@chouchou_gw Im so glad you are the first to post pics. I love seeing the ones from a bit of a distance. I must keep mine in a container due to lack of sun spots in the ground but your pics show that it can grow quite large.

Can you elaborate on your locale ie hardiness zone. As well can you post the sun aspect for this Inca?

I'm in the St Thomas area, near London, which I believe is considered zone 6. I just went outside and measured my plant and it is a little over 32 inches tall and about 35 inches wide at this point. If it continues to survive the winters i suspect it will continue to spread, which is fine by me. As I said, it is planted along the southern aspect of my house and I would guess that it gets about five hours of sun a day. It also gets a thick layer of mulched leaves over the winter months.

Out of curiosity, do you have a preference between Henri and Louis?

Out of curiosity, do you have a preference between Henri and Louis?

Not right now I dont as they just went in the "ground"! Hopefully I will be able to tell you better sometime in the summer of 2024 :). I wanted two and these were the only varieties available for me this late in the season. (The MAJESTIC series, of which they are both a part of are advertised as hardier than other alstroemeria.)

@chouchou_gw, St. Thomas?! Lucky you! With so many of "my" go to nurseries having shuttered the last few years your Canadale Nursery is probably my fave now. Even though it is almost 2.5 hours away from me (one way) I still stop by at least once a season.

Oh, I'm a regular at Canadale for sure! I also enjoy Heemans, Parkway and Baseline in the London area. Very lucky indeed!!

Interesting "chou" a I have not visited those nurseries when stopping at Canadale. I will visit these others in 2024.

(I have a few mores Qs about your nurseries but it would not be of interest to others here. Could you consider allowing houzz messaging and that way I would be able to reach you?)

You'd have to walk me through that process I'm afraid. I'm not terribly savvy about this stuff. As a matter of fact, today was the very first time I've posted a photo here.

O Rouge, I am charging my phone right now and am going to attempt the awfully convoluted process of emailing myself. I have 2 different accounts so my phone has been set to the one allowable by HOUZZ (but unrecognisable for any other business). Basically, my phone is now solely dedicated to allow me to post pics on here...if I can remember all the steps (hovering here, right clicking there...). Give me a few hours and I may finally be able to oblige. Grief, this all sound like the most endless tease ever but no-one is keener than myself to chit-chat about the odds and ends all over my gardens, if only to get validation from fellow horticulturists.

My alstroemeria, 'Etna' is not looking particularly cheerful cos it was invaded by crocosmia corms, which I have yet to prise out so don't expect a stellar show.

I do have a few September blooms as this is salvia month.

All good @rosaprimula UK (Cambridge) Z8/9, Whatever and whenever you post is always good.

Both potted up and recovering nicely from their cross country trip, hanging out in a south facing window.

UPDATE (July 2024):

Only one of our lilies ("Louis") survived the winter indoors (in a pot, next to a window).

I put the pot outside in May and it has taken until this week to give its first flower. (It took forever to bulk up). Hopefully it will now bloom its head off till...October.

Id love to see how your Peruvian Lilies are doing right now.

@chouchou_gw? @rosaprimula UK (Cambridge) Z8/9? @FrozeBudd_z3/4? 'roxanna'?

'Inca Ice' and 'Summer Break' as of today, the latter received this spring from Phoenix Perennials as a nice husky specimen.

"Summer Break" is drop dead gorgeous @FrozeBudd_z3/4!

Yes, it quite appeals to me and will give a good many blooms first year, whereas 'Inca Ice' had been received as a bit of a runt and took until its third summer to come to glory.

I swear, sometimes this plant will surprise you. I mentioned above that I have had one for more than five years, outside on the deck in summer and inside under plant lights in the winter. It is a blooming machine and fills its 12-inch pot completely. I have never re-potted it.

But for some reason, this year I must have neglected it somehow, and the entire thing just turned up its toes and died. Sob!!!

I put the pot out on the deck earlier this summer, to eventually toss it into the compost pile. As usual, my highly developed gift of procrastination kicked in, and the poor dear thing sat there for weeks. It did get rain now and then, but otherwise I did nothing.

