The shock best-sellers this year have been amaryllis - first all the loose bulbs sold within half an hour at Duntreath Christmas Fair and now all bar one of the mini-amaryllis "Giraffe" which I potted up have sold this week-end.
I am quite surprised as last year they sold very slowly. They are expensive bulbs and as they are still in bud it cannot be that people are attracted to the beautiful flowers.
Perhaps people saw them when they flowered last year (when I took the photo) and decided to get one this year, perhaps there has been something in a magazine, I don't know but I am hanging onto the remaining plant for myself. I wish I had got more.
5 comments:
Amaryllis are lovely. I've been thinking of buying one myself. I'm not sure if they've been featured in a magazine but I have noticed that they seem to be everywhere here in London this year. Must be the 'in' bulb at the moment.
Years ago it used to be no not a Amaryllis in those horrid plastic pots. My grandma alwasy gave my mum one. Now I think they look most wonderfull and have been eyeing them up. I'm not going to get one becuase we are going to have to move soon, so its lovely to see your picture, which is partically fine. Funny how tastes change.
I'm really not surprised that they have sold out, they are so beautiful. CL featured them last Christmas and I've seen them used in several mags as part of the Christmas decor. I buy them evry year for Aunts, nieghbours and myself.
I remember the amaryllis article in CL last year - indeed I remember cutting out and sticking it on my stall.
I think that it must be a case of people needing to see things a few times before they recognise them.
I love amaryllis - particularly the small ones - and think that they are fantastic value as you get several flower spikes.
If you are buying one Fiona - look for a really large bulb - size 34 or above (This is a circumference measurement so you can take a tape-mesasure and check if there is no information) - , the ones in boxes sold in Asda, Woolworth or Boots are often relatively small. It makes a lot of difference to the number of flowering spikes you get. Mini amaryllis have smaller bulbs and you want them to be size 26/28 for the best results.
Flower fashions are very odd - I wonder how they are formed - is it the bulb growers, the flowers and plants associations or the glossy magazines?
I'm not even going to begin to tell you what Amyrillis look like to me before they flower!!
and then when the bloom comes through all big and bold and just incongrous - to me its one of the few plants that comes under the list - ugliest plants in the world.
For Christmas it has to be Poinsetta's and Hellebores.
Heather
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