Hippeastrum is a very beautiful bulbous perennial plant of the Amaryllidaceae family, which is very popular among gardeners for its high decorative qualities. Hippeastrum is native to South America. Monotonous, dull, dusty and flat steppes for many, many kilometers, which completely burn out in the summer under the merciless scorching sun, turning into a desert - the usual conditions for the growth of hippeastrum.

Hippeastrums have adapted to such a life. During the period of heavy spring rains, they quickly come to life, and the steppes are covered with a continuous carpet of blooming hippeastrums.

But there are especially many hippeastrums in Brazil. Brazilian hippeastrums, growing on desert plateaus and high-mountain meadows, have very beautiful flower colors: red on the outside and white on the inside. Also found in the wild is a species of hippeastrum with bright red, carmine flowers that shimmer like velvet in the sun.

In North America, there is a special type of Virginian hippeastrum, which grows in damp and shady forests. The flowers of this type of hippeastrum are of variable color: at the beginning of flowering they are purple, gradually the color becomes less intense and turns into pink, and then the flowers become white.

Often flower hippeastrum confused with amaryllis. However, experts will never confuse them: there is only one type of amaryllis - amaryllis belladonna, or beautiful (Amaryllis belladonna), the color of amaryllis flowers is mainly pink, amaryllis blooms in autumn and blooms in winter.

Among the hybrid hippeastrums, there are so many different shades and colors of flowers that it’s amazing, from snow-white to purple. Hippeastrum flowers are very large, can reach 20 cm in diameter, and there are up to six flowers on a peduncle. Hippeastrum blooms in spring or late winter. If you wish, you can force hippeastrum to bloom twice a year, which cannot be done with amaryllis. The leaves of hippeastrum are belt-shaped, dark green in color, can grow along with the blooming of flowers, and sometimes appear after flowering.

Hippeastrum care

Dishes. Narrow and tall pots are better suited for growing hippeastrum, because in addition to the bulb, the hippeastrum also has roots that are quite long and during the dormant period they do not die off, but continue to feed the bulb.

You also need to observe the planting depth of the hippeastrum. The bulb should rise from the ground by one third. And don’t try to fill the pot too much with soil; it’s better to wait until it settles on its own and add soil to the desired height. Pots should not be too wide in size; it is enough if the distance between the wall of the pot and the bulb is only 2-3 cm. In too wide a container, hippeastrum may not bloom for a long time.

Earth mixture: turf soil, peat, sand, humus in a ratio of 2:1:1:1. The soil mixture for hippeastrums must be nutritious, water- and breathable with a neutral or alkaline pH reaction of the soil. Also do not forget about the drainage layer. Also, when transplanting hippeastrum, you can use ready-made purchased soil for bulbous plants.

Lighting. Hippeastrum is a light-loving plant, so it is advisable to keep it on south-west, south or south-east windows. The light can be either direct sunlight or bright diffused light. Hippeastrum hybrids that lose leaves during the dormant period can be moved to a cooler, darker place with the hippeastrum bulb.

Air temperature. Hippeastrum grows well at room temperature. In summer, the usual room temperature is +20 +25 0 C. In winter, the air temperature may be slightly lower.

Watering. At the beginning of winter, in order for the hippeastrum to wake up and come out of the dormant period, it is placed on a bright window. During this period, the hippeastrum has no leaves, it is not watered, otherwise the bulb can easily be destroyed. Until the flower arrow appears, the hippeastrum does not need to be watered. After the peduncle appears and until the flower shoot grows to 7-10 cm, watering the hippeastrum should be weak, otherwise the leaves will begin to grow to the detriment of the flowers. It is better to water in a tray or along the edge of the pot, without getting water on the bulb. As the peduncle grows, watering increases.

After the hippeastrum blooms, the leaves and bulb begin to grow, new flower stalks are laid for the next year, during this period watering should be regular. By the end of summer, watering stops. At this time, the hippeastrum begins a period of rest. The pot with hippeastrum can be placed in a cool place and not watered. If the room temperature is high, you can water it occasionally a little at a time so that the bulb does not dry out. Hippeastrum does not need high air humidity, so it does not need air spraying; it prefers dry conditions.

