Alstroemeria

Unnamed Alstroemeria in my garden

Closeup of Alstroemeria

     One of the brightest spots in my garden now is an unnamed alstroemeria I got as a freebie from Beaver Creek Greenhouse 4 or 5 years ago.  These flowers are so bright an orange red that they practically glow.  I believe it was labeled as a Ligtu hybrid, but I could be wrong about that.  In any event, it was a seedling and not a clone.  When I got the plant, it had only about 2 leaves on it and it was tiny, so I didn't spend a lot of time trying to find the perfect location for it.  I just plopped it in where I had a spot.  At first it didn't seem to do much, but last year it just took off. 
     It was probably a mistake not to spend some time considering its location because alstroemerias are notoriously hard to remove once they are established.  However, I was lucky with this one since I think its location is great.  But that was not planned by me--it just happened.
     Last year was the first year that this plant bloomed so spectacularly and it bloomed for a very long time.  I let it go to seed and this year I have lots of little seedlings in the garden.  I am saving some of those because I want more of this elsewhere in the garden.  I don't know if the flowers of the seedlings will be the same color, but it will be interesting to see what they do. 
     I am liking alstroemerias more and more now that I have seen this one.  Previously I have grown the variegated Alstroemeria psittacina which has white and green variegated leaves and red and green flowers.  It is a durable plant once established, but it has never been especially showy like the alstroemeria pictured above.  I have also grown florists' alstroemerias and yellow alstroemerias but none of those greatly impressed me like this one.  Indeed, the yellow alstroemeria  proved to be a rampant weed in my prior garden.