Question: It’s only September and my amaryllis is flowering. Don’t amaryllises usually bloom at Christmas?
Answer: The amaryllis (genus: Hippeastrum) is a perennial bulb native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. Because these areas experience little seasonal variation in temperature or daylength, amaryllises do not usually bloom when exposed to cooler temperatures or changes in daylength like other holiday gift plants. They bloom when they have stored sufficient energy in their bulbs to support flower formation.
When grown as houseplants, amaryllises typically bloom between January and May. Commercial producers of amaryllis bulbs, however, expose the bulbs to special conditions so that the bulbs bloom during the holidays.
You too can induce your amaryllis to bloom at Christmas by following these steps:
1. In late summer/early fall, stop watering your amaryllis.
2. Move the plant to a cool, dark place (around 50 degrees). Turn the pot on its side to remind you not to water it. Do not let the plant freeze. The bulb is frost tender.
3. After six to eight weeks, move the pot to a warm, well-lit spot.
4. Remove any withered leaves.
5. Water the plant once. Do not water it again until the soil has completely dried or the plant shows signs of growth.
With this treatment a flower stalk typically emerges by Christmas about half the time. A more drastic approach, in which you not only stop watering the plant but cut off its leaves and remove the bulb from the soil during the rest period, seems to be more successful. This treatment, however, is hard on the plant and can delay blooming in future years.
To maximize the likelihood that your amaryllis blooms, provide it the care it needs. Place your amaryllis in a sunny window or move the plant outdoors into full sun after the weather warms. Water the plant when the soil surface is nearly dry. Fertilize it with a houseplant fertilizer every two to four weeks during the growing season.
Given this care and lots of sun exposure, an amaryllis will produce lush green leaves. It might even bloom twice in a year: once in late winter or early spring and again in late summer as it appears your amaryllis has done.
Question: Why don’t all deciduous trees turn a brilliant color when they lose their leaves in the fall? Can you recommend trees and shrubs that provide good autumn color on the north Olympic Peninsula?
Answer: During the growing season, leaves are green because of the pigment chlorophyll. Chlorophyll allows plants to absorb energy from sunlight and convert it into carbohydrates, a source of energy that can be used and stored by the plant.
Some trees also produce two other types of pigments: carotenoids and anthocyanins. Carotenoids are responsible for the yellows, oranges and browns seen in leaves. Carotenoids absorb light in wavelengths at which chlorophyll is inefficient and can protect chlorophyll molecules from damage because of excess energy.
Anthocyanins are responsible for the deep purple and red hues in leaves. Anthocyanins are powerful antioxidants that prevent and repair environmental damage to plant cells. Anthocyanins also bind sugars in leaves and transport them to the woody, overwintering parts of the plant before the leaves fall.
Chlorophyll, when present, can mask these other pigments. During the growing season, chlorophyll is continually produced and broken down. As daylength shortens in the fall, however, chlorophyll production slows in deciduous trees and eventually stops, but the breakdown continues. All chlorophyll in the leaf ultimately disappears, allowing the color from other pigments to shine through.
Only plants that produce carotenoids and anthocyanins turn brilliant color in fall. (See sidebar.) In plants with these pigments, the color is also affected by weather conditions. If days are bright and sunny and nights are cool, plants produce more sugars and, in turn, more anthocyanins to scavenge those sugars. The result is a more brilliant fall color display than usual.
Jeanette Stehr-Green is a WSU-certified Clallam County Master Gardener. She and her husband enjoy hiking in Olympic National Park during the fall to witness the splashes of color from vine and big leaf maples, huckleberry and other native plants.
Calendars available now
2024 Master Gardener Foundation of Clallam County calendars are available now! The calendar offers beautiful full-page photographs and monthly gardening tips as well as reminders of upcoming gardening events, workshops and talks. Calendars are $8 for one or $7.50 each for orders of two or more. To purchase a calendar, go to:
• Master Gardener Woodcock Demonstration Garden at 2711 Woodcock Road in Sequim on Thursday mornings from 10 am-noon.
• Fiddleheads Home & Garden at 124 W. First Street, Suite B, Port Angeles; call 360-452-2114 for hours.
A mail-order option is also available. Go to the Clallam County Master Gardener Foundation website at clallammgf.org and follow the prompts or send a check made out to “Clallam Master Gardener Foundation” to: Master Gardener Program, Attn: Harmony Rutter, 1914 W. 18th St., Port Angeles, WA 98363.
