Even those of us who lack halos and wings can work holiday miracles if we put our faith in amaryllis. 

This tropical bulb is a perpetual revelation, and not just because the South America native (Hippeastrum to botanists) thrives indoors with minimal care, flaunts spectacular long-lasting winter flowers, and dependably reblooms. 

Santa-red poinsettias still rule the aisles of supermarkets, accounting for more than three-quarters of Yuletide houseplant sales in the United States. But global Hippeastrum production has more than doubled during the past decade, boosting availability and affordability. 

The boom has also raised amaryllis's aesthetic profile. Growers are hybridizing varieties with extraordinary colors, shapes, and markings. As a potted bulb and a source for cut flowers, the amaryllis is showing a stylish versatility that leaves the poinsettia looking like a one-reindeer sleigh. People who used to display a solitary bulb on festive occasions to brighten a room now envision megawatt, full-season, multi-amaryllis extravaganzas all through the house. 

Thanks to the expansion by Dutch bulb growers in South Africa and South America, such fantasies are no longer pipe dreams.

Projects
Amaryllis Napkin Rings
Crepe-Paper Amaryllis
Potted Amaryllis Gift Wrap
Faux-Amaryllis Wreath

Amaryllis inspiration sparkles on the pages of specialty-nursery catalogs and websites (the trustiest sources for rare and unusual varieties). Possibilities include miniature blossoms clustered like dainty constellations; statuesque "singles" and ruffled "doubles" (with twice the petals); and flowers with bicolored and multicolor designs that are as exquisitely striped, dotted, or moired as couture silks.

Dyed-in-the-wool traditionalists can rejoice that the giant scarlet Dutch amaryllis hybrids handed down for generations have been joined by a merry band in every hue of red. More adventurous decorators will find a rich palette that ranges from snowy white to ivory, rose to salmon, mahogany to bronze, flax to apricot, chartreuse to jade. 

Lovers of exotica should warm to a current trend in Hippeas-trum breeding: the quest for cultivars that evoke the silhouettes and coloration of lost or endangered jungle ancestors. Experiments with two species in particular, spidery H. cybister and butterfly-like H. papilio, have yielded prodigies of unearthly beauty.

The English clockmaker who created the first Hippeastrum hybrid, in 1799, would marvel at the timing of todays South African hybrids. They bloom only four to six weeks after emerging from fall dormancyseveral weeks earlier than the venerable Dutch strains, making them a godsend to hosts whose floral deadline can't extend past December 25.

Theres good news, too, for all who rely on florists for instant gratification (and anyone who wants to maintain the bloom from a broken stalk). A recent study found that, whereas the flowers on potted amaryllis last a maximum of 10 days, cut amaryllis stay vase-worthy for as long as two weeks. Indoor gardeners also hail the introduction of vigorous compact bulbs, ideally suited to small windowsills as well as clustered container plantings.

Another intriguing development is the accessibility of fragrant flowers, once virtually unknown in the retail trade. Easy alternatives to most other bulbs with scented winter blooms, these Hippeastrum varieties need no precooling in a refrigerator. The main attraction, of course, is their sweet perfume -- a subtle contrast to the olfactory wallop of paperwhites. Jo-Anne van den Berg-Ohms, president of bulb importer John Scheepers, says this about the Trumpets, a seductive new group: "Their scent reminds me of raspberries in the sunlight. A small miracle, perhaps, but simply divine on a bleak midwinter day.