Top dressing. The first fertilizing of the hippeastrum can be done when the height of the flower shoot is approximately 15 cm. If the hippeastrum has recently been transplanted and there are enough nutrients in the soil, fertilizing can be done later. When feeding, focus on phosphorus-potassium fertilizers. They promote flowering, accumulation of nutrients in the bulb, and the formation of future flower stalks. But it is better to exclude nitrogen fertilizers, they can provoke gray rot, and the plant can be irretrievably lost.

Transfer. 30-40 days after the end of flowering, the hippeastrum can be replanted. Annual replanting is not at all necessary, but in this case, change the top layer of soil every year, because hippeastrum quickly consumes nutrients from the soil, and this will later affect flowering. You can also replant hippeastrum before it comes out of dormancy, that is, at the end of December.

Rest period. Hippeastrum needs a period of rest in order to bloom annually. It usually lasts from late summer to late October. When preparing hippeastrum for the dormant period from the end of summer, you need to limit watering and fertilizing. In many hippeastrums, the leaves die off completely.

Hippeastrum, if desired, can be grown without a pronounced dormant period. Then you need to keep it all year round on a bright, sunny window in a warm room, water it with warm water as the soil dries out, preferably in a tray. With this care, hippeastrum can bloom in the fall in October - November or in the spring in March - May. The dark green leaves of hippeastrum remain healthy throughout the year and do not lose their beauty.

Reproduction of hippeastrum. Hippeastrum is easily propagated by daughter bulbs that are completely identical to the mother plant. Children more than two centimeters are separated from the main bulb during transplantation. Young plants bloom in 2-3 years.

But what to do if some varietal hippeastrums do not produce children? In this case, hippeastrum can be propagated as follows: cut a healthy hippeastrum bulb into two to four parts with a clean and sharp knife so that each lobe has a part of the bottom. Carefully treat the onion sections with crushed coal and dry for two to three days. After the cut dries, each share can be added to a mixture of sand and peat or perlite. There is no need to bury such an onion; it should simply lie with its bottom on the surface of the earthen mixture.

But you can not completely cut the hippeastrum bulb to the end, but just make deep cuts so that the bulb is divided into two or four parts, but does not fall apart completely. The sections are treated in the same way with crushed coal and also dried for two to three days. After which the bulb is simply placed on an earthen mixture of sand and peat or perlite. Watering of such bulbs is carried out only through a tray. After some time, babies appear at the base of the cut onion.

Hippeastrum can be pollinated and propagated by seeds. In this case, sometimes a completely unpredictable result is obtained (so to speak, the breeder is his own breeder).

After pollination of the hippeastrum, a seed box is formed on the peduncle. In this case, there is no need to remove the peduncle; wait until the seeds ripen. But remember that such a procedure can greatly weaken the bulb, which will again affect flowering in the future: the flowers will be smaller, or the plant will not bloom at all. It is good to carry out experiments with hippeastrum seeds in open ground, where bees fly and the bulb will gain nutrients from the ground while the seeds are ripening.

Hippeastrum seeds are sown immediately after collection, otherwise they quickly lose their viability. Planting of seeds to a depth of one centimeter, seedlings appear in two to three weeks. Hippeastrum seedlings are light-loving, so place them in a bright place. To help small hippeastrums grow better, you can feed them with a weak solution of liquid mineral fertilizers. Young hippeastrums do not need a rest period.

Pests. The main pests of hippeastrum are spider mites, mealybugs, scale insects, and onion mites. Pests visible to the naked eye can be removed manually with a sponge or cotton wool soaked in an alcohol solution, after which the plant is repeatedly treated with a solution of Actellik, Fitoverm or Karbofos.

