72
After trying a couple of new-to-me red amaryllis cultivars this year, I can now report that ‘Benfica’ is still my favorite. You just can’t beat that stunning blackish-red color and substance. My camera has a difficult time even focusing on the flowers because the color is so saturated:
The flowers are very thick and look like red velour. Last winter the scapes only got 14 inches tall. This year they are 22 inches and still growing. Two scapes came up together. The first one has opened with 5 flowers. The second scape is just about ready to pop.
The flowers are 6 inches across and just a little smaller than another dark-red I really like—‘Red Pearl’.