🌺➡️ What To Do If Your Amaryllis Starts Leaning

It’s December, which means amaryllis season is officially in full swing and nothing steals the holiday spotlight quite like those huge, dramatic blooms.

But if your amaryllis is starting to lean like it’s whispering secrets to the poinsettia beside it… don’t panic.

A leaning amaryllis is super common, totally fixable, and honestly kind of part of its charm.

Here’s exactly what causes the lean — and what you can do to help your amaryllis stand tall again.

🌤️ 𝟏. 𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐈𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 (𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 #𝟏 𝐅𝐢𝐱!)

Leaning usually happens because the flower stalk grows toward light.

On dark December days, amaryllis often stretch and bend toward a single window.

✔ 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭

Bright, indirect light is ideal — east or south-facing windows are great.

✔ 𝐑𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲

Give it a quarter turn each day.

This helps balance growth and keeps the stalk straight.

If you skip rotation… you’ll get a very dramatic S-curve.

✔ 𝐈𝐟 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤

Use a small LED grow light placed 8–12 inches above the plant.

💧 𝟐. 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 (𝐓𝐨𝐨 𝐌𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠)

Amaryllis don’t like soggy soil.

Overwatering = weak stems + floppy growth.

𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞:

* Water when the top 𝟏-𝟐 inches of soil are dry.

* Let excess drip out completely, but never leave it sitting in water.

* If your bulb feels soft or mushy, it’s been overwatered and needs time to dry.

🪴 𝟑. 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐈𝐟 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐭-𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 (𝐈𝐭 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐞!)

Amaryllis actually bloom better when they’re in a tight pot.

A pot 1–2 inches wider than the bulb is PERFECT.

If the pot is too big, the bulb puts energy into roots instead of stability causing a weak, leaning stalk.

If your pot is oversized you can add decorative stones or moss around the bulb to give extra support.

🦢𝟒. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐈𝐭 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 (𝐄𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐎𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐝𝐬 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦)

When the stalk gets heavy with buds, even healthy amaryllis can lean.

Use:

* A bamboo stake

* A thin wooden dowel

* A decorative metal plant support

Insert it carefully into the soil away from the bulb, then use twine or a soft tie to secure the stem loosely.

Don’t tie it tightly as you want to support, not strangle.

🌡️ 𝟓. 𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐈𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬

Warm rooms make amaryllis grow fast and leggy.

Cooler rooms help them stay sturdy and upright.

𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞:

60–70°F

If your amaryllis is right next to:

* a fireplace

* a heater vent

* the kitchen stove

* a sunny window that gets hot mid-day

…it may grow too quickly and start to flop.

Move it to a cooler, bright location.

🪨 𝟔. 𝐀𝐝𝐝 𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝐖𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲

Sometimes the pot is just too light to anchor a top-heavy bloom.

Try adding:

* Smooth river rocks

* Pebbles

* Moss

* Small decorative stones

This gives the pot a lower center of gravity and keeps it from tipping.

Plus, it looks beautiful for the holidays.

🌺 𝟕. 𝐈𝐟 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐀𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐢𝐱 𝐈𝐭

𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀: 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞-𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭

Turn the leaning side away from the light and let it naturally straighten over a few days.

𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐁: 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 + 𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞

Stake the stalk upright and rotate the pot consistently until it corrects.

𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂: 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐭

Slip the plastic grow pot into a heavier ceramic container.

𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃: 𝐏𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠

If the stalk is very bent, just support it until the flowers finish, then cut it back.

The bulb will send up straighter stalks next time.

🌼 𝟖. 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬: 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐔𝐧𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲

A leaning amaryllis is not sick.

It’s not dying.

It’s just… enthusiastic.

As long as the stalk is firm and the bulb is solid, your amaryllis will bloom beautifully.

Lean or not, it will still put on a show.

Is your amaryllis leaning this year?

Drop a photo, we’d love to see your Holiday Diva and help if you need it!

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