Gardendaze

Remember this amaryllis photo from Monday? Good. Notice it, and then I will go on to discuss the topic of this post.

I give a very popular lecture called “Trade Secrets: A Gardener’s Guide to Getting the Best Plants. ” In the lecture, I basically talk about 3 things–how plants are developed and marketed; why new and crazy cultivars aren’t necessarily always the best plants for the garden (particularly in the first year or two of release); and what to look for when selecting plants at the garden center.

One of my pieces of advice on that third topic is never–unless you need a plant in immediate bloom for a party or some event–buy a plant in full bloom.

I do suggest that you look for a hint of color so that you can be sure you’re getting the proper color you want because tags do get shuffled about, particularly in the craziness of spring buying.

But then there’s THIS problem:bulbs. This year I decided that I would buy only 1 amaryllis–a white one.

As you can see from the flower, this isn’t white amaryllis. At best, if I am lucky, it will be red and white. Sigh. Right now, it seems to be coral and white. This isn’t a cultivar that I am familiar with. Perhaps somehow I got a new cross.

This isn’t the first bulb issue I have ever had in my life, and it’s even more disappointing when you plant the bulbs in the fall and wait 6-8 months, only to have something completely different come up in the spring.

Yes, in the grand scheme of things, this is no problem at all. All flowers are beautiful. And of course there are much bigger things to worry about in the country and the world.

So I will enjoy my amaryllis surprise and try for white again next year.