Alstroemeria aurea

GOLDEN PERUVIAN LILIES

SALE: Buy 1 get 2 packs

Alstroemeria aurea
GOLDEN PERUVIAN LILIES
SALE: Buy 1 get 2 packs

Alstroemeria aurea produces beautiful, large flower heads in shades of sunshine yellow, butterscotch, bronze, cream and gold.
And these glowing trumpets of blooms are held on tall, strong, upright flower stems from late spring, through summer & autumn.

Superb garden display & commercial quality cut flowers

So they make a superb and long lasting garden display. As well as wonderful, commercial quality cut flowers.
But when you are harvesting the flower stems, grasp firmly and twist – so they come away from the base cleanly, rather than cutting the stems.
And this keeps the Alstroemeria corm in great order.
So the more you harvest, the more flowers they will produce.

Hardy, easy, low maintenance

Plant Alstroemeria in Full Sun to Part Shade.
Were they make a hardy, easy, low maintenance perennial clump which brings you colour, flowers and pleasure for many years.
And each year your clump will increase in girth, and become more productive.
And Alstroemeria aurea is rated as one of the toughest, hardiest and most frost resistant of all the gorgeous Alstroemerias, so it is the one suited to gardeners with harder conditions.
Plus they are water-wise plants, requiring only average garden watering to prosper.

Rabbit & Deer resistant, but pollinator friendly. 

They are rarely, if ever, troubled by any pests and diseases, including rabbits and deer, who treat them with ignore.
However honey-eating native birds adore foraging amongst the trumpet blooms (doing passable impersonations of Hummingbirds), and other beneficial pollinating insects enjoy them as much as we do.

75cm High x 60cm Wide.

SEED SOWING ADVICE:

Sow Alstroemeria aurea seed at any time indoors in punnets or pots.

First soak seeds overnight in hot water.
Then in the morning any seeds that have sunk are ready to sow.
But floating seeds need to soak again in fresh hot water.
And keep repeating with fresh hot water until the hard shells have swollen and the seeds sink in the water. The seeds are now ready to sow and accept moisture.

Now sow using good quality seed raising mix, press each large seed gently into the surface of the mix.
But cover the seeds only lightly with sieved mix.

Keep the sown punnet or pots in a very warm (25-30°C optimum), well-lit spot for 3 weeks.
Then cling-wrap the moist punnet, and place punnet in the fridge (not freezer) for 3 weeks. Finally remove the punnet from the fridge, unwrap, and return it to a warm, well-lit spot (20-25°C optimum) for the seeds to germinate.

Some seeds will be quick to appear, while others may take longer to germinate.
This is a natural process, as the plant cunningly sets up it’s seeds to germinate at staggered intervals. to ensure better survival chances in a variable climate.
So do not discard the punnet too quickly – patience is rewarded.

Seed Count: 5 large seeds per pack.

GROWING: Alstroemeria aurea

– Height with flowers: 75cm approx.
– Position: Full Sun to 1/2 Shade
– Soil: Happily tolerate sandy soils to heavy clay, as long as it is well drained. However they will rot in waterlogged soil, because of the fleshy tuberous roots. So raise the planting mound in heavier soils to give better drainage.
– Frost: Hardy down to approximately -6C, but with overhead shelter from trees can do even better. In hard frost areas mulch the crown in winter.
– Growth: Hardy herbaceous perennial.
– Beware: Wear gloves when cutting, as the tulipalin compound in the sap may cause skin irritation in susceptible individuals. Do not plant the species Alstroemeria psittacina, as it is an invasive, declared noxious weed.

Other benefits

– Beneficial to wildlife: The long blooming period gives a steady supply of food to nectar and pollen gathering bees, birds and butterflies. The Alstroemeria flowers make it easy for our insect friends to zoom in accurately, using those handy landing strip markings on the petals.

Easy work & resilient

– Care: Very easy low maintenance, only requiring some fertilizer during the growing season, and a winter trim to the ground to tidy. In very hot summer areas mulch in summer. In hard frost areas mulch in winter.
– Deer & Rabbit resistant: The whole plant contains a toxin called called tulipalin which burns the mouth. So rabbits and deer are wise enough to leave them alone.

– Origin: Alstroemeria are native to South America, particularly in Chile and Peru. Hence their common names of ‘Peruvian Lily’, ‘Lily of the Incas’ or ‘Parrot Lily’.
The name Alstroemeria commemorates a gardening hero – Claus von Alstomer. Claus was wise enough in 1753 to send some Alstroemeria seed home to Sweden from Spain, where he had spotted the spectacular flowers of recent introductions from the Spanish conquests in South America.

Myths & legends

– Myths & legends: Tradition says that each of the six petals in an Alstromeria flower represents a desirable quality: a petal each for understanding, humour, patience, empathy, commitment and respect.

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