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Waxed amaryllis bulbs placed on a counter in a bright room

Filed Under: Garden Tagged With: christmas, houseplants, master gardener

Growing Waxed Amaryllis Bulbs

April 14, 2025 By Lucy Mercer Leave a Comment

Growing waxed amaryllis bulbs is pretty simple: open package, place plant on surface, watch as it grows a little bit each day and ultimately explodes into vibrant blooms.

I’ve grown amaryllis bulbs in previous years. The kits that come with a disk of potting media and a planter are lovely gifts at Christmas and super easy to assemble: soak the potting media in water, place in planter, insert bulb and then place in bright indirect light until it blooms.

Waxed Amaryllis Bulbs

A few years ago, I started seeing waxed amaryllis bulbs for sale. The colorful wax seals the bulbs and lets you grow the flower without any soil media. In early December, my friends at Garden Media Group sent me a pair of waxed amaryllis bulbs. I placed them in a dish on my counter and waited for the show. I didn’t have to wait long, a little more than a month later, on January 12, the blooms opened.

Red amaryllis blooms from waxed amaryllis bulbs
Red amaryllis blooms emerge from foot-tall stems that emerge from waxed bulbs. The wax seals in the bulbs and lets you grow amaryllis without potting media. Photo by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

The amaryllis show continued throughout the winter, with multiple stems emerging and putting forth blooms. I didn’t offer them a drop of water, in fact, the only care required was trimming the spent stalks.

Planting Waxed Amaryllis Bulbs Outdoors

Because I live in the cooler part of amaryllis’ hardiness area, I decided to give the bulbs a chance at a second life in my garden. I’m in metro Atlanta, hardiness zone 8a, and amaryllis can come back given the right conditions, a suitable microclimate and a not-too-brutal winter. Fingers crossed this will work.

The wax coating was simple to remove. Here are the step-by-step photos:

Two waxed amaryllis bulbs on a potting bench
First, I trimmed the withered flower stalks from the waxed amaryllis bulb. Photo by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books.
Two waxed amaryllis bulbs on a potting bench
Next, I remove the wire holder at the base. This took a little bit of hand strength, but not too much. Be careful of the blunt ends of the wire. Photo by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books
A waxed amaryllis bulb with the wax cut away with a pair of scissors
Next, I used a pair of ordinary household scissors to cut away the wax. I discarded the wax and wiped off the flower bulb. Photo by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books
An amaryllis bulb in a garden bed
I placed the clean amaryllis bulb in a sunny part of my garden bed. Photo by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Some glitter remained on the bulb, but I don’t think it’s a big problem. It will just was away. I plan to cover the bulb with mulch to protect it through our blistering summer heat (they like heat, so that’s not a problem) and again in winter. Maybe next spring, I’ll be able to report that amaryllis are blooming in my garden beds.

And I’m definitely ordering waxed amaryllis bulbs to give as holiday gifts (and keep for myself) this year.

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Have you had any luck growing waxed amaryllis bulbs? I’d love to hear about your experiences. Let’s talk about gardening and more on Instagram and Facebook. Look forward to hearing from you!

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