Amaryllis Not Waiting Till Christmas

I�ve pleaded, scolded and shamelessly begged, but my Amaryllis has decided it�s not going to wait until Christmas to put on a display. It would have been nice, especially since the flowers are such a Christmasy red, but it won�t be happening this year.

Every day there�s been a significant change in the development of the flower buds, so I�ve been snapping photos by the gazillion. Two of the flowers have opened and they are stunning. There are two more to go, so the plant is not quite done yet.

This is where the Amaryllis in my kitchen is at as of this morning:



Don�t you just love these flowers? They�re so bold and beautiful...

Not far from this blooming beauty sits the Aechmea fasciata...



...and the Vriesea splendens...,


...both of which are old enough to produce flowers. Perhaps the Amaryllis, with its grandiose display, will shame them into doing something this coming year.

As for the newly-purchased Christmas cactus... Well, it�s still debating whether to open its buds or not.


I�ve already had �the talk� with it, the one where I tell my flowering plants that �there�s a limited amount of quality houseplant space in this home, and the ones that don�t earn their spot, out they go, to make room for another plant� So far, nothing. I think the Christmas cactus is calling my bluff. Darn.