Amaryllis Care – How to Grow and Rebloom This Holiday Bulb

Few bulbs reward you as fast, or as dramatically, as amaryllis. Six to eight weeks after you tuck a fat, dormant bulb into a pot, it throws up a thick hollow stalk topped with three or four trumpet flowers the size of your hand. That speed and that show are exactly why amaryllis lands on so many windowsills around the holidays, usually as a gift in a cardboard box with a little pot and a brick of soil.

Here is the part most people miss: that bulb is not a cut bouquet meant for the compost in January. With the right amaryllis care it is a perennial that can flower every winter for 20 years or more. This guide walks through the whole cycle, from planting the bulb the day it arrives to coaxing it back into bloom next December, plus the waxed and water-grown versions and the handful of problems that actually trip people up.

Amaryllis and Hippeastrum are not quite the same plant

The amaryllis you buy for the holidays is almost certainly not a true amaryllis. True Amaryllis (Amaryllis belladonna) is a single species native to South Africa. The big-flowered bulbs sold every winter are hybrids of the genus Hippeastrum, native to Central and South America, with around 90 wild species behind the hundreds of named cultivars on the market.

The distinction matters less for care than for shopping. Everything in this guide applies to the Hippeastrum hybrids you will actually find in stores, sold under the common name amaryllis. They are tropical and subtropical bulbs, which is why they never need the winter chill that tulips and daffodils demand, and why frost will kill them.

Pick the biggest, firmest bulb you can find

With amaryllis, size is the single best predictor of how good your display will be. A larger bulb has more stored energy, so it produces more flower stalks, more flowers per stalk, and thicker, sturdier stems. If you are choosing between a bargain bulb and a jumbo one of the same variety, buy the jumbo.

Beyond size, look for these signs of a healthy bulb:

• Firm and plump, with no soft or mushy spots when you press gently.
• Dry, papery outer scales with no mold, decay, or insect damage.
• Bright green new growth is fine and normal; small red or pink superficial patches are usually cosmetic, but avoid bulbs with sunken cankers.
• A small offset (a baby bulb) at the base is a bonus you can separate and grow later.

How to plant an amaryllis bulb

Amaryllis like to be crowded, so resist the urge to use a big pot. Choose a heavy container only one to two inches wider than the bulb itself, ideally about twice as tall as the bulb to give the roots room to develop. The weight matters: a fully grown amaryllis is top-heavy and a lightweight pot will tip over. The pot must have drainage holes.

If your bulb arrived bare with shriveled, dehydrated roots, soak the bottom of the bulb in lukewarm water for a few hours first to wake the roots up.

1. Cover the bottom of the pot with a well-draining mix. Cactus or succulent compost is ideal because amaryllis store water in the bulb and stem and rot in heavy, soggy soil. Never use garden soil.
2. Set the bulb on the soil so its shoulders sit just above the pot rim.
3. Fill in around the bulb, tapping the mix down firmly, until one-third to one-half of the bulb is still exposed above the soil line. Burying the bulb to its neck invites rot.
4. Leave about an inch of space between the soil and the pot rim so water does not overflow.
5. Water thoroughly until it runs out the drainage holes, then let it drain completely.
6. Place the pot in a warm spot with bright, indirect light.

After this first soaking, hold off on more water until you see about two inches of new growth. Pre-potted bulbs from the store are ready to go straight onto a windowsill with the same light and water.

Light, water, and warmth while it grows

Light. Give a growing amaryllis the brightest spot you have, such as a sunny window. The more light it gets, the bigger and stronger the blooms. There is one exception: once the flower buds start to show color, move the pot out of direct sun and into a slightly cooler spot. Cooler, dimmer conditions slow the flowers down and can add days or even a week to the display.

Water. Overwatering is the number one way to kill an amaryllis, because it rots the bulb. The reliable method is to drench the soil, then wait until the top two inches feel dry, or the pot feels light when you lift it, before watering again. Water more often once the plant is in active growth and flower, and never let the pot sit in standing water or let water pool on top of the exposed bulb.

Warmth. Temperatures of 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit promote the fastest, strongest growth and push the bulb to flower. Once it blooms, slightly cooler temperatures around 65 degrees help the flowers last longer.

Fertilizer. Skip fertilizer at planting. A bulb with no leaves cannot use it, and feeding the roots of a leafless bulb can actually burn them. Once new green growth appears, feed about twice a month with a diluted houseplant fertilizer, choosing a high-phosphorus or high-potash formula (the middle and last numbers on the label) to support flowering rather than a high-nitrogen one.

Staking. Tall varieties can flop under the weight of the blooms. Slip a thin stake no thicker than a chopstick into the soil right beside the bulb, taking care not to spear the bulb, and loosely tie the stalk to it. Turning the pot a quarter-turn every few days while it grows also keeps the stalk reaching straight up rather than leaning toward the light.

When will it bloom, and how to time it for the holidays

Most amaryllis flower six to eight weeks after planting, though some varieties take as long as ten. Because the countdown is so predictable, you can plant in stages to have flowers exactly when you want them. To hit Christmas, pot the bulb in late September or early October. This chart shows roughly when a bulb will bloom based on when you plant it:

Some bulbs send up the flower stalk first and the leaves later; others lead with leaves and the stalk follows. Both are normal, so if you see only foliage at first, give it time before assuming the bulb is blind.

Growing amaryllis in water, no soil required

Amaryllis can bloom perched over a vase of water, which makes a striking display and skips the soil mess. It is a short-term trick, not a way to keep the bulb long-term, but it works for a single season.

