We received two lovely gifts earlier in December, having been surprised by not one, but two amaryllis bulbs – a red one and a pink one. I am not generally a fan of houseplants because I struggle to give them the right conditions. I also get bored with them too because many of them stay the same, year after year and attract dust. Recently, our collection has consisted of:
A succession of orchids, the remains of which are in the spare bedroom in the hope that they will leap out of dormancy any minute now.....
A large palm-type triffid, donated by Number One Daughter when her flat could not accommodate it any longer.)
A coral pink Christmas cacti, that reminds me of my mum because she loved them so much. They are weird plants in that the little flower buds form at the tips of the fleshy leaves. She had one once which grew so big we could not sit at the dining table to eat!
A prayer plant (Maranta leuconeura erythroneura). This plant is amusing in that close to the evening, the leaves start slowly folding as if they are praying. Ah!
A Peace Lily (not a lily at all but a Spathiphyllum) which I rescued from an odds and ends shelf at the local DIY store.
A Poinsettia - well you gotta have one of these at Christmas because it is traditional and christmassy. However, we don't go in for trendy pink ones at Springfield, it just has to be gaudy red. My Australian pen-friend tells me that they are the floral emblem for Queensland which is nice. Anyway, they can be a bit temperamental so my advice is to buy them from a good nursery rather than a supermarket. In recent years, I have managed to keep them going for weeks and weeks. I am lucky this year because my friend J gave me one as a present. I must try to ensure it is here to show when she to visits us again in January. But there there was a double leaf drop yesterday.....!
Still, things are generally looking up in the houseplant department because the Christmas cacti has flowered for the first time at Christmas and the arrival of the amaryllis bulbs is turning out to be a refreshing change. I had quite forgotten how interesting these bulbs are. How can a bulb the size of a tennis ball grow so quickly into such a stunning plant?
The flowers are big and blousy, enormous and exotic which is uplifting in the dark days of winter. Both of the bulbs were already sprouting a green shoot, even in their gift boxes. I arranged them in lightly moistened compost and put them in the kitchen where it is warm, as per the instructions. (Since they are tropical in origin, they need a bit of cosseting indoors.) I spend a lot of time at the kitchen sink, so I have been amazed how easy they are to grow, and the speed at which they are racing towards the TV on the wall. The pink one has two fully formed flowers already and another two are yet to open and there is a gentle, pleasant scent in the air. Hopefully, they should flower for several weeks and they are providing ample photo opportunities - Santa also brought me a new camera.
My next trick is to achieve a second flowering from these exotic blooms. If my orchids are anything to go by, I have the feeling that this may not be as easy second time round. Watch this space!
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