It is impossible to imagine winter and spring windowsills without spectacular hippeastrums. They amaze not only with the size of their bulbs and luxurious flowers, but also with their amazing diversity. Every year, the range of catalogs is replenished with “fresh” varieties, allowing these giants to never go out of fashion. And it is no coincidence that new varieties of simple or double hippeastrums are always awaited with great impatience. The hits of this season are expressive, bright and easy-to-grow hippeastrums, distinguished by increasingly stable flowering and increased resistance to pests and diseases.
The popularity and status of a new variety of hippeastrums is almost always a guarantee of quality. At least, this is evidenced by the admiring reviews of both the first after purchase and the genuine “home” flowering of new varieties. True, the status of a new one does not always indicate that the variety has just been registered: several years pass before hippeastrums reach us and get “on the market”. But even if not immediately, the best “hits” always justify their considerable price.
Let’s take a closer look at the varieties that have become the best hits of the 2022 season. Flower companies and garden centers have prepared new products that meet the main trends among bulbous plants, relying on extravagance, expressiveness of forms and festive “Christmas” colors.
Hippeastrum ‘Park Striped’ (Hippeastrum ‘Park Striped’)
The wavy, pointed petals of this unique variety’s perfectly symmetrical flower are accented by wide white stripes down the middle, creating a star-like pattern. Along the sides, red strokes form an almost feather-like variegated pattern.
With a height of only up to 40 cm and a diameter of up to 15 cm, the variety seems to be one of the most massive. Flower stalks with three buds open 8-10 weeks after planting.
Hippeastrum ‘Pleasure’ (Hippeastrum ‘Pleasure’)
One of the tallest varieties with a narrowed flower shape attracts primarily with its raspberry-pink, very rich shade of uniform color, the intensity of which only benefits from the special luminous, finest texture of the petals. Unusual buds bloom into flowers about 20 cm in diameter. The stamens contrast interestingly with the darker throat of the flower. The variety is completely odorless.
The bulbs usually produce a pair of flower stalks. One inflorescence has up to 5 buds, each of which opens for 2 weeks. The leaves appear very late, at the end of flowering.
Hippeastrum ‘Table Dance’
The flower diameter of less than 15 cm does not prevent this hippeastrum from seeming one of the most massive. Very large and wide petals in the gramophone-shaped flower surprise with a grassy scent and white-red ripples. Brown peduncles also add charm.
The flattened bulbs produce very thick and straight stems only up to 40 cm high. The leaves are strikingly dark.
Hippeastrum ‘Zombie’ (Hippeastrum ‘Zombie’)
An unusual hippeastrum with drooping funnel-shaped flowers, the first thing that catches the eye is the transition from dark green, similar to the peduncle, to the creamy tips on the outside of the flower. Densely double, multi-tiered, with dark thin lines on a delicate coral-cream-pink background, flowers up to 15 cm in diameter bloom 4 pieces on stalks, the number of which directly depends on the quality of care.
The height of the variety is only up to 40 cm. The leaves rise above the flower and over time gracefully curve into an arc.
Hippeastrum ‘Provence’ (Hippeastrum ‘Provence’)
A tall variety with powerful stems up to 60 cm high, crowned with a very dense inflorescence. Huge flowers up to 20 cm in diameter bloom one after another or in pairs, surprising with almost rounded petals. Leaves with a slight purple touch contrast with both bright green peduncles and inflorescences reminiscent of pastel and watercolor. Pale creamy shades of flowers mix with coral, offering to admire the play of transitions, strokes and dark red brushstrokes, turning each flower into a unique pastel miracle.
This variety blooms 6-8 weeks after planting the bulbs. Large, round, they are capable of producing a pair of flower stalks.
Hippeastrum ‘Sunshine Nymph’ (Hippeastrum ‘Sunshine Nymph’)
Enormous flowers up to 25 cm in diameter with unique strongly striped, variegated coral flowers seem like real stars due to their dense terry. One of the brightest varieties from the Nymph series seems to glow from within. The belt-shaped leaves are very wide, of a rich “forest” color.
Each bulb produces 2 flower stalks, but often only up to 3 flowers bloom on them. The compact size – height up to 40 cm – does not prevent this hippeastrum from seeming like an impressive giant.
