Amaryllis, ‘Yellow Goddess’

Amaryllis, with its yellow color and green colored foliage is known as goddess among flowers. Its bloom time is from the mid of winters to the early springs. Hence the planting time should be early to late winters. The height is approximately 20 inches and the width of the flower is about 7 inches. The flower bulbs need some 6 to 8 months of time and this is why it is advised to plant it at the appropriate time such that it grows well by the bloom time.

Originally the Amaryllis was found in South America and South Africa. These plants originated from various places like Bolivia, Chile’s Andes Mountains, Peru, Brazil, Venezuela, West Indies, North of Mexico and Argentina too. It actually has trumpet shaped soft yellow flowers with a touch of green at the end.

To sow these plants, some things need to be kept in mind. Take an approximately 9 inches (diameter) pot. Now put well drained soil (try to make a mixture of charcoal, vermiculite, coarse sand and peat in a ratio of 1:2:3:3 Water it and keep it at a warm place. Choose a sunny location. When the first sign of the growth is visible, say in about 3 weeks, then water it again. After that you must keep a check yourself that when the plant needs to be watered. Another thing to be kept in mind is that for the plant to grow straight, you need to turn the pot at regular basis. In case you want to delay the flowering then all you need to do is to change the location of plant, meaning away from direct sunlight.

Now some tips on watering and fertilizers. You can begin with saturating the soil with some lukewarm water, and then between watering sessions, allow it to dry. When the plant blooms you shall feed them with the houseplant fertilizers per week. The directions for usage are generally provided on the package.

If you wish your plant to bloom the next year, then here is some advice. Move your plant to a cool dark place where the temperature is about 40°F to 50°F. Do not water the plant. This will lead to withering of foliage. The next thing to be done is to remove the dead foliage. This shall be done after the time span of six to eight weeks. After this place the plant at a sunny and warm location again and water it once. When the new growth is visible, then you shall water the plant regularly. One more thing is that you must repot the plant every three to four years.

Generally the maintenance of the plant is easy. All you need to do is that by the time every flower on the stalk is spent, you shall cut off the stalk at the base. After this resume the growing of plant in a sunny place.

Needless to say that the best feature of this plant is the attractive flowers and foliage. One more thing is its resistance to diseases.