Hippeastrum: planting, care and cultivation

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Domestic hippeastrums, like most bulbous plants, are in dire need of a dormant period when they cannot be watered, loosened and other active manipulations can not be performed. It is better for this time to “forget” about the flowers altogether, without making any agricultural practices. Hippeastrums are also suitable for growing in hydroponic culture, that is, on such substrates that do not contain soil impurities.

Hippeastrum belongs to the Amaryllis family . Homeland – subtropics and tropics of South America.

The genus includes about 75 subtropical and tropical American species, widely bred in indoor culture and greenhouses, and in the south – in open ground. It is often confused with amaryllis, but it differs in origin, flowering time, flower structure and the size of the flower arrow.

There are hybrids obtained from crossing various types of bulbous hippeastrum with a South American species of amaryllis.

What does a bulbous hippeastrum flower look like: photo and description

Hippeastrum is a bulbous plant up to 60 cm high. The leaves are bright green, 40-50 cm long, wide, belt-like, two-row, shiny, leathery.

The flowering period is from February to June. Large flowers (up to 15 cm in diameter) are located on a long hollow peduncle. If the bulbs are large, about 12 cm in diameter, then 2-3 peduncles can develop.

The color of the flowers is the most diverse – white, orange, pink, bright red, purple.

As you can see in the photo, the hippeastrum flowers are large, funnel-shaped, up to 15 cm in diameter:

Peduncle leafless, sometimes hollow inside. Some species have stripes of a different color along the edges of the flowers. There are hybrids with rounded petals.

Blooms in winter or early spring.

Currently, there are a large number of varieties that differ in the shape and color of flowers.

Hippeastrum hybrid has 3-6 huge tubular flowers on a powerful stem up to 60 cm tall. The flowers are red, pink and white, sometimes two-colored. There are semi-double forms. It blooms in a leafless state, in late winter or spring. The flower arrow develops quickly.

Large, belt-shaped leaves usually appear either with or after the blooming of the flowers. Before flowering in winter, they do not need to be placed in the dark. A plant with a pronounced dormant period. Therefore, lush flowering is possible only if the alternation of periods of growth and rest is observed.

See what the hippeastrum looks like in these photos:

Maintenance and care of hippeastrum: how to plant a flower

The flower is propagated mainly by bulbs and children. With seed reproduction, varietal characteristics are not completely transmitted to offspring. Seedlings bloom in the 3-4th year. Flowers are artificially pollinated to obtain seeds. When grown in earth mixtures in summer, they are kept on a sunny window or on a balcony, watered and fed abundantly. In August, after the end of growth, watering is gradually reduced, at the end of September, dead leaves are cut off, watering is stopped completely and only occasionally (about once a month) water is poured into the pan to prevent the roots from dying off, however, the earth in pots with resting bulbs should be to the touch dry, not wet. Pots with resting bulbs are kept in a dry and dark place at a temperature of about + 7–10 ° C. Lower temperatures are harmful to indoor hippeastrums, even during the dormant period.

In December-February, pots with bulbs are placed in a warm place with a temperature of + 20–25 ° C (for example, near a stove or a central heating radiator) and they are not watered at all until a flower arrow appears, after which the pots are transferred to a bright window and poured into a pallet warm water so that the dried earth is well saturated with it. If the water has cooled down, and the top layer of the earth in the pot is still dry, the cooled water is replaced with warm water several times. Until the flower arrow reaches 7–9 cm in height, it is watered very sparingly, otherwise the leaves will grow and the flowers will not develop. Then watering is gradually increased.

30–40 days after flowering, hippeastrums are transplanted into a nutrient mixture composed of leafy, humus and soddy soil mixed with washed coarse sand (1:2:1:1). With proper cultivation and care, hippeastrums are transplanted every 2-3 years. An annual transplant is not necessary, but it is necessary to change the top layer of the earth every year. When transplanting, the bulbs are taken out of the pot, shake off all the old earth from the roots and cut off the rotten roots with a sharp knife. The bulb should sit no deeper than 2/3 of its height in the ground. Transplanted indoor hippeastrums are kept on a bright window in a warm room and watered with warm water. Pots should not be too spacious. It is enough if the distance between the wall and the bulb is 2–3 cm. In a very spacious container, the plant may not bloom for a long time.

To plant the hippeastrum correctly, as experienced growers advise, the seeds must be placed in light soil and sprinkled with leaf humus. Shoots appear in 2-3 weeks. Seedlings with two leaves are transplanted into pots with a diameter of 9 cm. The next spring they are transplanted into pots with a diameter of 11–13 cm. In the third year in spring, large bulbs are transplanted into fresh soil. Seeds can not be stored, as they quickly lose their germination.

