Plant Doctor Archive

Alstroemerias

I HAVE quite a few diferent alstroemerias and several have flowers at ground level - not much good for picking! I wonder if you are able to tell me what I can do to get them to have longer stems?

YOUR alstroemerias might not be growing tall because of a lack of light, or prehaps they are suffering from spray drift, which can cause stunted growth and excess foliage growth. In recent years, a number of new alstroemerias have also been released which have been bred to remain compact - no amount of feeding will make these grow suitable stems for picking.

Reproduced with permission from Weekend Gardener