Amaryllis
Hippeastrum hybrids (sold as "amaryllis")
Through the year 🗓️
🍂 Fall now
Stop watering in late summer, let the leaves yellow, then rest the bulb cool and dry (50–55 °F) for 8–10 weeks.
❄️ Winter
Restart it: fresh mix, one good drink, warmth and bright light. Flowers follow in 6–8 weeks.
🌱 Spring
After flowering, cut the stalk (not the leaves) near the bulb and grow it on in your sunniest window with regular feeding.
☀️ Summer
Keep the leaves growing, outdoors in sun if you can. They rebuild the bulb for next year's flowers.
The details
Light & placement
- Light
- Bright light with some direct sun while it grows; out of hot sun once the flowers open, so they last
- Ideal PPFD
- 250–450 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹
- Grow-light distance
- 12–18 in below LED
Water & feed
- Watering method
- Barely moisten the mix after potting, then water sparingly until the bud stalk shows. Once it's growing, water when the top inch dries, around the bulb rather than into its neck.
- Fertilizer
- None until it flowers. After blooming, balanced feed at ½ strength every 2–3 wks while the leaves grow; stop in late summer.
Home & habit
- Soil
- Well-draining potting mix with perlite; pH 6.0–6.5. Pot it snug, with 1–2 in around the bulb and its top third above the soil.
- Humidity
- Average (40–50%)
- Temperature
- 60–75 °F; a cooler room (around 60 °F) makes the flowers last longer
- Mature size
- 18–24 in in flower
- Repotting
- Every 3–4 yrs, just before restarting it, in a pot only 1–2 in wider than the bulb
- Propagation
- Offset bulblets separated at repotting (3–4 yrs to flower); seed is slower still.
When something looks wrong
- Overwatering signs
- Soft, mushy bulb base; yellow leaves; a sour smell
- Underwatering signs
- Leaves flop and yellow at the tips; a shriveled, lightweight bulb
- Common pests
- Mealybugs, bulb mites, narcissus bulb fly; red blotch fungus on leaves and bulb
Common problems 🩺
The usual suspects when Amaryllis looks unhappy. Most houseplant trouble is watering or light, not disease — see all plant problems if you are not sure which plant is the culprit.
Only leaves, no flower stalk
Likely cause
The bulb didn't rebuild after last year's flowers, or it skipped its dry rest.
What to do
Grow the leaves all summer in sun with feed, then rest the bulb cool and dry for 8–10 weeks before restarting it.
Soft, mushy bulb
Likely cause
Too much water before there were roots or leaves to use it.
What to do
Cut away rot down to firm tissue, let it dry for a day, and repot in fresh, dry mix. Water lightly until growth shows.
Flower stalk leaning or toppling
Likely cause
It's stretching toward the light, and the open flowers are top-heavy.
What to do
Turn the pot a quarter-turn every day and stake the stalk once the buds open.
Red or brown streaks on leaves and bulb
Likely cause
Red blotch, a fungal disease that follows cold, wet conditions.
What to do
Cut off badly marked leaves, keep water off the bulb, and give it warmth and airflow. A badly affected bulb is best replaced.
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