Alsroemeria seeds

Bought some alstroemeria ligtu hybrids off a week known seed company sowed them as instructed on packet.............. nothing, contacted firm they have replaced the packet, but whot a faff on sowing them here is the instructions, sow feb to april temp 60f to 40f,after 3 weeks place in a poly bag in bottom of fridge for 2 to 3 weeks then return 68f
prick out when large enough to handle? mine never germanated is there a easier to grow these from seed? anybody got any tips, cheers, thrifty bri

 

Personally, and its just me being sceptical, I often think they give you this info in order to cover themselves when nothing comes up.

Apart from cold stratification for hardy plants I tend to not bother too much with their complicated sowing instructions.
Often the seed is years old and has no chance of growing anyway.

I've often struggled with certain kinds of seed that I have bought, only to find, years later, my own collected stuff comes up in no time with no real faff.

They replaced them without question, yeah, they knew they were rubbish.

 

Hi @thriftybri I have a book by Graham Rice and Christopher Lloyd that suggest that this sort of regime is necessary for alstroemeria - it was developed by Unwins. I managed one plant of it from a packet. However, by comparison with the more recent hybrids it is a squinny meagre little flower, in a moderate pink colour. I would only bother to grow from seed if I was attempting some rare species ones that were not available as plants.

 

That all seems quite straightforward to me.
Personally, I would sow in autumn in a cold frame, unheated greenhouse or a sheltered spot next to the house. Expect germination in late spring.
With Alstroemeria and Bomarea the species will be easier than hybrids because you can be more certain of their natural habitat. Depending on the species their range extends from warmer low lying areas to the cold upper slopes of the Andes.
The biggest hinderance to germination is how old the seed is. Three to seven months dry rest (storage) is considered to be the ideal with germination rates dropping off after that.
The sowing medium should be light and airy. I used MPC, vermiculite and perlite in equal measures.
Alstromeria psittacina by longk48, on Flickr

Bomarea edulis by longk48, on Flickr

 

thanks for the info