The origin of a plant provides the hobby gardener with valuable information regarding professional planting and exemplary care. Read here from which regions of the world the knight star found its way to us. These conclusions are to be drawn on the cultivation of a hippeastrum.

The Peruvian wild species Hippeastrum vittatum is the ancestor of most of our Amaryllis species

Native to the Peruvian Andes

The gorgeous varieties that delight us with their lavish blooms in the midst of winter are often derived from the wild species Hippeastrum vittatum or one of more than 100 other species. These are native to the subtropical regions of South America, preferably in the Peruvian Andes, in southern and central Brazil.

Perfectly adapted to subtropical climate

Thanks to a powerful onion as an outlasting organ, a knight star is optimally equipped for the subtropical climate of its regions of origin. With mostly rather cool temperatures, rainy growth periods and dry resting phases alternate with each other.

Proper care requires a rethink

For cultivation in Central Europe, the origin results in an opposite vegetation cycle with a flowering period in winter, which underlines the appeal of the amaryllis as a houseplant. In order to properly care for a knight star under these premises, the following aspects come into focus:

  • Best planting time is in November for flowering after 6 to 8 weeks
  • Place in a bright, not full sun location with 18 to 22 degrees Celsius during the flowering period
  • After flowering, continue to water and fertilize until the end of July
  • The Ritterstern spends the summer growth period on the sunny, warm balcony
  • From August stop the water and nutrient supply

After a period of regeneration of 6 to 8 weeks, repot the plant. The Ritterstern spends its dormant period of growth in a cool, dark cellar, freed from withered leaves.

tips

For more than 100 years, the knight star heated botanists' tempers because they could not agree on its taxonomy. Because of its striking resemblance to the Amaryllis (Amaryllis belladonna) of South Africa, the Knight's Star also fell under this category for a long time. Only since 1987 has the South American plant been assigned to its own genus, Hippeastrum. The name Amaryllis has of course been preserved as a common name in the vernacular.

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Vegetable garden