Question
Hello,
I am planting a new front garden and would like to include many inca and princess lilies.  I live Sacramento, CA, in USDA zone 9a, but temps have gotten lower in the 15 years we've been here.  What will happen to the lilies in the winter?  Will they die back or will their foliage stay green?  I've tried researching on the web and haven't been able to learn an answer.
Thank you!
Becca Trumbly

Answer
Your Inca Lily ('Alstroemeria aurantiaca' to botanists) is hard to Zone 7 and will take temps BRIEFLY as cold as 10 degrees F.

Your Princess Lily (aka Dwarf Alstroemeria, '

There's a cheat sheet on your Inca Lily at the Desert Tropicals website (http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plants/Liliaceae/Alstroemeria_aurantiaca.html) where you will find that as temps get colder, this plant will be dormant.  Mulching is recommended.

There is further information on this plant at the Sunfarm website (http://www.sunfarm.com/images/Alstroemeria/Alstromeria.txt) which maintains that some varieties are hardy to Zone 6b and one, Sweet Laura, is hardy all the way to Zone 5.

The Cornell University Cooperative Ext on the other hand warns that 'Alstroemeria cultivars are not often hardy in the colder zones' (http://aggiehorticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/Cornell_Herbaceous/plant_pages/Als...).  Cornell describes the aforementioned Sweet Laura cultivar as unusually fragrant, for what it's worth.

Your compact Princess version of Alstroemeria was the product of 'meticulous work focusing on smaller size and an abundance of flowers', with care and feeding detailed at the Easy to Grow Bulbs.com website ('http://www.easytogrowbulbs.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=198).  Note that this plant is evergreen only in 'mild' climates, similar I expect to the Inca varieties.  It will surely continue to thrive in your region.  Worry not.