What a beautiful testiment to the power of friendship and of gardeners sharing! I had no idea Alstroemerias could be grown from cuttings! And yes, when you pick them you pull the whole stem because it will die back like that, but it does not hurt the plant.

Thank you, Lizalily... and thanks for the tip! I wasn't sure what to do with the dried stems from the previously bloomed Alstromeria! I'll snip them off at soil level, then.

I had no idea they could be grown from cuttings, either... but as I recall, and my memory is really bad, these had very little or no roots when I received them. I dipped the ends in rooting hormone powder, and hoped they would grow. They looked kind of sad for a little while, but then they perked up and sprouted new leaves! And the pot is filling up with what I can only describe as offsets, I guess. I can see I need to learn more about this wonderful plant!

That is sooo cool! I keep a joural of the trades but don't always get the names, especially at trades.

Alstromeria blooms twice a year here, spring and fall, it goes dormant in the hot part of summer, and in the coldest of winter, so for us sometimes it doesn't go dormant until summer. It may not go dormant over summer for you if it's not tooo hot. It has a poor root system, kind of little tubers that break really easy, the foliage breaks off like crazy, even when you are weeding around it. Also called Inca lily, parrot flower. It's one of the most common flowers in the retail floral trade, often used as filler. It causes "florist hand", contact dermatitis, in a lot of people, the sap is irritating. It reproduces rapidly. Is prone to white fly. If it dies back just keep it on the dry side and it should sprout again in the spring. I'm not sure on cold hardiness.

Tally HO!

Thanks, Tally! I'll keep it a bit on the dry side... I'm not entirely certain of zone, but I'm positive it couldn't survive our northern winters! I brought it indoors just recently... it spent the summer outside, lounging next to my Japanese Maples. It seemed to like the morning sun, and I watered it when it was dry, although we had a lot of rain this year, so that wasn't very often.

Once spring gets here again, I'll take it back outdoors. It has the most interesting red and green blooms... I just love it! Thanks, Tally! I'm a sucker for tender bulbs and plants!

Alstroemeria overwinters fine here (Zone 8b), and can spread to be a nuisance...I have way too many hot coral pink ones from a single bulb I grew from seed a few years ago. And Jodi, according to the instructions I had, do not cut the stem off, give it a good yank and pull it right off the root then discard.

They will throw seeds everywhere too. It's a bit invasive but with our sand it just comes right up. And it's so pretty when in bloom. We only have two kinds of plants here, dead and invasive. LOL!
Tally HO!

Oh, how I wish I were just one or two zones south! The variety of plant material would be so much greater! I could actually grow Tea Roses!

I'll remember to just pull the stems once they're dead and dried... and I don't think I'll have to worry about seeds coming up everywhere. I think the cold will kill any in the garden.

Hot coral pink sounds like a lovely color... I can see I need to look deeper into this plant... maybe find some seeds for different colored flowers!

I can't grow most roses, including most teas, bearded iris, most "cottage" garden plants, lilacs, hostas, toad lilies....pretty much any plant featured in any garden magazine. If the heat don't get 'em the humidity do! So I drool over pictures of cottage gardens and go out and pick bird of paradise blooms or smell the brugs in January. And freak out when it gets cold! NOTHING is freeze tolerant. Then there is the salt spray, hurricanes, wind....
As Rosannadanna used to say "it's always something".
I think I need a hot pink one too! I had some other colors but they didn't make it through Ike. The big boxes-Home depot, Lowe's will usually carry some varieties in the spring.
Tally HO!

And here, I dream of being able to grow some of the more tropical types of plants, like Plumeria, and all the tender bulbs, palm trees... and to have a lath house full of blooming and healthy orchids!

You know how it is... the grass always looks greener on the other side of that fence!

...and From our ever dearest JodiK a lovely lil Mrs. Garfield bulblet that basked in my Florida sunshine all summer only to produce 2 babies of it's own!!
{{gwi:433688}}From 2009-10 Amaryllis

Wow, Cindee! Yours is doing so much better than mine! It looks great!

Mine currently has only one leaf... it's in a translucent plastic pot, but I think I should move it into clay. When I first got it, I placed it right on the east windowsill, and the first leaf it grew got sunburned. So, I moved it out of direct sunlight, and now... it's just lazing around, not doing much of anything!

I'm thinking a re-pot into clay, and maybe a tad bit more light.

Keep up the good growing, Cindee! Looking good! :-)