How to make hippeastrum bloom at home

How to make hippeastrum bloom? This question worries many gardeners. After all, with improper care, the plant will sit in a pot and not bloom for years. Some sources offer very brutal methods. Up to pulling the bulbs out of the ground and cutting the leaves under the root. This is very cruel, because it is from the leaves that the outflow of nutrients comes for the continued existence of the plant.

It’s easier for you to fool the hippeastrum than to mock him like that. Now we will tell you all the secrets.

Choose the onion

If your planting material is less than 10 cm in diameter, then this is still a baby. The flowering of the hippeastrum begins when the diameter of the bulb exceeds 12 cm. The most gorgeous bouquet is obtained from Dutch-made planting material with a diameter of more than 25 cm. And with proper care, the bulb grows over 45 cm. Imagine how it blooms?

Of course, you will not find such in our stores. Therefore, choose from the presented assortment. The bulb must be taken elastic, smooth. No wet or dry reddish spots. Top scales should be easy to remove. Found this one? Buy and carry home.

We plant a hippeastrum

Naturally, you made a purchase in the spring. Or in the summer. Now take a suitable pot. Try onion. The distance between it and the sides should be no more than a centimeter. Tightness is the key to future flowering.

The soil. Humus, clean sand and garden earth in equal proportions. Good drainage is required at the bottom. For hippeastrum loves to drink, but does not like to swim.

After drainage, a layer of sand. We have onion on it. And then gently sprinkle it on the sides of the soil. But, no more than half. A deep-seated bulb will not produce a peduncle.

Then gently pour along the edge of the pot. We make sure that moisture does not get on the bulb itself. That's all, now only competent care and a little deception will remain.

We care for hippeastrum

Proper care ensures that in winter you enjoy the huge stars on your windowsill. But for such a powerful flowering, the bulb needs strength. And where to get them, if there is nothing at all in the pot? That's right, from top dressing.

By the way, to calculate the future number of peduncles is very simple on the leaves. For every 4 pieces there is one peduncle.

Watering. Regular, plentiful. If you are afraid to get on the bulb when watering, then just immerse the pot in water for 15 minutes. Then drain the excess and return the hippeastrum to its usual place.

Lighting should be at least 14 hours. Well, in the summer it is enough without your help. By the way, hippeastrum is not at all afraid of direct sunlight. Therefore, it can be safely placed on the southern windowsill.

Periodically, carefully loosen the ground and wait for August.

Cheat hippeastrum

In order for the bulb to produce a flower stalk, it must go through a period of hibernation. And what if the plant is not going to rest? Leaflets instead of wilting are full of health, the bulb instead of resting continues to grow. How to lay a fidget? We need flowers!

Usually, on the side. Lay in the literal sense. No, you do not need to remove the bulb from the pot.The container is simply placed on its side with the plant. At the same time, watering is reduced, feeding is stopped, and the hippeastrum itself is placed in a dark, cool place.

After about a month, all the leaves turn yellow and faded. By the way, they can be cut only after that. Green leaves are highly undesirable. And do not rush to put the pot upright. Hippeastrum wakes up and grows almost immediately. Only will again grow leaves, not flowers.

You will need to hold the sleeping handsome in this position for at least 2.5-3 months. This is the best time for a good rest.

Wake up hippeastrum

About once every two weeks we inspect our sleeping handsome man. When he gets tired of sleeping, he will start releasing a leaf. That's enough to rest, it's time to bloom. We take out the pot into the light. Transplant the bulb into fresh ground. We begin to regularly water it again regularly and feed it tightly. But, only until the appearance of 4 sheets. After this, do not fertilize.

If done correctly, a peduncle will soon appear. And then the chic gramophone stars themselves. By the way, on a bulb with a diameter of less than 20 cm, it is better to leave two peduncles. The rest after blooming, it is desirable to cut. And the cut is in the water for up to three weeks with no signs of wilting. The bulb can be too exhausted from such magnificence. But if the diameter is more than 21 cm, then feel free to leave all the peduncles. Hippeastrum will completely pull them all.

Care after flowering

Immediately after flowering, many gardeners often throw out the bulb. No doubt, she looks completely unappetizing. Dry, sluggish, feel emptiness by touch. Well, how do you like to give out such flowers and look crisp yet! But do not do this. After all, hippeastrum can live up to 20 years.

All that is needed is that it is proper to care for the bulb. But you can admire the flowering every year. To do this, it is recommended to begin to intensively feed and water the bulb a week after the flowers bloom.

As soon as flowering ends, immediately cut the seed box. She pulls a decent amount of nutrients. And, the main secret, the hippeastrum is transplanted so that the bulb is in the soil to the very shoulders. That is, they exclude repeated flowering, which can finally finish the hippeastrum.

Even better if you manage to plant the plant not in a pot, but in the garden for the whole summer. In this case, the bulb will quickly gain strength and return to its usual volume. In the fall, you again send the hippeastrum to sleep, and then you will admire the long flowering.

Useful Tips

1. Often, the uterine bulb gives children. Always plant them. After growing up, they will also bloom. If you leave them attached to a large mother, then they will also deplete her, instead of growing their own roots.
2. By the way, children are not sent to sleep up to a diameter of 5 cm. Let them gain strength first.
3. If it seems to you that the peduncle is too short and stunted, remove the pot and place it on the floor next to the window. In search of light, the flower stalk will pull up a bit. Just don't overdo it. Short and thick will be better to hold huge gramophones of flowers than long and thin.
4. Do not cut the entire peduncle. Remove only the seed box. Its juicy pulp is still full of nutrients. And do not try to pull it out by force. After complete withering, it can be easily pulled out of the bulb without effort.
5. Some varieties of hippeastrum do not need sleep. And by deceiving a plant, you can never wait for flowering. Be sure to check with this seller. Otherwise, just ruin the bulb. This is especially true for varieties with yellow and orange flowers.

How to make hippeastrum bloom? Usually. In the summer there is more to walk, strength to gain from feeding, to sleep in the fall, and in winter and spring it will bloom.

Video: hippeastrum care secrets