Magnificent Family

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Let's get acquainted with several more representatives of the Amaryllis family. Although for many, they are most likely old acquaintances, modestly standing on the windowsills and delighting with their flowering in the most severe time of the year

Krinum Moore

The flowering of this representative of a magnificent family occurs in autumn - the beginning of winter.

A large onion of Moore's krinum is only half immersed in the soil, towering the other half above the surface of the earth. Crinums are giants among their kin. Their belt-like linear-lanceolate leaves reach a length of 1 meter. Moreover, they acquire a flat shape a little later, and are born rolled up into a tube. Leaves, emerging from the bulb, form a false stem up to 60 centimeters high.

The umbrella-shaped inflorescence, collected from 6-12 rather large (7-8 cm in diameter) pink flowers, rises low above the crown of the leaves.

The period of active plant growth occurs in the summer. Native to Southeast Africa, Moore's Crinum loves bright lighting, so the pot can be taken outdoors if possible. During the growth period, abundant watering and regular feeding are required.

After flowering, watering is gradually reduced, and during the dormant period, which occurs in the winter, it is rarely watered in order to protect the plant from dropping leaves. Part of the leaves dries up during dormancy, they should be cut off. In winter, the air temperature of about 10 degrees is desirable for the krinum, although it is quite possible to get by by placing the pot closer to the window glass.

Crinum Moore can be propagated by seeds, but more often this is done with the help of daughter bulbs.

Garden hippeastrum

Hippeastrum are varieties of complex hybrid origin. Often their owners believe that the luxurious flower on the windowsill is called "amaryllis". Although, for an ordinary flower lover, their name is not so important. This is more of a concern for specialists studying flora, inventing classifications for them, inventing hybrids.

Externally, hippeastrum and amaryllis are very similar in both leaves and flowers. But in hippeastrum, the bulbs are larger, the number of flowers is less, but they, again, are larger in size.

An essential feature of the hippeastrum that distinguishes it from other relatives is the presence of appendages in the perianth pharynx. The appendages are hairs, scales and bristles located in the perianth pharynx and covering it with themselves.

From a large bulb of a hippeastrum, a flower arrow often appears before the leaves, reaching a meter in height. With good plant care, its belt-like leaves grow up to 60 centimeters long and 7 centimeters wide.

On the flowering arrow, there are 2-4 large flowers, the diameter of which can reach 20 centimeters. The color of the petals is very different: from white to dark red. There are variegated flowers that combine several different tones.

Hippeastrum is a plant with a distinct dormant period, which lasts from autumn to the end of winter. During this period, it is kept in a cool (possibly dark) place, for example, by placing it on the floor by the balcony door. During the dormant period, watering is stopped, resuming it when a flower arrow or fresh leaves appear. If you can't wait to admire the flowers, you can start to "wake up" the hippeastrum at the end of January by resuming watering it.

Even if you are not going to wake up the plant early, from the end of January you should periodically glance at the flower pot so as not to miss the appearance of leaves, which will stretch out in the dark and will be brittle, curved and weak.

We move the awakened plant closer to the light, which the leaves and the peduncle really need. When it gets warmer outside, you can put the pot on the balcony or in the garden. The growing season requires abundant watering at short intervals to allow the soil to dry out slightly between waterings.

As a rule, for growing hippeastrum, a pot is selected, the diameter of which is only 2-3 centimeters larger than the diameter of the bulb. The bulb is positioned so that a third or even half of it is above the soil surface. After one to two years, the bulb is transplanted into new fresh soil.

Nature never ceases to amaze gardeners with its surprises. The classic growing routine is sometimes suddenly disrupted, surprising, confusing and causing controversy among experienced florists. So, there are examples when hippeastrum grew safely in a pot, the diameter of which was much larger than the recommended sizes. The pot was on the south windowsill. The soil in it was fertile, receiving uniform watering all year round. The leaves turned green without a break for rest, and at the end of each summer, the plant released a couple of arrows, each of which pleased with 4-5 flowers.