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Alstroemeria 'The Third Harmonic' - A vigorous evergreen perennial that makes thick clumps with stems rising to 4' tall bearing large flowers that first are yellow with black and buff markings then age to a dark orange with the backside of the petals having a dark maroon flush. Flowering continues over a long period. This sterile selection has nearly a year-round bloom period in frost free gardens. Plants have a crown of slender rhizomes that attach to succulent storage roots below and 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 straight up and out, so they break off below ground at the crown to stimulate the formation of new shoots but do so carefully so not to pull out pieces of the rhizome itself. The flowers on 'The Third Harmonic' look quite a bit like Alstroemeria 'Sussex Gold' when first emerging but then darkens to a much deeper orange color. It is also shorter than 'Sussex Gold' and has broader, slightly grayer foliage.
Alstroemeria 'The Third Harmonic' was bred by George Hare by crossing the cultivar called 'Peach Harmony' with Alstroemeria aurantiaca. Tony Avent at Plant Delights said of this cultivar "After several years in our trials, it has ranked as one of our top performers. This sterile cross ... is a vigorous grower [and] a hummingbird favorite ... Whether you enjoy it in the garden or indoors as a cut flower, Alstroemeria 'The Third Harmonic' is a real winner!"
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. We first purchased stock plants of this cultivar from Suncrest Nursery and 2003 have grown it ever since.
This information about Alstroemeria 'The Third Harmonic' displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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