Sandy, I've been giving one of these in to my daughter's classroom every year since she was 4. It's the best plant for kids! This year's batch was really slow, though -- I planted mine at Thanksgiving, and it just finally bloomed this week. Usually they're a lot quicker. But this one is drop-dead gorgeous (I always go for the bright red, but sometimes the kid roots for peppermint stripes. This year I won.)

I like your Dad Sandy, he's cool, and 1" per night, that's impressive.

I love to grow amaryllis!! Unfortunately, they tend to do WAY better the next Spring after I have tossed them in the compost pile...somewhere I have a pic of the most BEAUTIFUL Amaryllis growing in my COMPOST pile!! LOL!!!

i can't grow them. it's not me, it's my cat. he eats plants. i can't even have the ones that wouldn't hurt him, because he would eat it to the ground! the only plant he never ate was a norfolk pine i bought at christmas time, and that's because the needles poked him.

i can't even have flowers unless i put them where he can't reach it, like a table top too small for him to jump up on. i still see teethmarks in things!

You can also grow them sitting on the top of a vase with water in it. Or in a vase with stones to keep it from getting too wet. In some climates, they do well in the ground, too. :D

Mine is now 2 feet tall, but mine had a jump start on your Donna Lily. I still think you'll have a red bloom and maybe in time for Valentine's day!

You know that "planting" bit? You don't even need to do that - we had one lying around still in the box we'd bought it in - and it just grew there. The poor thing was a most peculiar shape, but it grew!

I think Igor would eat it.

I need to get one of those -- it could use some cheering up around here. I just got my veggie seed order. But it's "warmed up" to 10 degrees today. Don't think I'll be planting beans any time soon. :)

Sandy, the very BEST part about an amaryllis is that they will do this over and over again!! My MIL gave me one a few years ago and it came with instructions to encourage another growth cycle: After the bloom dies, cut off the stem and the leaves. Put it in a cool, dry place, let it sit dormant for a while (a month?), then, bring it into the light, start watering it again and TA-DAH! Another bloom!

They are very hardy bulbs. Sometimes, I'd check on the "dormant" bulb and it would have started sprouting leaves again!

I think my bulb bloomed about 4 times before I completely forgot it one summer and it dried out to the point of no return.

I love these flowers. I should get myself one. Hmmmm.

Come see mine! Paperwhites, too!

I get my eccentric side from my dad too.

In Latin, the plural of nouns that end in -is is usually -es, so Amaryllises would be technically what you are looking for..

I get excited when a chance to use my degree pops up. *sigh*

I grew one once many years ago and it was really fun.