just shallower than a standard sized pot, but a standard terracotta pot will do just fine. 

Step 3

Step 4

Add a layer of John Innes No2 to the bottom of the pot. You will need to add enough so that when you plant the bulb about 2/3rds of the bulb is left showing above the compost.

Step 5