Most people mistakenly referred to this beautiful and flamboyant plant as an amaryllis, but the correct name is Hippeastrum. Some people simply called it "Lily'. Hippeastrum is a genus in the family Amaryllidacaea, with many species and hybrids.
Right now I have three types in my garden. I used to like this bulb plant a lot, as I find the huge, showy flower very appealing, on top of the flower being able to last for 3 or 4 days. Nowadays I find that growing this plant is not very rewarding as the plants prefers to happily spout healthy looking leaves but no flowers in sight.! (Haiz....!) After reading other blogs, comments, etc.. I find that this is indeed a common complaint. So despite providing organic fertilizer feed to it, trimming of the leaves, not watering it., digging them out and replanting them, etc.........these efforts did not seemed to work! Recently I read a recommendation to put the bulbs in the fridge to simulate cold weather in order to stress the plant, inducing it to bloom. The author claims that this method works but one got to go through the process for at least 4 months to see the bloom. Well, I hesitate to go through such a tedious process, so just decided to let the plants dictate when they want to bloom. Yet I have seen these plants neglected by the roadside, but they were blooming happily under the sun! Perhaps it is the hybrids. The one I saw were orange-coral in colour. Perhaps they are not as fussy. I used to have a row of them when we lived in Penang, perhaps I should go hunting for them again.
This light pink and white hybrid projects an aura of innocence and peace. When I gaze at this graceful flower, I feel nothing can wrong.
One more hybrid which is reddish-white, with more rounded petals has not bloom for some time now, so I cannot put up a picture right now. When I get lucky I will insert a photograph!
Update : 7th April 2011
It finally blooms .....
What a beauty !
(for more pictures - see posted dated 7th April 2011)
