Small Amaryllis Experiment

Amaryllis, Hipeastrum puniceum,  is a perennial fixture in our garden in the province. I thought it has been there since i was born, they were maltreated, abused, thrown away, disowned and given some unwanted behaviors given only to weeds by  some people. I've posted it a few times in the PAST with some sentimental thoughts and some insightful ideas. They flower only after the first heavy rains in May-June, produce luxuriant leaves after, and then hide, or better said lay dormant the rest of the year. We forget everything about them  till they produce the lovely  orange flowers again.

Because blogposts from winter climates said they force them to flower, coupled with my normal impatience in waiting for things, i also tried a little experiment. I dug some bulbs and brought them to the city, where i stay most of the time. I only visit the province on my free weekends, and those are really once-in-a while. I  put a bulb on a small fruitjam bottle, and another on a yellow plastic oil bottle. Basis for choosing these containers is the size of their opening which favorably held the bulbs in place. These are the only containers available that time, i don't want to go out to look for more suitable containers.

It's been January again so i thought of this results which were actually done the same month last year. It is serendipitous as i am also experimenting on making collages, which i have been shelving for sometime because i thought it could be very difficult. So you will be viewing results of 2 experiments:  amaryllis forced to flower, and  trials in making collage.

Above mosaic shows the progress of the bulbs. Top layer shows bulb on the yellow bottle producing a flower spike and a leaf. The enlarged photo of the bulb on the jambottle seems to be producing the same as well although a bit delayed. The top photo is taken 3d after planting while the bottom taken after 7 days.

The bottom layer shows  flower spikes growing faster than the leaves. Even at the early stages, the flower spike already shows a bit of orange hue. The whole duration from planting to full opening of the flowers took two weeks. Of course you very well know that all the flowers in one spike do not open at the same time, all the time.

The above mosaic shows another set of experiment i did after finishing the first trial. One bulb did not flower but produce just leaves. It could be still immature bulb still small to flower. Most of the spikes here produce 2-3 flowers. I've noticed also that the spikes are longer than when they are on the ground. That is because the lights received indoors are not sufficient. Insufficient lights produce  etiolation and elongated stalks.

Some sample close-ups of the flowers. There are flowers still there at least a month after planting, and because i planted 2x in succession, i have flowers for more than 2 months. Maybe i should try selling bulbs online here in the country, together with a procedure for doing it. These can make very beautiful gifts if done in nice containers, complete with ribbons and a card. One can choose what stage of development to buy, depending on the date of the occasssion.

What do you say Friends? I am calling Solitude Rising, or Onenezz or Autumn Belle we can have  partnerships for these venture.

Disclaimer: (haha) I apologize for having the worst conditions for experiments, variable bulb size, variable container, variable depth of water for roots, and a lot more varied here. Further, there is no replication which must at least be 3. I suppose i am also biased to prefer the nicer and faster growing bulb, and i suppose i used it for more photos. Please rest assured that i fully know the requirements of a sound and scientific way of doing experiments, complete with statistical analysis, graphs and figures to the nearest significant places, and i have publications to show my work! But time has changed! Maybe doing things the right way is not as fun as doing it totally different, not actually wrong, just totally different.

Just please bear with me coz I am enjoying this! and thank you....


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