In late October, I enjoyed the unique beauty of a weeping amaryllis. As the accompanying photo attests, the blooms appeared to hang on pendulous stems that hung down from the pot. It was quite unusual, but very attractive; I called it my weeping amaryllis.
Of course, there really is no such thing as a cascading amaryllis and this whole thing happened by accident, as so many gardening things seem to do in my garden! I have several amaryllis, which spend the summer planted in a row in the vegetable garden where they enjoy the sun, the space, and the water and rich soil. They put forth lots of vigorous growth during the growing season and still have lots of foliage when I dig them before frost arrives in the fall.
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After I dig the plants I simply throw them onto an old blanket under a table in the sunroom where I expect the foliage to dry off and the bulbs to cure so that I can store them away in a cool, dark place for a couple of month’s rest. During this time, I am busy getting the garden put to bed for the winter and pretty much ignore them.
About the middle of October my wife asked, “Do you know that you have an amaryllis in bloom?” Well, of course I didn’t. Sure enough, one of the bulbs had put forth a flower stem and there were two red buds ready to burst open. Because the bulbs had simply been thrown down in a heap, the stems were not able to grow straight out from the top of the bulb — they grew toward one side and actually were curled down toward the bulb.
I quickly potted up the bulb and took it into the house so that we could enjoy the blooms. The stems never did right themselves, so the buds opened and the flowers bloomed with the stems curved downward over the edge of the pot. It really did look like a weeping amaryllis. After the flowers go past I will cut off the pendulous flower stalks and the new growth will surely grow upright — the end to my novel “weeping” amaryllis!
