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Advice on Astroneria.

GraysGrays Posts: 172
in Plants
Hi all,
After the recent heavy snow has melted, my astromeria plants are looking a bit sorry for themselves.
Is now the right time to prune them? If so,how far would you recommend to cut them back?
Thanks.
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Posts

  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    You can remove all the dead foliage if you want. Or just leave it, it will wither up and there will be very little of it left in a month or two.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    Not all alstroemerias are hardy, is there anywhere you can put the pots under cover to dry them off a bit and ideally keep them protected from future snow/hard frosts? Tucked against a south-facing wall or unheated greenhouse or shed? I have had some in the ground that went a similarly sodden mess after frost. I snipped off all the rotting leaves, let the crown dry a little then piled some straw on top. I thought I had lost them but they re-sprouted in the spring.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    I would leave the dead stuff to protect the crown and move them somewhere a bit more sheltered.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I think you must mean Alstroemeria. Mine is in the ground, in a border. It went soggy like that in the frost but grew in the spring. We had a late May frost and all the new growth died but it grew back and flowered beautifully until November. It is the variety "Indian Summer". I think some are hardier than others.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • GraysGrays Posts: 172
    Please excuse my spelling mistakes..... :#
    They are actually in quite a sheltered space now on a sunken patio and they are against a southerly facing wall.
    So the common consensus would be to just leave them as they are? would a little tidy up do them any damage?
    Thanks.
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    The dead growth is protecting the crown from further damage, if the weather is cold.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    You could remove all the soggy bits, may attract slugs, and cover them with horticultural fleece.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I would also remove all the sodden foliage, not sure it will do the crown any good if it weather continues to be wet - then protect the crown with some dry, insulating material. Depends where you are located and the forecast. If it’s due to be dry for a few days, it’s probably fine to leave the foliage on, but whichever option you choose I would still move the pots under more shelter from the elements.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • GraysGrays Posts: 172
    Seems a daft question....... but could you put them in a garage?
    Surely they still need sunlight?
  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    Grays said:
    Seems a daft question....... but could you put them in a garage?
    Surely they still need sunlight?
    no sunlight needed until the leaves reappear, the garage would be good as long as it's cool


    In the sticks near Peterborough
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