Ann Patterson (from Edmonds Washington near Seattle) wrote to the Pacific Bulb Society recounting a bulb that has been in her family for a long time.
"The Lily" as it is known was a wedding present to my grandparents in 1924. My grandmother took care of it until she died at age 96. She never did anything special like it says to do in the "how to care for Amaryllis" articles. She would just cut back the stems and let the leaves grow naturally. It sat by the window in a clay pot inside it's original vase. She would turn it about every week so that the leaves would not all grow in one direction. When she passed in 2002, the Lily was passed to me. At first I over watered it and almost lost it, but I put new soil, a new bamboo pot, and some bone meal and it revived. The bulb split a couple years ago and I worried that it might ruin the bulb but this year I have two stems with flowers. It amazes me. I let it go to seed a couple times and saved the seeds. Does that hurt the bulb? Is it better to cut the stems right after the flower dies? Should I re-pot it again in a bigger pot? Should I separate it into two pots? I really don't know what I am doing with the plant. The Lily really just takes care of its self. It is a very hardy, forgiving, survivor. I am sending some pictures. I do not know which one you have already. The black and white one is my mother with The Lily in 1925.
When this page was discussed on the PBS list, one contributor Nhu Nguyen suggested the plant was a pure species, Hippeastrum petiolatum.
Hippeastrum species A-O - Hippeastrum species P-Z - Hippeastrum index - Hippeastrum hybrids A-B - Hippeastrum hybrids C-H - Hippeastrum hybrids I-N - x Hippeastrelia