When planting in open ground, do not plant hippeastrum next to other bulbous plants, such as lilies, otherwise hippeastrum may be damaged by onion mite. The bottom of the bulb begins to rot and gradually the entire bulb rots.

Diseases. One of the most dangerous diseases of hippeastrum is red bulb burn, or staganosporosis. At the first detection of red stains and dots on the hippeastrum bulb, without regret, cut out all foci of infection to healthy tissue. Trim off any affected leaves and dead roots. All sections and the bulb itself must be treated with phytosporin, foundationol, and Maxim.

Dry the treated hippeastrum bulb for a week and see if new foci of infection appear. If everything went well, then plant the hippeastrum bulb in a new pot and a new substrate. At first, minimal watering and only in a tray with solutions of phytosporin and foundation to ensure disinfection. In this case, planting the bulb should be as high as possible, this will allow you to control the condition of the bulb. If everything goes well, then the soil can then be filled to the desired height. The main thing is to preserve the onion.

In addition to the red burn, hippeastrum can be affected by anthracnose and fusarium. Treatment is almost the same as for a red burn: removal of damaged tissue, repeated treatments with phytosporin, foundationazole, Maxim.

Remember, diseases appear from an incorrectly selected soil mixture, excess nitrogen fertilizers, improper watering (too much, or water got into the middle of the bulb), from lack of light. If the keeping conditions are chosen correctly, then the hippeastrum will delight you with its flowering for a long time.

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Many gardeners who have recently acquired a hippeastrum indoor plant? They often ask if he needs a period of rest. The hippeastrum should subside. This will allow you to regulate its flowering period and improve vegetative development.

The rest period of the hippeastrum - when it occurs and how it proceeds

When and how should hippeastrum be put to sleep and why does hippeastrum need a rest period:

• hippeastrum needs a rest period to regulate flowering and normal development- any experienced florist will say the same. You need to put to rest those bulbs that bloomed in the spring. Young bulbs (under three years of age) do not need to be sent to rest. In some cases, hippeastrum blooms once in the spring, and a second time closer to October-November. In this case, the hippeastrum bulb is put to rest if it does not send out new leaves after flowering. This can be checked by spreading the middle of the crown at the base of the leaves. If no new forcing is expected there and the hippeastrum does not bloom, then the plant can be prepared for sleep;

• The hippeastrum is prepared for the rest period as follows: it is NOT WATERED AT ALL. They start doing this in mid-September. By the end of September, the plant with its lush crown is moved to a dark and cool place where there is no sun rays at all or their amount is minimal. The room temperature should not rise above 13 degrees. In such conditions, the leaves of the hippeastrum begin to dry out and, as they become dead, they are removed. It is not recommended to cut off the still green leaves and thus forcibly send the hippeastrum into a dormant period. All nutrients from the leaves must go to the bulb. By cutting off the green leaves, you deprive the bulb of a significant supply of nutrients. As a result, the plant, even if it has planted a flowering arrow, will bloom sparingly and instead of 4-5 buds it will throw out only 1 or 2 pieces;
• the dormant period of the hippeastrum begins when it begins to shed its leaves. They lose color and begin to dry out. As a result, the plant loses its entire crown. Hippeastrum without foliage should be kept in a dark and cool place until January-February. At this time, the bulb cannot be watered, otherwise it will rot;
• the dormant period of the hippeastrum ends when it begins to throw out a flower-bearing arrow. If this does not happen, the plant begins to wake up on its own. It is taken out to a warm and well-lit place and carefully watered. In this case, you don’t need a lot of liquid, again, so that the onion doesn’t rot.

Hippeastrums in the garden in summer. In such cases, they are dug up in September and transferred from the soil in pots to a warm room. However, there is no need to stimulate the further development of the plant (growth of a green crown) at home. It is better to immediately move the pot with the plant to a dark and cool place and wait until the flower begins to shed its leaves. During the same period, it is possible to separate the adult bulb from possible children that formed in the summer.

