Plant of the Month – May

Alstroemeria Summer Collection

May is a glorious month in the garden – everything starts to surge forward, borders fill out, and colour begins to burst from all corners. It’s also a brilliant time to plant, and one of our favourite choices for this time of year is the Alstroemeria Summer Collection.

Known affectionately as Peruvian Lilies, these hardy little powerhouses really deliver in our gardens – and they’re our pick for May’s Plant of the Month.

Whether you’ve got beds to fill, a few gaps to plug, or you’re working with a sunny patio or balcony, this trio of varieties offers masses of colourful, long-lasting flowers that just keep coming. Alstroemerias are incredibly rewarding once they get going – flowering for months on end and bouncing back each year with more to give.

If you want a set of plants that look good, last ages and make brilliant cut flowers, we highly recommend getting this collection in the ground now.

Alstroemeria Summer Collection – Three Stunning Varieties in One Set

This Summer Collection features three strong jumbo plug plants, each offering something slightly different in colour and texture.

First up is ‘Summer Breeze’ – a cheery mix of yellow and orange blooms, speckled with warm brown flecks. Then there’s ‘Summer Break’, with its bold bright pink flowers and lush green foliage – a real eye-catcher for containers or front-of-border planting. Finally, ‘Summer Saint’ brings darker pink tones and a rich contrast of colour that works beautifully with whites, purples or silver-leaved companions.

Growing to around 60cm tall, these clump-forming perennials are wonderfully compact – so they’re ideal for softening path edges, mixing into the border, or brightening up pots.

The funnel-shaped flowers are a magnet for pollinators, and the stems are naturally strong – making them superb for cutting. You’ll get a continuous display from early summer well into autumn, and better still, they’ll come back bolder next year if they’re happy where they are.

How to Plant and Care for Alstroemeria Plug Plants

When your Alstroemeria plugs arrive, they’ll be strong young plants ready to grow on. Start them off in 9cm pots of good quality, free-draining compost and keep them in a light, sheltered spot outdoors.

Once the risk of frost has passed – usually by late May – they can be planted out into borders or large containers.

Choose a position in full sun or light dappled shade, ideally with fertile, well-drained soil. They’re not fussy but do appreciate regular watering while they establish, and a fortnightly liquid feed will encourage even more flowers.

To keep them going strong, gently twist and pull faded flower stems from the base – this encourages more blooms and helps the clump bulk up.

Come autumn, cut back any dead growth and apply a thick mulch over the crown to protect them through winter. In very cold or wet gardens, a cloche or fleece cover will give added insurance.

With just a little care, your Alstroemeria Summer Collection will reward you with colour, cheer and armfuls of flowers for years to come.

Fancy growing the Alstroemeria Summer Collection yourself? Click this sentence to buy!