Catalogue Bulbargence :: Les nouveautés

Exclusively South American, this rewarding genus contains around seventy species occupying a wide range of habitats, from coastal to mountainous. Most have spectacular long lasting flowers, hence the considerable commercial interest in the genus of late.The underground part of the plant consists of a number of tuberised roots alttached to a rhizome. Dormancy is induced by drought or cold which gives Alstrœmeria a flexibility, well exploited by growers to produce cutflowers all year long. Alstrœmeria hybrids react quickly to drought and temperatures changes: they will flower continuously from spring till end of summer if kept humid; in case of summer drought with high temperature, it will cease to grow, but will flower again in autumn and spring. As they dry out very quickly, they should be planted immediately

In spite of its Brazilian origin this plant grows here in a mediterranean cycle. With the summer heat and drought its low foliage disappears end of June and regrows again in september. With this feature this plant is well adapted to a medeiterranean garden wihout irrigation.
06/2001 D Wilson:
I grew this for years in a garden of heavy clay soil without any difficulty and it was fairly well-behaved. They are usually very well-behaved and most are extremely beautiful. A. psittacina has grown here for years and has never been a problem.
11/2000 Jane McGary Alstroemeria pallida grows over a fairly wide elevational range and is usually taller higher up in the mountains. I've been growing a high-elevation form for about 7 years now in a container plunged in the bulb frame, where it has experienced temperatures of -6-9°. It has grayish foliage and pale pink flowers (there are also white and deeper pink forms) banded with yellow. I think this one could spread moderately in loose, gravelly soil where well suited. It is a middle-sized species, flowering fairly low to the ground but by no means a dwarf plant.