This month I’ll tell you about two flowers that are relatively unknown to small-scale growers, one that is very hard for most of us to grow and the other that is very easy. The first, Alstroemeria, is widely available in the cut-flower trade, usually commands a good price, and is very enticing to growers who are looking for new flowers. But that’s the flower that is hard to grow. The second, Crocosmia, is a wonderful old flower popular in Europe and with great potential for many of us American gardeners.

The two are both bulbous species – Alstroemeria is a rhizome and Crocosmia is a corm. Both include some cultivars that are winter-hardy in much of the United States, but others that must be lifted and stored in cold winter areas. Here’s what you need to know to add these flowers to your repertoire.

Alstroemeria
The Peruvian lily, Alstroemeria (al-stre-ME-ri-a), is a tender perennial that is widely grown in the commercial cut flower industry. There are 50 species of Alstroemeria, but most of those in commercial cultivation are hybrids whose parentage is kept secret by the breeders. In Holland, where many of the common cultivars have been developed, nearly 300 acres of Alstroemeria are grown. An additional thousand acres are grown in the rest of the world, including coastal California and northern U.S. greenhouses, and they are available virtually year-round. Colors include many shades of pink, lavender, red, yellow, orange and white, many of them splashed or spotted with mahogany.

Alstroemeria are much loved by florists, who know what a great value they are. The vase life can be up to two weeks, depending on cultivar, and the flowers keep opening and getting bigger as they age, filling in as other flowers in an arrangement are declining.

Prices for Alstroemeria are usually $5 to $6.50 a bunch of 10 stems, occasionally dropping to $3-4 a bunch. But because each stem produces three to seven flowers, Alstroemeria are often sold in “grower’s bunches” of three to five stems.

But the big advantage from the grower’s perspective is that Alstroemeria are incredibly productive, with yields of 100 stems per plant per year common.

Most of the named hybrids grown for cutting are leased to growers who must pay a royalty every year on them. However, there are others that are not licensed and can be purchased by anyone. The most popular for cutting are the Ligtu hybrids. In general, any of these hybrids – licensed or not – are hardy only in Zones 7 to 10, and in those places they thrive in the field, forming huge clumps 2 to 3 feet wide. In colder areas, they must be grown in a heated greenhouse or else dug and stored during winter.

Although these hybrids don’t like it cold in winter, they also don’t like it hot in summer. Soil temperature is the critical variable here – the plants will flower as long as the soil is below 60°F, whatever the air temperature, so a heavy mulch is essential in warm areas and the plants may go dormant in the heat of summer. Konst Alstroemeria, a Dutch breeder, recommends that the rhizomes receive temperatures of 55° at night, 60° during the day, for six weeks after planting. Then the temperature can be raised to 68° during the day. The plants are shallow rooted, so they need frequent, heavy watering.

The Konst varieties can be viewed on the web at www.alstroemeria.com. They can be purchased in quantities of 72 per variety from Yoder at 800-232-9557.

Several new varieties, said to be hardy to Zone 5b, have been developed at the University of Connecticut by Mark Bridgen. These Alstroemeria have received rave reviews as garden plants. Their status as cut flower producers is still somewhat unclear, but they certainly are promising for the grower willing to experiment.
The new, patented introductions include ‘Sweet Laura,’ which is yellow and orange, brushed with red, and the only fragrant cultivar in the world, according to Dr. Bridgen. “’Sweet Laura, grows 3’ high with sturdy stems,” he says. “No staking is needed. It is the hardiest of our cultivars – to USDA zone 5 with good drainage.”
Other hardy Alstroemeria from the University of Connecticut breeding program include three pink varieties: ‘Red Coat’, ‘Freedom’ and ‘Patricia Lynn.’ Bridgen recommends ‘Freedom’ as the best for cuts. It’s hardy only to Zone 6.

Bridgen mentions two wholesale suppliers of these alstroemeria: Sunny Broder Nursery (800-732-1627) and Prides Corner Farm (800-437-5168), both in Connecticut. Walter’s Gardens in Michigan also has ‘Sweet Laura’ but in limited quantities at this writing.

Ed Neitzel of Neitzel’s Cut Flowers in Seguin, Texas, has grown the new hardy varieties. ‘Sweet Laura’ died the first season, he said, possibly because of the heat.‘Freedom’ survived several years until being killed by a winter when the temperature dropped to 19°F.