LO!!!!! It was determined to prove me wrong, and as of today it is flourishing! The alstroemeria goddess has spoken: this plant is under MY protection, in spite of your poor treatment, and lives to bloom again. Just wait and it shall be proven to you.

I am thankful.. This particular one is a lovely soft rosy-red which I adore, so I am more than pleased that it has survived.

Now I am wondering if I dare to divide it and spread it around. No idea what the root system is, so am leery of doing so. This one is definitely an indoor type -- I would like to try some that are said to survive out in the garden over winter in this zone (6), but New England can be tricky, and they may not work. But it would be lovely to have them as permanent perennials in a garden bed!

My eldest and I dug out some of mine - it would have been impossible to dig out the entire clumps as it has become enmeshed with other plants and is now around 4 feet wide. We simply poked out some of the stems, as gently as we could, keeping one long piece of root. None of them (we took half a dozen) looked very promising, but we potted them up to allow the roots to regenerate...which they did, in a couple of months. My eldest, Rowan, planted them in 2 of his customers gardens (he is a professional gardener), where they are thriving. So yes, I think the innate vigour of this pant will generally triumph if you are careful(ish). We did it just as it was coming into its spring growth, before flowering.

Now I am wondering if I dare to divide it and spread it around.

Dont do it 'roxanna'! ;)

Even though mine, planted in a pot indoors this past October, did survive the winter (indoors, by a window) it for sure didn't thrive being indoors and it has taken about 2.5 months being outside to recover and give flowers I am thinking ahead to October wondering what to do with it at that time.

Thanks for your very informative post "HU".

To keep them blooming, you must not deadhead but grab the stems and pull hard, taking the whole stalk from the crown roots

For sure this caught my eye. So even though the stem no longer has flowers it would still be green and alive and yet it does pull away 'successfully' from the crown when you yank it?

rouge - yes, pulling the stem sharply from the plant (NOT cutting it) is the way to do it. So I have read and so I have done, always. It seems counter-intuitive, but for this plant it works. Weird, but there you go.

HU -- four feet diameter of alstroemeria?! I cannot imagine. How fabulous! I am almost encouraged to try to divide mine. The thought makes me a tad nervous, but i may do it this year... Or perhaps I should leave well enough alone. Decisions, decisions. Never a good thing for Gemini folk to deal with!

Where are you located, that you can grow this outside? And is yours a particular variety that can be used this way? Is the mother plant protected in any way for the winters?

Here is 'Inca Ice' this season. I decided it 'needed' agastache 'Queen Nectarine' in its vicinity so I relentlessly hunted that plant down. Both are marginally hardy in my garden (in my opinion) but are planted in a fairly protected south facing aspect. Fingers crossed they survive another winter. I also acquired 'Majestic Henri' this season, but so far it does not seem to be a vigorous grower. Fingers crossed for that one too!

Heya Roxanna, I am in the (mild) UK where my plant gets no protection whatsoever. If you do decide to divide it, best to do it in the spring rather than autumn, as it will really need a full season in a pot to grow the root system enough to survive a winter. When we did it, I was seriously doubting because I could not divide it like most perennials - the root system was huge, but fragile - no chance of attempting to lift it from its growing spot. I could only prise a small amount of white root attached to each stem, with very little sign of any sort of feeder roots...or much of anything, tbh...but no matter,I potted the plantlets up where they grew away all summer. I overwintered the pots outside with no especial treatment. When we saw signs of regrowth, the following spring, we transplanted the new plants in the assigned spots in the ground...where they put up a dozen or so stems over the season (which we resisted pulling for the vase).

Lovely looking plants, Chouchou - I really like the peachy agastache also.

I have attempted to grow these at my allotment, planting the small mail-order plants direct into the ground...where they did not thrive. I suspect, somewhat like agapanthus, they appreciate the confined life in a pot, at least for a season or 2 until they make a good sized root system. I will be dividing mine again in spring and will keep the divisions in a pot for a whole year before transferring to the ground...not unlike how I treat hardwood cuttings of roses and other woody shrubs.

HU-007, are you the former Campanula/RosaPrimula/SuzyJackson? If so, I’m sorry you are having such trouble!