Hippeastrum is a genus of perennial bulbous plants belonging to the Amaryllidaceae family, which has about 90 species. They grow in the tropics and subtropics of the Amazon River basin. In Europe, they became acquainted with the flower in the 18th century. Since that time, hippeastrum has been cultivated as a houseplant, which has gained popularity with its bright, spectacular flowering, the presence and decorativeness of which directly depend on compliance with the conditions of keeping the flower and proper care for it.

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Description

Spectacular and fairly easy to grow hippeastrums have long been of interest to breeders. Varieties differ in the size and color of the corolla. Based on these characteristics, they are divided into 9 groups, among which there are simple and double, large-, medium- and small-flowered.

At home, hybrid hippeastrum is most often cultivated. This is a fairly large plant with long (up to 70 cm) linear (4–5 cm wide) shiny leaves and shallow grooves along the entire length. Most representatives of the species have green ones. There are forms with a reddish (purple) tint of foliage, which makes the plant even more attractive. The leaves grow in pairs, in 2 rows.

During flowering, the plant produces a tall (up to 60-80 cm) and powerful peduncle. It bears an umbrella inflorescence consisting of large (length 15 cm, width up to 25 cm) funnel-shaped buds. Corollas can be painted in a wide range of shades: from white, pink, orange to red and purple. Sometimes there are even yellow and greenish ones. The background shade can be supplemented with specks and strokes.

Hippeastrum blooms once a year, in spring. The alternate opening of its buds ensures the duration (3-4 weeks) of this spectacular spectacle. At the end of flowering, fruits are formed - seed pods.

Hippeastrum is often confused with amaryllis or considered to be two names for the same flower. These opinions are wrong. Hippeastrum and amaryllis are related, belonging to the same family and very similar in appearance, but belonging to different genera.



Features of the growing season

The life cycle of hippeastrum consists of 2 phases: a period of rest and active vegetation.

Each phase of the cycle has a certain duration and its own characteristics.



Streptocarpus - conditions of detention, reproduction, flower care

Rest period

The natural dormant period of the hippeastrum begins in September. Its approach is indicated by gradually drying leaves, fading flowers and an increasing size of the bulb. After the leaves dry, they are removed.




The bulbs are stored in a cool (10-12 °C), dark and dry place directly in the pot. They must be covered with light-proof material. Storage of bulbs removed from the container is allowed. In this case, they are placed in boxes or bags made of dense material.

Ideally, the hippeastrum rests for 8 to 10 weeks. The presence of a dormant period and its duration is a decisive factor determining the decorative flowering of a plant. An insufficiently rested hippeastrum will form small buds or refuse to bloom at all.



Stages of vegetation

The active growing season of the flower begins at the end of January, beginning of February. It consists of several sequential stages.

A feature of hippeastrum and one of its differences from amaryllis is that the life cycle of the flower can be corrected. For example, you can stimulate the beginning of flowering for a certain month or send it to rest.

Growing conditions

Hippeastrum grows in any room, but it looks different.

For good development and flowering, the plant needs to create certain conditions that are not the same throughout its growing season.

Lighting

During the dormant period, the flower does not need light. Its bulbs are stored in the dark. Then they are gradually accustomed to light: in the first days they are placed away from its source, in the back of the room.

With the appearance of leaves, hippeastrum is placed on window sills. During active growth and emergence of the peduncle, the plant needs good lighting, excluding direct sunlight.

Light is also necessary after flowering for the ripening of the bulb and seeds. To avoid deformation of the leaves and peduncle, the pot with the plant is periodically rotated around its axis.

Air temperature and humidity

The optimal temperature for storing hippeastrum bulbs is 10... 12 ° C. During the transition period between dormancy and growing season, the plant needs warmth: 23... 25 ° C. During flowering it is cool: 16...20 degrees Celsius. At higher temperatures, the flowering time will be noticeably shortened.

For a vegetative flower, not only the temperature regime is important, but also the presence of fresh and humid air in the room. Therefore, in the warm season, it is often taken out into the open air, protected from direct sunlight and waterlogging.

