Alstroemeria ligtu seedlings

Roy Sachs rmsachs@ucdavis.edu
Thu, 04 Aug 2005 11:04:54 PDT
>Dear experts,
>
>I am a novice Alstroemeria grower. Having successfully
>germinated several dozen Ligtu hybrids from seed some
>months ago, I am now witnessing a withering and dying
>back of all of my seedlings. A couple of inches of
>height, with a remarkably large root, they are now, I
>reckon, following the seasonal decline that my fully
>mature Alstroemerias (bought in pots) are going
>through.
>
>The young plants are mostly in three-inch pots. How
>should I handle the next phase of their existence?
>Pull up roots? Transplant now into my San Francisco
>foggy garden? Leave pots alone?
>
>Many thanks for your advice.
>
>     Yours,
>       Sam Gilbert

Sam:  I've done lots of ligtu transplants from seedlings and been 
where you are now.

You can leave the seedlings in the pot for another few months or 
transplant them now; note that the roots you see are fleshy roots, 
not the fibrous ones required for good rhizome growth.  The important 
thing to see is that the one to 3 fleshy roots are joined to a very 
small rhizome and probably everything has to be handled gently to 
keep the seedlings from falling apart.

By gently I don't mean using kid gloves, just avoiding a lot of 
torque or bouncing around.

The biggest problem with growing alstroemeria in San Francisco is 
finding a spot with enough sun, just the opposite of what I run into 
in Davis.  Ligtus are very hardy in my experience and can tolerate a 
lot of heat and cold.

Please write if you have other questions.

Roy


More information about the pbs mailing list