Hippeastrum home - a bulbous plant, comes from South America. Sometimes it is mistakenly called amaryllis, however, amaryllis and hippeastrum have only a family in common. This perennial came to Europe in the 17th century, and already at the end of the 18th its first hybrids appeared.
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brief information
The hippeastrum bulb can have a diameter of 5 cm or more. It is a stem, which is surrounded by scales around the perimeter. At the beginning, roots and a central stem, called an arrow or peduncle, grow from the bulb.
If the size of the bulb allows, the number of arrows can reach 2 or 3. The leaves emerging from the scales can grow both simultaneously with the arrow and after the end of the flowering process.
Hippeastrum hybrid
The length of the peduncles can reach more than 1 m, the leaves - 60-70 cm, the diameter of the flowers is from 7 to 25 cm. The plant blooms in spring, depending on the variety and age, this can occur from February to the end of April.
The plant requires 3-4 months of dormancy annually, since in his homeland this period falls on a seasonal drought.
Healthy hippeastrum bulb
Hippeastrum flowers are bisexual, but cross-pollination is also widely used. Otherwise, how could one explain more than 2,000 varieties of a single species of hippeastrum grown at home?
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Proper care at home
Hippeastrum agrotechnology is simple, however, requiring accuracy and timeliness of execution. No particularly sophisticated methods and manipulations threaten the owner of the plant, but you will have to do simple actions in time.
Plant care is not a problem.
As with any plant, the right combination of conditions and care will provide your pet with a beautiful appearance and health.
Substrate and containers
Hippeastrum prefers neutral soils (pH in the range of 6-7.5).
- 1 part sifted leafy soil
- 1 part peat
- 1 part coarse river sand
- 0.25 parts of charcoal or wood ash
It is recommended to add rotted manure to the substrate (15 g per 1 liter) or 3-4 g of superphosphate for the entire volume of the pot. The use of "fresh" organic fertilizers is not acceptable, since they are chemically active and can damage both the roots and bulb hippeastrum.
The resulting soil mixture must necessarily undergo disinfection in the oven or microwave, after which it is covered with 2 layers of gauze and allowed to stand for 10-20 days to restore the microflora. During this procedure, it is recommended to loosen the soil regularly.
The best container for hippeastrum is a clay or ceramic pot, and the distance from the bulb to its walls should be between 20 and 40 mm.
With such dimensions, the plant will be conveniently watered and the bulb will have the opportunity to grow and bud "children". In addition, clay allows air to pass through the root system of the plant better.
Hippeastrum in the right size pot
The use of pots of other sizes is impractical. Pots that are too large will not give the bulb stability with large shoots, pots that are too small will simply not give the plant growth opportunities for the bulb and roots.
Sometimes it is allowed to plant two or more bulbs in one pot. In this case, you should remember about the distances of the bulbs from each other and from the walls of the pot. Before planting the plant, the pot must be thoroughly rinsed.
Expanded clay or small gravel is used as drainage; its height should not exceed 2-3 cm.
Transfer
Hippeastrum is planted and transplanted at the end of summer. In autumn, in mid-late September, the plant enters a dormant period, so all procedures should be done at least a month before this time. An alternative is to transplant in the winter, immediately after the end of the dormant period.
The bulb of a healthy plant is constantly growing in size, so such bulbs require an annual transplant.
If the plant is already mature enough and has a slow growth rate, it is transplanted as the pot is filled with roots and bulbs (usually once every 2-3 years).
planted hippeastrum bulb
Planting a plant in a new soil is carried out as follows:
The first 10-20 days, watering is carried out moderately, once every 4-5 days. This is necessary for good rooting of the bulb.
After that, depending on the plant variety, either the irrigation interval is reduced by 1-2 days, or the amount of liquid increases during irrigation.
Lighting and temperature
All amaryllis are photophilous, this is especially important during the active vegetation of the plant, which occurs in most varieties of hippeastrum after flowering. After all, it is at this time that most plants begin to grow leaves.
It should either be diffused light, or an area with partial fine shading. The ideal option would be the windows of the south side of the house, hung with some kind of diffuser.
Hippeastrum on a window with shading
During the summer, daylight hours are quite enough, however, in the spring-winter period, it should be remembered that the plant needs at least 10 hours of daylight. To organize artificial lighting, it is necessary to use special fluorescent lamps.
The distance from the lamp to the plant must be at least half a meter: in this way, uniform illumination of the leaves is ensured and its protection from thermal burns is guaranteed. If the plant is not illuminated from above, but from the side, it must be regularly deployed.
The temperature regime of a plant can correspond to the usual temperature regime of a dwelling in our climate. So that the bulb does not “freeze” the roots in winter, it is recommended to place a foam or wooden pad under the pot to provide thermal insulation.
