In A Vase On Monday – Blue Vase

40 Replies

In A Vase On Monday – Blue Vase

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of materials gathered from our gardens.

I previewed this hippeastrum (amaryllis) a few days ago before any flowers had fully opened. We received the pre-planted bulb a couple weeks before Christmas, a thoughtful surprise from our niece and her family. I love the color and detect a slight fragrance (almost pepperminty), which I’ve never experienced with these flowers before.

In A Vase On Monday – Blue Vase

It has been fun watching the plant in action. To use as a cut flower it is recommended to cut the stem when the bud is at marshmallow stage, before the flower has opened, but generally it should be okay to harvest at a later stage. Three of my six buds are now in full bloom with the center-facing one actually starting to fade slightly.  I made the cut about an inch above the bulb and placed the stem in water for conditioning for several hours before using. Now the bulb can concentrate on nurturing the two remaining stalks.

In A Vase On Monday – Blue Vase

Stately and serene, the lidded ceramic jar is one of my favorite vases for holding white flowers. It was a gift from my daughter so I send her a little smile whenever I use it.

In A Vase On Monday – Blue Vase

Materials
Flowers
Hippeastrum (amaryllis)
Foliage
Arum Italicum
Container
Dark blue matte ceramic jar (by NC potter Julie A. Hunkins, c. 2000)

Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting and giving us an opportunity to share flower-filled vases across the world. Visit her to discover what surprises she and others found to place in a vase this week.

40 thoughts on “In A Vase On Monday – Blue Vase”

  3. lammjane

    Thanks for posting. Just beautiful and I had never though about using these for cut flowers but they are beautiful arranged like this. You look at the flower instead ov being amazed by that tall stem. Also the thought it gives the bulb free to give energy to the remaining flowers is something I have never thought about.

    Love using something one of my children have given me. Lots of good memories.

    Jane

    >

    Reply ↓
    1. pbmgarden Post author

      One year there were lots of amaryllis at an NC Museum of Art floral demo. I just loved how they looked. As to the info about the bulb able to concentrate on the remaining stalks–well I read it on the internet!

      Reply ↓
  4. Annette

    Such a beauty and the vase complements it perfectly, Susie. I don’t know why I don’t grow Amaryllis, maybe because they’re sometimes tricky to bring into flower again. What are your experiences? Or do you buy new bulbs each year?

    Reply ↓
    1. pbmgarden Post author

      Thanks Annette. Where I live one can plant the Amaryllis in the ground after it blooms and it’ll rebloom. My sisters have some that come up every year and bloom beautifully. Mine are hit or miss, but I’ll try it anyway.

      Reply ↓
  6. Cathy

    Oopsies! I don’t know if I came out of this before I had clicked ‘send’, so will try and recreate my comment which you may then get twice!
    A pepperminty fragrance – how curious! These multi-petalled hippeastrum are especially attractive, as is the fact that this is a pure white. The arum leaf provides the perfect contrast, as does the dark blue vase – is it unglazed stoneware? Thanks for sharing Susie

    Reply ↓
    1. pbmgarden Post author

      Your message came through only once Cathy. Thanks for pulling double duty. The fragrance is surprising. I’m not good at describing scents but pepperminty came to mind. The blue vase is finished with a matte glaze.

      Reply ↓
      1. Cathy

        I must have just clicked the wrong thing, but at least I knew roughly what I had said. Fragrances are very hard to be specific about so there must have been a hint of peppermint for you to specify this

  9. krispeterson100

    For whatever reason, I’ve never grown a pure white Amaryllis here, which is clearly a serious omission. All those I have in pots have barely gotten started this year but maybe the temperatures in the 80s we’re expecting this week will get them moving.

    Reply ↓
    1. pbmgarden Post author

      The amaryllis was a gift so I didn’t choose the color, but I definitely would recommend it. You must grow a lot of them? I’d love to have a big supply to use in arrangements but am never organized to get them ordered.

      Reply ↓
    1. pbmgarden Post author

      Maybe so. I prefer the amaryllis as a cut flower and figured it was worth it to use it this way regardless, but I did read it should generally last about the same time.

      Reply ↓
      1. tonytomeo

        That is your experience too? I only cut one once, and felt rather guilty about doing so. It had fallen over, and the stem was broken. It seemed to last as long as it would have if attached to the bulb, but I always believed that it would have lasted even longer if I had not cut it. I really do not know. I did prefer it in a vase than attached to a bulb in a pot.

    1. pbmgarden Post author

      Thanks. It’s holding up well so I’m glad I cut it for the vase. I agree the long stalks aren’t that interesting. I don’t grow amaryllis often–do they normally have much fragrance of any kind?

      Reply ↓
    1. pbmgarden Post author

      Yes I’ve seen that technique at a demo. Does it work? Two of the three blooms fell yesterday and other looks ready this morning. 4-5 days. Not sure how long they last on the stem as I rarely grow them. Now I’ll see if remaining three buds get a chance to open.

      Reply ↓

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