Hippeastrum ‘Candy Queen’
Seemingly almost perfectly round and flat, the flowers of this variety really do look like a lollipop. True, a huge one, sometimes reaching a diameter of 30 cm. Bright, cheerful, neon pink, raspberry-lollipop color contrasts with a small light green spot in the throat. The leaves seem amazingly small compared to the peduncles, collected in a very dense fan.
A unique variety with the ability to bloom for an amazingly long time. The height of the shoots is up to 40–50 cm.
Hippeastrum ‘Candy Nymph’
Another bright pink, densely double, with huge flowers up to 25 cm in diameter, a new hippeastrum for fans of rich aromas. The herbaceous-sweet smell seems to reflect the intensity of the shades. The buds are light, the stripes are almost invisible, but graceful. The tongue-shaped petals with a wavy edge look unusual.
The bulb of this variety is capable of producing up to 3 flower stalks with 3–6 flowers in each.
Hippeastrum ‘Mystica’
South African hippeastrum, captivating with the exclusive beauty of stunningly graceful and exotic inflorescences on very high peduncles. Elongated claw-shaped petals, curled at the ends and the flow of color from dark red to light yellow make no less an impression than the light reverse side, dark and light strokes.
At a height of up to 60 cm, this hippeastrum seems like a real gentle giant. And the diameter of the flower is “only” 10-15 cm does not seem like a disadvantage at all.
Hippeastrum ‘Eyecatcher’
The huge bulbs of this variety produce a pair of peduncles, crowned with 3-4 flowers in a loose inflorescence. But it is not the height of 60-70 cm, but the bright red flowers with a white “star” and green in the throat, medium-sized, up to 15 cm in diameter, that make the variety an eye-catcher.
The variety is completely odorless. The leaves are very dark.
Hippeastrum ‘Happy Nymph’
This is one of the brightest, richly red, terry hippeastrums with bizarre curves of wavy petals, the size of which decreases towards the center of the flower. Scarlet shades are emphasized by white wide stripes and light strokes. And a green, almost emerald spot at the base of the “throat” makes the flowers glow from the inside. Straight light leaves seem to support a very thick and powerful peduncle. With a diameter of up to 20 cm, the flowers amaze already at the bud stage with their variegated patterns. And the aroma makes the variety even more spectacular.
This variety of hippeastrum is quite demanding in terms of fertilizers and lighting. But it is distinguished by the fact that flowering is stable every year.
Hippeastrum ‘Velvet Nymph’
The flowers resemble terry daffodils because the outer circle of petals creates a kind of frame for the terry center. The texture is satin, the color is almost pure scarlet, dark red. White strokes are not immediately noticeable and appear unevenly. Inflorescences rise significantly higher than the leaves, creating the illusion of floating bouquets.
One of the “trump cards” of the variety is a very long flowering and accelerated growth. Leaves appear very late, at the height of flowering.
Hippeastrum ‘Premiere’
The massive velvet flower of the classic form looks so impressive that it will outshine any competitor. The flowers sometimes exceed 20 cm in diameter and look like impeccable aristocrats. The luxurious dark wine shade shimmers with different nuances depending on the light due to the unique velvety effect. The aroma is unusual.
This is one of the longest flowering and “predictable” forcing varieties, from planting to flowering it always takes about 90 days. The bulb is pear-shaped, producing one peduncle with an inflorescence of 3-5 flowers.
Hippeastrum ‘Scarlet Belle’
A densely double, somewhat reminiscent of a dark scarlet dahlia in its structure. Miniature white spots are almost invisible on the satin background of the petals. The shoots of the hippeastrum are very thick, the leaves are bright and thin. The main distinguishing feature is the sweet aroma.
Each inflorescence has 6 buds. The bulbs are very massive, but produce one peduncle.
New varieties – the same growing rules
All hippeastrums have common rules for care and planting. They like bright lighting and careful watering. The bulb is planted in a light soil mixture and a pot selected according to their size (distance to the walls is 2-3 cm), leaving a third above the soil surface. The key to future flowering is to let the plant go into a dormant period on its own, not to cut the leaves before they naturally wither, stopping fertilizing in time and reducing watering. It is not difficult to organize a dry dormant period without fertilizing for several months.
