The Little Amaryllis That Could

I have had an amaryllis for many years.  For a long time, it bloomed beautifully.  However, for the last two years, it had put out spindly leaves--and nothing else.  Finally, I gave up on it, threw it in the compost bin, and closed the lid.  A couple of weeks later, I went to the bin, only to discover that it had put out a bloom stalk, even though it was cramped in the bin and not potted.  The stalk was bent like a U. (I wish I had taken a picture of it.)

I rescued it and repotted it, putting it in the sun so the stalk would straighten out.  That was progressing nicely until it had an accident.  Alan was hosing off the back porch.  He forgot the plant was next to the faucet, and he nailed the pot with the full jet of the hose.  It went flying sideways, ejecting everything from the pot.  Miraculously, the flower stalk didn't break.  Alan felt terrible, saying, "It has struggled so hard; it deserves to live."

So, I again repotted it and put it in a safer place.  As you can see, it is now blooming beautifully.  For those who aren't familiar with an amaryllis, the blooms are about 6" in diameter, and the stalk is about 20" high.