How to Care for Amaryllis Flowers - Tips & Tricks

A famous winter bloom is the amaryllis. Their lush and large flowers bring colour and life into any home. The vibrant red varieties are often used for Christmas decorations, bouquets, and arrangements together with conifer twigs, berries, and baubles. To enjoy amaryllis flowers for some time, there are a few things to take care of.

Amaryllis (or to give them their correct botanical name, Hippeastrum) have long, thick, and hollow stems. A single stem is carrying anything from a couple to 15 flowers at its top end. The flowers are very big, and quite a heavy burden on the stem. Left on its own, the stem will bend over once the flowers are fully grown opening up. This can spoil a carefully arranged bouquet to which the amaryllis has been added. As they are very flashy and like to show off, they are a focal point of any florist’s creation, and keeping their flowers in the place intended for them is a necessity.

Amaryllis display at home

If you buy amaryllis for yourself and not in an arrangement or bouquet, remember to ask for some sticks, too. As the stems are hollow, these sticks can be inserted inside. They will keep the stem upright and support the weight of the flowers. If you have a high and narrow vase, one or two amaryllis is all you need to make a fantastic display. The inserted sticks will keep them standing straight for as long as you want to keep them. As an alternative, you can go for three or more stems and just bind them together at the top with some nice ribbon. The stems will support each other and the flowers will provide you with a riotous display.

Keep the flowers in fresh water

To keep an amaryllis happy, change the water in the vase every day. That is a general rule; all flowers like to be kept in fresh water. Flowers don’t usually just die, but are actively killed by water going bad. When left standing in water for a protracted time, germs proliferate and attach themselves to the stem ends. This clogs up the cells and disrupts the water supply to the flower. It is only natural that it will wilt over a short time.

Cut off the stem ends for longer life

Whenever you notice that the stem ends get brown or slimy, cut off a centimetre to allow the flower to continue to drink water. Don’t put the amaryllis into too deep water or you might find the stems starting to rot where they are in the water as they aren’t plants growing in ponds in their natural habitat. They still are heavy drinkers, though, and you should keep an eye out for the water level inside the vase.

Amaryllis as Christmas present

If you are looking for a small Christmas present, you might just buy a single stem of amaryllis, a conifer branch, some baubles and a bit of glitter to produce a natural and splendid looking mini Christmas tree. But the flower is so lovely there are virtually no limits to what you might invent around it.

If you want to have some ideas what amaryllis can do for you, here are some examples from our florists: Amaryllis and roses, Christmas arrangement, and a country bunch.