A faster way to vegetatively propagate a hippeastrum flower at home is to divide the bulbs. From one mature bulb you can get up to 40 babies. The onion is cut so that each part has a piece of bottom and scales, the slices are sprinkled with crushed charcoal and the onion slices are planted in boxes with a light peat mixture. After 40-50 days, babies are formed, which are planted in pots next spring.

Indoor hippeastrum flowers can be grown without a dormant period. Then they are kept all year round on a sunny window in a warm room and watered with lukewarm water as the earth dries up. With this care, they bloom in October-November or between March and May. The leaves remain healthy throughout the year and do not lose their beauty.

Many flower growers advise planting and caring for hippeastrum in a hydroponic culture. It is grown in double flowerpots on a nutrient substrate of expanded clay with sand in a ratio of 2: 1 on a solution of LTA-2. Hydroponic cultivation is not difficult at all. In the autumn-winter period, when the leaves have died off, the plant is kept somewhere in a semi-dark place at + 7-8 ° C in a solution of very low concentration (25-45%), periodically moistening the expanded clay around the inner pot, where part of the roots is also preserved. From January, flowerpots with bulbs are exposed to light and, with the appearance of a flower arrow, the concentration of the nutrient solution is increased to 100%. At this time, he needs good lighting and a temperature of + 20–22 ° C. After the development of the flower arrow, leaves grow. Strong specimens of hippeastrum at home give two inflorescences with three huge flowers. Intense, green, erect leaves catch up with the flower arrow in growth. By autumn, the plant gradually passes to a dormant period, the leaves die off. After flowering, the children are separated from the mother bulb. The maintenance and care of hippeastrum is possible not only as a pot culture, but also in the winter garden.

How to care for hippeastrum at home

Hippeastrum is one of the favorite plants in indoor floriculture. In interior gardening, it is good to use it in large group flower arrangements and as a single plant. Hippeastrum in cut form will decorate any room. Each flower lasts about a week.

Depending on what time of the year the flowering of the plant is desirable, one of the methods of care should be chosen: with or without a dormant period. In the first case, the plant blooms in winter, in the second – in autumn or spring.

Accommodation. In order to properly care for hippeastrum at home, as practice shows, during the flowering period, the plant needs bright lighting. A sunny place for a plant is especially important at the time the flower arrow appears. To take care of hippeastrum as carefully as possible, it is best to place a pot with a plant near a window facing the southwest, south or southeast. In the summer it can be taken out into the air.

Temperature. Hippeastrum feels best in a room with an air temperature of up to 25 ° C. Requires warmth to start growth, but flowers last longer in a cool room. During the dormant period (autumn-winter) cool mode of keeping. In winter, bulbs in pots are stored in a dark room at a temperature of 12-13 ° C.

Rest period. Hippeastrum should be prepared for rest by the end of summer. To do this, you need to reduce watering. After removing the dried leaves, the pot with the plant must be placed in a dark, dry room. At the end of December, the plant should be moved to a warm room and left without watering. When a peduncle appears, the pot with the plant should be placed in a container with water, and then watered sparingly. The plant needs 1.5-3 months of rest.

Pests and diseases. Hippeastrum suffers from downy mildew. Of the diseases, red burn is the most common. The plant needs regular preventive examination.

The photo of caring for a hippeastrum indoor flower shows all the main agricultural practices:

Watering and transplanting hippeastrum

Watering. Hippeastrum, located all year round in a bright, warm room, should be moderately watered with water at room temperature. In this case, the flowering time will come in spring or autumn. Bulbs that have begun to grow are lightly watered; as they grow, the watering of the hippeastrum is increased.

Humidity. The plant does not need high humidity.

Substrate. The substrate is prepared from turf and leaf soil, humus, peat and sand (2: 1: 1: 1: 2). Some growers add wood ash.

Transfer. Hippeastrum is transplanted once every 2-3 years. Transplantation is best done after flowering. After flowering, the flower stalks are cut off so as not to weaken the bulb. Reduce watering and fertilizing. The plant is transplanted into a small pot. The bulb should protrude 1/2-1/3 above the soil surface.

In autumn, the leaves turn yellow and die.

Nutrition . From the moment the flowers appear until mid-summer, they are fed once a week with liquid fertilizers for flowering plants.

Reproduction. Children and less often – seeds. With seed propagation, the plant blooms in the 4-5th year. Bulbs should be planted halfway into the ground. The optimal distance between the bulbs and the walls of the pot is 2-3 cm.

Watch a video of caring for hypeastrum at home, which shows how to grow this plant:

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