Care measures

Caring for a plant in different phases of its growing season is not the same.

During the dormant period, with the correct placement of the bulbs, the flower requires almost no attention. It is enough to carry out an inspection once a month. During this, the soil is slightly moistened, avoiding water getting on the bulb.

Caring for a vegetating plant consists of carrying out the usual activities for gardeners (watering, fertilizing and replanting). A sharp change in conditions and their prolonged violation provoke a refusal to flower.

Watering

The hippeastrum is watered with settled water at room temperature, adjusting the frequency and abundance of moisture at different stages:

• During the transition period between rest and growing season, when the first leaves appear, water rarely and in small portions. The soil should be dry between waterings.
• When the flower arrow appears (beginning of February), water more often. The soil should be slightly moist between moistenings.
• During flowering, water regularly and abundantly.
• After this, during the active growth of leaves, the frequency and abundance of watering is gradually reduced, reducing to 1-2 times a month by the beginning of September.

The ideal option is to alternate watering from above and below, through a tray. The first is carried out carefully, along the edge of the pot, trying not to get on the bulb. This can cause it to rot. This alternation of moistening methods promotes uniform distribution of moisture throughout the earthen clod. This is important to prevent root rotting. For the same reason, hippeastrum tolerates insufficient moisture better than excess water.

Top dressing

Throughout the growing season, hippeastrum is fed once every 2 weeks with mineral fertilizers. Fertilizing is carried out after watering, which is important to prevent burns of the roots.

Fertilizers are selected taking into account the growing season of the flower:

• At the very beginning, when the first leaves appear, fertilizing is carried out with liquid fertilizers for deciduous plants containing large amounts of nitrogen, as well as phosphorus and potassium. The ideal nutrient ratio is 7:3:6.
• After the leaves grow, apply fertilizers of a similar composition, but with a lower nitrogen content: respectively 4:6:12.
• During the emergence and growth of the peduncle to a height of 13-15 cm, fertilizing with mineral fertilizers is supplemented by moistening the soil with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. A week after this, any phosphorus fertilizer is applied.
• In August (a month before the onset of the dormant period), fertilizing is carried out with fertilizers rich in potassium and containing nitrogen and phosphorus (12: 4: 4).

Regular, timely and balanced application of fertilizers will ensure high quality flowering and leaf growth necessary for bulb formation.

Transfer

Hippeastrum is replanted every 3-4 years. The optimal time for this procedure is the end of the rest period. To replant, you will need a new pot and a substrate of a certain composition.

Narrow plastic pots with a drainage compartment and holes for water drainage are suitable for hippeastrums. The diameter of the container is selected to match the onion. It is placed strictly in the middle. There should be 3-5 cm left from the sides of the bulb to the walls of the pot.

A large number of babies are formed in a wide pot. This leads to its depletion, which results in a refusal to flower.

Hippeastrum is picky about soil composition. The main indicators of its suitability for growing a flower are:

• high air and water permeability;
• average acidity level (maximum pH limit = 6).

Such a substrate can be prepared from 2 parts of clay-turf soil mixed with leaf soil, humus, peat and sand, taken in an amount of 1 part. To grow a flower, commercial soil for bulbous plants with the addition of a small amount of sand is suitable.

Transplantation technique

The plant is replanted using the transshipment method, which preserves the integrity of the roots and facilitates the rapid adaptation of the bulb to the new pot. Before the procedure, the flower is watered.



The roots are carefully examined. If there is damage, dark spots or rot, the bulb is freed from the soil and treated:

• cut off all damaged areas;
• lubricate the cut areas with brilliant green;
• incubate for 30 minutes in a fungicide solution (Fundazol, Maxim).

Drainage is placed at the bottom of the container. 1/3 of the substrate is poured on top of it and an earthen ball is placed on it. The voids are filled with the remaining soil. Deepen by 2/3.

