Alstroemeria

 

Alstromerium family. Homeland - subtropics of South America (Chile, Brazil, Peru). There are about 60 species in nature.

The name of the genus was given by Karl Linnaeus in honor of the Vedic naturalist and botanist Klas Alströmer. When pronouncing the name of this flower, the sound "yo" should sound - according to the historical pronunciation. But we Russians do not like to break the tongue, and often in the name of the plant sounds the letter "o" - Alstromeria.

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These are herbaceous rhizome perennials. The roots have tuberous spindle-shaped outgrowths. The stems are erect, bushes grown in open ground can reach more than 1.5 m and require a garter to the support. Shoots are of two types: vegetative, on which only leaves develop, and reproductive, bearing peduncles. The leaves are alternate light green in color, linear in shape, slightly wavy. The generic feature of this plant is leaf resupination. The petiole of the leaf, or rather even the petiole-shaped lower part of the leaf (petioles are practically not expressed) is twisted 180 °, and at the same time that part of the leaf that is lower is located upward, and vice versa, the upper part of the leaf "looks" down. Umbrella inflorescences carry 10-20 zygomorphic flowers, very similar to orchid flowers. The calyx of the flower is formed by six petals arranged in two circles of three. The fruit is a box, like a poppy.

At home or as a greenhouse plant, as well as for cutting, they grow mainly not species alstroemeria, but hybrid ones. They are distinguished by a wide variety of colors - orange, yellow, red, pink, purple, lavender, salmon and white, in general, of all colors except true blue.

Alstroemeria can be grown as garden plants. To do this, ask for seeds of cold-resistant hybrids, for example, "Funny Moths." In the southern regions of Russia, it is grown all year round in open ground, only closing it with lapnik for the winter. In central Russia, in October, it is dug up and stored in a cellar (in the ground in small pots) along with other garden flowers, for example, dahlias.

Alstroemeria care at home

Temperature

Prefers moderate temperatures. In summer, the usual indoor, but optimally about 20-22 ° C, in winter about 13-15 ° C, at least 8 ° C, despite the fact that species alstroemeria can withstand even small frosts, hybrid plants sold in stores are not so frost-resistant. But they all dislike the heat equally. At temperatures above 28 ° C, the plant freezes in growth, quickly discards flowers, wilts. Too high a temperature of alstroemeria in winter prevents the laying of flower buds, and the plant may not bloom.

Lighting

Alstroemeria loves light, it cannot be attributed to shade-tolerant plants, but if in autumn and winter it can be kept on the south window, then in spring and summer it is necessary to shade at noon (i.e. partially direct sun, partially bright scattered light). For successful flowering, the duration of daylight hours must be at least 13-14 hours. Therefore, they use additional illumination for it using fluorescent lamps.

Watering

In spring and summer, moderate, the soil should have time to dry out. In winter, watering is limited, depending on the temperature. Alstroemeria does not tolerate stagnation of water in the roots, excessive watering, but it is also impossible to allow strong overfilling of the earth. During the growing season, ideally, watering should be such that the soil is constantly in a slightly moist state. Watering water is used only soft.

Fertilizer

Alstroemeria does not tolerate large doses of nitrogen in fertilizers, so use only fertilizers for ornamental flowering plants, for example, Fertica (NPK 16-20.6-27.1) or for bulbous ones - Fasco Onion (NPK 7-9-12), Etisso (NPK 3.8-7.6-7.5), etc.

Air humidity

If the air temperature is moderate, then the plant does not require spraying the leaves. On hot days in summer, you can spray with warm water in the morning or evening.

Flight connections

Potted alstroemeria are transplanted annually in the spring. Their root system is quite powerful. Soil mixture: 2 parts of leafy land, 1 part of peat, 1 part of humus land and 1 part of perlite, 1 part of pine bark. pH is slightly acidic and acidic (preferably pH = 5-5.5), alstroemeria does not tolerate alkaline soils. Soil can be used for azaleas and rhododendrons. Good drainage at the bottom of the pot is a must.

Reproduction

Seeds or division of the rhizome. Seeds are sown in February, in slightly moistened peat soil and stratified at a temperature of 2-4 ° C for 1-2 months, then the temperature is gradually increased to 20-25 ° C. As soon as shoots appear, you need to provide them with good lighting, regularly ventilate the greenhouse, for 30 minutes 2-3 times a day. With the growth of seedlings, greenhouse shelter or glass is gradually removed from the plates, accustoming young plants to drier air.

Diseases and pests of alstroemeria

Most often, thrips harm the plant, and when kept in warm or hot conditions, ticks.

Thrips hide in buds and flowers, they are difficult to detect on variegated petals, and puncture marks, highlighted silver spots and strokes are clearly visible on the leaves. The easiest way to deal with thrips is with systemic insecticides - actara or confidor, watering the soil.

Of the diseases, the most serious are root rot, phytophthora, fusariosis - from excess moisture in the soil and stagnation of water, as well as gray rot - it appears as a result of increased humidity and poor ventilation of the premises. Be sure to sterilize the garden land before transplanting or sowing.

   

Growing problems

Alstroemeria is primarily a greenhouse plant, i.e. it loves a lot of space, light and coolness. As a houseplant, it began to be sold for purely marketing reasons - a novelty with beautiful flowers immediately attracts attention.

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But all problems begin when the temperature is too high in winter in low light and low humidity. If the plant is not allowed to rest, it will quickly deplete and will not bloom.

Alstroemeria is very sensitive to soil acidity, if the soil is not acidic enough, closer to neutral, or alkaline, the plant shows signs of iron and magnesium deficiency.

Therefore, Alstroemeria is planted only in acidic land (for azaleas or conifers), and watered only with very soft boiled water. At the slightest appearance of a salt deposit on the soil, the land must be replaced.

A sign of iron deficiency is the yellowing of leaves, especially at the beginning of vegetation and after flowering. First of all, young leaves turn yellow.

A sign of a lack of manganese is mesenteric chlorosis, mainly on young leaves in spring and summer.

Yellowing between the veins and along the edge of the leaf, mainly on old leaves, becomes a sign of magnesium deficiency.

By the way

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Alstroemeria has many varieties of various shades, most have a distinctive speckling on the inside of the petals. In addition, there are varieties of alstroemeria with dark leaves, with a slight purple tint.

By the way

There is a situation when you buy blooming Alstroemeria, bring it home, grow according to the requirements, but for some reason it refuses to bloom. It seems that the light is enough and cool and there is no chlorosis... But she bloomed when buying, you say. Of course, it bloomed, because they grew it for sale in special conditions.

Of course, flowering specimens have a more marketable look. Therefore, to stimulate flowering, manufacturers (in the greenhouses of the Netherlands, Holland) carry out vernalization of alstroemeria. Plants are placed under low temperature conditions to stimulate shoot growth - this is keeping the plants for about 4 weeks at a temperature of 5 ° C.

In this case, the daylight hours are gradually increased until it is 13 hours. Then the temperature is gradually increased to 15 ° C and under these conditions the plants are kept until they are sent to the shops.

Vernalization helps stimulate flowering, and cool content allows you to gain many buds and keep flowers longer. The temperature of the content above 20 ° C reduces all chances of flowering to a minimum, if not to zero...