" four feet diameter of alstroemeria?! I cannot imagine. How fabulous! "

Not as uncommon as one would imagine.........especially if you pick the right type. My first attempt at alstroemeria was with A. aurea 'Lutea', with bright yellow or orange flowers. This species spreads like greased lightening and my modest patch grew to be at least 8' across and crept under the fence to set up a similar large colony at my neighbors!! Trying to remove it was an exercise in futility, as any tiny piece of root left behind - and there will always be some - generated a new plant. What a headache!!

btw, aurea is most certainly more cold hardy than the fancy colored ligtu hybrids.

I have noticed something with my lilly and I am wondering if you notice similarly.

That often the leaves look 'sparkly' as if they are slightly wet and reflecting the sunlight but they are actually not wet at all.

Have you noticed that also?

yep, rouge, mine does that also. I figure it's just extra happy and healthy! This is when it is out on the deck in the full sun, not indoors over the winter... No adverse effects that I have noticed.

So cool 'roxanna'. I can now sleep peacefully knowing my lily isnt an "oddball" ;)

Yes! I remember ooing and awing over that very feature the first time I noticed it. One more reason to grow this gorgeous perennial.

Hey Indiana...how did you guess?

Anyway, thanks to certain posters (you know who you are), I found myself ordering another 3 alstroes - Maze (an almost pure white, Marce. a deep pink and Charles, an inbetween pink and white. Varying sizes - mostly tall but the Charles is around 50cm. Already potted up for the winter, for transplanting in spring.

After the most demoralising summer EVAH on the plot, I am giving up on vegetables. For various reasons, I have not been able to source manure (and honestly, good veggies really, really need that additional rotted poo)...however, played out, lean and dry soil, in sun, can still produce a goodly number of less demanding perennials and woodies so, you gotta cut your cloth accordingly, right. Going all out with a cutting garden and pollinators service station.

I kind of like the 007 moniker - perhaps you should keep it!

H--007 (love that moniker also!) -- I crave a white alstroemeria! And I ought to get the 'Charles' one, no matter what color it is -- my DH of 56 (!) years is named Charles....

Did you order these from Phoenix Perennials? I shall check them out!

Ah,roxanna, I am in the UK so bought mine from Hayloft nursery. There are a few cultivars of white alstroemerias (although some do tend to have green in the mix).

After "recovering" from being indoors all winter it has been healthy and vigorous for now approaching 2 months but I never seem to get more than one stalk in flower at any one time :(.

Of those many other stems, are buds not developing on several of them?

Nope. Of all the many stems you see, only one has flower buds. And so I predict that once the existing flowers you see are spent then only the one will take its place :(.

You did start out with a small plant, 'Inca Ice' had taken into it's third summer to really get going, so probably just requires more time to establish, disappointing none the less ...

Good point @FrozeBudd_z3/4, I keep forgetting that it is a perennial, planted in a pot last Fall and so this is just its first full season outdoors. It wasn't easy keeping it alive all last winter in the family room by the window. I might do it differently and try to have it hibernate in the pot in the cold cellar this time.

UPDATE: June 2026

You were right @FrozeBudd_z3/4, the third summer is a charm ie after overwintering it again in the cold cellar it is now giving its best display of its 'career'..

Rouge, yes, looking good there, alstroemerias are easy care very long blooming container plants well suited for us in the north.

I now keep over alstroemeria, cannas, dahlias and tuberous begonias in a rather very chilly back bedroom bathroom and giving all a small drink a few times during the long winters. I just repotted 'Summer Break', had taken such a hard hit by aphids having sucked the literal life out of it, though now happily pushing 6 or 7 new stems. Here's a real cutie I picked up this spring, 'Colorita Louise', is all too short growing, but that color said "take me home, it's a bit more dark wine than shown here.

'Colorita Louise' is gorgeous! I want that one!

I now keep over alstroemeria, cannas, dahlias and tuberous begonias in a rather very chilly back bedroom bathroom

That must be quite the bathroom :).

Can you clarify @FrozeBudd_z3/4. For your alstroemeria in the bathroom, its potted up?

tuberous begonias

I tried this for the first time this past winter but w/o success :(.

