After Christmas Amaryllis

I decided this year that, instead of planting the amaryllis to have during the holiday season, I would plant them afterward to enjoy the color and beauty after all the decorations were down and put away.  To get them growing, I planted them in the plastic containers that came in the box with the bulbs, but that was not a good look.  I don't want these beautiful flowers in cheap little plastic pots.  So read on to see what I did to make these really stand out in the interior space of the apartment.

Here, my two amaryllis bulbs in the little plastic pots from the boxes they came in.  This is not pretty.  Not a good look.  We can certainly do better than this.

Another view of the bulbs, this time a side view.  No matter what angle you use, this just is not working.

I wanted to find a pot that would add a little elegance to this project.  Something to "umph" it up a little.  I didn't want to use these ho-hum plastic pots.  I was in Ace Hardware picking up a few things and made my way to their outdoor and gardening section.  They had a large selection of planters from which to choose and this is what I chose.

A beautiful porcelain glazed bonsai planter with the tray attached for catching the overfill of water.  I am becoming more a fan of these types of planters with the tray attached.  It is a much nicer look than sitting any planter inside one of those little plastic dishes that most big box home and garden retailers sell in the gardening section.

Was this a little pricey?  Yes.  But once the amaryllis are done, this will be used for other plantings, so I did not think this was a bad investment.

First thing I did was remove the bulbs from the plastic pots.  I put down a sheet of parchment paper, then set the bulbs on top of that to make clean up easier.

Next, I removed some of the soil that came with the bulbs from one of the plastic pots and put that in the bottom of our new planter.  This might not be the highest quality soil, but I amended it a little and we will talk more about that as we move along through this post.

Here, our two bulbs placed on top of the soil, side-by-side.  I think they will look much nicer planted together in this container than individually.  We want the best environment for them, but we also want them to be aesthetically pleasing to the eye.  Together in the same pot will achieve that.

I filled in around the bulbs with some more of the soil.  Notice, I did not cover the bulbs entirely.  You do not want to cover the bulbs entirely.  They do not like to sit in damp soil and if they are fully submerged, they have a tendency to become waterlogged and rotten.

Time for a little clean-up.  Smart idea to put down the parchment paper.  Everything is there so all you have to do is wrap it up, ...

..., and toss it into the waste basket.  I like using parchment paper because water will not soak through.  You can use old newspaper or brown kraft paper, but any wet soil or additional water (which we will be using soon) will end up causing more of a mess than you want.

And speaking of water - now we've reached the point where we need to water in the soil around the bulbs.  I used a spray bottle and went over the entire top of the soil in the planter, spraying the entire area until the soil was moist, but not saturated.

The bulbs are now in place and the top of the soil has been moistened with the spray bottle.  A couple more steps and we will be done with this project.

I decided to add a little all-purpose, indoor/outdoor plant food to the soil.  This is a generic mix that the distributor claims is "guaranteed not to burn".  I have used this brand on several of the house plants and have found that claim to be true, so I thought a light sprinkle on the soil wouldn't hurt.

And that is indeed what I gave them.  A light sprinkle.  No need to overdo it.  Just a little something to help them along.

I did not want to see the little blue orbs on top of the soil, so I added a very light covering of soil from the plastic pot on top to make the presentation nicer.  I want the fertilizer to work, I just don't want to have to "see" it working.

At this point it was time to water them in fully, and that is what I did by adding just a small amount of water at the time and watching the water collection tray.  Once I saw a small amount of water pooling in the tray, I stopped.  It won't hurt to let the soil dry a little between waterings.  Bulbs can be fussy.  They do not like to sit in soggy, water saturated soil.  I just test the top of the soil with my finger and when it feels a little dry, I will add a little water.

Finally, here they are in their new planter in a north facing window where they will get indirect sunlight all day, every day.  I am hoping by being in this location, and with the addition of the plant food, they will become a little more robust.  Let's see what happens.