Hippeastrum Rosalie - Amaryllis

Amaryllis 'Rosalie' is a brand new variety of hippeastrum. It has a unique fruity colour, a washed out orange-pink with watermelon red, with white and iridescent areas that beautifully reflect light when diving into a green throat. Each sturdy stem produces 4 to 5 spectacular flowers, which are particularly durable, and each bulb produces 2 or 3 solid stems where its large cones with delicious sorbet tones are tightly packed. Simply magnificent!

Originally from the subtropical regions of Central and South America, Hippeastrum are frost-sensitive plants belonging to the Amaryllidaceae family, generally grown in pots in our latitudes. When in full bloom, the Rosalie variety forms a clump of 40 to 50 cm (16 to 20in) in height and 30 cm (12in) in width. It offers very round, wide flowers with a particularly thick and fleshy substance, responsible for its good longevity. The flower is composed of overlapping rounded petals, light salmon pink in color, washed with darker pink and traversed by a widening white midline towards their tips. The heart of the flower is anise green, releasing a bunch of long, curved stamens in a tender pink with a white base. 4 to 6 flowers proudly tower over a large and thick hollow stem that will soon be followed by one or two others. Positioned back-to-back and nestled against each other, they together form a unique composition. The leaves are deciduous, ribbon-shaped, and medium green.

Planting Amaryllis is a very rewarding experience. Hippeastrum is very easy to grow and its growth is extremely fast; 6 to 10 weeks after planting, the flowers are already in bloom. You can enjoy them throughout the winter. If you want to give it as a Christmas gift, make sure to plant it at the beginning of November. The Rosalie variety does not need companions to showcase its obvious beauty. You can plant a few simple snowdrop bulbs at its base, just to dress up its slightly rigid stems. Preferably expose it to the sun in front of a window, for example. Trim the stem when the flowers fade to promote floral regrowth.

Speaking of Amaryllis is actually a misuse of language directly linked to a mistake made in the 18th century. It was Linnaeus himself who used it to name the American species. However, the name was already being used for another beautiful flower, this one from South Africa. Conventionally, the denomination Amaryllis was kept for both. And to distinguish them, the mention Hippeastrum was added for the first one and Belladona for the second. It must be said that both deserve this name: Amaryllis means 'sparkling' and, in classical Greek literature, the plant was the subject of a pastoral poem where the beautiful shepherdess Amaryllis dies of a love that will only become accessible to her after a terrible wound and from her blood will emerge beautiful bunches of red flowers.