Hippeastrum Striped Garden - Amaryllis

Amaryllis 'Striped Garden' is a new variety of Hippeastrum called pluriflore, which produces numerous flowering stems carrying flowers that are certainly small in size, but brilliantly coloured. The overall result is a superb bouquet of red-tinged flowers with white stars around a green and yellow centre. A special cultivation technique allows Amaryllis to produce multiple daughter bulbs capable of flowering together. These varieties are particularly showcased in a wider than tall pot, to be prominently displayed in the house.

Originally from the subtropical regions of Central and South America, Hippeastrum are tender plants belonging to the Amaryllidaceae family, generally cultivated in pots in our latitudes. In full bloom, the Striped Garden variety forms a clump 45 cm (18in) tall. The funnel-shaped flower is composed of fairly wide petals that overlap at the base. They are bright and pure red, with a more or less wide and long white macule at the base. The heart of the flower is green and bright yellow, with a cluster of very long, curved stamens of the same tone. Each bulb will produce 4 to 7 thick, hollow flowering stems, each bearing an umbel of 4 to 5 flowers measuring 9 cm (4in) in diameter, positioned back to back. The overall effect is truly remarkable. The leaves are ribbon-like and glossy dark green. They yellow and dry a few weeks after flowering, while the bulbs enter a dormant state.

Planting an Amaryllis is a very rewarding experience. Hippeastrum Striped Garden is very easy to grow and its growth is extremely rapid; 6 to 10 weeks after planting, the flowers are already blooming. You can enjoy them throughout the winter. If you want to give it as a Christmas gift, remember to plant it at the beginning of November. This variety does not need companions to showcase its obvious beauty. You can plant some simple snowdrop bulbs at its base, just to dress up its slightly stiff flowering stems. Preferably place it in the sun in front of a window, for example. Trim the stem when the flowers have faded to encourage re-flowering.

Talking about Amaryllis, there is actually a misuse of language directly related to an error made in the 18th century. It was Linnaeus himself who used it to name the American species. However, the name was already being used for another beautiful flower, this one from South Africa. Conventionally, the denomination Amaryllis has been kept for both. And to distinguish them, the mention Hippeastrum is added for the first one and Belladona for the second one. It must be said that both deserve this name: Amaryllis means 'sparkling' and, in classical Greek literature, the plant was the subject of a pastoral poem where the beautiful shepherdess Amaryllis dies of a love that will only be accessible to her after a terrible wound, and from her blood will emerge splendid bunches of red flowers.