Hi, I am
Hi, my name is Alstroemeria!
You probably also know me as the Alstroemeria or the Lily of the Incas, since my flowers also look like lilies. This is also where my name is derived from. "But those Alstroemerias are cut flowers, right?", I hear you think. Yes, but those cut flowers come from somewhere - from me! I bloom abundantly until autumn, so no bare garden with me this summer.
I come from very high, from the mountains of the Andes! This is a cool, but sunny area. This is why I am very popular in Dutch gardens and grow well there. I come in many different colors, so there is plenty of choice!
In order for my beautiful flowers to grow I need sunlight. So put me in a sunny, sheltered spot. Be careful with the bright afternoon sun, because my flowers and leaves cannot always stand it when the sun is too strong. If you want to put me in the open ground, you can. You can also plant me in a pot, I do well in that too.
Unfortunately, I am not winter hardy! If I'm planted in the open ground, keep in mind that I probably won't make it through the winter. Am I planted in a pot? Then you can bring me inside in the garage to hibernate and enjoy me even longer! In this case, bring me inside as soon as it gets colder than 10 degrees Celsius. Don't take me back outside until it gets warmer and it doesn't freeze anymore, usually around April.
Make sure that my soil stays slightly moist during the flowering season from April to September. I am not a very big drinker, so water me moderately. Am I planted in a pot? Then make sure that there are holes at the bottom of my pot, so water can drain away properly. I don’t like water sitting at the bottom of my pot, as this is bad for my roots. Outside the flowering season I need less water.
I don't need that much fertilizer, but I do like to get my portion once a month. Give me the recommended amount listed, definitely no more! Fertilize me during the flowering season, which runs from April to September. Outside of these months, I don’t need any fertilizer.
Am I planted in a pot? Then give me a new pot every year! Make sure it is at least 20% bigger, and fill it up with new potting soil. This way I will have a good start to grow and flower again! Repot me in spring, so I will recover quickly.
My flowers, too, eventually come to an end.... So cut away my spent branches, because then you will soon be surprised again by my new growth and blooms!
I am also a cut flower! You may have seen me in a beautiful bouquet. So I'm very versatile, both in the garden as a plant and at home as a cut flower I do well!
No, I am not edible.
Where should you place me?
Put me in a light, sheltered place. That is where I am happiest. But be careful with the intense midday sun.
What do I like?
I am not a big drinker, but I do like a sip of water from time to time, as long as my soil stays slightly moist. I also like to get some fertilizer once a month. Outside the flowering season, I need less water and no fertilizer.
Plantanious works together with the Work with Nature foundation. Our tropical rainforests are disappearing at a rapid pace and an enormous biodiversity is being lost along with the trees. If it were up to us, the jaguar would soon walk around again in the rainforest in Costa Rica protected by 'Adopt Rainforest'! The place where many of our special plants originate. In order to make an important contribution to the goal of the foundation - to protect 2,000 hectares of rainforest in the next ten years - we donate part of our turnover to protect part of the tropical rainforest. To achieve their goal, the foundation puts money into protection, conservation, reforestation, education and research.
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