Alstroemeria

Does anyone know the best way to overwinter an Alstroemeria in zone 5? Thanks

As far as I know from way back when!!!! Alstromeria's are sometimes known as Peruvian lilies and members of the Amaryllis family.

They are perennials that sprout from a fleshy Tuberous rooted type of bulbous growth.
Here in UK, we just protect the Tuber by adding a good few inches of mulch, either compost, leaf litter etc BUT try avoid heavy stuff like Bark or large wood chippings as they are a bit heavy for the new tender spring growth that starts under the soil.
They do like well drained but enriched soil because as you might know, tuberous rooted plants are quite greedy feeders and the added humus helps this.
Once planted, try NOT disturb them again as they don't take to being disturbed as it can break the fleshy roots.
End of summer when you remove any dead foliage, that's the best time to add the mulch, make sure you add a cane or other marker at the growing area or you can end up standing on the tubers as you work in the growing areas as they are out of sight. on the first year you grow these lovely flowering plants, don't pick all the flowers, in fact, the first year you might not get flowers as they are using all there energy to make lot's of nice fat roots to give stability when the taller foliage arrives, and they look best when planted in clumps of 3-5-7 etc but make sure they are spaced out enough so they have room to make more roots and I used twigs to give spring / summer support for the foliage and flowers, the woody twigs were soon hidden after a few weeks.

Hope all this helps give you confidence to keep your plants going for many years to come AND to enjoy them, they look so delicate but are tougher than you might think.
best of luck and kindest Regards.
WeeNel.

WeeNel - How cold of a winter do you think the alstro can handle?

Brenda, I know this is hard to believe but it's hard for me to give you a true answer to that re Temp, as for Zones, we really don't work so much as that as within MY AREA, (West Coast of Scotland) there is a huge fluctuation within a 1/4 mile depending on the situation,

I live directly above the sea (on a cliff, we very rarely have ground freeze, but we get very wet waterlogged areas, What kills off my plants (mostly shrubs, tree's and further back from sea side, I have Herbaceous Border where I grow a mix of shrubs and perennial plants Like Alstroemeria's, Dahlias etc, these get a bit more shelter from the really harsh salt gales that can blast right off the sea. this actually BURNS the plants and strips the foliage off most, even my Rhododendrons etc and because of the salt contained in the howling winds, BUT by the time that type of weather arrives, the tuberous plants are finished, usually I've managed to remove the dead foliage (I leave the foliage to die down and it feeds back into the tubers) Normally I try to throw a mulch over the tuberous plants as Freeze could happen, BUT by freeze, it would need to freeze way down into the soil about 2-3 inches, remember by the time any freeze is likely, the tubers will be dormant, adding 3-4 inch of mulch on top of the soil means you would need a freeze of about 6 inches below soil and I doubt very much IF you would get that in your zone.
If your still worried, throw your mulch down, Make a tent with garden canes and clear plastic leaving a little hole in the top to allow air to circulate OR us a large upturned flower pot that WONT break by frost, Try secure it in some way and leave a few holes uncovered by using a large stone etc to hold in place BUT, in Zone 5, I do think you will be fine.

My challenge here in my area is the fluctuation of wet, wind, temp and dare I mention the wild life, BUT I wouldn't change it as I have stunning views, acidic soil (Iv'e amended areas to grow perennial and veg plants that DON'T like acid soil.
Just remember Brenda, there are so many different ways we can alter the environment a certain plant requires BUT only within reason, most of us go wrong because we dont look see what or where the plants originated from, if tropical then I use my greenhouse and winter heat, IF shade, we give the plant shade and forget placing it in a border whjere it gets blazing sun.
You can learn to do the same thing in your garden by checking the soil, the amount of light OR sun, shade, water etc AND don't forget to remove any shade, covers or support you give when the plants are going into winter sleep, they may just require another type of help like MULCHES,
I think your plants will be fine in your area with mulching BUT lot's of people have to lift and store tuberous plants, clen up the tubers and store them over winter, come spring, they begin to throw out new green shoots and are re-planted outside in the garden.
Hope all this helps you out and you can enjoy those lovely plants.
Kindest Regards.
WeeNel.

I tried to overwinter one outside a few years ago and it did not make it. I covered it with a rose cone stuff with newspaper and no luck. I plan to bring one in this winter and see what happens. What I am trying to find out is if I should cut it back or not. Can I cut it back?

WeNee - You struck a cord when you said, "Peruvian Lily". I had not a clue the alstroemeria grew from a bulb. I raise the white peruvian lily, but I lift them each fall and store them over winter in my downstairs area, then come spring I plant them in a row in the Vegetable Garden along with tuberoses and gladiolas and calla lily that I have also wintered over. I have tried growing the alsoroemeria two different years and lost them over winter both times. Our soil is more alkaline. Our 6b zone takes us below zero at times and our summers can been extremely hot and humid (upper 90's and high humidity). So WeNee, the ground freezes pretty far down and keanl is in an even colder zone. The florists in the U.S. can get all kinds (every color imaginable) of the alstros. Not sure where they are coming from, but they are beautiful. I might try them again, if I thought I could deal with them as a bulb. I could even modify the soil to give them the acid. But babysit them more than that would not make the effort worthy as I would be sure and forget to get them covered properly ahead of the cold. WeNee - would love to see pictures of your alstros.
Thanks for all your information.

