NO WATER-AMARYLLIS: THE NEW HOLIDAY FLOWERING PLANT

The waterless Amaryllis is starting to rival the poinsettia as a floral choice for the holiday season. We received 2 Red Lion Amaryllis plants last night! They are beautiful bulb plant that produces large, colorful bell-shaped flowers and thrives indoors. No watering! I had seen them before but not often. I thought they were like the Christmas cactus. They are more like tulips actually. I spent this morning studying these gorgeous red flowers.

Most people treat their amaryllis bulbs as "one-and-done" flowers. In truth, they just get better with time. The bulbs get bigger, producing more flower stems. Here are some steps for taking care of your amaryllis year-round.

Waxed Amaryllis bulbs are an innovation from Holland. They have been trendy in Europe for a few years. Now they are increasingly showing up in US stores and catalogs.

Why coat amaryllis bulbs with wax? Because it renders them easy to grow—no water or soil; they could not be more trouble-free. All the nutrients necessary to grow the bloom are already packed in the big round bulb. Possibly the colored wax also makes the plant more beautiful. The coating on the bulb looks jewel-like.

Amaryllis species are tropical and subtropical. Consequently, the Dutch who produce 93% of the world’s bulbs grow their amaryllis in Brazil where conditions are perfect for the plants.

Amaryllis is the only genus in the subtribe Amaryllidinae. It is a small genus of flowering bulbs, with two species. The better known of the two, Amaryllis belladonna, is a native of the Western Cape region of South Africa, particularly the rocky southwest area between the Olifants River Valley and Knysna.

THOSE GORGEOUS PINK FLAMINGOS!

Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae. Four flamingo species are distributed throughout the Americas, including the Caribbean, and two species are native to Africa, Asia, and Europe.

The name "flamingo" comes from Portuguese or Spanish Flamengo, "flame-colored", in turn coming from Provençal flamenc from flama "flame" and Germanic-like suffix -ing, with a possible influence of words like "Fleming".

Flamingos usually stand on one leg while the other is tucked beneath their bodies. The reason for this behavior is not fully understood. One theory is that standing on one leg allows the birds to conserve more body heat, given that they spend a significant amount of time wading in cold water.

A well-fed, healthy flamingo is more vibrantly colored, thus a more desirable mate; a white or pale flamingo, however, is usually unhealthy or malnourished.

Flamingos filter-feed on brine shrimp and blue-green algae as well as larva, small insects, mollusks and crustaceans making them omnivores. Their bills are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they eat, and are uniquely used upside-down.

Flamingos are very social birds; they live in colonies whose population can number in the thousands. These large colonies are believed to serve three purposes for the flamingos: avoiding predators, maximizing food intake, and using scarcely suitable nesting sites more efficiently.

Young flamingos hatch with greyish-red plumage, but adults range from light pink to bright red due to aqueous bacteria and beta-carotene obtained from their food supply.

Flamingos are capable flyers, and flamingos in captivity often require wing clipping to prevent escape.