Flower symbolism is not only there to help us select the right flower sort for the people we love, it is also there to give us a broader idea about a certain flower and he history behind its existence.
Symbolic meanings are created by people and influenced by events that take place in our lives. Besides that, symbolic meanings are also a product of beliefs hat are passed on from family to another, from grandparents to grandchildren’s.
There are many interesting stories behind certain flower sorts and families that we couldn’t event imagine. Getting to know a certain flower more is going to give a much stronger significance to the act of gifting a person you love this flower. You can truly send a strong message to the other person, if you know what kind of message is hidden behind a flower and how it can be interpreted.
In today’s text we will learn more about the Amaryllis flower and its symbolic meaning. This beautiful flower is definitely an eye catcher, but you will learn that there is much more to it than just its outside appearance.
Meaning of the Amaryllis flower
- Beauty
- Attention
- Pride
Beauty – It is no wonder that such a beautiful flower has this kind of hidden meaning behind it. Amaryllis flowers are simply eye-catching and their presence in a bouquet is definitely going to be noticed. They are perfect flowers to gift to someone who you find to be a beautiful person inside and out. This flower is definitely going to be a beautiful gift for someone you love, and since there is no deeper meaning you need to be careful about sending the wrong message.
Attention – Amaryllis flower is definitely going to bring attention to it. This gorgeous flower is going to be a perfect eye-piece for your home or for the bouquet you prepared to someone you love. These gorgeous flowers were symbols of attention even in the past, because they were simply drawing people’s eyes whenever they were close.
Pride – Victorians considered these flowers to be symbols of pride. They symbolize people’s vanity and strong pride, and if you wanted to send someone this kind of message, Amaryllis flowers were perfect for that. Some even used them to make others angry, especially since the message of pride was very strong.
Unrequited love – The Amaryllis flower is also a symbol of unreturned or unrequited love. There is even a story or a poem to be exact, about a Greek nymph called Amaryllis who died in vain after she wasn’t noticed by the love of her life. This is why these flowers in particular can be used and sent to the ones who hurt you or to the ones you are trying to send a message to.
Amaryllis – Etymological meaning
The name of this beautiful flower comes from the Greek word “Amarullis”. This word meant splendor or sparkling, which is self-explanatory why this flower got such a name. There is even a literary base to the name of the Amaryllis flower and that is the story about nymph Amaryllis from a poem written by Virgil. In this dramatic poem, the beautiful nymph decided to show her love to her gardener Alto in a very strong way, and she did that by piercing her heart with a golden arrow. She pierced her heart for a month every day, at his doorstep to get him to notice her.
This is why the Amaryllis flew has such deep red color inside of its flower head. The story about nymph ended tragically, since gardener ignored her efforts and she died in vain. The name Amarullis was transferred to Rome and the Romans simply altered it into Amaryllis. The modern English word but also other languages kept this name for this gorgeous flower.
Amaryllis – Symbolism
Amaryllis flower has a very strong symbolic meaning behind it. This beautiful flower was the symbol of unrequited love, and there is even a story behind this symbolic meaning.
According to a Greek poem written by Virgil, there was a beautiful nymph called Amarullis. The nymph was suffering because the love of her life, her gardener Alto, wasn’t noticing her. To show him how much she loves him, she used a golden arrow to pierce her heart every day for a month. She would stand on his doorstep and do this, but her gardener ignored her and never offered her a chance to show him her love. Her attempts ended in a sudden and tragic death, and this is why this flower is considered to be a symbol of unrequited love.
In the Victorian era, the beautiful Amaryllis flower was a symbol of a strong and confident woman. These flowers were often gifted to women who reflected these characteristics and because of this they were considered to be especially great gifts for a partner or another person to whom you wanted to express and immense amount of respect and adoration.
The star shaped part of the Amaryllis flower is also a symbol of pride and many considered it to be a strong message that couldn’t be ignored. The Amaryllis flower is also a symbol of love and attraction and therefore it is a perfect gift for Valentine’s Day or anniversary.
Amaryllis – Color meaning
Color of the flower can add a lot to the symbolic meaning of the flower. Colors send a strong message and not every flower color is suitable for every event of every occasion. When picking a flower you have to be careful not to diminish the symbolic meaning of a flower by picking the wrong color.
