Alstroemeria ligtu seedlings
Roy Sachs (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