Growth and Hope

Two amaryllis bulbs + two pots + expanding soil = two curious kids eager to track the growth of their chosen bulbs. Cuckoo Grandma brought these fun gifts for the kids; Sara chose pink and white while William picked the bright red one. Little did he know that the red variety blooms later than the other… at least we hoped that was what was going on as we witnessed her bulb shooting up quickly (sometimes an inch a day) while his quietly stood by.

We measured Sara’s bulb a few times and recorded our findings but our little scientific experiment was overshadowed by William’s disappointment. I explained that this was part of the process and sometimes bulbs and seeds sprout at different times and sometimes they won’t even grow at all but to not give up on his bulb yet. When glorious blush-colored flowers as big as Sara’s head proudly started opening, I knew it was time to take action.

Upon closer inspection (ie. yanking the non-performing bulb out of the soil) we found considerable root rot. After plucking off all the soft brown bits we left behind 4 or 5 nice fresh white roots, said some encouraging words to the red amaryllis bulb, buried it again, and hoped. Two days later we were still hoping but on the third day we saw a glimmer of life! One of the sprouting leaves looked slightly taller and a new green tip was also starting to show. I am so happy to report that in one day William’s bulb grew at least a half inch and has continued at a remarkable rate. It is now a promising 7 inches tall and we’re still enjoying the gorgeous pink flowers of Sara’s plant. Now William explains to everyone (as I have been saying in an encouraging tone this whole past month since planting), that once Sara’s is all done, we’ll have pretty red flowers to look at so it’s cool that his was slower. Phew! Close call.