Yes, I now always maintain the alstroemeria as potted .... but, you know me, I'll try anything at least once and had attempted in the garden with very deeply protecting, was an outright failure. Also long ago had tucked against the foundation of the house ... the winter being particularly very mild and it actually sprouted forth in February and of course soon froze off, later rotting from the excess moisture of the melting snows.

I've never lost a dahlia when leaving it potted to overwinter, also have good success with the sometimes tricky tuberous begonias, all getting only a few small drinks during their rest, cannas can be watered more liberally. Here's a lovely hanging begonia I'll be holding over, Sun Dancer Yellow Red Picotee ....

I so love my blooming potted alstroemeria that I am searching for another one or two but it seems that mail order might be necessary 🥺.

(Yup, a potted dahlia is the way to go for successful overwintering. I am going to try similarly for my couple of colocasia/alocasias.)

Gorgeous begonia!!

Thanks Gardengal, a nearby greenhouse has lovely seed grown hanging begonias a bit too irresistible not return for more!

I was out yesterday at our nearby grocery store and I thought of your @FrozeBudd_z3/4 "Sun Dancer" begonia as I spied this no name beauty in the attached garden centre. But I did buy a couple and I will try to overwinter them:

Begonias? yikes i forgot i have 2 bags of them. Got to get them planted with the other 15 plants sitting in the shade.

enjoyed re reading this- where o where is the gardener of many names? Does anyone have a way of letting her know inquiring minds are wondering?

Apols for my absence (though I think you were possibly the only person 'missing' my swearily sarcastic self, Marie). I removed myself from the malign influence of the interweb, just to save myself from exploding with rage. Plus, have been a tad overwhelmed with caring responsibilities (it's tough being the Matriarch).

In gardening news, my teeny home garden has never looked nicer and, amazingly, there is space for a coupla people to sit and enjoy. The allotment, otoh...Well, like all novel ideas, there is always a massive disjuncture between theory and practice so the 'Black Box experiment, aka 'cultivating Chaos has been, well...interesting. By the time I have worked through the onerous list of daily chores, I am too knackered to get on my bike and ride off to wrestle with a series of horticultural hooligans (various euphorbias, valerian, alchemilla, achillea, sphaeralceas and other mallowy rellies, verbascum, dianthus, oenothera and so on, which are cheerfully bullying smaller, more retiring plants such as thalictrums, pulsatillas, agastache. The dyers garden ran amok, so anthriscus, madder, indigofera escaped their beds, while the whole lot is desperately growing taller. in a stretch for the sun. I am literally reduced to crawling through the undergrowth (overgrowth). In truth, once I cut a few strimmer paths and installed a comfy chair, it all looks and sounds rather lovely (because I am a highly skilled ignorer and ditherer), but my few attempts at taking photos just shows a lurid jungle scene. However, regardless of how anarchic it has become, I am free, free, free of the horrible deadlines of picking, cooking, storing...the entire toiling and moiling of veggie production. True, Family Campanula may not fare very well eating nasturtium and salvia in the no doubt coming food riots, but the redcurrants appear to be immune to the usual P&D, so there will be jelly, assuming we can still get our hands on bread.

Off to catch up on a years worth of posts and may even risk logging on now and again, if I can keep the simmering fury and disbelief at bay (politically, obvs).

Cheers, All. Suzy xx

eta, sorry to hear about your fall. Reading catch-up maybe? Prioritise stuff which will literally die without extra watering and prepare to be astonished at the tenacity and persistence of neglected plants...and reward yourself with an autumn shopping spree (actually the start of the gardening year).

(though I think you were possibly the only person 'missing' my swearily sarcastic self, Marie).

Totally false SJ!

Welcome back, Suzy/Rosa/Camp/HU-007. We did, indeed, notice and miss your snarky self!

More begonia love:

Rouge, the 'Sun Dancer' begonia I showed above, the thing has grown well, though those nicely formed double flowers became looser and fewer .... whereas the 'Illumination' series have maintained size and production. I do have four other 'Sun Dancers' .... but, I guess I made a blunder with the fertilizer and temporarily stalled them in their tracks, they're not photo worthy, but shall keep over winter to see how they get on next summer. Will definitely seek out more of the 'Illumination' series, the 'Apricot Shades', 'Lemon' and 'Golden Picotee' have some of the larger and better quality blooms of the series.