Alstroemerias look just as lovely in containers as they do in garden beds
With their free-flowering nature and spreading habit, alstroemerias, or Peruvian lilies, have long been favourites. Garden varieties have been bred from species growing in the hills and grasslands of Chile, Argentina and Peru, with new forms and colours being introduced almost every year.
These hardy perennials are at home in flowerbeds, but they also look great in pots on decks and patios.
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PRINCESS LILY SARA $12.80
PRINCESS LILY DIANA $12.80
PRINCESS LILY CLAIRE $12.80
How to care for your plants
- Keep well watered or the foliage will turn pale yellow and fall.
- Add fertiliser to water once a week.
- Don’t let seed pods develop. Pick them off or pull out
- old flowering stems.
- Spray if you spot ophids, though these lilies have few pest problems.
- Slugs and snails will eat the foliage, scatter snail pellets after wet weather.
- Alstroemerias make excellent cut flowers. Pluck flower stems straight out of the soil or cut them off close to the ground with secateurs. Foliage will wilt before blooms, so remove leaves from the cut stems before using the flowers in arrangements.
- Wear gloves when handling the plants if you have sensitive skin
Princess Lily Sara
5 steps to… planting your alstroemeria
Choose a large pot and fill it with a good quality potting mix. Alstroemerias have thick, white rhizomes that spread through the soil, with vertical shoots developing from them. The roots are brittle, so don’t tease them out, even if they look very congested, and try not to disturb the rootball.
Some varieties react to high soil or compost temperatures by producing non-flowering shoots at the expense of blooms. With this in mind, position pots in a cooler, shaded place during hot spells.
- Fill the base of the pot with a layer of crocks to improve drainage part-fill with potting mix and firm down
Lily Diana
2. Soak the rootball thoroughly before removing the plant from its pot.
3. Position the plant in the centre of the pot so that the top of the rootball sits about 2.5cm below the rim. Backfill with more potting mix, firming it down the sides of the pot with your fingers to remove any air pockets
4. Water the plant well to help settle the potting mix around the rootball. Top up with more potting mix to fill gaps, if necessary.
Lily Sara
5. Flowers will develop at the shoot tips from summer to autumn.
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