Care instructions
So, what is needed so that your winter days decorate this wonderful flower? Of course, first of all, it should be given a worthy place. Hippeastrum is photophilous, which means it is best to place a pot with it on southern windows, not forgetting to protect the leaves from direct sunlight.
In summer, during development and growth, the temperature in the room should be approximately 17-23 °. Watering hippeastrum should be abundant, make sure that the soil does not dry out, it should be a little damp all the time. If the room is too dry, you can periodically spray buds on top. When the flowers are opened, start once every two weeks to feed the gippeastrum with liquid fertilizer for flowering houseplants, and do this until the leaves begin to fade.
Approximately since February , a period of rest takes place in hippeastrum and lasts about two to three months. If you want the plant to bloom for many years, this period must be carefully observed. When the stem completely withers, trim it. Transfer the pot to a cooler room. The content should be dry, watering sparse. The same applies to air humidity - during the rest period, spraying is contraindicated. So keep the plant until March. The fact that the rest is over will be noticeable by the arrow that emerged from the bulb. Return the pot to a warmer place, but wait until the arrow is stretched to 10 cm, and only then start to water.
Want to multiply gippeastrum - have patience
A few years ago I was given a pot of hippeastrums. Ros he always I have a good, and I wanted to have these plants I have more. That's when I seriously thought about how gippeastrum can be propagated. It turns out that those little outgrowths that form in the mother tuber are called "children". After all, they are an excellent planting material.
Get the baby can be during transplantation - for this purpose it is enough to carefully separate them from the mother-bulb and plant them separately in small pots (about 12 cm in diameter). They should be planted, as well as adults - so that the third part would look out on the surface. And then you should be patient. If your babies gippeastrum have taken root, then in 2-3 years they will necessarily grow up and blossom.
If you planted a bulb, and she does not go on for a long time, perhaps the reason is planting material. Dig out the bulb and carefully examine whether it is strong enough, healthy. It can also damage pests. If this happens, take urgent measures, for example, treat the soil with insecticides.
Possible problems
I believe that hippeastrum is a capricious plant, but it is very beautiful. And beauty, as you know, requires sacrifice! With excessive dampness, or, conversely, if there has been no watering for a long time, the leaves will begin to fade, acquire a pale green color, the flowers will subside. Make sure that the soil does not dry out, but do not over-moisten. Do not forget to make good drainage.
At too low a temperature, buds may begin to darken during flowering. Blackened flowers should be removed, and the pot with the plant should be moved to a place with a higher temperature.
If your hippeastrum is on a sunny window, but no shading from the direct rays is made, your plant not only risks getting a leaf burn, but flowers will also fade.
How to transplant gippeastrums
I want to share advice on how to transplant the hippeastrum. I do this before the beginning of the rest period. As soon as the bloom is over and the stalk is withered, I start the transplant. First, I prepare the substrate, for this I take 2 parts of turf ground and 1 part peat, sand and humus. After removing the onions from the soil, first I carefully examine it and remove the rotten roots, dry scales, and also remove all the children formed. Roots do not need to be cut. For prevention, you can disinfect the bulb for a couple of hours in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. I take a pot a little, a little more than the bulb itself - between the pot wall and the onion should be about three centimeters. I fill the substrate, make a good drainage, plant the bulb so that a third of it remains on the surface.
How to choose a place for a plant
If you are a beginner florist, you should know some general rules, where you should and should not place indoor flowers. Here are some of them.
If the plant is photophilous, it is best to grow and blossom on the sunny windowsills. But it should be remembered that the leaves of most plants will get sunburn, if you do not shade from direct sunlight.
Almost all the green inhabitants of your apartment do not like drafts, especially if you blow from the windowpane right in the middle of the winter. But this does not mean that the room does not need to be ventilated at all, it's just necessary to do it carefully.
Many plants with colds have a rest period. During this period, stop feeding and virtually reduce watering.
But in general, before you start a plant, do not be lazy to get acquainted with the peculiarities of care. And remember that it's far from easy to take care of all flowers. This is a great responsibility. It's much easier to destroy beauty than to create it.