| Life form | Grassy onion |
| Family | Amarillidaceae |
| Origin | South America, Central and South America. |
| Ease of cultivation | Easy with small difficulties. |
| The size | Height 30-60 cm in length, the flower stem can have a height of up to 1 m. |
| Growth rate | Average |
| Lifespan | With proper care the bulb can exist for many years. |
| Temperature | In the summer: up to 75,2, in winter (rest period) – 50-59 ° F, from February to April – 60,8-64,4 ° F. |
| Humidity | Average |
| Lighting | Illuminated place, bright diffused light, tolerates penumbra. Suitable west, east, south window to shading. |
| The soil | Fertile, loose soil is suitable. You can take : 1 part garden soil, 1 part peat, 1 part of manure, 1 part coarse sand or perlite. However, the plant is tolerant enough to other types of soil. Good drainage is required. Always use a pot with a hole. |
| Watering | Watering abundantly, the soil should not dry out between watering. By the autumn watering cut. The soil in which the bulb is dormant, watering occasionally. If the plant has not lost its leaves, water it no more often than 2 times a week. |
| Fertilizer | Feed up with liquid fertilizer once a month from the moment of the beginning of growth. Top dressing is stopped in autumn with yellowing of the leaves. |
| Reproduction | Separation of bulb-children, which are planted in small pots in a mixture of sand and peat, making a hole about 2.5 cm. Place the pot on non-directional light. After germination, transplant into permanent soil, so that the top of the bulb is at the level of the soil. Put in a more lit place. The size of the pot is increased as the bulb grows. You can propagate with fresh seeds, which are germinated in a peat-sand mixture. Germination lasts a very long time – from several weeks to several months. |
| Bloom | White carved fragrant flowers on a long peduncle. Most species blossom in the summer. N.caribaea blooms in winter. |
| Transfer | A large bulb is transplanted every 2-3 years. Transplantation in a larger pot is carried out in autumn, when the plant passed into a period of rest. Better bloom in tight pots. |
| Features of care | The plant does not like drafts. To form a flower bud, the plant needs a rest period. In autumn, watering is reduced, after yellowing of the leaves, the plant is stopped to water and placed for 2-3 months in a dry, cool (temperature 59-68 ° F), an unilluminated place. Some species (H.speciosa) do not lose their leaves, they should be kept in cool conditions, reducing watering. |
| Difficulties | It is infested with pests quite rarely. Possible thrips and mealybugs. Fight with insecticides. The plant may be affected Nartsissova fly (rotten onion), it may be red burn (longitudinal red spots on the leaves). The plant does not blossom due to lack of a rest period, either because of insufficient nutrition or lack of light. Also, insufficient or excessive watering can cause a lack of flowering. Foliar lethargy can arise from both insufficient and excessive watering. |
| Air cleaning | – |
| Toxicity | Moderate ingestion of these plants can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and other symptoms that are not life threatening. |
