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Monday, May 08, 2006

Revisiting the amaryllis

White amaryllis in February

Back on February 12 I posted about a white amaryllis. I said I wanted to propagate it, but it is a long process. Some weeks later (what a terrible scientist I am; I didn’t document the date) I took a Q-tip and spread the pollen on the pistil.

Gradually the petals faded and fell. Here we are, almost three months later, and the seeds are ready for the reveal. They were nothing like what I expected. I thought they’d be bigger, heavier. I thought these flakes resembling raisins were just bloom residue, and that my experiment had failed.


The amaryllis yesterday before breaking off the seeds

As they were blowing away on the porch, my science-teacher husband picked one up, crumbled the brittle flake, and showed me the inner seed. Duh. If I were stranded alone on a dessert island I think I’d be crab food in two weeks flat.

The seeds, which were blowing in the wind

Only two of the bloom centers “took” the fertilization; they’re the bigger black ones in the photo above the one of Don's hand.

When I plant the seeds, the books tell me it will take 2-3 years to grow bulbs.

You can see the tan seed among the black detritus

Want to read about a different Mary Magdalene adventure in Paris? Go here.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

"..it will take 2-3 years to grow bulbs." The pleasure will be all the greater for the wait :) But that is a long time, I did not know that.

Now I'm off to read about Paris...
:D

Ruth said...

Yes, DW, I wonder if I can stick with it that long . . .

Ginnie Hart said...

Don't you just love Don to death! Well, knowing you, the two years will indeed be worth it and you'll be posting about it all before you know it. HA. Time flies when you're having so much fun.

Ruth said...

Yes, I do, and I don't know what I'd do without him, or you, Ginnie!

rauf said...

Simply gorgeous Ruth !
I would wait for ever if it results in such glory.

You have changed your profile picture Ruth. You must be having a good reason for the change. The previous one relected your charming personality and philosophy.

Ruth said...

Yes, Rauf, I changed my profile picture because the beautiful brown lotus blossom, no matter how much I love it, is not mine. I found it doing an internet search of images, and I borrowed it. But I never felt good about that.

The new picture is from a post back in Feb.: http://ruthie822.blogspot.com/2006/02/arabesque.html#links about my color on the colorstrology chart. This is a piece of a beautiful scarf my friend Inge gave me. It is my color: arabesque, it reminds me of Rumi, and it is a gift from my dear friend. That is why I'm using it.