Alstromerias can be deciduous or evergreen perennials with loose clusters of brilliantly colored flowers resembling miniature lilies or Azaleas on tall leafy stems in Summer. They are long lasting in flower arrangements Alstromerias prefer afternoon shade in our area and good drainage.
   Deciduous Altromerias produce leaves in late Winter and early Spring (now), followed by flowers in early to mid-Summer as leaves begin to die back. Plants go dormant after flowering and usually need no Summer water. They can self-sow and naturalize in our mild climate. Flowers come in orange, pink, salmon, yellow, red or creamy white and all have contrasting speckles and stripes of darker colors. (Editor's notes: Markham doesn't have all the colors shown on the left, but does have some of the colors).
   Evergreen Alstromerias are mainly hybrids or cultivars of a vigorous growing South American Alstromeria native species. Plants multiply from underground tuberous roots and withstand some drought but prefer moderate water during growth and bloom.
   One of the Alstromerias we have at Markham, Alstromeria psittacina  (left), is an evergreen species Alstromeria whose flowers are dark red marked with green and prefers shade. It is available in 4" pots and gallons.

Editor's notes: "common" Alstromeria make great cutting flowers for the house, often lasting over a week... but the trick is that you don't "cut" them, you pull the stem from the ground.... more on why you do this can be found here. There are several plants that share the popular name "Peruvian Lily" besides Alstromeria... and of course to confuse things even further, most Alstromerias originally came from Chile and Brazil and Chile.... go figure. Lot's of hybridizing going on with Alstromerias too, especially for the florist trade.