Alstroemeria
Jane McGary via pbs (Thu, 28 Apr 2022 11:00:00 PDT)

Laura Grant's highly developed method of protecting in-ground geophytes
well north of their hardiness zone is described in the Bulb Garden
article on autumnal bulbs. I can't recall whether it's in the most
recently mailed one or the one that comes out next.

As for the question that started this thread, about growing Alstroemeria
(species not mentioned) in southwest Michigan, it's important to know
that this is a large genus distributed across quite a range of habitats.
You will see them anywhere from rainforest-like conditions to rocky
Pacific beaches to the lower end of the Andean alpine zone to Nothofagus
forest in Patagonia. Correspondents have identified A. ligtu (note
spelling) as a likely candidate, which is probably right as it's been in
cultivation a long time, but it has several subspecies that grow at
different elevations. The southernmost showy species is A. aurea, also
in cultivation to some extent and an underground spreader like A. ligtu,
and tolerant of summer moisture (the southernmost species, if it's still
considered an Alstroemeria, is A. patagonica, a tiny orange-yellow
flowering one). Aside from A. ligtu, alstros available in commerce at
this time are mostly the "Princess Lily" hybrid strain developed for
bedding-out and container culture. I don't know what their ancestry is,
but judging from the compact habit and type of foliage, it likely
involves A. pelegrina, an entirely frost-tender species. I tried a few
of these hybrids and found they did not survive in the garden at
temperatures below 25 degrees F, but they had no overhead protection.
Another species well known in gardens is A. pulchella (distinct from A.
pulchra!), a moist-grower suitable for mixed borders.

Alstros do not have "bulbs" in any broad sense. Their underground system
is more like that of a dahlia, with several storage tubers attached more
or less delicately to a central crown from which the leaves and
flowering stems grow. These structures are easily damaged during
dormancy by handling or desiccation. (In nature, species native to arid
regions keep their storage structures very deep underground, often under
rocks.) In some species, I think A. ligtu for example, a tuber itself
can eventually produce growth, but in others you need a growing point
(crown). For this reason, raising them from seed is the best way to
obtain young plants suitable for the garden, if your garden is in a
hospitable climate.

The "Ligtu hybrids" apparently involve various subspecies and were
selected for a range of colors. Of the subspecies, I've grown subsp.
simsii and subsp. incarnata. The latter (which may have recently
undergone a name change) is quite beautiful and thrived for years on a
meter+-high sand-and-gravel berm with occasional temperatures in the
teens Fahrenheit and episodic winter snow, but I was unable to relocate
it to my present, warmer garden. The latter now has A. angustifolia,
which is not very bright, and A. revoluta, which got there by accident
somehow and survives in rich border conditions, and some A. ligtu simsii
recently installed from seed. I haven't yet checked this year to see if
some A. aurea planted in the shrubbery is emerging.

I hope this is helpful. If you live in California, just try to grow all
of them.

Jane McGary, Portland, Oregon, USA

On 4/27/2022 7:43 PM, Garak via pbs wrote:

_______________________________________________
pbs mailing list
pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net
http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…
Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>