What to Do with Amaryllis After It Blooms

Amaryllis flowers can bloom beautifully year after year if cared for correctly. After they finish blooming, you don’t need to throw them away. Simply adjust their watering and temperature conditions to encourage annual blooms. These plants are often sold as houseplants or bulbs during the holidays, and you can manage their blooming schedule by controlling moisture levels. With thoughtful care, these tropical beauties can light up your home every year.

The Life Cycle of Amaryllis

Amaryllis, a plant native to Central and South America, does not undergo true dormancy. Instead, the bulbs go through a rest period after flowering to recover and bloom again.

In its natural habitat, the plant keeps growing even after it finishes blooming. During this post-blooming period, the continued leaf growth ensures photosynthesis, which helps the plant store energy in the bulb for future leaf growth and flowers.

Eventually, the leaves turn yellow and drop, and the plant stops growing for a few weeks, which naturally occurs around December. At the end of this rest period, amaryllis restarts growing, first leaves, then one or more flower stalks. Failure to send up flower stalks indicates the plant has not collected enough energy during the post-bloom period.

Caring for Amaryllis After the Bloom

Amaryllis care after the bloom falls into three stages: during the leaf growth until late summer, the rest period in the fall, and regrowth and rebloom in the late fall/early to mid-winter. The care for your amaryllis also depends on whether you are timing the bloom, for example for a holiday, or let it rebloom naturally.

After the Bloom Until Late Summer

Keep your amaryllis in a sunny indoor location when it is done blooming. Remove the faded flowers promptly to prevent them from forming seeds, which depletes the plant’s energy. Only remove the flower stalk when it has turned yellow because as long as it’s green, it promotes photosynthesis. Cut the flower stalk between 1/2 inch and 1 inch above the bulb with a sharp knife or pruners.

Keep the soil moist but not wet. Water the plant whenever the top 2 inches of soil feel dry. Fertilize it every two to three weeks with half the recommended strength of an all-purpose balanced houseplant fertilizer.

In the spring. when there is no longer any danger of frost and the nighttime temperatures stay consistently above 50°F, your amaryllis will be the happiest outdoors. Gradually adapt the plant to its outdoor location. Amaryllis should get at least six hours of sunlight daily, ideally from dappled sun or diffused light.

Remember that outdoor potted plants dry out much faster than when indoors so water more frequently in the summer.

Around August, stop fertilizing the amaryllis to prepare it for its rest period.

Bring the plant back indoors when the temperatures drop again below 50°F at night in the late summer or early fall.

The Rest Period

Once your amaryllis is back indoors with the onset of cool fall weather, there are two ways of getting it to rebloom: time it to rebloom, or let the plant’s natural bloom cycle take its course.

To set the bloom time yourself, stop watering and fertilizing the plant eight to 12 weeks before the desired bloom time, such as Thanksgiving or Christmas. Count back from that date and move it to a cool, dark, dry place with temperatures around 55°F to 60°F, such as a cool basement or a garage.

Cut off the leaves after they turn yellow and brown, and trim the plant back 1 to 2 inches above the bulb.

Alternatively, let the plant go through its natural life cycle. Place it in a cool indoor location around 50°F to 60°F but keep it in indirect, bright light. Water it sparingly to keep it barely moist and do not fertilize it. The leaves will begin to yellow and drop around December.

The Regrowth Period

If you have stopped watering and fertilizing your amaryllis for a timed bloom, move it to a sunny, bright location after eight to 12 weeks where the temperature remains consistently around 70°F to 75°F. Resume watering and fertilizing. New growth may appear during the rest time, which is also a good indicator that the plant is getting ready to move again.

For amaryllis that has not undergone the forced rest period, it will take another month or two for new leaves and flower stalks to emerge. When they appear, move the amaryllis to a warmer, sunnier spot and start fertilizing it again, as described above. Regardless of the growth method, put the amaryllis in the sunniest spot possible because the more sun, the better the bloom.

To encourage reblooming, use a fertilizer with a high phosphorus content.

After your amaryllis has rebloomed, restart the after-bloom care as described above.

Amaryllis Care Tips

• Repotting amaryllis is only necessary after a few years, as the plant does best if there is very little extra soil around the bulb.
• Avoid letting an amaryllis plant sit in water or it runs the risk of developing bulb rot, and root rot, and will attract pests.
• Watch for spider mites and mealybugs on indoor amaryllis plants and treat them with horticultural oil.
• Look for wilting leaves which means the amaryllis plant may be underwatered.
• Place a bamboo stake alongside a newly planted indoor bulb to support top-heavy blooms from falling over. Inserting the stake earlier rather than later prevents damage to the bulb and roots.