Propagating Alstroemeria by Root Division - a Detailed Guide, with Results

[@johnwelsh6624]

Great informative video. Especially your experiment with the singulars. I have a new plot and was clearing an area I thought with just bindweed but in a 4x4 ft area I discovered about 200 rhizomes, some clumps, some individuals. I now know to pot in larger clumps. As I don't know the colours will definitely be a mix. I still have another 10x10 ft to dig, may be slow progress if I discover more! J

[@andrewbrown7906]

Thanks for the video, I have a good sized Alstroemeria (same variety as yours) in my raised bed and this has inspired me to divide it for some new plants.

[@prentishancockgardening]

Thanks for your great comment, Andrew. Good luck with yours. It really is as easy as I show in the video. The buckets I filled with the divisions I gave to my next door neighbour in September and she transplanted them into a couple of spots in her garden and they've already come up! In the meantime, the spot where I took the divisions from have grown back so quickly, replacing what I previously cut out!

[@mauritiunsstringwork8850]

Beautiful

[@prentishancockgardening]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@Tube0852]

Excellent video. Thank you. I live in Essex with heavy clay soil. Would a bucket of 100% garden compost or maybe a 50:50 mix of soil & compost be a good idea? My parent plant (also Indian Summer) seems to struggle so I assume the heavy soil or perhaps lack of nutrients reduces it's performance.

[@prentishancockgardening]

Hi neighbour (I'm only a few miles away from Essex!), 50:50 soil:compost would be fine. I've not found Alstroemeria to be at all fussy. All it needs is a sunny spot and a little bit of watering 3 times a week. My soil is very poor quality and also heavy clay, like yours, and I've done nothing to amend it, as you can see in the video. The soil I had in the buckets was not much different, though there was some old compost in there. I'm not a big fan of buying compost when free soil is everywhere. Check out my Gardeners Mindset video and my soil video. Good luck.

[@shipinspection]

I have grown the single tubers successfully (not 100% though). Also a small grouping of 3 or more tubers (about the size of a tennis ball), attached together planted into a small pot will almost always develop into a nice Alstroemeria plant.

[@prentishancockgardening]

Well done. I thought mine would work but if you see at the end of the video, I started snapping them in half and they looked soggy, though not rotted. So maybe it was because they were outside and were well watered when they needed to be a little drier? Sounds like you had similar results to me, when you have a larger clump.

[@галинаяновская-ф6ш]

HI! Where do you store buckets of alstroemeria in winter? What is the best way to store it in winter???)) I planted it in the ground, but I also have one in the bucket))) what to do now??? I don’t know)))))) I live in the west of Ukraine! Thanks for the answer!

[@prentishancockgardening]

Hi! I'll just be leaving them outside. They should be fine. If you've split some and planted in the ground then that should also be fine. Put some mulch on top to protect a little from possible frost and snow and to keep the clump a little warmer.

[@prentishancockgardening]

My thoughts are with you at this difficult time your nation is going through.

[@honeycat535]

i dont have this situation,i just want to know how to digtheclump,doyoucut it down, what season, i put mine into ground in its pot from the nursery because i was afraid iwould kill it or something would eat it,neither happened and its now enormous 5 months later but it is still in the plastic pot and no doubt the roots are very vulnerable.please help!

[@prentishancockgardening]

Hi. I think you should dig out the pot and then take the plant out of the pot and plant it directly into the ground. Leave it for a couple of years to grow some more before you do the process in the video. If you're in the northern hemisphere (i.e. it is now summer), now is a good time to do it. Make sure the soil is well-draining. Give it a good watering immediately after planting and thereafter water twice a week.

[@honeycat535]

@@prentishancockgardening Thank you so much, i will do it this evening. Thank you for replying ,i was afraid to do anything with out expert guidance.

[@mstreefern]

​@@prentishancockgardening, I am a little confused. You advised honeycat to make sure her soil is well-draining. Yet, you advocate against amending the soil... How do you square this circle, may I ask?

[@prentishancockgardening]

I had to read that twice! Hmm, I see what you mean! I had to think back to what I meant when I wrote that. I think what I was trying to convey was you don't have to add any special compost or grit mix to the hole you're dropping the plant into. So long as it is going into a spot that doesn't get waterlogged when you get heavy rain.

[@torashiregato2104]

Why do you trim them rather than pull?

[@prentishancockgardening]

Hi, because these were a propagation, not to be confused with when stems die back, at which point you pull them out to encourage new growth. When propagating, you need to take off most of the load of top-growth, so that the root clump has time to establish, which is what you see later in the video. Hope this helps.

[@karmachodenbhutia1399]

Thank u.❤

[@prentishancockgardening]

You're welcome 😊

[@JB-lr1tf]

Hi I love this plant and wanted to get one but it says this plant is toxic and can cause skin irritation if touched is this true.

[@prentishancockgardening]

Hi JB. I don't think that is true. You might be confusing this with Euphorbias, check out my video on them. Those have a latex sap which is definitely a skin irritant. Alstroemerias I've always been able to handle without gloves or problems. However, if you Google "Is Alstroemeria poisonous", the results say that all parts are, including skin contact (dermatitis), though I think some of these warnings are a bit over inflated. You should exercise your own cautions but don't be afraid to buy this plant and handle it, with gloves, if necessary. Hope this helps.

[@JB-lr1tf]

Hi thank you for your reply I have looked and it does say can cause skin irritation in the uk. I have seen other people with this plant and havnt had any problems it's such a beautiful plant I will buy it and handle it with gloves as an extra precaution thank you for your reply.

[@mommersteeg4]

what time of year did you divide them?

[@prentishancockgardening]

Hi. 7th April, in the Uk. So this is Spring time. But I've also done it as late as July.

[@margaretsims4344]

Thanks for the demo very helpful. But please lose the music so repetitive and intrusive.

[@LekshmiRaveendran-jv1qz]

Please avoid background music