Hippeastrum papilio (Butterfly Amaryllis)

Hippeastrum papilio (Butterfly Amaryllis) is truly fascinating with its large, elegant flowers, up to 6 in. across (15 cm), and remarkable coloring. Resembling a butterfly with its gracefully pointed petals and long stamens, each breathtaking flower boasts pale cream petals with a chartreuse throat, all delicately striped with burgundy as if hand-painted. The flowers rise well above the foliage of long, strap-shaped, fleshy leaves. Robust, this semi-evergreen species may flower twice a year, in spring and fall, and will also come back year after year. Easy to grow in pots or in the garden, it can even take some mild frost on the leaves in winter.

• Elegantly rising up to 20 in. (50 cm), each bulb often produces 2-3 stems with 2-5 flowers per stem and blooms after 8-10 weeks.
• Incredibly easy to plant, nearly foolproof to grow, it provides weeks and even months of bloom indoors as potted plants or cut flowers. What more could you want?
• Since the flowers do not bloom simultaneously, the overall flowering period lasts a fairly long time.
• The nice thing about forcing Amaryllis bulbs into flower in the home is that it is so simple to do. What’s more, once the bulbs have flowered, they can be stored and brought into flower again.
• Ingestion may cause stomach upset.
• Toxic to dogs, toxic to cats, toxic to horses.
• Native to tropical forests of the Atlantic Coast of southern Brazil.