pick_me

2/21/2008

What is going on?

amaryllis
Amaryllis bottom of leaves.


I posted about how my Minerva Amaryllis has not bloomed yet. Then I noticed that the bottom of it has this purplish red tint. This didn't used to be there and just recently appeared. Now is this normal? Or is my Amaryllis lacking some nutrients that I'm not aware off. I slack off on feeding my Amaryllis, it's just always forgotten. When I attended a meeting for the Texas Nursery and Landscape Associate for my herbaceous plants class the speaker mentioned a purple tinge being lack of phosphorous. If anyone knows if this is normal do tell.

close up


Today while I was potting some seedlings that I've had in peat pots for awhile I discovered something. ANTS!!! There was one pot when I picked it up a ton of little ants were everywhere underneath it. I'm horrified. Do ants cause harm to plants. I have no idea if these are fire ants either because I have had a few stings in the past and had no idea how I got them. I wonder what I can do to get rid of them. I read briefly online of some natural remedies but I am skeptical. For one I've read that mint repels ants. I have two mints. One is spearmint and the other chocolate mint. The chocolate mint is always infested with ants and aphids. I'll spray it with some water and soap they will disappear for a day or two then come back. I love mint and wish I could plant a million pots of it but I don't want only mint plants on my balcony. I've never tried infusing mint in the water and watering my plants that way to get rid of the ants. I have a dog so anything natural is a very big plus. If I spray something on the plants I'm sure she will lick it or eat it when I am not looking. She has been known to nibble on certain plants. She loves to sniff the lemon balm and the chocolate mint but then will lick them.

I'm thinking of getting rid of the chocolate mint. I'm tired of spraying it every other day for aphids. It's the only plant on my balcony really giving me a hard time. I looked everywhere for that chocolate mint and was so happy to find it. Now I'd be so happy to get rid of the aphids it has that I just want to toss it out. No matter how good it smells darn it!

3 comments:

Kylee Baumle said...

Some amaryllis have tinted foliage like this. I think I read something about it quite awhile ago and that it can be normal for some varieties. My 'La Paz' tends to be tinted red a little. It looks healthy to me, but if you find out any differently, let me know.

Priscilla George said...

Thanks Kylee for commenting. I asked on garden web amaryllis/hippestrum forum and two people replied that it is normal and just shows that the amaryllis has gotten plenty of light. One person mentioned that she had 3 bulbs that didn't flower and just produced leaves. Maybe it's something the growers aren't doing. I'll try to save this amaryllis bulb and try again next year.

Kylee Baumle said...

I keep my amaryllis bulbs year after year. I put them in the ground outside in the summer. Sometimes the bulbs you buy may be too small for that particular variety to produce a flower, but if you keep them and grow them year round, they will eventually bloom. I had a couple of mine bloom during the summer while they were outside in the ground. That was a surprise!