Hippeastrum bloom
It should be remembered that regular ventilation of the room, ensuring air circulation are mandatory requirements for growing hippeastrum.However, measures must be taken to protect the plant from drafts that may be at the windows on which it is located. It is necessary either to eliminate the draft, or to isolate the plant from it.
You should also protect the plant from excessive heat coming from heating radiators, fan heaters and convectors. And in general, the stay of the plant in the immediate vicinity of them is not recommended, since these devices dry the air and lead to the evaporation of moisture from the hippeastrum leaves.
If the growth of the hippeastrum has slowed down, or even “stands up”, then it can be forcedly stimulated: for this, it is necessary to place the plants in conditions of temperature from + 30 ° C to + 34 ° C and start watering it abundantly.
Watering
It is produced using settled water with a temperature equal to room temperature or 2-3 degrees higher than it. If it is required to stimulate plant growth, boiled water is used, as it contains less carbonates.
Watering can be carried out both in a pot, directly on the soil, and with the help of a pallet. Water must be evenly distributed over the surface of the soil.
Watering hippeastrum with a watering can
During the active growing season, watering can be carried out almost daily. The main criterion for normal watering should be the absence of stagnant water in the pot in order to avoid root rot.
If the weather is hot, it is allowed to leave water in the pan for some time after watering; this will help the roots not to overheat. After 20-30 minutes, the water is removed from the pan
Air humidity for hippeastrum is not critical. Its dense and elastic leaves are well adapted to dry air. In this regard, it is not recommended to spray the leaves directly - drops of water falling on the base of the leaves and on the bulb can provoke fungal diseases.
fertilizers
Immediately after transplantation, the hippeastrum is not fed for 2-3 months. Top dressing is best applied during the growing season. They are produced every 10 days and are made using liquid complex fertilizers for bulbs. Usually, the day before top dressing, abundant watering of the plant is carried out.
During the growth of the plant, it needs nitrogen, during the setting of flowers - phosphorus
Some flower growers recommend using special tablets or sticks for feeding. This is misleading because it leads to an uneven distribution of fertilizers throughout the root system. The consequence of this approach may be a burn of those parts of the root where the concentration of fertilizer is too high.
The formation of children and the growth of the bulb are provided by potassium.
rest periods
The plant needs rest. It allows him to gain strength before the next flowering. In order to “initiate” the process of dormancy, gradually, starting from August, watering the plants is reduced, completely stopping it in November.
If the plant does not hibernate at the same time, the conditions worsen it even more (for example, they put it in the shade, or put the pot on its side). The yellowed leaves of the dormant hippeastrum are removed only after they have completely died off.
Hippeastrum in hibernation
Throughout hibernation, the plant is kept without glaze and lighting. Often doing this without even taking it out of the pot. Sometimes you can take the bulb out of the pot and store it in a dry, moderately cool place without light. The temperature in this case can reach about + 8-10 ° C, however, this is not necessary, you can keep the pot at normal room temperature.
In the middle of winter, the plant is transplanted into a new pot. (the main thing at the same time is not to forget to prepare a new substrate in advance), it is put into the light for rooting, after two weeks watering is resumed in full - all this has already been described earlier ...
There is also another scheme of hippeastrum hibernation - with the so-called incomplete rest period. At the same time, watering at the beginning of autumn does not stop, while the plants begin to hibernate, but do it at a very slow pace. At the same time, as a rule, they do not dry out all the leaves at once, but one at a time.
As the leaves dry out, they are removed. At the same time, the plant continues, as it were, to be in a “transitional” state: it does not sleep, but it is not awake either, because it does not grow. This mode of "half-sleep" can last about 3 months.
However, at any time it can be interrupted by abundant watering, fertilizing with fertilizers and a sufficient amount of light. After this treatment, the plant begins to bloom in about a few weeks.
In this way, two hippeastrum blooms can be achieved in one year. However, it should be understood that next year it is still desirable for the bulb to go through a complete dormant period so that it can recover.
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reproduction
It can be carried out both with the help of seeds and vegetatively. Seeds are usually used to obtain new varieties or to fix the necessary characteristics. This method is quite laborious and uninteresting for an ordinary grower; it is mainly used by breeders or agricultural technicians.
There are several vegetative propagation methods, but the following are the most popular:
- dividing the bulb
- child bulbs
- with the help of scales
The division of the bulb is carried out as follows: during the dormant period, most often in November, the bulb is dug up to the roots and cut into four pieces right in the pot with a clean tool.
The cut points are sprinkled with charcoal. In the future, the cut bulb is bursting with wire or plastic so that it does not grow together, sprinkled with earth, and all conditions for active growth are created for it.