In case of transplanting a damaged and treated bulb into a substrate, sphagnum moss is used instead of humus. The soil is poured over the drainage. The bulb is buried no more than 1/4. With such a planting, it is more convenient to control its condition. Subsequently, making sure that everything is in order with it, the soil is filled up to the usual level.




After planting, place the container with the bulb in a warm, shaded place and do not water it until the first leaves appear.

After separation, they are planted for growing in individual or common containers, buried 2/3, and left in the light.




Caring for them consists of regularly moistening the soil with small portions of warm water. The bulbs do not rest until the first flowering; you should not artificially force them to do this.

Pests and diseases

The succulent leaves of hippeastrum attract sucking insects. Most often these are aphids, mealybugs and spider mites.

Pest control is as follows:

• Aphids are destroyed with Actellik.
• Spider mites are washed off with warm water.
• If the plant is severely infested with mealybug, the plant cannot be saved. Single clusters of insects are removed manually using a solution of karbofos (20 to 40 drops per 1 liter of water) or soap.

Hippeastrums rarely get sick. Among the possible diseases, the most common are anthracnose (treated with the drug “Fundazol”, treating once every 2 weeks) and viral mosaic (incurable, the affected plant is destroyed).

Secrets of flowering

It happens that hippeastrum refuses to bloom. The reason for this is most often a weakening of the bulb caused by:

• absence or very short period of rest;
• soil depletion resulting from the absence of fertilizing and replanting;
• the formation of a large number of children on the bulb;
• gross and prolonged violation of the conditions of keeping the flower;
• pest damage.

Some secrets will help induce flowering:

1. 1. Before planting, soak the bulb in warm (43–45 ºC) water for 3 hours. The peduncle will appear after 3 weeks.
2. 2. In August, stop watering the flower and place it in a dry and dark place until the end of January. Resumption of watering stimulates the appearance of flowering after 1.5 months.
3. 3. By cutting off the leaves in July and not moistening the plant until the end of the month, you can cause flowering at the end of August, if you fertilize with liquid complex fertilizer with the first watering.

A little attention and work, and the hippeastrum will surprise you with the beauty of its flowering.

Houseplants with bright, beautiful flowers are the pride of any gardener. One of these impressive and spectacular specimens is the hippeastrum flower. Caring for it at home is not at all difficult, and all the work more than pays off with unusually beautiful flowering. A huge variety of species and a fairly simple propagation process make this plant a frequent guest in the collections of gardeners.

The houseplant hippeastrum is a flowering bulbous plant. Its homeland is the tropical part of South America, mainly the Amazon basin. From this area, bright “gramophones” on long stems spread throughout all subtropical and tropical regions. The number of varieties known today reaches 90, and the number of hybrid varieties has long exceeded 600.

With proper care, the hippeastrum bulb lives for many years and regularly produces flower stalks - long stems on which several large buds, up to 14 cm in diameter, appear. Some bulbs can produce 2 peduncles per season, but for this they must be large and quite leafy. Arrows with future buds are formed in every fourth scale, therefore, for flowering it is necessary that the plant produces at least 4 leaves.

Hippeastrums bloom between January and April. At first, the bulb quite quickly shoots out an arrow up to 1.2 meters long. Then large buds appear on it, the flowering time of which is 2-3 weeks.

Reproduction of hippeastrum

Can happen in several ways. The simplest and most natural way is to monitor the appearance of children on adult bulbs and separate them.

Vegetative method

The baby is planted in a small pot, replanting as it grows. The first peduncle will appear on it no earlier than in 3 years.

Tip: to avoid damaging the baby, separate it with a confident rotating motion.

Another option for vegetative propagation is dividing the bulb. To do this, an adult, strong and large-diameter onion is cut into equal parts (from 2 to 8) so that each of them has roots. The resulting slices are sprinkled with crushed charcoal in the cut areas and planted in the prepared substrate. During the season, with proper care, each part will give rise to a new baby.

You should work with bulbs carefully, because their juice is poisonous. Ingestion of small amounts may cause vomiting and diarrhea. It is also better to avoid contact of the bulbs with the skin and mucous membranes.

