Those are really pretty, Holly!

My primary indoor plant is amaryllis--speaking of which, I need to get my new bulbs planted!

I saved last years Amaryllis and grew them in the ground this summer so I am interested in seeing whether they will bloom for me. Of course then there are all the new bulbs that I bought from the Co-op that I will give as presents.

It's nice to give them as gifts
Hope last year's bloom nicely for you!

I have the coop ones sitting here by my computer, waiting for me to catalog and then plant them!

Hope one of these days I can get some energy and actually *do* something instead of just thinking about it!!

I give quite a few away at Christmas so this year I am keeping all the ones from last year for myself and seeing if they will grow. Some of the people that I give Amaryllis to are older and when they are done blooming I get a call what do I do with it now. So I usually tell them to just toss them, last year I went and picked many of them back up to try growing them again.

that's a good idea, Holly--at $8 or so a bulb, it does seem worth trying to get more than one season out of them!

Fellow amaryllis lovers, here's a Washington Post article on how to care for them.

https://www.washingtonpost.com...

Nice article, SSG! Beautiful photos.
I'm having trouble now with some of my tallest ones beginning to lean over. I do turn them pretty often, since they grow towards the light.

Apple Blossom just bloomed today!



It's the first time I've grown this one.
The colors are not quite what I expected! Hope I did not get another mislabeled bulb?

Hmmm that does look a bit different from the pictures I've seen on line. I hope you get reports back from others who got the same variety.

I think Apple Blossom is a more overall pink. I have one from several year ago, and it doesn't quite look like that. I am definitely not that great at plant id though, so don't put your money on what I say

Aspen, I think both you and SSG are right! I'll look up the images for the bulbs I have that haven't bloomed yet and see if *I* mixed something up!

Okay, I checked, and it is actually Amaryllis Moon Scene, another bulb I got! I must have mixed up the labels while I was planting.

'Double Dream' just opened this morning!
One of my all-time favorites.

Hey, people, I have just caught up with you here.
Streps can be fantastic for me. Sadly, I killed off my two over summer, but in winter they go under lights and get going and blooming, then will bloom in my bedroom for a while.

Oncidiumd type orchids like Holly is showing have been pretty easy for rebloom too. I think my habit of leaving everything out until they get shorter days and good day-night temperature swings works well for them.

Favorite underrated plant- variegated Dracaeni braunii, the lowly lucky bamboo. DS wanted a plant so I got a little one, as a small potted plant, Its about 3-4 years old now. Gets a little thin in winter with low light, but never looks bad, and it's been adding new stems while the older keep getting taller. They just get tall and thin. It's easy to find a spot for it in the house, because of its small footprint and not fussy light needs.

I love common house plants, like spider plants and peace lilies. Peace lilies are the best because they wilt if you don't water them for a week, which is a great reminder for me to water the rest of the house plants.

And they are great air cleaning plants according to nasa!

I got a beautiful strep at a seed swap a few years ago and promptly killed it.

And I love succulents that bloom in the winter. Beautiful rosettes that look pretty year round, and they bloom indoors in the winter when nothing else is blooming.

Eek!

I have a pretty severe insect infestation on my begonia. It looks like aphids? I sprayed it with a mix of alcohol and soap. I might just prune out the heavily infected areas.

Ugh, just what you need, SSG!
I would probably prune some of it out, too.

Are these indoor container plants?

Yes, this Dragon Wing spends summers outside and winters indoors. It's usually very healthy and doesn't require any care at all. I should have checked it earlier for bugs (I'd noticed awhile ago that the floor around it was sticky), but it's usually so carefree that it didn't even occur to me that insects would be bothering it.

SSG, yesterday would have been a good day to take it outside and wash it off. You might want to wrap a bag around the pot, and tip the stems over a sink, and hose them off. Pick out the worst stuff. And scrape off the top of the soil and get rid of it.

I have some trouble keeping begonias happy. Sometimes they are great and sometimes I really struggle.

I gave my Brug cuttings a shot of Bayer flower food with systemic, after spraying for mites. I figure, under lights, the Brugs would want to grow and would use the food. They are rebounding but I don't think the mites are really gone. You can never assume you've conquered spider mites.

I found a ton of orange aphids on my tropical milkweed cuttings a few weeks ago. I cleaned as best I could but am still finding a few popping up.

Darn, you're right! Had a busy day yesterday and didn't even think of it. I drenched it with my oil concoction the other day and will try again today, and take it outside the next warm day!