Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Amaryllis Day 1


Yippee!  On Christmas day I received a garden related item.  My brother brought over a boxed Amaryllis bulb - Minerva from Israel. It's a beautiful variety.


When my youngest gnome was a small boy, he could count on his uncle bringing him one of these science/garden projects on his birthday just 8 days after Christmas.  Each year we would open the box, remove the contents, and follow the instructions. Every time there would be a giant flower or two to enjoy.  So, today I opened the box and carefully removed the contents to begin the potting/growing process.


Yikes!  This thing was more like Medusa trying to work its way out of the box.  My brother and I are well acquainted with scoliosis; so this specimen was meant to be.  At first, I thought I would let nature take its course; but I just couldn't.  Like a Milwaukee brace or hardware on Forrest Gump's legs, I had to provide some sort of help to right the abuse this bulb had endured.


A bent wire coat hanger graced with a hummingbird ornament will help to slowly straighten this gal right up.  In a few more days, her color and posture should improve.  I'll post progress here.  I bet I'm not the only one that has one of these.

Minerva Trivia:
Did you know that is Minerva on the State of California Seal?  Well now you do.

1849
updated 1937

2 comments:

Donna said...

Interesting. I can't wait to see the progress.

Unknown said...

I'm sure with your care the flowers will be stunning, even if the stem is a little lopsided!