Hippeastrum Yellow Star

Amaryllis 'Yellow Star', with its unprecedented yellow colour, brings something very new to the world of Hippeastrum. Its beautiful regular flowers are not huge, but they are quite numerous and have a particularly cheerful and bright green-throated soft yellow colour. This variety, destined for a bright future, will be perfect for decorating the house in the heart of winter, combined with holly, ferns, and pine cones, for example.

From the Amaryllidaceae family, Hippeastrum are native to South America and Central America. They are cultivated in pots in our climate and bloom indoors around Christmas. In full bloom, the 'Yellow Star' variety forms a clump that is 45 to 50 cm (18 to 20in) tall and 30 cm (12in) wide. The wide flared funnel-shaped flowers measure 15-16 cm (6in) in diameter. This flowering consists of 6 wide and thick petals, with a soft yellow colour barely washed with green. The heart of the flower is greener, releasing a cluster of long curved stamens in the same shade. 4 to 6 flowers proudly overhang one to three large and thick hollow stalks. Positioned back-to-back, they together form a unique composition. The leaves are ribbon-like and glossy dark green. They turn yellow and then dry out some time after flowering, while the large bulb enters a resting phase.

Planting an Amaryllis is a very rewarding experience. Hippeastrum Yellow Star is very easy to grow and its growth is extremely rapid; 6 to 10 weeks after planting, the flowers are already in bloom. You can enjoy them throughout the winter. To give it as a Christmas gift, consider planting it at the beginning of November. Preferably place it in the sun, for example in a window.  Trim the stem when the flowers fade to promote floral regrowth.

Did you know? The Latin name 'Amaryllis' was the subject of heated discussions among botanists: originally, this name actually referred to another plant, with a similar appearance and native to South Africa: Amaryllis belladonna. When Carl von Linne used this name to refer to it, as well as to Hippeastrum (are you still following?), there was an outcry and the battle raged on until 1987 when the botanists decided: the Latin name Amaryllis is retained for the African species Belladona but should no longer be used as the Latin name for Hippeastrum.