Category Archives: Cut Flowers

Cut Flower Alstroemeria – Grow Your Own!

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What’s better than having a fresh bunch of alstroemeria on your dining room table every week?

Knowing they came from your own garden, that’s what!

That’s just one reason growing your own alstroemeria cutting garden is a great idea.

Need more convincing? Read on.

Why Grow your own Cutting Garden

There are many reasons to have your own alstroemeria cutting garden:

  • Alstroemeria thrive on being picked. The more you pick, the more they grow! The tugging method of picking (See “HOW TO PICK ‘EM” below) encourages more blooms to spring up and keeps them free of dying debris.
  • You can enjoy a greater variety than might be available to buy ready-picked.
  • You can tailor-make your selection and have them on hand forever.
  • You’ll learn more about the world of plants and what thrives in your garden.
  • It’s an affordable way of having a regular supply of fresh flowers in the vase.
  • Long stemmed flowers such as alstroemeria make great vase dwelling blooms. Their stature makes such a striking statement.
  • Perennials like alstroemeria are repeat flowering, meaning they come back year after year. So you will have a constant supply of flowers in blooming season!
  • If you plant them in pots in a greenhouse you can have alstroemeria flowers all year round.
  • Flowers encourage beneficial insects.

 

How to Plant ‘em

The alstroemeria plant varieties we grow are garden winter hardy. However, for the first couple of winters while they are establishing it will be best to mulch them well to make sure they are protected until they are big and strong enough to get through the winter without any assistance. Mulching helps prevent weeds too.

You’ll also want to:

  • Pick a sheltered, partly sunny, partly shady spot in the garden.
  • Grow them in pots. This is an even better option as they can be contained, whereas in the garden they can spread too much.
  • Keep them flowering for longer by moving the pots from the garden to a greenhouse or conservatory in the winter.
  • Feed them weekly through growing season (from May to September) as this will encourage your alstroemeria to flower well and repeatedly. A high potash fertiliser such as our Alstroemeria Feed is great.
  • Water them well but make sure the soil is well-draining as they don’t like having soggy feet.
  • Prevent long stemmed flowers from breaking off because of their height or the bed being overwhelmed by too much plant by spacing them out and providing supports for the taller varieties.
  • Keep your growing bed to 1.2m wide or less for ease of picking. However, if you are tall or are advanced in your yoga practice, you could make it wider than that.
  • Dead head after flowering season in the same way you pick them (See “HOW TO PICK ‘EM” below). This is important as it fends off disease, keeps the plant looking tidy and prevents them wasting energy on producing seeds at the expense of more flowers.

 

How to Pick ‘em

As mentioned above, there is a specific way in which to “pick” alstroemeria. So even though it’s traditionally called a “cutting garden”, when it comes to picking, you won’t be wielding secateurs with your alstroemeria.

That said, it is best to wait until at least one summer has passed to ensure your alstroemeria’s roots have taken hold in the ground and cannot be dislodged before employing the “tugging” method. Until then, you can still have fresh flowers by cutting them instead (with those sharp secateurs).

Otherwise, here is the preferred “tugging” method and other tips:

  • Get hold of the base of the stem and give it a firm tug and a slight twist at the same time. In this way the whole stem is removed from the root. This will ensure that the root area is free of rotting plant debris which causes disease. It also encourages the plant to re-flower, as it will produce another bud under the ground.
  • Pick them on a cool day/morning rather than when it is hot as they will be droopy from the heat.
  • Take a bucket of water with you while picking so you can put the stems straight into it.
  • Once ready to go in the vase, remove the leaves that will be under the water and put a little Milton in the water. This will stop the fungal moulds from growing and prolong their life.
  • Trim the stems and change the water every 2 to 3 days to keep them fresh.

 

Last but not least, sit back and enjoy gazing at them with a cup of tea.

Your eyes and mind will thank you.

Alstroemeria Cutting Garden
Alstroemeria Cutting Garden
Alstroemeria Cutting Garden
Alstroemeria Cutting Garden
Alstroemeria Cutting Garden

British Alstro

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Now is as good a time as any to be proudly British.

Because, why not?

Also, with more interest in buying local and supporting smaller, homegrown companies closer to where we live, why not add Alstroemeria to that list?

British Grown

Some of us may remember a time when 90% of the flowers supplied in the UK were British grown. We were all going along swimmingly until a fuel price hike in the UK and Dutch government subsidies turned the tables in the 1970’s.

Up until a few years ago, the percentage of British grown flowers sold in the UK was less than 15%. And 90% of that was going to the supermarkets. But that is starting to change.

Although Dutch flower companies have been one step ahead in the flower industry since the 70’s, government subsidies have recently started being phased out which is having a impact on their production.

With many campaigns encouraging greater enthusiasm for British flowers, the demand for British grown flowers is steadily growing.

If you’re in England and buying Alstroemeria grown in British soil, there’s no doubt you’ll be getting a better quality plant. It makes sense to buy plants that don’t have to travel for weeks to get to your door.

