Alstroemeria magnifica (whitish)

Roy M. Sachs

Alstroemeria magnifica is now flowering in a heated (12 C, 55 F, minimum) greenhouse. Seed for this selection were obtained from Chile a few years back. I kept losing the rhizomes when I tried to divide the clumps at the end of flowering, so I've been able to propagate from seed only.

A few weeks back I sent a picture of a purplish A. magnifica 'Sierrae'. This one, too, I've been able to propagate from seed (originally obtained from Lep Song of Cal State, Fullerton), but never by dividing rhizome clumps.

For both selections I find numerous rhizome divisions (white, healthy looking growing points) after one year's growth, so successful vegetative propagation seems to be a matter of learning how to treat the rhizome pieces after they're dug.

Published papers in which commercial varieties were analyzed for contributions of alstroemeria species to their genome (using a type of DNA fingerprinting) do not indicate contributions from A. magnifica. If in fact magnificas have not been used by alstroemeria breeders, their floret size and colors would seem to make them good candidates.

Roy Feb 9, 2002

---