Sliced hippeastrum bulb
After a few months, in place of one bulb, four small bulbs are obtained, each subsequently planted in its own pot.
Reproduction by scales is used when you need to get the maximum number of bulbs in the minimum time. It is similar to the previously described, but is its more radical version.
At the same time, the bulb is completely dug out, and its roots are cut off, leaving no more than 1-2 cm, after which the bulb, together with the bottom, is cut vertically into 8 or 16 parts, like a pie. In this case, it is necessary that each part has a piece of the bottom with roots.
Next comes a 30-minute treatment of the slices with foundationazole and the sections are processed with charcoal. After that, the bulb segments sit in the washed sand in greenhouse conditions. After about three months, new small bulbs are regenerated from the lobules, ready for transplanting.
Reproduction of hippeastrum scales. And this is just the beginning...
Reproduction by daughter bulbs is the simplest method that does not require the use of any skills, since the hippeastrum produces children in huge quantities. During the year they form several pieces, and if they are not removed in time, they can interfere with the growth of the mother plant.
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In fact, only one variety of hippeastrum is currently grown in indoor floriculture, it is called hybrid hippeastrum. At the same time, the number of varieties of this hybrid exceeds several dozen.
Florists use various classifications of this plant, however, since biologically it is all the same species, varieties are differentiated solely in appearance: flower shape and size.
Most often, growers and breeders of plants use the Dutch classification with the division of varieties into 9 main groups. Let's consider it:
Simple large-flowered varieties
Basically, large-flowered are slow-growing hybrids.
- apple blossom
- Minerva
- Hermes
- chrism
Variety Apple blossom
- Usually there are 4 to 6 large flowers per plant. Their diameter can be from 17 to 22 cm.
- The color is the most diverse: from pale pink to bright red. Plant height 50-60 cm.
- Some varieties, such as Minerva or Hercules, have fewer flowers and a slightly irregular shape, however, due to the veins they have, a visual perception of the flower is created as almost perfect
Grade Minerva
- The stamens of large-sized hippeastrums can often be bent upwards.
- Many flower growers perceive this as a manifestation of the disease, however, this is normal. Despite the large size of the flowers, the stems of the plant are so strong that they do not require additional props.
- Only some varieties of large-flowered plants have a smell, and even then, it is weakly expressed.
Simple mid-flowered varieties
Variety Lemon Star with visible "tan"
- They differ in the average size of the flower (from 14 to 18 cm in diameter), the height of the stems rarely exceeds 50 cm.
- Most often, these varieties have a slight difference in the shape of the outer petals, they are somewhat larger than the inner ones and resemble wide ovals or rhombuses in shape.
- Most varieties have the so-called "tan" - dark areas and stripes on a bright background. The smell of medium-sized flowers is more pronounced than that of large ones.
Typical representatives:
- Lemon Star
- Magnum
- Magic Green
Variety Ferrari with one peduncle
- The number of flowers on one plant rarely exceeds four, mostly arranged 2 per stem, however, sometimes there are very dense inflorescences - up to 4 flowers on one stem.
- In some cases, especially if the stem has grown short, it may even have one flower, the size of which approaches the border separating medium-flowered from large-flowered.
- Of the varieties with a simple form of leaves, medium-flowered ones are the most popular, since they most often manage to get flowers of good quality, in contrast to the same large-flowered ones, which ripen longer and, if they have defects, they attract more attention.
Simple small-flowered
These amaryllis have straight petals and small flowers. Their diameter is not more than 12-13 cm. There are from 2 to 6 flowers on the stems. Stem growth can vary significantly (ranging from 20 to 50 cm).
Typical representatives:
- bianca
- Baby Star
- Apple Mini
- Neon
Grade Neon
- Often, in small-colored hippeastrums, the color of the stamens matches the color of the petals.
- The smell of this group can either be completely absent or be pronounced: the number of smelling and odorless varieties in this group is approximately the same.
Variety Bianca
- Usually the number of arrows in hippeastrums rarely exceeds two.
- Small-flowered ones are a pleasant exception: about a week after the first two arrows begin to bloom, a third appears at the bulb, on which the peduncle and flowers are also formed.
- Thus, we can talk about the second wave of flowering of small-flowered hippeastrums.
Terry large-flowered
In these varieties, large (up to 25 cm in diameter) flowers can be located on stems of various lengths. The arrows can be either very short, up to 25 cm, or exceed 60 cm.
As the name implies, the petals have a terry structure with pronounced veins. Most of the terry varieties have been bred in the last 20-30 years.
Typical representatives of these amaryllis include:
- Sweet Nymphs
- White Peacock
- Dancing Queen
- Aphrodite
Terry variety White Peacock
- A distinctive feature of most terry large-flowered varieties of hippeastrum is about twice as many petals as simple hybrids; some varieties have 15 petals.
