Look what I found in one of my styrofoam scale nursery planter:





The Alstroemeria pulchra seeds must have been in the soil I used to place my Lilium scales (yes, they should have been transplanted long ago - coming Fall!). Needless to say: the Alstroemerias are mostly welcome!

Really beautiful color and color pattern on those alstroemeria! Even nicer than your lily.

Did you ever notice that the leaves naturally twist upside down on the plant?

, Rick!

Do you want me to save their seeds for you?

I am way ahead of you, there. I already looked up the species, and it is not one of the cold hardy ones. So thank you for the offer, but no.
Maybe when I retire (in about ten years) I'll have time to play with non-hardy plant materials.

Should I still be around .....

I agree, the alstroemeria is beautiful. I love alstroemeria and just this winter started some from seeds - already there are flower buds! I was super excited to find some new species from South America available and tired to import... alas the blind eye of customs destroyed them. Alstroemeria and Bomaria are allowed in, but these particular species were so new to cultivation they haven't been 'assessed' as harmless by our oh-so-knowledge-able powers.

In other words, if you have seed to spare, Ursula, I'd love some!

My pleasure, Della!

If you have seen Vigna caracalla seeds, you know they are much larger than Alstroemeria seeds. Well, not long ago I managed to send 6 envelopes with 7 seeds each to the USA and all were received safe and sound.

The seeds you lost to the oh-so-knowledge-able powers, were those Chilean species? If so, which? Where did you order your seeds?

Looks wonderful, Ursula!

Here I believe usually only Alstroemeria aurea is considered really hardy. Although I know that some consider A. aurea a weed, I love mine that I started from seeds many, many years ago. I believe that was the 'Orange King' strain, but lately I'm happy to see that it has started to flower in different yellow to rusty red-orange tones for a bit more variation.

A. aurea is native further south of Chile, but I would have never guessed it was hardy enough to thrive in Sweden, William. I thought that the Alstroemerias that grow in The Andes mountains, where our ski centres are, would be the hardiest, but these might be less attractive to plant breeders, since they are low growing (would do great as ground covers). While I still lived in Santiago, I used to visit the area, take pictures (which are now posted at our PDB) and collect some seeds. I remember a Canadian member at DG growing Alstroemeria pallida in a greenhouse, obtaining 30cm/1foot stems.

That's a good point Ursula and it could well be that there are many of these species that could do well in our climate It could well be that what I have read was an oversimplification, I haven't tried it myself.

In my garden A. aurea never gets any winter protection, but I live just about as far south you can get in Sweden. I think the hardiness has to do with the roots. They tend to go down to frost free depth as they age. Young plants are a bit more sensitive. However it can actually be grown quite far north as well, given some extra protection during the winter and a well draining soil.

Perennials and bulbs are fun like that, sometimes they can grow and adapt to very different climates than their origin. As you know it works the other way around as well, as sometimes cold climate perennials and bulbs grow very well in warmer climates.

Much worse situation trying to grow shrubs or threes out of zone here. Or perennials that need dry winter rest or intense summer heat to mature fully before winter and they can not do that in our usually cold summers, resulting in poor winter hardiness.

I would imagine, William, that the alstroemeria bloom all summer for you, since you never get very hot. Alstroemeria like the cool weather to bloom, and usually stop blooming if it gets very warm. I never realized how close your part of Sweeden is to Denmark until I looked at a map.

I'm very interested in learning William's reply to your question, Rick.

Species alstroemerias in the wild only bloom once here. I have two hybrid Alstroemerias that are recurrent bloomers (but not half as pretty as the species :whistling:). For us, the closer you live to the South Pole, the colder the climate, just opposite to you.

Rick, the only one I grow is A. aurea and it only blooms once. As Ursula says there are hybrids that would bloom all summer, provided of course one was successful getting them through the winter.

I think I've known A.aurea as A. aurantiaca and it loves our climate. It's a plant we grew up with. It seemed to just carry on in bloom all summer. (Our summers never got very hot....)

Ursula, I must have had a memory hiccup. All the seeds that got trashed were Bomarea. But this one: http://rarepalmseeds.com/pix/B... has a fascinating Alstroemeria-like plant habit (and that's my excuse for remembering it as an Alstroemeria! ) and comes from the high Andes of Peru and Bolivia (though not Chile?). I was itching with excitement over the chance to grow this one, but customs lacked the same appreciation of horticultural rarities.

Rare Palm Seeds (the company I bought from) have an incredible range of wild-provenanced seeds from around the world. Many tropical and warm temperate, but many also worth trying in my climate. I love their range of oddities and what seem to be ethical practices.

I love both these genera and want to try more of them.

Della, I think Bomareas are closely related to Alstroemerias but I am not sure The one in the link you provided - it's the very first time I see a picture of it (though not exactly what I would call a beautiful flower/plant ).

Check Bomarea ovalliensis (Garra de León /Lion's Claw) (Chilean endemic species) at this Google Chile link: https://www.google.cl/search?h...

Re. your Alstromeria aurea/aurantica, could it be that plants on different maturity stages bloomed (just one), providing the sensation they are recurrent bloomers? The other possibility is: when you pull (not cut) the flower-stem, this often causes the division or the rhizome, splitting it into two plants. Maybe one plant or both produced from this separation could then bloom?

People usually think of Alstroemerias as having tubers: wrong! It is (in some cases a tiny) a horizontal rhizome with fleshy (very brittle) roots. Some times, it is very hard to distinguish the rhizome, but it is there.

When I was an active member at DG, I posted a picture that clearly showed this for one of our native (most of the endemic) Alstroemeria species. Unfortunately, I do not remember which one

Correction: Bomarea ovallei

Oh wow....

I admit I think of Bomarea and Alstroemeria as virtually the same genus - they're so closely related!

Quite possible that aurantiaca was flowering from plants at different stages, as you suggest. It formed such vast prolific colonies. When I was little and wanted to move some alstroemeria I remember digging down and to find the root... and down... and it just seemed to come to nothing! It intrigued me as a very mysterious plant under the soil.

Now that I seem to have opened your appetite to Chilean native bomareas, here is a ling to Bomarea salsilla:

https://www.google.cl/search?h...

Oh yes! I adore this one - so much so that I bought seeds (and they were allowed in!) from a British seed company. ...But I'm afraid I haven't made them happy enough to germinate. I planted them in mid-winter when I received them, hoping the winter spell would be what they needed to get them going, but thus far nothing has emerged. Maybe I need more patience or maybe they don't like me as much as I like them!

You're sure fortunate to have these beauties native to your home .

You cannot complain: Australia has amazing flora (and fauna)!

I have 'misplaced' my reference book for Chilean native flora of the Central Zone - when I find it, I'll let you know what they recommend to grow Bomarea salsilla from seed. BTW, the British Seed Co. only sells seeds, without providing information of how to grow them?