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| Category: Perennial |
| Family: Alstroemeriaceae (~Liliaceae) |
| Origin: Peru (South America) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: Red |
| Bloomtime: Year-round |
| Height: 2-3 feet |
| Width: Clumping |
| Exposure: Cool Sun/Light Shade |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Medium Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 15-20° F |
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Alstroemeria 'Tall Red' (Red Peruvian Lily) - Semi-evergreen perennial from tuberous roots with stalks growing 2-3 feet tall with bright red flowers with yellow markings from spring through summer. Plants have a crown of slender rhizomes that attach to succulent storage roots below. Each year new unbranched shoots arise from the crown to produce narrow leaves along the stem and an umbel of flowers at the tip. Plant in full sun to light shade and water regularly to occasionally in late spring and early summer. Tolerates fairly dry conditions in coastal gardens but vigor and flowering is best when plants are irrigated. Hardy to 15-20 degrees F but tolerates lower temperatures if mulched. When trimming or cutting Alstroemeria for flowers it is best to pull the stems out so they break off below grown at the crown to stimulate the formation of new shoots but do so carefully so not to put out pieces of the rhizome itself. We received this plant in 1992 from Santa Barbara gardener Jim Prine as an unnamed cultivar have been slowly building stock on it. To differentiate it from another smaller cultivar we called 'Compact Red' we gave this plant the moniker "Tall Red". The genus Alstroemeria (at times spelled Alstremeria) was named by Carl Linnaeus, often called the Father of Taxonomy, for his friend and student Klaus von Alstroemer (Clas Alströmer), a Swedish baron. Alstroemeria come from two areas within South America with summer growing species restricted to eastern Brazil and winter-growing plants from central Chile with common names such as Peruvian Lily, Parrot Lily, or Lily of the Incas.
The description above is based on our research and observations of this plant growing in our nursery, in our own garden and in other gardens in the Santa Barbara area. We would appreciate hearing from anyone who has additional information about this plant, even if they disagree with what we have written.
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