New snow Tuesday morning gives a different perspective to our landscape … I hope you can take the time to appreciate the form and texture of grasses, twigs, and matured flower heads, etc. That is the reason I didn’t encourage pruning earlier … you’d just be looking at a mound of stumps or less … for the next five months! Amaryllis bulbs are offered for sale this time of year, and they make an excellent gift plant. My father-in-law didn’t have an appreciation for houseplants, but the amaryllis was a plant he enjoyed because of the drama they gave in the growing process. Bulbs are normally dormant when you purchase them. We sell them potted so you don’t have to mess with that. If you buy the bulb unpotted, you need to select a pot that is one inch larger than the diameter of the bulb. Plant the bulb so that its widest part is at soil level … so after planting, half of the bulb will be visible above the soil. Water the soil lightly and set the pot in a warm place. Light is not an issue until the bulb begins to grow … but then it is a really big issue! When either flower buds or leaves begin to emerge from the bulb, you need to place the pot in very bright light … preferably in a sunny window. If the light is not bright enough, the bud stem will stretch and lean toward the light.Once the new growth begins, keep the soil uniformly moist … like a cake is moist … too wet will cause the roots to rot. The drama comes from how quickly the plant develops and comes into bloom. Flowers may precede the leaves, come at the same time, or come after the leaves have emerged … there is no set pattern. The size of the bulb will determine the number of flower stems and the number of flowers per stem. Our bulbs are the largest available and frequently produce two or three flower stems. When the flowers are finished, cut the flower stalk down to the bulb, but do not cut off the leaves. During the next several months, those leaves are building the flower buds in the bulb for the next season, much the same as our tulip and daffodil bulbs do in the spring. Therefore, it is important to use a plant food in the water you give the amaryllis and to keep it in bright light to insure blooms for the next year. After danger of frost in the spring, you can plant the bulb out in the garden, in a not-so-visible place, but don’t forget to dig it and replant it before frost in the fall!