Re: [gardeners] Amaryllis gives hope
George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Tue, 11 Jan 2000 07:42:08 -0600
Francoise De Smet wrote:
>
> Over 15 years ago, a neighbor gave us a whole tray of baby amaryllises
> that he had started from seed - his own work. We were in the middle of
> moving and I must confess that I wasn't as interested in gardening as I
> am now. I don't even know what happened to the tray. There may have been
> 2 dozens seedlings. I often think about them now when I see amaryllises
> for I love them and would give a fortune to have that tray again. Has
> anyone done any pollination of amaryllis? Is it difficult to do? I'd
> like to try it some day.
> Fran.
We've grown amaryllis from seed but didn't deliberately cross pollinate
to see what we would get. Miz Anne is just naturally thrifty. We dig the
bulbs up every 2-3 years and take the natural increase from the bulblets
to make the bed a little bigger. Most of our amaryllis make seed pods
and we then either plant them in pots to see what we'll get or just
plant the seeds on the hillock where the amaryllis grow. Should be very
easy to pollinate them but you would have to keep a cover on the flower
to prevent insects from cross pollinating from an unwanted color.
George