Five years, to be precise.

I had received three different amaryllis bulbs as gifts over two different years and a pair of them bloomed at the same time in 2018, a nice white and a glorious crimson red. Hey, why don’t I cross-pollinate them and see what happens? Well, I successfully sprouted a dozen or more seedlings in two different trays. Here they are back in July, 2018:

They had to be carefully nursed being so small, and wasn’t until 2020 I was able to repot them and give them full summer sun after carefully acclimatizing them to full intensity. Each year they’ve grown, but with a setback a bit two years ago with a case of sunscald because I put them into the garden without easing them into full sun. Last year I was much more careful and the bulbs fattened up nicely (despite growing numerous offsets, which are now also getting larger).

Well, my patience is soon to be paid off handsomely. The most buds I’ve ever had is three. This year there are ELEVEN coming up, with seven soloists and two bulbs sending up two bud stalks. Here’s the largest pot:

I’m like a nervous expectant dad — a lot can still go wrong — but excited to have what could be an amazing display of color in four or five weeks. Patience seems to have paid off! Unfortunately they’re just too big to scan so I’ll have to enjoy them the old fashioned way: live and through photography.