“It pumped out a lot of stems with very little care,” Ed said. “A 3-by-30-foot bed produced about 500 stems.”
Ed also grows in the greenhouse four or five plants that he obtained years ago from Roy Sachs of Flowers and Greens Inc. in Davis, California. Roy offers Ligtu hybrids and four other species of Alstroemeria. Prices range from $2 to $4.50 per rhizome, with discounts for quantity purchases. Most of the varieties he grows are winter hardy in his area. Roy can be reached at 530-756-9238 or roysachs@yahoo.com.

Ed Neitzel says that if you’re keeping a greenhouse heated anyway, it would be worth your while to grow a few of the tender hybrids in big pots – a 10-15 gallon tub per plant, he suggests, because the plants form such huge clumps. His plants produce several hundred stems a year.

In summary, Alstroemeria are probably suited only to growers in areas with cool summers and mild winters. In those areas, they can be a gold mine. Elsewhere, they might be a small hobby or sideline, but never a major crop, at least until the new hardy varieties become available at a reasonable price.

Crocosmia
More promising for growers with cold winters are several species of Crocosmia (kro-KOZ-mee-uh), also known as Montbretia. Crocosmia was extremely popular in the 1800s in Europe. It was hybridized as a hobby and an occupation by many growers, with the result that there were at one time dozens if not hundreds of cultivars available. Today, alas, there are only a handful, but Crocosmia is enjoying a comeback in Europe, so you can expect to see more cultivars introduced to American gardens in coming years.

There are seven species of Crocosmia, one of which, the brilliant orange C. masoniorum, is hardy only to Zone 7. The others are rated Zone 6 perennials and one hybrid, ‘Lucifer’ is considered hardy to Zone 5. But some growers in even colder areas have succeeded with ‘Lucifer.’

“I am in zone 4, spitting distance from zone 3,” said Susan O’Connell of Fertile Crescent Farm in Hardwick, Vermont. “Lucifer’ has survived 100% for me for four years now. I don’t mulch it (I meant to the first year, but it never happened, and they did fine), but we do have reliable snow cover here which is as good or better in my opinion.”

All Crocosmia are clump-forming cormous perennials with erect, lance-shaped leaves like gladiolus. The flowers are funnel-shaped, borne in spikes on wiry stems, similar to freesia in their arching habit. ‘Lucifer’ has bright red flowers. ‘Norwich Canary’ has yellow flowers. ‘Emily McKenzie’ has orange flowers that are bigger and more open than ‘Lucifer.’ ‘Star of the East’ has 4-inch wide flowers of a bright golden orange, similar in appearance to a daylily. All are 30-36 inches tall when mature.

‘Lucifer’ was evaluated in the perennial trials of the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers (ASCFG) in 1999 and 2000. Production was sparse the first year, but in the second year, growers gave ‘Lucifer’ the highest ratings. Market appreciation by wholesalers and florists was rated 5 (on a scale of 5). All growers said they would grow it again and it received an “ease of cultivation” rating of 4.6. Average yield was 4.4 stems per plant, and stem length was 32 inches.

Vase life of Crocosmia is 7 to 10 days. And if you don’t sell all the flowers, you can let them go and pick them later, when they become pods. “You pretty much end up selling every stem you’ve got,” said Paul Sansone of Here & Now Garden, which supplied the plants for the ASCFG trials. Paul says that mulch is important to long-term survival of the plants in Zone 5 because corms are produced on top of corms, the result being that after a few years, the clump of corms is just below the surface of the soil and increasingly susceptible to winter damage. ‘Lucifer’ needs to be divided every seven years, the other species every three years, he said.
The corms can be succession planted every two weeks for an extended harvest. Keep the corms in the cooler at 32-38°F while waiting to plant them.

Although you will find only a few Crocosmia varieties in wholesale catalogs, keep your eyes open for others at local garden centers. “Crocosmia is a great uncharted territory,” Paul said. “There are dozens out there.”
Crocosmia corms cost about 50 cents each; small plants are $1 or more.

Here are a few suppliers:
•Here and Now Garden has ‘Lucifer’- 503-357-5774;
•Walters Gardens has ‘Lucifer,’ ‘Emily McKenzie,’ and ‘Norwich Canary.’ 888-925-8377;
•Ednie Bulb has ‘Lucifer’ and C. masoniorum – 973-940-2700.
•Germania Seed Company, (800-380-4721)brokering for several growers, sells ‘Lucifer,’ C. masoniorum, ‘Emily McKenzie’ and ‘Star of the East.’