Scientific research has proved it – having plants around you improve your mood. When it all gets a bit difficult in the dark months of the year, it can’t hurt to bring some colour into your home. The Hippeastrum is an ideal candidate: beautiful big green leaves which can be 10 to 60cm long, plus one or more large, brightly coloured flowers of sometimes 20cm wide.
Look forward to these in this time of the year and you will immediately feel a lot better. There is a big chance you will know the Hippeastrum better as the Amaryllis. They are often sold under this name in the last months of the year.
Natural stimulator
What’s amazing about the Hippeastrum is that it grows from a bulb, just like other members of the Narcissus family. It originates from Mexico and the Caribbean, but the Hippeastrum has no problem with adapting to darker living rooms in the winter. It survives well in a pot of soil, with a third of the bulb showing out of the top.
If you give it a light position and water now and again the Hippeastrum will surprise you with shining green leaves and fresh coloured flowers. The flowers are available in a range of colours: red, pink, white, orange, yellow, green, but also examples with coloured stripes and edges. There are enough options to serve as a natural stimulator in this period of the year. (BBH)
The amaryllis, also known as Hippeastrum, originates from South and Central America and the Caribbean. The name amaryllis comes from the Greek ‘amarussein’, which means ‘sparkling’ or ‘shining’. The flower is a member of the Narcissus family and grows from a bulb.
Amaryllis colours and shapes
The velvety flower has a light perfume and is available in white, red, yellow, pink, (salmon) pink, purple, orange and bi-coloured. Generally, there are four to six flowers on a stem but no leaves, that is why they call the amaryllis the ’Naked Lady’ in the USA.
Care tips for the consumer
- Cut the end of the stems diagonally.
- Pick a heavy vase.
- Ensure that the vase is really clean and fill it with water and use cut flower food for bulb flowers.
- Place the vase in a relatively cool position, not in a draught or next to the fruit bowl.
Inspiration for an amaryllis bouquet
You can offer the traditional red amaryllises to your customers but you could also think about other colours in combination with Ilex and Ornithogalum. These flowers are easily available at the moment.
In the bouquet on the photo are amaryllises combined with Ilex. They have used a mixed technique of sheaf and hand-tied. The amaryllises get their strength by tying them to the Ilex. The stems are tied twice per stem so they can stay up firmly.
