This is Amaryllis 'Apple Blossom', blooming for the first time since I bought it in a bulb kit from the bargain bin at Walmart over two (yes, two) years ago. I've wrung my hands for two winters running as it has sprouted leaves with nary a blossom, but I've been too hardheaded to actually throw it out. And at last, my sticktoitiveness (or inability to let go and move on) is rewarded. This flower opened less than a day ago, with petals shimmering like silk, a green apple throat, and a ruby heart. It's fragrant, but demure about it: you'll smell nothing but grass with a greedy whiff, but if you quietly breathe it in, spring will meet you halfway.
Beautiful, Chan! I recently considered buying some more paperwhite bulbs (which I have every Christmas) to force just to have some live flowers around the house. I didn't, however, and will have to live vicariously through thoughts of your's!
Posted by: avril | February 11, 2005 at 10:32 PM
I admire your sticktoitiveness, and I like the word! The bloom was worth the patient (or impatient) wait.
Posted by: NJ | February 12, 2005 at 03:07 PM
Avril - Thank you! I missed the boat on paperwhites this season too, so this amaryllis has been the saving grace of the winter.
NJ - I've decided that the key to "patience" with amaryllis is the putting-it-in-a-dark-closet- and-forgetting-about-it stage. Thanks for the compliments!
Posted by: Chan S. | February 18, 2005 at 06:07 PM
My mother-in-law loved pink. She died about 7 years ago. At least 10 years ago, but probably more like 15 or even more, she gave us an apple blossom amaryllis. I have bought other amaryllis through the years, and they have lived and died. But this one blooms every year and reminds us of her.
Posted by: Jenny | March 05, 2010 at 05:58 PM