Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Peruvian Lilies are great for bouquets


Lillies
Originally uploaded by that.girl

Peruvian lilies last a very long time in bouquets, especially when picked from your garden.
I admired my friend's Peruvian lilies, and bought a plant a year ago, and last month a friend dug up her lilies to move them and gave me a nice big clump, so I feel very rich indeed.
They come in many colors, often with a yellow or pink tone and with speckles, and there are also red and bronze varieties.
I keep replacing the roses in the vase of flowers on my kitchen table but the Peruvian lilies persevere, bless them.
These perennials (Alstroemeria) grow from one to four feet tall, with most growing to two feet in height. Plant the roots 6 to 8 inches deep. Recommended for zones 7 to 10, they are winter hardy if planted at the proper depth and mulched. Give them partial shade in hot summer areas and more sun in cooler areas, and plenty of water in spring and summer.

Some gardeners say these plants are invasive, even spreading into lawns, so keep that in mind. One of my two clumps is planted in a HUGE container, so that may be a good way to grow them, especially in mild climates.
I predict you will enjoy these flowers.
If you have any Peruvian lily stories or tips to share with us, please leave a comment.

3 comments:

BumbleVee said...

my sweetie brought me some just for the heck of it one day... hmmm..I thought they looked kind of bland, pale and fragile....they were mostly white, with some greenish ..and most of them were not open. He said the girl brought them out from the back of the shop for him when he said he wanted them to last at least 4 or so days.. I was shocked. They opened out into the most beautiful pale pinks with lovely green bands in them.... ... and lasted for two solid weeks! the sturdiest little "fragile and delicate" looking flowers I've ever had! Definitely worth the $$$$$ for cut flowers.

Bramblemoon Farm said...

I LOVE these! But they aren't hardy for me in Zone 5. My hubby buys them in bouquets for me when he's sees them and even ones from the local grocery store lasts almost 2 weeks.

Just a Landscape Dude said...

Those with harsher winters might have interest in "Mauve Majesty", a recent hybrid supposed to be hardy to Zone 6 and possibly Zone 5. Trying this year in Z5 myself...