Faith restored

After suffering a crisis of confidence that this "Royal Velvet" amaryllis would survive an affliction of soft spots and moldy roots, my faith is restored.



It has sent up two stalks topped with eight flowers. The color is difficult to capture: it is a deep, saturated, and slightly bluish shade of red. Luscious in real life. Here, sunlight catches the yellow tips of the stamens curving from a flower's throat.



My big lesson here is basic amaryllis care: cut soft spots from bulbs, do not plant bulbs without removing soft spots, trim off any mushy areas. How else can I phrase it? So glad that I took the knife to this one--a couple of cuts saved its life.