Amaryllis

 The process is beginning. In a few weeks, this Amaryllis hippeastrum should look like the one below.

Last Christmas I forced two of them in soil rather than the palm fibre that came with the Amaryllis forcing kit.

In the spring, they still had leaves, so I left them out in a sunny corner of the garden, sheltered on a south facing wall.

Every once in awhile, I gave them some water, but otherwise, I ignored them.

To my astonishment, in late summer, one came back into flower, producing a lavish array of pink blooms.

Of course they grow outdoors naturally in hot climates.

The illustration on the right, from the Royal Horticultural Society, shows the stages of development for potted amaryllis.

One secret to success is to leave the top one third of the bulb exposed.