I am a TOTAL newbee at gardening... I have been inspired by a wonderful Amaryllis my friend gave me this Christmas. Not sure what type of Amaryllis this is... It is the standard reddish/pink with five blooms coming from the top of the stalk. The AMAZING thing is that once it bloomed, faded & dried up, a totally NEW stalk grew and bloomed five more fabulous flowers! Now I want to 1) Nurture the original bulb so it will bloom again next year. 2) Self pollinate it for seeds. I have some questions surrounding these goals: Did the plant bloom twice because the bulb was some sort of "twin"?? 2nd stalk came from the same bulb as the 1st, but from a 2nd area at top of the bulb. Is that common? I have never seen this before, and neither has my friend who is more into gardening than I have been. If I nurture the bulb, should it happen again?? What is the best way to handle the original bulb once the Amaryllis has finished blooming, so it will bloom again. How soon will it bloom again? Next year, or does it skip a year? Should I take it out of soil or let it keep growing?? No idea how to do this... HELP! To self pollinate, do I take some of the pollen on a Q-tip and get it onto the stamen in the center of the pollen bearing stalks? I've read Mymimi43's comments about the blossom end swelling to indicate that the pollination takes, but how long do you let that happen and how do you harvest seeds? I'm sorry I am so unversed in this but I find it fascinating! Figure if I have some success with this, I'll try something more exotic! Thanks Mymimi43, Hans-Werner and Lora!! Holley PS. Photo is of the plant's first set of blooms. This post was edited by KiwiLuv on Sat, Feb 8, 14 at 15:29

The picture you included isn't Knotweed, it looks like what the original poster had which is probably Solanum nigrum. It's a weed but I wouldn't call it 'serious'. It certainly won't take over an area the way Knotweed does. And it's a lot smaller. You can just pull it if you don't want it. WW

Sue it's a form of Euphorbia. It's a tiny cultivar of Euphorbia leucocephala http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/fact-sheets/in-the-garden/flowering-plants-shrubs/euphorbia-leucocephala/#.VLoKL9KUddw and I think it's known in the trade as "Diamond Frost " or similar They can sucker, and they will die down over winter, when you can cut those canes right back and hopefully your plant will re-shoot in spring. Euphorbias like those have a white, latex-like sap which is an irritant so be careful handling it and keep kids and animals away if poss. Here is a link that might be useful: link

carol23 - Thank you so much. I think that was the fastest reply I've ever received on these forums. You're right that my plant looks just like the Solanum nigrum. And it seems the ripe berries are edible. Reading online, it seems this plant is commonly mistaken for the deadly nightshade plant.