Alstroemeria

Growing in Pots, Balconies & Indoors

Alstroemeria (Peruvian lily) is a tuberous perennial grown for its long-lasting flowers. The grower notes it is not a houseplant – it wants the full sun to part shade that indoor light cannot match – but it grows well in a planter or container on a sunny balcony or patio.

Quick Details

• Container Size: A large, deep container – the fleshy, tuberous roots spread and resent cramping
• Indoor Suitability: Not a houseplant; grow it outdoors in sun
• Best Spot: Full sun to half shade
• Soil & Drainage: Rich but free-draining mix
• Watering in Pots: Average, even moisture – pots dry faster than open ground; avoid waterlogging

Indoors & On the Windowsill

• Not for indoors: The grower marks it as not a houseplant – it needs more sun than a room offers, and would grow leggy and flower poorly.
• Brightest sill only: At most a very sunny windowsill could hold a pot briefly, but it belongs outdoors through the growing season.
• Overwintering: The tubers are frost-tender in cold climates; growing in a pot lets you move it somewhere bright and frost-free for winter, or mulch it heavily.

On a Balcony or Patio

• Light & wind: Give it a sunny, sheltered spot; tall flowering stems can flop, so provide light support on windy balconies. Walls and paving reflect heat and dry pots quickly – check moisture often.
• Practicalities: A large, filled pot is heavy – position it before filling, and let drainage water run off freely.

Choosing the Pot, Soil & Long-Term Care

• Pot & drainage: A large, deep pot with strong drainage holes; skip a standing-water saucer to avoid rotting the tubers. Terracotta breathes and dries faster; glazed or plastic holds moisture longer.
• Potting mix: A rich, aerated, free-draining mix, for example a quality potting mix with added perlite.
• Feeding: Feed potted plants more regularly than those in the ground, as watering leaches nutrients away – this fuels the long flowering season.
• Refreshing & dividing: Refresh the mix and divide the spreading tubers every couple of years to keep the clump healthy and free-flowering.

Safety: Alstroemeria sap can irritate skin – wear gloves when cutting stems, and keep plants away from pets that might chew them.

Bloom & Flower Guide

Quick Details

• Bloom Season: Spring and summer (often continuing into autumn)
• Flower Appearance: Purple, red, pink, white, orange, yellow or green (often bicoloured, streaked or dotted), with 4-6 petals borne at the stem tips
• Edibility: Not edible – the sap and foliage can cause skin irritation, so handle with care

Detailed Blooming Overview

Peruvian lily is one of the great long-season cut flowers, carrying its clustered, lily-like blooms at the tips of the stems from spring through summer and often well into autumn. The flowers are frequently streaked, dotted or flushed with a second colour, and they last a remarkably long time both on the plant and in the vase.

Flower Characteristics

• 4 to 6 petals in purple, red, pink, white, orange, yellow or green.
• Often marked with stripes, dots or a second colour.
• Blooms are borne in clusters at the ends of the stems.

Bloom Care & Thinning

• Keep them blooming: Rather than cutting the flowering stems, pull them away from the base with a gentle tug – pulling stimulates the plant to send up new flowering shoots.
• Deadheading: Remove spent blooms to keep the display tidy and prolonged.
• Handling: Wear gloves if you are sensitive – the sap can cause contact dermatitis.

Bloom Health & Protection

• Aphids and thrips: These can gather on buds and open flowers; a spray of insecticidal soap or neem oil usually keeps them down.
• Grey mould (Botrytis): In damp, still conditions the blooms can spot and rot; improving airflow and removing affected flowers helps.