Alstroemeria Devotion - seeds

Alstroemeria Devotion is a variety of Inca Lily whose flowers are in shades of pastel pink and bright pink never seen before in other selections. Seed sown plants are perennial and hardy and come back year after year, they work well in borders and beds and provide beautiful cut flowers. They usually bloom from the second year. To be grown in full sun or partial shade, in loose, rich, well-drained soil, even slightly dry in summer.

Alstroemerias are perennial plants of the Alstroemeriaceae or Liliaceae family, native to Chile and Peru. These tuberous-rooted plants grow in the wild on drained and rocky slopes of the Andean mountains, on rather acidic soil. The hybrid variety 'Devotion' quickly forms large clumps sturdy, upright stems, bearing thin, dark green leaves on their upper half. In spring and summer, from the second year of cultivation, these, on average, 65 cm tall stems bear terminal umbels of open flowers, of 6 non-symmetrical petals, variously spotted or streaked with pale pink to bright pink. The colours vary depending on the plants, but all the flowers have small dark spots inside the 3 smaller petals. The thickened roots of alstroemerias are fleshy, resembling asparagus. They are fragile and brittle and sink deep into the soil, which must be soft and light to accommodate them. These plants reproduce easily by sowing which also prevents the roots from being damaged during transplantation. The deciduous vegetation emerges from the ground in spring and disappears in autumn.

Hybrid alstroemerias are somewhat capricious plants, which can wither overnight if their environment does not suit them, or become invasive in the opposite case. They provide wonderful flowers for bouquets, capable of lasting up to 2 weeks in a vase. For this purpose, you can grow them in the vegetable garden, in well-tilled and drained soil, or on a mound, which will suit them perfectly. Under these conditions, they can form large clumps that expand year after year. They are excellent plants for borders, rockeries, pots, and containers. To accompany them, consider annual poppies, campanulate bellflowers, and love-in-a-mist nigellas, for example.