• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to footer

Garden Making

Inspiring ideas and information for great home gardens

Search

  • Design
  • Containers
  • Food
  • Gardens to visit
    • British Columbia
    • Alberta
    • Manitoba
    • Ontario
    • Quebec
    • New Brunswick
    • Nova Scotia
    • Newfoundland
    • England
    • U.S.
  • Events Calendar
    • By organizing group
    • By location of events
    • In British Columbia
    • In Alberta
    • In Saskatchewan
    • In Manitoba
    • In Ontario
    • In Quebec
    • In New Brunswick
    • In Nova Scotia
    • In Prince Edward Island
    • In Newfoundland & Labrador
    • Local garden tours
    • Plant sales across Canada
    • Outside Canada
    • Form to list your event
  • Reader photos
    • Reader images of gardens
    • Container gardening images
    • Reader images of plants in 2019
    • Reader images of plants in 2018
    • Reader images of plants in 2017
    • Reader images of plants in 2016
    • Submit photo to Garden Making
  • Shop
You are here: Home / Ask your gardening question / How to overwinter amaryllis?

How to overwinter amaryllis?

By Dugald Cameron Filed Under: Ask your gardening question

Amaryllis in bloom (Photo from Flickr by Maja Dumat)
Amaryllis in bloom (Photo from Flickr by Maja Dumat)

Sylvain in Montreal, Quebec, asks:

I stopped watering my amaryllis at the beginning of September as usual. The leaves yellowed and were cut off. As I was about to store them for 10 weeks in my cool, dark cellar, they started growing new flower stems! I have been growing amaryllis for 20 years and this has never happened. What should I do?

From Dugald Cameron, bulb expert:

In your case, I suggest leaving the flower stalks and let them bloom. After flowering, follow the steps for overwintering I learned from a customer who collected amaryllis.

After flowering, grow amaryllis on a sunny window indoors. Once temperatures are above freezing, move them to a shaded spot outdoors, watering occasionally to keep them from drying out. I use a slow-release fertilizer with more phosphorus and potassium than nitrogen — indicated by the last two numbers in fertilizer formulas. Stop watering in the fall, bring the plants indoors when overnight frosts threaten and cut off the foliage. Lay the pots on their side in a dark, cool spot. Don’t water until you see a sprouting flower stalk.

Considering the cost of amaryllis, it’s worth trying to get bulbs to bloom more than once year. Big bulbs are worth the investment; small ones should flower the first year, but may not flower the second year because they aren’t big enough.

More answers to common gardening questions

  • When and how to prune hydrangeas?
  • When do I split crocus clumps
  • How to enrich soil for peonies and iris?

Published: October 6, 2016 | Updated: February 5, 2019

About Dugald Cameron

Dugald Cameron is a horticultural consultant based in Toronto. For 32 years until December 2014, he owned and operated the Gardenimport mail-order nursery.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Donna says

    January 28, 2019 at 11:15 am

    My amarilus now has a stalk coming up it’s Jan here it’s cold I gave it some water does it like a sunny window looks like another is coming up as well how do I care for this thanks

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Footer

Search

Reader submissions

  • Enter draw to win a prize
  • Form to list your event
  • Submit photo to Garden Making

Garden Making magazine

  • Buy magazine back issues
  • Garden Making list of magazine issues
  • Garden Making index of magazine articles

When you’re looking for

  • Books for gardeners
  • Containers in your garden
  • Design
  • Food to grow
  • Gardens to visit
  • Growing from seed
  • How to
  • Plant ideas
  • Tips for gardeners

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

We do not share emails. Your information will be used as outlined in our Privacy Policy.

Please look for our email. You must click on the link in the email to confirm. Check your inbox or spam folder.

Copyright © 2021 Inspiring Media Inc. | GARDEN MAKING is a registered trademark | About | Service | Terms of use | Privacy policy | Account