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With the dry season approaching, they are trying to prolong their stay even with the rain. Clearly, the dry season has arrived. The frigid cold winds have passed, replaced by hot dusty winds, and the unbearable heat and humidity have begun.
Now, the Christmas lily pops center stage, pushing the lingering hibiscus to the sidelines.
Amaryllis belladonna is a favorite of many gardeners because of its ease of cultivation and its large, beautiful flowers that stand out anywhere with an unforgettable soft aroma. It does not need any special care to bloom. Amaryllis belladonna is an ornamental plant native to the Cape Province of South Africa. Some Dutch growers who immigrated to South Africa found it growing wild in the Cape of Good Hope. This wild amaryllis produces 2 to 3 spikes per bulb with 4 to 6 flowers per spike. Soon it was crossed with the Dutch amaryllis, the start of a new amaryllis race that had many of the good traits of the Dutch amaryllis, as well as those robust, wild African varieties. It is now widely cultivated and naturalized in different parts of the world.
Cape Amaryllis belladonna is native to the arid regions of the Cape and grows in rocky arid regions. Although native to South Africa, it is widely grown worldwide for its pink, bell-shaped flowers. Belladonna means beautiful lady in Latin.
About Amaryllis and its popular name.
The plant’s scientific name, Amaryllis belladonna, is the only species in the genus Amaryllis, which means A. Belladona is the “true” amaryllis. It belongs to the Amaryllidaceae (genus) Amaryllidaceae, which forms a large group of more than 6o genera. Other genera of horticultural importance found in warm climates include Clivia, Crinuum, Cyrthanthus, Nerine and Scadoxus. There are many common names in the world: Belladonna lily; March lily; Nude lily; . In Nigeria, the common name is Christmas lily, and for some it’s Hamatan lily, as its appearance coincides with the Hamatan season, which begins in November and lasts until March/April of the following year.
The appearance of tall flower stalks without any leaves explains the “naked lady” name. This strange phenomenon of flowers before leaves is called hysteria.Amaryllis is a crowd-pleaser that blooms in cheerful dramatic blooms
The beauty of Amaryllis is that anyone can achieve them. Even before they’re buried in the soil, they sprout promising plumb shoots. They continued to shoot flower spikes despite forgetting to water and growing conditions were not perfect. Amaryllis made all our thumbs green.
No faulty bulbs. Amaryllis is a powerhouse, mostly long-lived perennial herb produced from bulbs or less commonly rhizomes. The Amaryllis hybrid, known as hibiscus, has spectacular blooms. Plant breeders have developed more than 600 varieties that are widely distributed around the world, especially in tropical and subtropical flatlands. Many species are drought-tolerant xerophytes that produce leaves at the beginning of the rainy season.
Large flowers, easy to bloom, make amaryllis popular and in high demand worldwide. Amaryllis comes in many beautiful varieties, including various shades of red, white, pink, salmon, and orange. There are also many striped and multicolored varieties, often combined with shades of pink, red or white. With long stems and usually two to twelve flowers, in a wide variety of colors and varieties, there is always one that enhances the landscape. You can mix and match them to decorate your interior landscape by placing them in a large tray or by placing them in individual pots on a shelving unit. Of course, they can be grown directly in the garden.
naked woman in the garden
The plant is called the “Naked Lady” for obvious reasons – the showy, fragrant funnel-shaped flowers bloom on leafless stems. This strange phenomenon of blooming before the leaves appear is called hysteria. This brings us to their unique usefulness; you know what your garden looks like in the mid to late dry season. Most of the big glamour is gone, and everything looks tired, dusty, drab and hot. That’s exactly the conditions these South African ladies are happiest in hot, dry places or other warm places where conditions can be controlled.
They just love hot, dry weather when everything seems barren……..and then… lo and behold | the ladies are all naked and reluctant perfume comes. They are real ladies and show off like they are. They bloom and enliven the landscape’s late-season performances. The color of the flowers varies from pale pink to dark pink, white, salmon, orange, depending on your climate. Crossbreeding has produced more colors and combinations, such as white and pink varieties.
Naked but not naughty.
Amaryllis belladonna is found in small dense clusters in rocks in its natural habitat in Cape Province, South Africa. They form thick clumps and like to crowd into large blooms. Therefore, the best place to grow them would be in a rock garden. In the landscape created, their leafless stems and the fact that they are very happy in partial shade and full sun make them ideal for planting in shade-loving plants like daylilies, violets, geraniums, or anything with leaves up to a year. Amaryllis belladonna can be mixed between azaleas as a nice combination. They can also be grown between mixed annuals or herbaceous border groundcovers. The green banded leaves are a wonderful welcome sight when growing, but ugly when they wilt. It’s best to hide them behind something the dying leaves won’t notice. Tall flowers without leaves are great on their own, or just bloom from ground-covered foliage, or behind low hedges, and their evergreen leaves provide skirts for “naked ladies.” They will only bloom in ground-covered foliage and everyone will think you are a master gardener.
growing amaryllis
It is easy to cultivate and is tolerant to a variety of climate and soil conditions. This plant prefers well-drained soil and thrives in different types of soil. What it can’t stand is the wet soil, it will rot. The bulb is dormant. After the season’s flowering is over, the leaves will develop. The leaves will collect sunlight, create food through photosynthesis, and power future light bulbs.
The leaves will remain green for several months. They then turn yellow and die, and when the leaves are absent, the bulbs go dormant. The plant is tolerant of drought conditions and requires very little watering even in dry conditions. Large bulbs and fleshy roots help resist dry conditions. Keep the soil around the plant moist during the growing period and dry during the dormant period. Large bulbs can be separated during the dormant period. Bulbs and offsets should be planted in prepared soil with the neck slightly above soil level. Plant each bulb at least 8-12 inches to allow room for the plants to grow. After planting, apply an inch of mulch or compost to cover the soil. You can also propagate plants using soft, fleshy white to pink seeds. Seeds should be planted fresh.
When seed is sown on a potting mix and the soil is kept moist, it will sprout within two weeks, but seedlings will take 2 to 6 years or more to flower. They can also be grown in large pots using a very porous mix. Once established, these bulbs require little attention. They are low maintenance. The compost provided during the growing season is enough to feed the plants and produce flowers. During planting, dry, hot weather delights these plants and helps ensure blooms nearly every year, but in South Africa’s wild native habitats, they appear in abundance after fires. The fragrant flowers are great for cutting and long-lasting, keeping for a week or more in flower arrangements.
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