Che tongtong

Amaryllis inspiration / tongtong

Sunday, 29. April 2007, 12:20:43

My husband stayed at home with me whole day for his being ill, and my unit being decorated, I felt warm with his presence at home, but unfortunately he could not enjoy the meal I cooked for him, he only ate a little. Anyhow I was happy that he felt happy with me together.

We talked in the balcony randomly, from my two sisters' buying houses, to my daughter's loveliness, then the subject fell on the flowers I planted in my house, especially the flower named barbadoslily，or amaryllis, the chinese name is Zhu ding hong. Of all flowering bulbs, amaryllis are the easiest to bring to bloom. This can be accomplished indoors or out, and over an extended period of time. The amaryllis originated in South America's tropical regions and has the botanical name Hippeastrum. The large flowers and ease with which they can be brought to bloom make amaryllis popular and in demand worldwide.

The amaryllis comes in many beautiful varieties including various shades of red, white, pink, salmon and orange. There are also many striped and multicolored varieties, usually combining shades of pink or red with white. The type I planted is in orange and red. It is very beautiful, with large lily-shaped flowers on tall stems. Typically, each flower stem produces four blooms, which open within 2-3 days of each other. Hearty bulbs of large diameter may produce more than one stem at a time.

At the top of each main stem is a bud case which contains the flowers. This will enlarge, and open, revealing the flowers. At first, the flowers are green, and will develop their color over a period of days before the petals unfold. At the time that flowers are opening, I keep the plant moist, without drowning it!

I took the bulb from my unit several years ago and it was not potted when taken home, I simply put a pot quite small as wide as the bulb. Last year, I changed a large pot to contain the bulb which grew bigger.

My mind was jolted while we were talking of this plant of amaryllis, it's because of the the bulb, and the changed bigger pot, and years of growth which make the plant bloom much more brilliant this year than ever. I couldn't resist a secret excitement of this discovery, which meant a lot for me, I realize that when a tree has deeper roots, it is assured of its growing tall and strong, I recognize it is not worth trying to propogate amaryllis from seed, as it would be a multi-year project until you produced a bulb capable of flowering. Then how about a person ? I thought so merrily for it offered me a good subject of my blogging, and above all, it endowed me an inspiration in life- to build solid foundation and contrive a good stage, added with patience, then the blooming day will come.