Scientific Name:
Alstroemeria
cvs.
Pronunciation:
al-struh-MEER-ee-uh
Common Name:
alstroemeria, Peruvian lily
Family Name:
Alstroemeriaceae
Plant Type:
Flowering cut plant, Herbaceous perennial
Key ID Features:
Leaves variable but generally lance-shaped, petiolate or sessile, most 5-8cm long x 2-4cm wide; umbel with bilaterally symmetrical florets, almost lily-like except for having an inferior ovary, 6 tepals in a range of colours (pink and yellow most common), black flecks on 3 petals, sepals wider and with few or no spots.
Habit:
Stiffly upright
Form:
Mounded
Texture:
Medium - fine
Mature Height:
0.7 - 1.3m
Mature Spread:
0.3 - 0.6m
Growth Rate:
Fast
Origin:
Garden origin, South America (Most hybrid cultivars involve A. aurea)
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 8a: (-12 to -9.5 °C)
Exposure:
Part sun/part shade, Filtered shade
Soil/Growing Medium:
Well-drained
Water Use:
Moderate
Landscape Uses:
Container planting, Cut flower or foliage, Perennial border, Summer interest (Caution: poisonous parts)
Additional Info:
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple
Arrangement:
Alternate, Sessile
Texture/Venation:
Soft flexible, Parallel venation
Surfaces:
Glabrous, Lustrous
Shapes:
Elliptic, Lanceolate
Apices:
Acuminate
Bases:
Attenuate, Sheathing
Margins:
Entire
Additional Info:
resupinate (leaves twist from the base so that what appears to be the upper leaf surface is in fact the lower leaf surface)
Inflorescence Type:
Umbel, Floriferous
Flower Morphology:
Flowers perfect
Number Of Petals:
3
Corolla Shape:
Funnelform
Ovary Position:
Inferior
Colour (petals):
Showy, White, Orange, Yellow, Green-yellow, Purple, Pink, Red, Dark-red
Flower Scent:
None
Flower Time at Peak:
May, Jun, Jul, Aug
Additional Info:
6 tepals; amoung the longest lasting cut flowers in arrangements
Fruit Type:
Capsule
Fruit Colour:
Brown
Fruiting Time:
Sep, Oct
Additional Info:
Fruit insignificant
Bark Morphology:
Smooth, Other
Bark or Stem Colour:
Green
Organ Modifications:
Tuberous roots
Propagation:
Seed, Division - below ground parts
Pest Susceptibility:
Mites, Mold, Slugs or snails, Virus (Rabbit resistant, Drought tolerant)
Course(s):
- HORT 1155
- HORT 1193/1293
- Level 3 Apprenticeship
Location(s):
- (GNH) GreeNHouse