There is definitely a perfect flower color for every event and every occasion, and the Amaryllis flower gives you several color options to choose from. The colors of the Amaryllis flower are:
Red
Color red symbolizes passion, love and attraction. This is the perfect flower color if you want to show someone how much this person means to you and how attracted you are to his person. The red Amaryllis flower is also a symbol of beauty and in China, color red is considered to be a lucky color.
Purple
Color purple is a symbol of nobility, spirituality and the purple Amaryllis flower symbolizes royalty and the spiritual side of life in general. This unusual flower can be a perfect gift to almost anyone you find to be unique or special in any way.
White
Color white symbolizes spirituality and the divine. The white amaryllis flower is a symbol of femininity, children, innocence and purity. This beautiful flower resembles mourning after a person you loved. This flower color is often taken to graves since the spiritual symbolic meaning is so strong.
Orange
Color orange is a symbol of happiness, good health and overall positive energy. This flower can be gifted to almost anyone and it will definitely brighten up your day no matter how sad you are.
Pink
Pink Amaryllis flower is a symbol of friendship and it can be a perfect gift for almost anyone. Even though the color is feminine, this doesn’t mean it needs to be gifted only to females. It represents friendship between people of all genders and ages.
Yellow
Color yellow is generally a symbol of happiness and joy, and the yellow Amaryllis flower is a symbol of happiness as well. This beautiful flower can be a perfect eye piece in your garden or inside your home, and it will definitely brighten up the day of every person you want to see smiling and not sad.
Amaryllis – Botanical facts and characteristics
By planting Amaryllis from a seed you will get strong and healthy bulbs, but on the other hand this process is slow. Bulbs are going to be formed in the third year. The seeds of amaryllis are directly planted from the flowers while they still have a green color. The seeds quickly adapt and if left longer, it can start to cling still in the fruit, and therefore quickly loses germination. The seed is usually heated at 21 ° C with constant substrate moisture.
It should sit in a soil, rich in nutrients and with good drainage, at a distance of 2×2 or 2×3 cm, at a temperature of 20-22 ° C and at high humidity. In twenty days, young plants start to appear. The seed is sown so that it is covered with a substrate for about 0.5 cm, because in pre-sowing the seeds are ruined. When young plants form a second leaf, they are placed at a distance of 5 cm between plants, and in winter they are kept in a bright place at a temperature of 15-17 ° C.
The following year, in spring, the plants are again placed at a distance of 7-8 cm between plants or in separate pots of diameter 6 cm. For the third year, the plants are transplanted in pots of diameter 9-10 cm or in the garden at a distance of 10×10 or 12×12 cm between the plants.
When planting, care should be taken that about 1/3 of the bulb is above the surface of the soil. During vegetation, feeding is done every ten days with complex fertilizers.
In the third year young bulbs are obtained from the seed, in September you should stop watering and let them rest, so that next spring they are ready to bloom. After sowing the seed of Amaryllis and the emergence of young plants will start. You can leave them in pots to grow until next spring, and then plant them in the garden or pick up at a greater distance or in separate pots.
Some producers of Amaryllis, after sowing seeds for 2 years, leave young plants in the same pots without interrupting vegetation, with regular savings, but then sowing at a larger distance, 5×5 cm or more. After the third year, larger bulbs are separated and a resting period is in order for the next spring to flourish.
No matter how you treat them during the first, second and third year vegetation, all the bulbs won’t be the same size, so some bulbs bloom three years after sowing, and some after four. The production of Amaryllis from the seed creates new varieties and hybrids.
Young seed bulbs are capable of flowering in the fourth year with proper care, and young bulbs obtained vegetative, separating newly formed bulbs in the basis of their mother plant, in the third year.
Amaryllis – Secret message
Every flower has a symbolical meaning behind it as well as a secret message we need to understand. There are many interesting stories behind certain flower sorts and families that we couldn’t event imagine.
Getting to know a certain flower more is going to give a much stronger significance to the act of gifting a person you love this flower. The Amaryllis flower is telling you to be confident and to flaunt everything you have. Symbolic meanings are created by people and influenced by events that take place in our lives.
This beautiful flower is definitely eye-catching and no one will pass by it without looking at it. This flower symbolizes unrequited love and beauty, but it also symbolizes pride and sadness in some way.
Flower colors of the Amaryllis flower are there to help you express the right message to another person and help you win over the person you like or surprise the person you love. This beautiful flower is going to be a beautiful piece in your garden or bouquet inside your home.
