Back in November, I wrote about receiving a green amaryllis from a friend (it’s just starting to bloom) and mentioned another variety that I was coveting called ‘Green Dragon.’ Well, I went and bought that one, too. Or rather, I bought three.

‘Green Dragon’ is a Sonatini amaryllis from South Africa. They are much smaller bulbs than typical amaryllis cultivars, so when you buy them, they often come in threes. I planted all three in a pot and waited. When they came up, they were all different. The first is definitely ‘Green Dragon.’ The second looked like ‘Green Dragon’ but with a little bit of red in it. I’m still counting that one as ‘Green Dragon.’ The third (above) came up red with a white stripe down the middle. I think it might be ‘Piccolo’, but I’m not familiar enough with these plants to say that with any authority.

I spoke to the supplier, and they’ve said that there are sometimes mixups at the wholesaler level with the South African bulbs. They’ve been really good about the mix-up so I have no complaints. Mistakes happen.

Fortunately, this other variety is growing on me. I like the small, compact size of the Sonatini group and would have been compelled to try a few more next year. The mistake simply made that happen faster. And as for the differing cultivars together in the same pot, I like Davin’s interpretation: “Green Dragon spits fire.”