Think about how we humans often feel after travelling a few hours on a plane.

Not a pretty sight...

British Bred

Although Alstroemeria originate from South America the first new varieties were bred in Spalding, Lincolnshire by plant breeder John Goemans, becoming known as 'the father of alstroemeria’. He was the first in the world to grow Alstroemeria commercially under glass, introducing the first Alstroemeria variety specifically intended for glasshouse growing in 1959.

By the late 60’s breeding really took off with his launch of pink ‘Ballerina’ - the first of about 50 new varieties he developed over the years for the garden and cut-flower industry. This led to Alstroemeria becoming one of the major glasshouse grown cut flower crops in the world today. In 2018 John Goemans’ company 'Parigo' was taken over by Alec White of Primrose Hall Peonies, where the growing and breeding continues.

There are now about 250 different varieties of alstroemeria available in Britain. We grow over 200 varieties on our 8 acre nursery based in rural Bedfordshire, including original British bred Parigo varieties (such as ‘Apollo’, ‘Friendship’ and the ‘Little Miss’ series), the ‘Colorita’ (‘Princess’) series, ‘Inca’ series, ‘Planet’ series and Inticancha collection. Some of our favourites are ‘Rock ‘n Roll’ and ‘Colorita Fabiana’ with their beautiful and unusual variegated leaves.

Alstroemeria are marvelous because of their comparatively long vase-life (up to 2-3 weeks) and have a long, prolific flowering season.

And strong stems & long bracts make British grown alstro a first prize choice. Also, known as a ‘dry’ and a ‘cool’ crop, they require very little watering or heating.

So they are a sustainability win too!

Gives us reason to be even more proudly British.

And that’s why we love ‘em.

Alstroemeria as Cut Flowers

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Spring is just about springing and we are looking forward to enjoying the joy of Spring soon!

If you have Alstroemeria in your garden right now or perhaps some overwintering snugly in a pot in your greenhouse, all those fresh new shoots are getting ready to jump out the ground as we speak! And once they get going again you can pick, pick, pick away for months and they’ll just keep giving you more and more flowers.

For cut flowers the taller varieties of Alstroemeria go a LONG way. Those with 60cm+ stems have a stately, elegant look that’s just perfect for the vase. If you have some tall varieties in your garden right now such as Alstroemeria 'Friendship', ‘Bauge’ or ‘Lucca’ you can look forward to gathering up some great cut flowers over the next few months.

For Beautiful Cut Flowers

One thing to note is that they won’t be ‘cut’ flowers. Technically speaking, instead of cutting you’ll be doing more picking, plucking or (what feels like) ripping.

You’ll want to get hold of the stem about halfway down and give it a gentle twist followed by a sharp tug which will pull out the stem.

It will feel a bit like you’re hurting your Alstroemeria but never fear! They love it!

This encourages more flowering and makes sure there are no pieces of stem left to rot which can cause fungal disease to build up on the root.

You’ll want to pick them at the point when the buds are not yet open but have colour and looking ready to pop. They will last longer in the vase if picked at this point.

Unlike earlier hybrids, many of the recently bred varieties flower for months, repeat flowering multiple times during the season from March/April to October/November in the UK. Most importantly, the newer cultivars iwll not rampage through your garden. So keep picking, tugging or, indeed, ripping and they’ll keep rooting, growing and shooting up more and more blooms.

By choosing a reliable variety and taking good care of it you can enjoy flowers from the same plant for 20 – 30 years!

Ideally your alstroemeria was planted late last summer for it to be ready for picking this spring. If you planted them around the end of August they will have had the whole of autumn and winter to establish their roots so they can withstand the rigours of the picking action described above.

Putting them in a Vase

  • Remove leaves that will be under the water. This will reduce the bacteria formation in the water which will extend the vase life, but leave some leaves above water as they help the plant to draw the water up
  • Cut about 2cm off the stems at an angle whilst immersed in water as they will then absorb water immediately. Alternatively you can dip the stems in a hydrating solution after trimming and before putting them in the water which will open the cells and lengthen vase life
  • Use flower food in the water and change the water, giving the stems a fresh trim every 2 days
  • Position in a cool place away from direct sunlight and drafts

 

These are a few of our favourite ‘tugged’ flowers (pictured right) blooming from Jun – November, all of which enjoy a sheltered position in part shade or full sun:

Indian Summer

Copper-orange golden yellow with dark, almost black, foliage

Height: 70cm

Etna

Deep red with a yellow throat

Height: 90cm

Evening Song

Burgundy-red with yellow marking and dark streaks

Height: 70cm

Dana

Soft pink with a blush and yellow speckled throat

Height: 70cm

Maze

Pure white

Height: 80cm

Bonanza

Bright pink flowers with flecked, yellow-marked inner petals

Height: 90cm

Friendship

Cream with yellow speckled throat

Height: 60-120cm

Pandora

Lovely deep purple/mauve

Height: 90cm