Water-grown amaryllis now thrives in soil

If plants could talk...

A closer look at the neck of a bulb with years of cutting remnants from the removal of spent flowers and leaves. My years-old, formerly water-grown 'Double King' amayllis bulb, Leafy, has been thriving since June in its pot by the sliding glass door. I took photos periodically, but trying to make a living from a small publication has meant I haven't had time to post as much as I once did. So, for anyone who has followed me growing bulbs on water, here's a photo of my beloved Leafy, loving the dirt and growing strong.

In the top photo, taken Sept. 30, the shortest leaf at the center on the left side is the first leaf that sprouted when the fertilizer-damaged bulb was still growing in water. The second shorter leaf, on the right, is the new leaf shown in the post below.

The longest leaf is just shy of 3 feet long, at 34.5 inches. It and the other  two stronger leaves emerged quickly after the bulb was planted in soil, which it obviously prefers and appears to have been nourished by. I did not add any fertilizer to the soil. Nothing was done beyond the weekly waterings and leaf wiping to remove dust and facilitate maximum photosynthesis.  

When the bulb was growing in water, its leaves would normally begin to fade and turn yellow in October. It's still growing well in December, so we'll see if and when the normal leaf fading happens. I still plan to keep Leafy growing as a house plant. I hope it will flower yet another year, but now as a soil-grown plant instead of a bulb sitting atop a water-filled vase.  If the leaves are any indication, next year's flowers should be spectacular.

Leafy planted in soil and growing a new leaf

Leafy sends up a new leaf. It's a sign of improved health for a bulb finally planted in soil after having flowered every year on water alone since 2015. After this year's flower, Leafy, my pet 'Double King' amaryllis bulb, again grew only one leaf.

This being the second year that happened, I decided last month that it was time to return the bulb to soil. Since 2014, Leafy had been grown indoors in a water-filled vase. The bulb has flowered every year since then in March or April. After an unfortunate attempt to nourish it by putting a little fertilizer in the vase water last year, the distressed bulb needed to grow new roots, and it has only been able to produce a single leaf after flowering. Even without the fertilizer faux pas, the bulb was regrowing its roots this year as well.  

So, in an effort to end the distress, on June 14 I pulled out a recycled nursery pot that was just a little deeper than the bulb. I grabbed some recycled potting soil that I had saved from last year (it had grown Burpee's potted organic herbs).

I held Leafy over the pot, just slightly above the bottom, and poured the soil in around the bulb and its roots, leaving the top exposed.

I watered and placed Leafy back in its usual place on a small table by the sliding glass door. I touched the leaf every few days and watched for wilting. It did not wilt, but the tip turned yellow. I continued to check on the leaf, but not as often as I had initially. 

This morning, Leafy rewarded my efforts to improve its health: there is a single new leaf growing up from the bulb's top. I did not add any fertilizer because of the fertilizer trouble when Leafy lived on water. Since a second leaf has emerged, I might now look into gentle fertilizers meant for amaryllis bulbs. I am going to keep the bulb in soil all year to see if it will flower again from the soil.

Since I do believe that plants respond to our feelings and, maybe words, I praised Leafy and gave it a nice stroke for growing strong enough to produce another leaf. It is my beloved pet bulb, after all!

Companion plants for roses: Top English rosarian's A-to-V list of options

David Austin's deep pink English rose 'Gertrude Jekyll' shown with blue Nepeta (catmint) and tall maroon-throated white Digitalis 'Pam's Choice' (foxglove). 'Gertrude Jekyll,' a fragrant, repeat blooming shrub rose, grows to 5 feet tall and 3-1/2 feet wide.What to plant with roses.

It is a quandary familiar to many rose-loving gardeners, and answers can be found in the life's work of English rosarian Michael Marriott. 

As a garden designer, his life has been a literal bed of roses. He has designed rose-filled private and public gardens including the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and Queen Mary’s Rose Garden in Regent’s Park

Marriott, senior rosarian for David Austin Roses in Albrighton, England, is known for his formal and informal planting of dense borders and beds of purely roses or roses mixed with perennials.

“The joy is in pairing flowers that play off one another, when seen side by side in full bloom," he says in a written release for David Austin English Roses. "The goal is to heighten peak bloom experiences."

As one might expect, Marriott loves roses. He delights in creating mixed borders with plant partners that enhance roses in bloom. He most often prefers sweeps of color – both complementary and contrasting – to create movement and lead the eye.

Marriott, whose suggested list of companion plants for roses follows, admits to a special fondness for the romantic informality of English roses, which he enhances by pairing them with cottage garden favorites and small-flowered plants with the look of wildflowers. His border designs feature massed plantings of like-with-like for impact and an overall calming effect.

As an organic gardener, he incorporates plants that are attractive to beneficial insects likely to devour aphids and other pests.

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Two gorgeous 'Double King' amaryllis flowers of reblooming water-grown bulb

Both flowers of the 'Double King' amaryllis in full bloom yesterday. The second flower to open (at right) has stamens and anthers while the first does not. This is the first time the bulb has produced a flower with obvious reproductive parts. It's interesting that they are only on one flower. I think this might mean that a male and a female flower are on the same stem? I did not have time to research this or why one flower would produce stamens after all these years.

Five-year-old, water-grown amaryllis in bloom and in distress

Updated on Sunday, April 7, 2019 at 08:23PM by Kimberly L. Jackson

Leafy, with its flower in a bottle vase, after the unfortunate falling accident

Yesterday morning I entered the kitchen before breakfast to find Leafy lying on the floor with a broken neck.

The entire bulb, with its long stem and single open flower, had fallen off its vase. The stem apparently snapped on  impact.

With sadness, I surveyed the plant, seeing that only a slender thread held flower to stem. I had to separate it, and the untimely cut flower on a too short stem is now in water within a fancy olive oil bottle.

The tall, vacant stem, still rising majestically from the bulb, will need to be cut away to facilitate leaf growth.

Thankfully, the break happened on the stem itself, instead of with one of the flowers. I'm very happy that the flowers were not damaged and  can still be enjoyed.

I do usually cut off the flower right at the base near the bulb's top, but only after both flowers are fully open.

The injury came just three days after the first flower started to open. With that flower fully open, the second bud has grown to almost equal size and, it has started to open and likely will be in full bloom before the week ends.

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