A tale of two alstroemeria

Nothing explains better the reason for this blog than my experience with alstroemeria. 

 I have called this piece "A tale of two alstroemeria" but it would be more accurate to call it a tale of two LOTS of alstroemeria, the ones I bought originally and the ones I bought more recently. 

I cannot remember why I was drawn to alstroemerias (alstroes for short) but they are wonderful. They are prime providers of the orange, yellow and red hues needed for boldness and brilliance. I have grown them for almost two decades, but I rarely see them in other people's gardens. They deserve to be grown more widely. 

The primary purpose of this blog is to explore the improvements in varieties of plants since Sarah Raven published The Bold and Brilliant Garden in 1999. When I first bought alstroemeria not only did I go for the bold and brillant hues but I also sought to get the best varieties in terms of flowering impact and length of flowering season. 

Help was at hand. The Royal Horticultural Society conducts trials of plants in its Trial Beds and accords the best plants the Award of Garden Merit or AGM. So the choice was clear. I purchased large pots of "Yellow Friendship", "Orange Glory" and "Flaming Star" (a bright orange), all of which had the AGM. 

"Orange Glory" in the background strutting its stuff.  It is still there but now grows through a shrub.

 

These varieties proved good.  The garden looks amazing each June with loads of orange and yellow flowers.  I think of my garden as the Oranges-and-Lemons garden at that time of year.  But I could equally see a problem.  After June they disappeared.  If I was lucky I would get a second coming in August or September.  But whatever the plantsmen may boast, these varieties did not provide constant flower.

Years later, along came a variety called "Indian Summer".  It was a vibrant mix of orange, yellow and peach-red, and it had dark foliage to add to the exotic mix.  I snapped it up.  I have to admit that despite the smallness of my garden I now have five clumps of it.  One of these constitutes the garden's key focal point.

 

When eventually "Indian Summer" was assessed by Which Gardening in their alstroemeria trial their verdict was striking: they said that if there was an award higher than their accolade, "Best Buy", they would have to give it to Alstroemeria "Indian Summer".  I've taken Which Gardening for twenty years and they've never said that of a plant before or since.

One of the reasons that it is so good is that it will not stop flowering.  Treat it nicely with a sunny or semi-sunny spot free of competition, regular water and fertiliser, pull out the gone-over stalks as if they were rhubarb as one should, and it will give you something like six months of bold and brilliant colour.

I am now trying out a relative of "Indian Summer", another more recent variety.  It is called "Summer Party" and is a bright, warm pink.  I have high hopes.   It was difficult to get my hands on "Summer Party".  Not infrequently plantsmen innocently send out the wrong varieties and this happened to me last year.  A Welsh nursery sent me a pale-mauvey-pink variety which they had mistaken for "Summer Party".  But this year I discovered that a garden centre just north of Newcastle-upon-Tyne were offering large pots of the true "Summer Party", and I was impressed with what they sent me. 

The first signs are good, it may well turn out to be another variety which "flowers its socks off" throughout the summer months.  

Alstroes were always good. I am so glad that they have improved and now offer month after month of glorious colour.  I am impressed.