About the Care of Amaryllis

Indoor Culture

• As a means of keeping a healthy amaryllis plant and avoiding pests and diseases, maintain consistent care. Vigorous amaryllis plants have a greater ability to resist and overcome problems than stressed plants. Grow your amaryllis plant indoors in a sun-filled location with a minimum of four hours of direct sunlight daily. After the plant flowers, however, keep it in indirect light to keep flowers vibrant. Grow amaryllis bulbs in potting medium with good drainage and a pH of 6.0 to 6.5. Only irrigate once the soil's surface is dry to the touch. Keep the indoor temperature near 75 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal development.

Outdoor Culture

• For outdoor growth, choose a location that provides full morning sun and shaded conditions during the afternoon. Grow amaryllis plants in any type of soil provided that it is extremely well-drained as excessively wet conditions lead to problems like fungal disease. Irrigate to keep soil moist and apply a fertilizer low in nitrogen like a 5-10-10 for best flowering. In addition, lay a 2-inch layer of organic mulch like wood chips to the soil surrounding your amaryllis plant to keep weeds at bay. Deadhead blossoms as they lose color to promote reblooming.

Potential Problems

• Amaryllis plants are susceptible to both pests and diseases. Examine your plants regularly so if problems do arise, you can treat them before severe damage occurs. Look for the most common problems like red blotch, a fungal infection of amaryllis that results in red spots on leaves. Infection can lead to malformed plants, rot and bloom failure. Chewing bugs like caterpillars are prevalent on amaryllis plants. These bugs, as their name suggests, chew plant tissue, leading to disfigurement and diminished health of the plant.

Solutions

• For red blotch on amaryllis plants, this disease is easily prevented but treatment is challenging. If your plant is infected, destroy the entire plant. To avoid this disease, apply a fungicide like thiophanate methyl. For caterpillar problems, simply remove the caterpillars from the amaryllis by hand. Contact your local county extension agent to discuss appropriate insecticides for extreme pest problems as well as for potential treatment if you do not want to destroy your bulbs due to red blotch. However, realize this disease can spread quickly to other amaryllis plants.