How to Grow Red Hippeastrum

Outdoor Growing

• 1

  Spread 1 lb. of 6-12-12 blend fertilizer over every 100 square feet of a well-drained, full-sun garden bed. Turn the fertilizer into the top 8 inches of soil.

• 2

  Plant the red hippeastrum bulbs so that the top third of the bulb sits above the soil surface. Plant with the pointed end facing up. Space the bulbs 6 inches apart in clusters of five to seven bulbs. Space the clusters 12 to 18 inches apart.

• 3

  Spread a 2- to 4-inch layer of mulch over the bed. The mulch conserves soil moisture and protects the hippeastrum bulbs from cold temperatures.

• 4

  Water the bed as necessary to keep the top 6 inches of soil moist. Hippeastrum requires approximately 1 inch of water weekly from rainfall or irrigation.

• 5

  Cut off the flower stalks after they finish blooming. Cut back the foliage after it dies back naturally.

• 6

  Fertilize the beds with 1 lb. of 6-12-12 fertilizer over every 100 square feet each spring before new growth emerges. Sprinkle the fertilizer around the bulb and water the bed thoroughly.

Indoor Growing

• 7

  Fill a pot with potting soil to within 5 inches of the rim. Use a pot that is 1 inch larger in diameter than the diameter of the hippeastrum bulb. Plant hippeastrum bulbs indoors in late November.

• 8

  Set the bulb on top of the soil with the pointed end facing upward. Fill in around the bulb with soil until the bottom half of the bulb is buried.

• 9

  Water the soil until the moisture drains from the bottom of the pot and the soil is evenly moist throughout. Empty the drip tray after the water finishes draining.

• 10

  Set the pot near a window that receives direct sunlight for four hours a day and bright light all day. Keep the hippeastrum in a 70- to 75-degree Fahrenheit location until it blooms, then relocate the pot to a 65-degree location that receives the same amount of light.

• 11

  Water the soil just enough to keep it moist. Increase watering once the hippeastrum begins growing.

• 12

  Fertilize the plant with a soluble bulb fertilizer every two weeks once the plant produces leaves. Apply the fertilizer at the package-recommended rate. Stop fertilizing once the foliage dies back.

• 13

  Cut back the flower after all the buds have finished blooming. Continue to water and fertilize the the hippeastrum until the foliage dies back on its own.