Amaryllis about to bloom in Phoenix, Arizona

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I've planted a lot of bulbs here at The Tropical Paradise. My motto has always been "I'm experimenting, mostly". Like most of the experiments here I'm sure that most of the bulbs I've planted have failed, but I have a wonderfully poor memory, so it hasn't bothered me.

The amaryllis are doing great this year. I've had these bulbs in the ground for many seasons and they usually put out some leaves, but don't bloom. This year I am getting some great blooms. I wish I could say why? If I could, I would write it here.

All I can say is to keep experimenting. I'm pretty sure that these were just bulbs from Target purchased many years ago at a discount as it was past Christmas. Most people want amaryllis to bloom at Christmastime, so these were bulbs intended for "forcing". Here in the garden they are blooming in late April and early March. I am giving them plenty of water and plant food (I use the houseplant spikes from the Dollar Store).

This particular plant is at the bottom of a slope, in full sun. In addition to getting water twice a day from the automatic watering system, I have hand-watered it with Super Thrive. It looks like it's going to have two big blooms and two little blooms. I'll post a photo of the bloom when it opens, which should be very soon.
In bloom the next day

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