- Usually, the petals are oval in shape and all more or less the same size.
- Terry flowers, unlike simple ones, are practically uncharacteristic of symmetry.
- Large buds are arranged in 2-3 pieces on two peduncles.
- If the bulbs have a sufficient supply of nutrients, they can form up to three flower stalks, but the cases of growing such bulbs (more than 11 cm in diameter) are quite rare.
- The stamens of most representatives of these hippeastrums are practically not developed, and sometimes they are completely reduced.
- In some cases, the stamens can degenerate into staminodes, like peonies, which gives the flower an additional decorative effect.
- Examples of such varieties are Aphrodite or Lady Jane.
Variety Aphrodite
- Flowers with this arrangement seem to consist of two parts: from 12 to 17 petals form the outer flower and another 5-10 petals obtained from staminodes - the inner one.
- Terry flowers are much heavier than their "smooth-skinned" representatives, so plastic supports are used to prevent flower arrows from breaking.
- The use of wooden supports is undesirable, since the tree can be infected with pathogenic fungi.
Terry mid-flowered
In these varieties, the diameters of the flowers reach 15-16 cm in diameter. The height of the arrows, as a rule, is small 35-50 cm.
Similarly to large-flowered terry varieties, the central part of the flower may consist of staminodes, however, the number of varieties with this feature is much less than in large ones.
Typical representatives of varieties:
- Jewel
- Double King
- Pasadena
- Uniqway
Medium-flowered terry variety Jewel
- The number of petals of medium-flowered varieties is somewhat less than that of large ones.
- Usually, both the outer and inner (if there are staminodes) parts of the flower contain 5-7 petals each.
- These varieties may also show third arrow formation. It appears in adult bulbs, with a diameter of at least 10.5 cm.
Medium grade Pasadena
- Like large terry, arrows of these varieties need supports, since the masses of flowers are quite significant.
Terry small-flowered
Small flowers, 8-10 cm in diameter, arranged on arrows of medium or low height (from 15 to 35 cm). As a rule, among them there are practically no flowers with staminodes, however, the number of flowers on the peduncle is almost always four.
Peduncles at least two, very rarely three. It often happens that several flowers during development can grow together into one.
Representatives of small-flowered:
- Pamela
- Mini Queen
- Amoris
Hippeastrum Amoris
- Small-flowered bulbs are also medium-sized. Most representatives of these varieties of hippeastrums have a well-defined, pleasant smell.
Fused flowers of the Mini Queen variety
sibistry
Hippeastrum sibistrum
- Or arachnids. Plants of this type got their name for the external similarity of a flower with a spider.
- All of them come from the hybrid "Bolivian Sibistr", which has a characteristic feature in the form of a narrowed perianth.
The following varieties are classified as sibists:
- Emerald
- Rio Negro
- La Paz
Most Siberians have 5-7 narrow petals and fairly long stamens. These are quite hardy varieties that can withstand many painful and uncomfortable conditions.
A distinctive feature of all Siberians is exceptional fertility. Every year, an adult plant forms from 2 to 4 baby bulbs, so sometimes there may be a false idea that 5 or 6 arrows are formed from one bulb.
Variety of La Paz
- In fact, the number of arrows obtained from one bulb is never more than three.
- However, Sibistra almost always form 4 flowers on one peduncle.
Hippeastrums-orchids
The name speaks for itself: the flowers of these varieties are like orchids. As a rule, these are large plants with an arrow height of up to 70 cm and a flower diameter of up to 20 cm.
The color of the flowers can be almost any, often there is a "tan" on the flowers.
Variety Ruby Star
Representatives of orchid hippeastrums:
- Papilio
- Ruby Star
- Exotic Star
- In orchids, as a rule, there are always two arrows on the bulb, and the number of flowers on the peduncle is 2, very rarely 3.
- Almost all of these plants have a pronounced smell.
Tubular hippeastrums
Tubular hippeastrum Rebecca
- They are also called funnel-shaped because of the shape of the flower; they are very elongated and resemble the sound pipes of archaic gramophones.
- Sometimes, unofficially, such hippeastrums are also called "lily" for their resemblance to lilies.
- These are quite large plants: the length of the arrows can be more than 1 m long, and the diameter of the flowers is from 10 to 12 cm with a “funnel” length of at least 15 cm.
Main representatives:
- Amputo
- Santiago
- Pink Floyd
- Rebecca
- Flowers have 5 to 7 petals. Most often they are semi-double.
- The peduncle usually contains 4 flowers.
- The number of arrows from one bulb is 2 or 3.
- Almost all tubulars have
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