Content of the article:
Hippeastrum is famous for its luxurious colors of various shapes and colors. And although the flowering of this room bulb culture lasts up to a month and can be repeated up to three times a year, the flowers inevitably wither and only leathery, elongated leaves remain above the soil surface. Then they may turn yellow.
So what to do next when the gippeastrum has faded? How to make the bulbs gain strength and again to please florist lush bouquet on the top of the peduncle?
Vegetation of hippeastrum after flowering
The flowering of hippeastrum requires enormous strength from the plant, therefore after the withering of huge flowers, the bulb urgently needs to be restored. And this extremely important period with a single bloom usually lasts nine months. If, after flowering, the hippeastrum is transplanted, it will be discovered that the bulb has noticeably lost weight, and the upper scales have lost elasticity.
The sprouting leaves and intensive fertilizing during the growing season will help the plant regain its former strength and impose the beginnings of future peduncles:
- As the flowers wither, the arrows cut, leaving 10–15 cm above the bulb. Then, when the arrow dries, it is twisted with a slight twist around the axis.
- Leaves appear gradually, approximately one in 3-4 weeks.
As in the flowering period, during the growing season, the plants are watered abundantly and must be fed. Watering is carried out carefully, on the soil that has dried up from the previous time, without falling on the foliage and the bulb:
- Under room conditions, you can pour water into the pan, making sure that the moisture does not stagnate and the roots remain healthy.
- If hippeastrum is planted in the garden after flowering, around the bulbs make a shallow gutter in the soil, where they carry out watering.
Top dressing is carried out in moist soil or combined with irrigation. Regular application of liquid fertilizers, especially potassium and phosphorus, will help to quickly regain the strength of the
bulb. Taking care of hippeastrum after flowering provides additional feeding at least 2 times a month, for seriously weakened and young plants they are made more frequent, for example, once a week.
As a fertilizer, you can use complex compositions for ornamental flowering or bulbous plants.
Rest period for hippeastrum
Traditionally, the period of "hibernation" for hippeastrum arrange in the fall and early winter. It takes from two to three months to restore strength and create flower buds of the bulb. The exact duration cannot be known in advance, since it depends on the intensity of the last flowering and the care of the hippeastrum after it.
process A sign of readiness for rest can be the wilting of the leaves on a taut large bulb. However, today there are a number of varieties and hybrids that practically do not lose leaves. In this case, it can be noted that new leaf plates no longer appear:
- At the end of the growing season for hippeastrum, watering is reduced, and in September or October it is completely stopped.
- The last dressing is carried out 4 weeks before the plants are sent to “hibernation”.
If the hippeastrum after flowering goes to rest in September or early October, then by the New Year holidays we can expect that a strong onion will give a new peduncle. During this period of time for the plant imitate the South American winter, providing:
- lack of lighting;
- temperature in the range of 12-14 ° C;
- small, not higher than 60%, humidity;
- extremely sparse watering, warning of the dying off of the roots.
For young, non-flowered bulbs and children, a rest period is not needed. If plants of different ages grow in the same container, it is better to plant them before “hibernating”.
This will not traumatize the transplant of the plant when it leaves the rest period, and will give the bulb additional nutrition. Usually hippeastrum after flowering go into hibernation transplanted in a pot. But you can dig out the bulbs. In this case, they are stored on the side, without cutting the leaves and sprinkling with sawdust. The temperature regime is the same, that is, 12–14 ° C.Often with this method it is possible to achieve earlier flowering, but there is a risk of loss of the bulb due to drying.
What to do if a faded hippeastrum gives leaves further, while already in a cool place? The bulb itself will help answer the question:
- If it is dense and grown over the summer, the plant has completed its rest and is ready to bloom.
- But if her scales are sluggish, the florist made a mistake and sent the onion early to “hibernation”.Such a plant is better to transplant and continue to actively feed and water it.
Only healthy, dense bulbs that have fully recovered during the growing season should be sent to rest.
Such a hippeastrum will wake up on its own in a few weeks, releasing a powerful flower spike or the first leaf.
