At the end of the year, the amaryllis shows us its impressive bloom. This time almost calls for a Christmas commitment. With glass, suitable decoration and imagination, the implementation begins.
Table of Contents
Appropriate Varieties
First of all, to clarify: the flower in question here is actually a knight star , scientifically hippeastrum. The knight star belongs to the amaryllis family, but not to the amaryllis genus. For plant lovers, this is secondary and the trade usually advertises it as Amaryllis.
Varieties with red or white flowers are certainly the most popular for the Christmas season and are also the most frequently offered. You can also opt for a different flower color of your choice. Smaller varieties are more suitable. On the one hand, the stem does not become so long that it deviates too far from the decoration in the glass container. On the other hand, the majority of the plant remains in the glass container, which ensures more stability. Here are a few flavor recommendations:
- Artic Nymph
- Baby Star
- Cherry Nymph
- Chicco
- Exotic Nymph
- Papillo
Matching glasses
The glass jar for the Christmas arrangement should be transparent so that its contents can be seen clearly. It must also be wide enough to accommodate bulbs and decorative material. Knight stars are planted in round glasses, so the roots cannot settle in corners. The higher the flower stem of the plant, the higher and heavier the glass should be so that the weight of the flowers does not cause the whole thing to tip over.
Christmas decoration material
There are no limits to the imagination when it comes to decorating. Decide for yourself what a knight star decorated for Christmas should look like. You need coarse stones as a drainage layer and to weigh it down. Furthermore, a moss layer that retains moisture. In addition, everything that is used for Advent arrangements can also be used here. For example:
- fir branches
- cones
- fir tree balls
- Christmas figures
- dry material such as tree bark
- Fruits, nuts, dried berries, cinnamon sticks
- grind
The ideal time
The trade offers tubers as early as November, which are just beginning to sprout the stalk with the flower buds. It takes about four weeks from budding to flowering. If you want the amaryllis to bloom at the beginning of Advent, you can start decorating from the beginning to the end of November. If the flower should still be open on Christmas Eve, don’t buy a freshly sprouting tuber until the beginning of December.
Remove soil from the tuber
Before you start decorating, you should definitely remove the soil from a planted amaryllis. It is sufficient if you loosen the soil with your hands or a brush. You should not wash the tuber, as this increases the risk of rot.
How to decorate amaryllis for Christmas
- At the bottom of the glass is a layer of coarse stones several centimeters high. The higher the glass, the higher this layer can be.
- Place the tuber in the middle.
- Fill in any space around the bulb with moss. Be careful not to have too much soil sticking to the moss. Feel free to press the moss down harder to hold the tuber in place.
- Now you can use your imagination and add the rest of the decoration material.
- You can tie a bow around the outside of the glass, the color of which should ideally match the color of the flower.
- Place the jar in a bright, non-sunny place with a temperature between 18 and 22 °C.
Alternative: a white decoration
People who want to elegantly decorate their home with the color white in combination with gold or silver can do this with amaryllis as follows:
- Use white decorative stones as a base layer
- coat the bulb with white wax (or buy waxed)
- spray bare branches with gold or silver paint (instead of fir branches)
- additionally decorate with other Christmas figures
- Pine cones also go well with it
Caring for the amaryllis decorated for Christmas
The amaryllis does not need much care in the glass, it just must not dry out or be too wet. The tuber itself is not poured. Instead, it or the moss is moistened with a spray bottle every 2-3 days. Tubers covered with a layer of wax do not require care. They can also get through the flowering period without additional watering because the wax layer prevents them from drying out. You should cut off completely withered flowers for the sake of appearance. Once the flowering period is over, you should replant the plant in soil.
