Are Hybrids Better?

I find myself making a morning visit to the plant room that double's as Forest's study room.  It's a calm place to start the day.  The orange Hippeastrum puniceum is in bloom.  Sometimes known as Barbados lily, it is indeed native to parts of the West Indies.  It is one of the first amaryllis I grew and it remains my favorite.  Early in my childhood, my grandmother, who lived next door, had one in a very modern fiberglass planter that fit into its own brass stand.  I don't think it had drainage holes, and potting soil did not come in bags in those days, so Grandma Aker's lily, as she called it, was simply planted in good loose garden soil.  Grandpa Aker had the habit of chewing tobacco and using the pot as his spitoon, which greatly irritated Grandma Aker.  It had a few dark green glossy leaves, but I don't think it ever bloomed.  Her brother Arthur gave me a bulb when I was about 12, and when it bloomed, I was astounded by the cheery orange color and grace of the flowers.  I've grown a lot of amaryllis, and got to know a lot of them when we staged an exhibit of them at the Arboretum around 2004.  Most can be viewed at the Hippeastrum Gallery we put together for the exhibit.  I've always liked amaryllis, but this species is still my favorite.