Hi uh I was given this. I don’t know when since it’s apparently been sitting around my old office and I just learned about it today. I’m pretty sure it’s a poinsettia which I love so I’d like to try to keep her alive. The bottom is coated with a waxy substance that will probably take whatever it’s attached to. Actually now that I’m squeezing it it’s a little squishy BUT it has what looks like new growth at the back. I live in southern california so I know if it is a poinsettia it’ll grow here
Any help would be appreciated
by monster_mash96
10 Comments
It’s an amaryllis of some kind. After exiting dormancy, they’ll grow blooms first, then leaves. You can carefully peel off the red wax and pot the bulb so that its roots will have somewhere to go.
Carefully remove the wax, then put the bulb in a pot only about an inch or so larger than the bulb and cover it halfway with soil
It is an amaryllis. There’s different types and they are beautiful. They are not hard to care for. I have some in the ground and some in pots.Believe it or not some even bloom without soil. Could believe my eyes when I first saw it. You can google more info.
And be patient. They do well outside in SoCal. If it puts out leaves, it will probably recover from the waxing. They normally bloom in the spring but it may need a good energy recovery year before blooming again.
When it’s done flowering you can remove the entire stock at the base. And, another one typically grows. When it’s done for the season cut it back, remove the wax and plant it in the garden.
It might flower again. Thats what that little shoot thing coming up is. Cut off the main stem as close to that shoot as you can. Give it light and watch it grow. Once it stops making more flowers, then remove the wax and plant.
if you are in calif. wait till spring and plant it in the ground. it comes back every year.
I’ve owned a Trader Joe’s amaryllis for four years and it blooms twice a year. All I did was remove the wax and stick it in a pot.
My mom gets these from trader Joe’s every Christmas! She’s had some for going on 3 or 4 years now.
After they finish the first bloom, she cuts the stalk (any green parts), peels off the wax and half buries it in an indoor planter. They’ll bloom again and are pretty neglect friendly lol
She fine. Let it go throw its cycle and die. Maybe try to get the wax off and rest it for a season before trying again, but amaryllis is really cheap and easy to acquire. Just my 2 cents.