What's your experience with Alstroemeria hardiness?

I've run across some PPAF cvs. which are listed as z6, possibly z5 heavily mulched.

Several sellers reference cvs. by Mark Bridgen of Cornell. http://hort.cals.cornell.edu/c...

I have the green and red one http://davesgarden.com/guides/.... last year we had water in 5 gallon buckets where the top 5 inches froze and stayed froze for 5 days. My Alstromeria was just fine. It did not effect them at all.

That's a lot of cold for 9b isn't it? Hope everything else fared as well as the Alstroemeria.

Bridgen is working on Long Island which is z6/7. Mark Bridgen intros. I've found:
Tangerine Tango, Mauve Majesty, Sweet Laura

Yes it is a lot of cold. I lost everything else as I was too sick to save them. Wish I could say other things mad it but not much.

Mauve Majesty from small start this spring.

Not to sound negative, but how hot do you get in summer? Here in zone 10, they don't have a problem with cold, but when hot weather hits, they go dormant until fall. Would it be worth it for spring flowers to you? Just something to consider. I have 1 dwarf that usually blooms all summer, but the other 2 dwarfs and the 2 intermediates are already about done till cooler weather returns, leaving large gaping holes in the garden, and we just finally hit 80 today!

Hi Carol,
This is an experiment for me. I doubt if our summer temps. will trigger dormancy on the Bridgen cultivars. They were bred on Long Island and our summer highs are similar to theirs and nowhere near Santa Anna. We get a few days in the mid 90's and people gripe no end. They're supposed to be summer into fall bloomers and z6a to 5b hardy. Hopefully it makes it through winter, near the rocks as a heat sink and is able to handle our summers. Time will tell and it won't be the first time a zone push has failed.

How large do yours get? I was amazed at how quickly the little start I got filled a quart pot. The way the roots and rhizomes grow is not something I've seen before either.

Here, they spread like crazy, and the tubers come up above ground. Very hard to control. The dwarfs are about 6 or 7" tall, the intermediates about 12 to 18" need support. We've just hit the 80s, and mine are going dormant for the summer. Hope you're right about the ones you're trying. Good luck!

We've already had 3 days mid to low 90's followed by 2 in the high 80's. If it survives and doesn't go dormant next year maybe it's something that would do better in Santa Ana?

Here in 7a a lot of regular cultivars do well if planted deeply enough (6-8"). They bloom right through the first frosts and snow and then pop up again in May.

We had gotten some starts but they didn't survive. But I've had the A. psitt. and they have multiplied and is doing quite well.
I would like to obtain more of these. Evan, where did you purchase these?

piksihk, I purchased 'Mauve Majesty' from Brent and Becky's Bulbs. They only offer them for Spring shipping though and as far as I know only offer the more cold hardy ones. Hopefully someone in a the warmer zones knows of a better source than B&B.

Unfortunately the 2nd bloom stalk on my start was nipped by baby cottontails. It seems to be doing OK.

Edit: I just checked the Mauve Majesty and there are a few new bloom stalks budding.

Several new bloom stalks. How long do Alstroemeria typically bloom?

I am sorry I haven't been here in a while. Mine come alive in the fall and are blooming right now then they do go dormant until fall again. I have always figured that is their cycle of life. They are starting to spread like crazy but I have had then around 20+ years. I so would love to have more colors but haven't found anyone to trade with yet. I do love my green and red as that is odd colors in the flower world.

My yellow are on their second set of blooms this year. They tend to bloom in waves every few weeks May-November, though I probably encourage that when I remove the spent flower stalks, pulling them out of the ground. I haven't noticed my pink blooming yet this year, but I think they're getting surrounded by the more aggressive yellow, so they may be sulking. I have purple and red blooming in pots.

Alstromerias have long been on my "wanted" list. I've tried a couple here and there over the years without much success, but this year found a nice 6" pot of them on a clearance table, and gave it another go. It really didn't look that bad when I purchased it; I was surprised to see it marked down. That was late May or early June, and the plant has shown consistent color since. A few weeks ago I thought it was about to dwindle down and I cleaned off the spent growth. Now it's flowering freely again. It's in a protected spot, so I'm going to mulch it heavily and hope for the best.

Evan, I'm curious how yours have performed this year.

Mauve Majesty never returned for me Neal. That was without mulch. I meant to replace it and mulch this winter, but forgot. I'll try again in the spring. It made a very healthy mound about 2'x2' with sporadic but beautiful bloom til fairly late season. Given that it and others were bred on Long Island there should be a micro-climate here that they'll thrive in. Yours looks like a very nice blooming machine and I hope it comes back for you.

I bought some as cut flowers this winter and was amazed at how long the blooms last.

I've kept them for 3 weeks in a vase before, they really are incredible! Having worked with them as cut flowers for many years, I've seen such a gorgeous variety of colors. I'm really happy to see more varieties marketed as garden plants these days.

Here in zone 8a the Alstroemerias die back to dormant in harder winters but keep a few green shoots in milder winters. No issues, we get down to minus 13 celcius at our worst, but frquently get minus 7 or 8. I suggest a trial in a more sheltered site and see how it goes!

I'll definitely try either a more sheltered spot or mulching. Maybe both. I wonder if wet over winter didn't hurt it's chances. Where I had it growing is a low spot and during our frequent winter thaws puddles form there and then freeze.