Your reputation as a competent hobby gardener receives a new highlight when you succeed in growing magnificent amaryllis from seeds. The following step-by-step instructions show why this form of propagation is not a closed book.

The flowers of the amaryllis must be pollinated in order for the plant to form seeds

Better not to leave pollination to chance

The hopes for numerous seeds remain unfulfilled if pollination does not occur within a knight star flower. Instead of relying on your gardening luck, simply ensure pollination. To do this, take a fine-haired, clean brush or a cotton swab from the third day after the flowers have opened. With this tool you can transport the yellow pollen onto the narrow, straight pistil in the center of the flower.

This is how you harvest the seeds in an exemplary manner

Following pollination, it takes 6 to 8 weeks for the ovary to swell and the seeds inside to ripen. Therefore, do not cut off the withered flowers and continue care undiminished. When the fruit capsules are almost completely open and the black seeds are clearly visible, the seeds can be harvested. That is how it goes:

  • Snap off the opening seed pods on the former flower stalk
  • Carefully remove the seeds from the capsules without putting pressure on the seed leaves
  • Let the seeds dry on a plate for 1 to 2 days

The fresher the seeds are sown, the better the chances of success. Freshly harvested seed scores with a germination rate of up to 80 percent.

Instructions for sowing - how to do it right

Before you fill the growing substrate in the seed tray, spread expanded clay (19.73€) or Seramis over the water drain as drainage. Proceed with these steps:

  • Draw 0.5-1.0 cm deep furrows in the substrate with a ruler
  • Use blunt tweezers to insert the seeds at short intervals
  • Close the furrows and pour in a fine shower
  • Cover the seed pot with foil and place in a partially shaded location at room temperature

The warm, humid microclimate under the transparent hood promotes germination. Within 2 to 3 weeks the first cotyledons will sprout so that the foil can be removed.

Pricking out at the right time - this is how it works

If the propagation box is crowded, isolation is on the agenda. To do this, select the strongest Ritterstern seedlings, because only they have the potential to flower for the first time after 3 to 4 years. The young plants are pricked out in small individual pots filled with a mix of uniform soil and cactus soil. The following month the nutrient supply begins by administering a liquid fertilizer with the NPK formulation 6+4+6 every 14 days.

tips

Would you like to create a horticultural monument with a new variety of Ritterstern? Then use a brush to transfer the pollen from one hybrid to the pistil of the other and be amazed at the result of the crossing.

Category:

Vegetable garden