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Alstroemeria
Also called Inca Lilies, Peruvian Lilies
Alstroemeria is a genus of South American perennials with lily-like flowers, widely grown as cut flowers and in garden beds. Hybrids from Chilean and Brazilian species flower most of the year and are the ones usually grown at home.
Alstroemeria (), commonly called the Peruvian lily or lily of the Incas, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Alstroemeriaceae. They are all native to South America, although some have become naturalized in the United States, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Madeira and the Canary Islands. Almost all of the species are restricted to one of two distinct centers of diversity: one in central Chile and southern Argentina, the other in eastern Brazil. Species of Alstroemeria from Patagonia are winter-growing plants, while those of Brazil are summer growing. All are long-lived perennials except A. graminea, a diminutive annual from the Atacama Desert of Chile.
Many hybrids and at least 190 cultivars have been developed, featuring many markings and colors, including white, yellow, orange, apricot, pink, red, purple, and lavender. The most popular and showy hybrids commonly grown today result from crosses between species from Chile (winter-growing) with species from Brazil (summer-growing). This strategy has overcome the florists' problem of seasonal dormancy and resulted in plants that are evergreen, or nearly so, and flower for most of the year. This breeding work derives mainly from trials that began in the United States in the 1980s; the main breeding is done nowadays by companies in the Netherlands. The flower, which resembles a miniature lily, is very popular for bouquets and flower arrangements in the commercial cut flower trade. These delicate flowers survive up to 14 days in water without any signs of shrivelling.
Most cultivars available for the home garden will bloom in the late spring and early summer. The roots are hardy to a temperature of 23 °F (−5 °C).
The genus Alstroemeria is exclusively native to South America, with various species found ranging from Venezuela (3° north of the Equator), to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina (53° South). Within this range of the entire genus, two centers of species diversity are recognized, one in Brazil and one in Chile.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Alstroemeria by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
