Is it still April?…because I am having some strange occurrences in the plant world at my house that are making me think it’s December! Instead of tulips and daffodils in pretty springy pastels, my house is filled with lots of holly, jolly…RED!
For starters, my Christmas amaryllis from five years ago is in full bloom…and HUGE! The little grands are calling it the biggest flower ever…
…but if you have ever seen Little Shop of Horrors, you know what I am thinking…Feed me, Seymour! lol I do have to admit that it is gorgeous in the morning sun, though!
It also bloomed in April two years ago. You can get a better look at it here. I do remember that, when I was a child, our next-door neighbor in south Georgia had a border of them that bloomed every spring…a fabulous display of huge red flowers, so spring is really their normal time to bloom. We just associate them with Christmas as forced blooms.
This time it’s going to have six flowers…amazing! I think I have discovered the secret to making it bloom for me. I leave it outside in the pot all summer in morning sun on the patio. Once cold weather comes, I bring it into the garage and do NOTHING!! That’s right…I ignore it. I don’t even water it. Then in March, it begins to show signs of life again!
That's when I bring it inside and start watering it. That's it! So far, I have only managed to get it to bloom every other year, so three times in five years.
But this year it has an added bonus…an additional stalk for even more flowers is starting to grow! Woo hoo! We’ll see if my new plan works for next year since it’s going to go outside this weekend to begin its summer vacation.
My other little red beauty is my poinsettia from this past Christmas. Yep…five months ago…and it still looks like it did the day I brought it home from the grocery store! It has hardly lost a leaf! My secret for keeping it so pretty? I water it once a week. That’s it. And for some reason it is very happy! It’s going out on the patio this weekend, too, but up high where the staff can’t get at it since I understand it’s not good for them to chew it. 
And here’s another peek at my confused but pretty Christmas flowers! I can’t wait to see how they do during our hot Georgia summer. I’ll keep them in the shady part of the patio and see what happens. I’ll keep you posted with my results!
Baby Kitty says he’s just waiting for all of the flowers to arrive…not because he’s a fan of things that bloom, but because he loves to chase the little lizards and frogs that live in them!How about you? Have you had any luck getting your Christmas flowers to stay pretty? What’s your secret?
Thanks for stopping by! Please visit these wonderful bloggers and their beautiful blogs to see what they are up to and to find a list of this week’s participants.
Under the Table and Dreaming for the Sunday Showcase Party , Thrifty Decor Chick for Before and After Monday , Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday , The Stories of A2Z for Tutorials and Tips Tuesday , Coastal Charm for the Show and Share Party , A Stroll thru Life for Inspire Me Tuesday , My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia for Inspire Me Monday, Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays , Common Ground for Share Your Style on Thursdays , French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday , The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday , Craftberry Bush for the Inspiration Gallery on Friday, Tatertots & Jello for the Link Party Palooza on Fridays
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Debbie, these are so pretty! I don't have Poinsettias in the house because Charlie loves plants and munches them all the time. My Grandgirl arrived on Thur so I'm enjoying time with the new baby and keep Tiger here with me. They all come home today!!
ReplyDeletehugs,
Linda
Too funny! What a coincidence....My Amaryllis didn't even grow at Christmas but it's going gangbusters now.
ReplyDeleteI see a bloom or two starting....I find this so odd!!
Beautiful flowers! Love the Little Shop reference, Ha! :-)
ReplyDeleteDeb, this is so fun and what a wonderful surprise, Amazing blooms. I have to say that picture of baby kitty is breathtaking, what a beautiful kitty. That image should be framed!
ReplyDeleteHappy Saturday,
kathysue
Deb, what gorgeous blooming flowers! Love the reds, the vases and oh my, you so have a green thumb!
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
Nancy
xo
I was just looking at some red & green décor I have out in my home office and was trying to think of how it could work for spring and not be thought of as "Christmas". Your plants have definitely mastered that! They look lovely and you've displayed them wonderfully in the champagne and metal buckets.
ReplyDeleteThe poinsettia should like your outdoor heat, not sure about the humidity. The grow outdoors in S. Cal and of course Mexico and can become shrub size, but they do get leggy in that environment planted in the ground. Are you going to repot with fresh soil?
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely flowers you have,i enjoyed your pictures also and your cat is adorable,thanks Debbie.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite cat, Ernie, thought that any cut flowers were for him and the special water they were in, was the BEST water to drink. I could never, ever have cut flowers with that little devil around. Your kitties are so cute. I had a wonderful asparagus fern that I had to give to my mother because Steve liked to chew it...fur kids, really!
ReplyDeleteLoved your post..... I don't have any "secrets" as to why, but my Christmas cactus is also blooming!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Lanita
Sounds like you have it well figured out and it's paying you back tenfold. It's gorgeous, Deb. "Hi Baby Kitty...sending a hug."
ReplyDeleteLove your "Feed Me Seymour" reference. I just cracked up. But just like the rest of us our plant's don't know what season it is. But what a beautiful surprise.
ReplyDeleteBarbara Ann
etsy.com / shop / barbaraannscreations
Your amaryllis will bloom every year if you feed it regularly during the summer ---any fertilizer will do. I now have 4 big bulbs that came from one original bulb. Each bulb will have at least 2 large stems that flower. If you re-pot it into a new pot and use one of those soil mixes that has fertilizer in it, you can just feed it with a water soluble fertilizer every so often (when you think about it) and you will not only get new flowers, but new bulbs! I live in a northern climate bring it in in September like you, and then pot it about April. I have also just planted it in the ground in the spring,dug it up in September, and just left it bare rooted in a dark cool place for at least 12 weeks. The secret to getting the flowers is the feeding!
ReplyDeleteThis is my experience as well. i plant the volunteers that grow as offshoots and then have even more bulbs. Ive seen the poinsettas in Miami and they seem to thrive in the humidity. teresa
DeleteWow!...Amazing Debbie....By New Year's my poinsettias are really sad looking...I think it may be the heat or something in the house.....I had an amaryllis in Florida that I placed on the bottom of my potting bench when it lost its blooms...and then the next year I noticed a stalk coming up....I had forgotten all about it at the bottom of the bench...never touched it...but yours definitely is amazing!!!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, your poinsettia and amaryllis is beautiful! I have to confess I always toss the poinsettia after Christmas. We have amaryllis blooming right now in our flower bed!
ReplyDelete