Use a tall, narrow forcing vase or a glass jar with stones in the bottom. Set the bulb so its base sits about an inch above the water line and add a layer of pebbles or marbles to hold it upright. The roots will grow down into the water while the bulb itself stays dry; keeping the bulb wet will rot it. Top up the water as it evaporates and keep it in bright light. After it finishes flowering, the only way to save the bulb is to move it into a pot of soil and treat it like any other amaryllis.

What to do with waxed amaryllis bulbs

Waxed amaryllis are everywhere at the holidays now, and they confuse a lot of people. The bulb is sealed in a coat of colored wax, its roots have been removed, and a wire coil is pushed into the base so it stands on its own. Because the wax seals in everything the bulb needs, you do not water it, pot it, or feed it. Just set it in bright light and it will flower on stored energy alone.

The catch is that waxed bulbs are designed to be thrown away after blooming, since the wax prevents rooting and the bulb cannot replenish itself. You can sometimes rescue one: peel off all the wax and pull out the wire, and if the bulb is still firm, pot it in soil and grow it on like a normal bulb. It will need a full season of leaf growth to rebuild its reserves before it has any chance of reblooming.

Amaryllis care after it blooms

This after-bloom stretch is the whole secret to getting flowers again next year, and it is where most amaryllis quietly fail. The goal is simple: keep the plant growing so it can rebuild the energy it spent flowering.

• As each individual flower fades, snip it off so the plant does not waste energy setting seed.
• Once a whole stalk is spent, cut it back, but wait until the stalk yellows before removing it completely. A green stalk keeps photosynthesizing and feeding the bulb.
• Never cut the leaves while they are green. Those long, strappy leaves are the engine that recharges the bulb all spring and summer. Cut them early and you will get weak flowers or none at all next winter.
• Move the plant to the sunniest window you have, water whenever the top inch or two of soil dries out, and feed monthly with an all-purpose houseplant fertilizer.

When all danger of frost has passed in spring, you can move the pot outdoors for the summer. Start it in shade or filtered light for a week or two so it does not scorch, then gradually shift it to a spot with at least six hours of direct sun. You can sink the whole pot into a garden bed if you like. Keep watering and feeding through the summer, then bring it back indoors before the first fall frost, because amaryllis will not survive freezing.

How to make an amaryllis rebloom

Here is a point worth clearing up, because the competing advice online is contradictory: amaryllis do not actually require a dormant rest to rebloom. If you simply keep a healthy plant growing in good light, it will often flower again on its own schedule. What dormancy does is let you control the timing, so you can aim for the holidays again.

To force dormancy and reset the clock, start about 8 to 12 weeks before you want flowers, which for a Christmas bloom means roughly early September.

1. Stop watering and fertilizing. Move the potted bulb to a cool, dark, dry place such as a basement, closet, or attached garage, ideally around 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Let the leaves yellow and dry on their own, then cut them off at the base.
3. Leave the bulb in the dark for 8 to 12 weeks and do not water it. The whole point is to mimic the dry season of its native range, so the bulb is supposed to be neglected. Check it occasionally for mold and discard any bulb that has gone soft or moldy.
4. After the rest, move the pot back to a warm, bright window and give it a thorough watering. Resume normal watering and feeding once you see new growth.
5. Flowers usually appear about four to six weeks after you bring it back into warmth and light.

Repotting and propagating

Amaryllis bloom best when slightly potbound, so they only need repotting every three or four years, ideally right after dormancy in fall or early spring. Move the bulb to a pot just a couple of inches wider, use fresh well-draining mix, and keep that one-third of the bulb above the soil line.

The easiest way to multiply your collection is to harvest the offsets, or bulbils, that mature bulbs produce around their base. When you repot, scrape away the soil between the mother bulb and the offset, cut the join with clean scissors while keeping the offset’s roots attached, and pot it up on its own. Expect to wait up to three years for an offset to reach flowering size. Growing amaryllis from seed is possible but rarely worth it, since seedlings can take many years to flower and will not come true to the parent.

Solving the most common amaryllis problems

All leaves and no flowers. A bulb that grows lush foliage but refuses to bloom is usually telling you one of three things: it never got a dormant rest to trigger flowering, it is sitting in too much shade, or it has been fed too much nitrogen. Give it a proper cool dry rest, then bright light and a phosphorus-leaning feed.

Drooping or floppy leaves and stalks. Too little light, too much fertilizer, or erratic watering are the usual causes, and excess warmth that forces the stalk up too fast will also make it flop. Stake the stalk, move the plant to brighter and slightly cooler conditions, and tighten up your watering routine.

A soft or rotting bulb. This almost always means overwatering. Slide the bulb out and inspect it; if you find a brown, mushy, punctured area, the bulb cannot be saved. If it is merely soft with no rot, repot it and let the soil dry out fully between waterings.

Red streaks on leaves and stalks. This is red blotch, also called leaf scorch, a fungal disease that shows up as red streaks and cankers. It is rarely fatal but disfiguring. Buy clean bulbs, plant in fresh sterile mix, wipe your scissors with alcohol between plants, and treat persistent cases with a systemic fungicide.

Mealybugs and bulb flies. Plants summered outdoors can pick up mealybugs; wipe them off with rubbing alcohol or treat with horticultural oil. The narcissus bulb fly may lay eggs in bulbs left outside, and its larvae tunnel into the bulb and destroy it from within. There is no reliable spray, so destroy any infested bulb.

Keep it away from pets and children. Every part of the amaryllis is toxic if eaten, and the bulb holds the highest concentration of the toxin. Ingestion can cause vomiting, drooling, and tremors in cats and dogs, so set the plant where curious pets cannot reach it and call your vet or doctor if anyone swallows part of one.

Treat the bulb well through this full cycle and that one holiday gift becomes a fixture, throwing up its outsized winter trumpets year after year long after the season that introduced you to it.