Free Hippeastrum Hybrids Plants

A spectacular plant, producing boldly coloured, trumpet-shaped flowers with long, attractive stamens. The Hippeastrum is sold as a dormant bulb, either supplied loose with compost or gift-packaged in a pot. The bulb should not be completely buried but pushed about half¬way into the compost. Once it has been watered and placed in full light, the plant will quickly spring into growth, often at a spectacular rate, with the flower stalk or stalks pushing ahead of the leaves. After flowering, the plant should continue to be watered, and feeding should commence in order to nourish the bulb. When the leaves begin to fade, watering and feeding can stop and the plant will die back to the bulb for the dormant period. In the winter or very early spring the plant can be started into growth again with water and increased warmth.

Plant type : Bulb with erect habit
Season of interest : Late winter to early spring
Size : 38-45cm (15-18in)
Flower : Trumpet-shaped, 10-15cm (4-6in), white, pink, orange or red, on one or sometimes two stalks, with two to four blooms per stem
Leaf : Strap-shaped, 38-45cm (15—18in), green, developing after flower stalks
Temperature : 16-18°C (60—65°F)
Aspect/Light : Full sun
Humidity : Moderate
Watering : Evenly moisten compost in winter and spring; keep dormant bulb dry
Feeding : Once every two to three weeks with flowering plant fertilizer after flowering until mid summer
Propagation : Remove young bulbs from main bulb and plant singly in small pots; sow seeds at 21°C (70°F) in pans then pot singly from spring to mid summer
Potting : Houseplant compost
Problems : Relatively trouble free
Availability : Freely available as dormant bulbs from autumn to winter
Uses indoors : Any sunny window