I was looking to purchase this lovely plant but it said hardy to zone 7.....I am like you in zone 5 so decided to go with winter hardy plants in my new garden project. If you find out different please post

brenda, I get asked quite often for pictures of my garden and really do wish I could upload or down load whatever you do to send pictures BUT, cant master it even though I have been given instructions several time, I got a new cell phone at Christmas (had last one for about 10 years GEEEEEpers) anyway, all I want to use this contraption for is to make a call, receive a call, send a text or receive a text, still cant manage all these 4 things, AND, my husband has been over this procedure time and again. Techno idiot, but gardening speciality.
You see gardening is simple, phones/ camera's AND computers were made by someone who never took into account that I would want to use those items LOL.

Also, Over the last 2-3 years, my garden has been so badly damaged from storms, Like 80-100 mile an hour gales, and rain that this year started and never stopped till end of May start of June, I've still not been able to catch up with everything, trying to dig up and pot things, others cant be found or remnants are under the soil where I clear areas, it's quite heart breaking just because there is nothing you can do when that type of weather strikes except hope and pray the building stays up as the plants can eventually be replaced BUT the years of work are un-replaceable for sure. I've lost loads of my bulbs, lilies, Tuberous dahlias, Canna's and Alstromeria's to mention a few, this is when you think, WHY OH WHY did I not take the time to lift them BUT because they came through for several years, you just take it for granted they are as hardy as old boot's, well NO mine were NOT, BUT we have never had this amount of rain, the winter was milder than normal BUT was wetter and windier, Further down the south of the country in England, they had it even worse and some folks are still not back into there homes after the floods they had.

All the above is the very reason why here in Scotland it's very difficult to give a zone temp or a rain fall forecast, and saying all that, we also have had the hottest summer for years, so my garden flowered, died and was all withered by end of July,early August, as we say here, that's gardening for you, never a dull moment.
All I ask is next year the rain is normal, just a heavy shower once a day would help, on saying all that, My Larger shrubs like Rhododendrons etc had the largest, brightest and most beautiful flowers EVER and the experts have put it down to the amount of rain we have all had. Kind of makes one feel so ungrateful for not appreciating all that wet dark and windy days EH.

Lets hope next years a good one for us all.
Enjoy and Good luck.
Kindest Regards. WeeNel.

WeeNel- Bummer about your weather problems (do they use the word "bummer" in Scotland?). Thanks sharing your extensive gardening experience. Don't worry about the lack of photos, we learn a lot from you.

Bummer is quite common here, in fact there are worse words the younger generation use, verbal or by hand movements, BUT Bummer is as far as I like to go, it's part humour and part OMG,!!!!!! depending on the situation LOL.

Glad I have been of some help, I love to think More new gardeners are created because of Dave's. It's always nice when folks come on here and feel they are completely lost in their new gardening hobby and when things are explained in simple easy to understand terms, all of a sudden, they sound much more confident and are back on the site full of enjoyment rather than feeling like they will never be able to grow a weed let alone make a nice veg plot or flower garden. Within a short period of time, they have began to master lot's of things garden wise, it's cheers me that I played a small part in getting them started, but others on here do the same thing also.
Thanks for your kind words, I'm sure like me, you will enjoy helping / encouraging others to join us in this all consuming hobby that eventually takes over our lives LOL.

Best Wishes and kindest Regards.
WeeNel.

Brenda,

Would you please describe in detail how you overwinter your alstromeria indoors? How often do you water them? Do you put them in a pot with soil or vermiculite? Do you cut them off? Do they get any sun? When do you take them back outside? I am excited to try this method but can't seem to find any details.
Thank you,
Magarac

mgarac - It was not me that overwintered the alstro. I left mine in the ground and they did not make it. I had tried them two different years and both years, they did not return..........

Hope you have better luck with them than I have. I know there is a tremendous variety of altro's out there.

Good luck with yours!

Thank you Brenda,

Could you please describe how you overwinter your peruvian lily?
Thank you.

Why are posting dates in spamish

As for my white peruvian lily, I will cut them off very soon, let them dry a few days, then I will put them in a basket and store them in my basement (which is a comfortable temperature all winter).

Hope that helps.

brenda

Forgive me, as I am very new to this. Do I brush the dirt off the roots and let them dry? Are they in some type of medium in the basket or are there just bare roots in a basket? Are they exposed to any light? How do you keep them from drying out? When do you repot them for planting outdoors again?
Thank you.

Again I am speaking of the Peruvian Lily. I cut them off just before digging with the shovel. I shake off the dirt (best I can). I let them dry (outside) in a dry area out of the weather (in case it rains). After a week or two I put them in a well ventilated basket - I do not personally us any other medium. My basement - downstairs might be just a tad cooler than the rest of my house. It has some windows on one side and I do not place the bulbs next to the windows. I just sit them in the basket under a table with some other bulbs I am saving. So - they do not get much in the way of light, but they are not in total darkness either. My basement is a comfortable one. There is a tad more moisture in my basement than the rest of my house and most of the time I have a dehumidifier going down there. I do not repot them for planting - instead, come spring, when the frost free date arrives, I plant the bulbs directly into the ground and to my surprise they bloom in about 30 days. Hope this is helpful!

Thank you for the information. I will try your method. Thank you for taking the time to educate me on this matter.
M

magarac - You are very welcome. Do you have lots of bulbs to lift? I have dug my tuberoses already and they are dry enough to think about putting them into a basket, then taking to my basement for winter storage. I have yet to dig my glads, peruvian lilies and callas. I have not decided whether to try and save the dahlias. Will see.