The Alstroemeria Story

Will the real Alstroemerias please stand up.

Alstroemerias are one of the best cut flowers we have because they last so long and are so easy to use. You'll see them everywhere, from restaurant tables to huge incredibly beautiful arrangements in hotel lobbies. You see clear yellows and whites and every other color. When you go to your Garden Center to try find that particular color for your own garden, you cannot find the same shades and colors. The yellows and whites are nowhere to be seen.
Why?
Because the big Dutch breeding companies like Van Zanten have spent millions of dollars and years and years of research taking the wild Alstroemerias growing on the slopes in South America and transforming them into the wonderful cut flower of today.
Those Dutchmen are plenty smart so they get paid a royalty on each Alstroemeria that is grown as a cut flower. In fact, today they basically rent the plants to the growers and to make sure that their genetic work is protected the flowers are sterile. No pollen to make seeds and new plants.

There is nothing wrong with this. Without the patent protections and the royalties paid no one would spend the money or do the work to bring us new products.

Take a look at what is available to you and how to best use them in your own home garden. One of the best reasons for planting Alstroemerias in your garden is because then you can make great easy flowers arrangements. You can use almost any garden flower with your cut alstroemerias. I have put a number of easy flower arrangement images on a special page. You can see these by clicking here.
The most easily found in our California Garden Centers is a medium height plant that will grow to about 3 feet or so. Most common colors are in the pinks, rose, red and lavender shades.

You will not find legally clear whites or yellows. What do I mean by legally? The cut flower varieties are sometimes found being sold in the Garden Center. They are much taller growing. some home gardeners grow the species yellow called a Ligtu Alstroemeria. This is a strain that is not easy hybridize from. They are not as easy to grow and don't perform as well as the other colors. Other times you may find cut flower flower varieties that have been bootlegged in. You'll know them by their much taller growth habit.

Keep reading because the story goes on. The garden varieties that you buy are the result of hybridizing by local growers over a number of years using every means that they can to get the best colors and the best plants for you. They are getting better all the time and we now have some garden Alstroemerias in almost ever color including some that are almost white.

The big Dutch companies finally got wise to this practice and decided that if you can't beat them then why not join them.

The results are several new strains for growers like Weidners to choose from. We buy the little starter plants at pretty high prices and grow them on for you. All of these new ones are either called Princess Lilies by Van Zanten or the Inca series by Kunst, another famous Dutch breeding house. Both of these groups are genetically dwarf. They can stay a low size for pot plant sales. [Note: Here in our sunny Southern California climate they don't stay small enough for pots very long. ] They bloom almost all the time and are easy to grow in any sunny spot. My local Alstroemeria expert suggest cutting the stems for cut flowers the first season. Be sure to remove any stems that have gone to seed. After the first season you may pull the stems or cut them.

They are great garden growers and look smashing in the front of your mixed borders or any sunny spot. They also have those colors that you want. the yellows and the whites plus other peaches and lavenders. This year 2006 there is a new one with variegated green and white foliage.

The Inca series has the deepest yellow of all and gets a bit taller also. This is a plus since we all like them for our flower arrangements.

So what is the easiest flower arrangement for non-skilled folks like me. I went to my local florists for some hints and added in my own.

"Easy Evelyn" from the garden. [San Diego readers only] Drive around anywhere near the beach and look for the blue Statice that grows wild everywhere. Bring clippers. Pick 3 to 5 nice long stems. they are blooming well in the spring and early summer, later on it's not so easy. Go home and pick the longest Alstroemeria stems you can from your garden. Start by holding one Statice stem in your fingers and then just keep adding Alstroemerias and a bit more statice and maybe some ferns or other greenery til you have a nice round bouquet. take a rubber band or a long twist-em and use that to keep them in shape. If you cannot find statice then try substituting roses and daisies.

Find vase. Oooops, No first you put your bouquet into any kitchen glass available. Then,---- look for the vase. Put flowers into vase and shake them a bit to make them look natural and you have my quickie arrangement. If you are in North County, Weidners has lots of Statice growing on our bank on Piraeus St. That's the street you use to get to us from the Freeway. Feel free to help yourself.

The next bouquets are going to be using the shorter stems that the hybrid Princess lilies have. They are actually long enough for the arrangements that most of us make. In this case we going to make a round low bowl arrangement. It looks good on any table and you could put a candle into the center if you want. Or perhaps some small candles all around for your candlelight dinner. I asked my extended family that shares my home to make me one low round arrangement. These young ladies are naturally very talented with flower arrangements. I knew I would see a nice bowl arrangement that any of you could copy at home. Well---when I arrived home after work the entire kitchen counter had beautiful flower arrangements.

I'll put just a couple here and give you a link to see the others. In the link
[the link will have to wait until I can remember the password to get into that program---the password is lost in a sea of other mental clutter]

you can also view them close up and see exactly what flowers are in each one. Everything came from the garden and of course almost everything in my garden comes from the nursery.

Enjoy seeing all of these easy arrangements that you can do too. If you have some nice images of what you have done...I'd love to see them.

Evelyn

However you use Alstroemerias; from the florist or your garden you will find them a most rewarding flower.