Propagation by seeds

You can grow hippeastrum from seeds. This method is longer and more labor-intensive, and it will most likely not be possible to reproduce the variety due to the fact that most of these plants are hybrids. The advantage of the method is that, if successful, it allows you to obtain many seedlings at one time. The gardener’s algorithm of actions should be as follows:

1. Using a brush, transfer pollen from the stamens of one flowering hippeastrum to the stigma of another. For pollination to be successful, it is better to carry it out twice, choosing sunny days for this.
2. If fertilization is successful, a fruit will appear from the mother flower at the end of flowering - a box with seeds. In a fairly warm climate, at a temperature of at least 22°C, the seeds ripen in about 60 days. If the box has dried out and started to crack, it’s time to start collecting and sowing.
3. The substrate for hippeastrum seeds consists of turf and leaf soil, sand and humus in a ratio of 1:2:2:1. The soil should be moist, but not too wet.
4. For seed germination, an air temperature of up to 25°C is important.
5. When the seedlings have 2 leaves, they can be transplanted into small pots.

Plant care

Growing hippeastrum at home does not require a lot of time and effort from the gardener. The plant is quite unpretentious, and its important advantage is the ability to regulate flowering time. It is important to separate the periods of flowering and dormancy so that the plant develops and delights with beautiful flowers.

Air temperature and humidity

The temperature comfortable for the plant is determined by the period of its growth. To drive the peduncle and flower, the air must be warmed to 22-25°C, and during the dormant period 15-13°C is sufficient. High humidity is not required; it is enough to maintain it at an average level, occasionally spraying the plant.

Lighting

During the flowering period, hippeastrum needs bright light. A western or eastern window is the best option. The south side is good if it is possible to shade it. The north side is absolutely not suitable.

Watering

During flowering, hippeastrum should be watered quite often, but not too much. The soil should be moist, not wet, and have time to dry out between waterings. Watering should be increased from the moment the peduncle reaches 10-12 cm in length. During the dormant period, watering should be stopped.

Fertilizer

Proper care of hippeastrum involves feeding the plant. It should be produced during the growing season with complex mineral fertilizers. It is better if the concentration is small and the frequency is 2 times a month. You should not use organic fertilizers, because they provoke the development of fungi, which often infect bulbous plants.

The soil

The substrate for hippeastrum must be fertile and loose. Garden soil with the addition of humus and coarse sand is suitable. Good drainage made of expanded clay and a pot with a hole are a must.

Planting and transplanting

A correctly planted bulb rises halfway above the soil surface. You should not take a very large pot, otherwise the plant will spend a lot of energy developing the root system. It is optimal if there is 1.5-2 cm from the bulb to the wall of the pot. Hippeastrum is transplanted as needed, usually once every 2-3 years, after the end of the growing season.

Rest period

Hippeastrum after flowering should go into a dormant period. By this time, yellowed leaves should be removed, fertilizing removed and watering gradually stopped. The pot with the bulb is transferred to a dark and cool place. As a rule, the dormant period lasts from early autumn to January. After this, the plant is placed on a shady windowsill until the peduncle hatches.

Advice: to speed up the release of the peduncle and the flowering of the hippeastrum, you can arrange stressful conditions for it. To do this, cut off the existing leaves, stop watering and place the pot in a dark place for a month. After this, they place it on a sunny windowsill and begin to water it abundantly with warm water. Within a month, a peduncle appears.

Possible difficulties in care

Providing comfortable conditions for the growth, development and flowering of hippeastrum is not so difficult, however, there are some problems and pests that gardeners may encounter.

The leaves and flower stalks of the plant can be affected by powdery mildew, scale insects, aphids and spider mites. Their appearance is indicated by plaque and any changes on the surface of the leaves.

In addition, bulbous plants are often affected by fungal diseases and rot. To avoid this, it is recommended to control the degree of soil moisture, treat the bulbs with foundationazole and the soil with fungicidal agents before planting.