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In the vegetation cycle of an amaryllis, the leaves act as important signal transmitters. Furthermore, the foliage makes a key contribution to the supply of buds and flowers. Read here when the time has come to safely cut off the leaves on the Ritterstern.
Cutting off the leaves will not encourage the amaryllis to flower
Leave green leaves alone
As long as the leaves on the knight's star are lush green, they are spared the scissors. At the end of the flowering period, simply cut off the withered flowers from the main stem. Only remove the hollow stem of the inflorescence itself when it has yellowed and dried up. The leaves remain unaffected by these pruning measures.
Until the beginning of the autumn dormancy, it is up to the foliage to supply the bud inside the bulb with nutrients. During the summer, the Ritterstern goes through its growth cycle, so that the care program continues uninterruptedly until August, supplemented with fortnightly fertilizer applications.
Cutting off the leaves will not stimulate flowering
Sometimes a knight star only drives out long leaves and consistently refuses to bloom. This is how an amaryllis signals a lack of light. Instead of cutting off the vital foliage, moving to a sunny spot will fix the problem.
At this point, amaryllis leaves must give way
As summer draws to a close, a knight star wants to rest for 6 to 8 weeks. A hippeastrum signals this desire by gradually drawing in the nutrients from the foliage. Now is the time to cut back the leaves. How to do it right:
- From June/July gradually reduce the amount of irrigation water
- Stop watering and fertilizing an amaryllis from August
- In September/October, only cut off the drawn-in leaves when they are completely withered
Please carry out all cutting work on the knight star with protective gloves. The entire plant is permeated by highly toxic alkaloids, which can cause fatal health problems if they come into contact with the skin. Therefore, do not dispose of clippings in the compost or other places within reach of pets. If your darlings nibble on it, there is a risk of fatal consequences.
tips
Do not store amaryllis bulbs in the basement near apples, pears or other climacteric fruits. These emit the ripening gas ethylene into the room air, which encourages a knight star to sprout prematurely, long before the regeneration phase is complete.