Alstroemeria Pitchounes Leonie

Alstroemeria Pitchounes Léonie is a miniature Peruvian Lily, remarkable for its vivid pinkish-purple flowering, its compact size and great generosity. This variety flowers for several months, from late spring until the end of summer. These are sought-after qualities for pots and flowering borders!

Belonging to the Alstroemeriaceae family, Alstroemeria ‘Léonie’ is a horticultural cultivar from the Pitchounes series, selected in France by Turcieflor, a breeder and producer specialising in alstroemerias. This series brings together miniature varieties distinguished by their floriferousness, compact growth and excellent adaptation to both pots and borders.
‘Léonie’ is a tuberous perennial: its fleshy crown stores reserves, its aerial growth emerges from the ground each spring and disappears in autumn. It forms a small, dense, rounded clump, 20 to 25 cm in height and 30 to 40 cm in width. Its stems are short, sturdy, and well-suited to pot cultivation. The medium green to slightly bluish foliage is composed of narrow, elongated leaves arranged along the stems. Flowering extends from May-June to September, sometimes until October in mild climates. The flowers, gathered in small terminal clusters, measure 3-4 cm in diameter. Their colour is not truly violet, more a deep pink to purplish-pink rose, tinged with fuchsia, with a lighter centre and fine, darker streaks on the inner petals. This selection should be considered not very hardy, down to -5 °C at the lowest. In regions with harsh winters, it is best to grow it in a pot so it can be sheltered from frost.

Peruvian Lily ‘Léonie’ deserves to be seen up close. Place it in a pot on a terrace or balcony, in a low border or at the front of a perennial bed. It pairs well with dark, silvery or very light foliage. You can accompany it with Carex comans ‘Bronze Form’, with its tawny tones, blonde and light Sesleria autumnalis, Heuchera ‘Silver Scrolls’, with its silvery sheen veined with purple, and sow some Lagurus ovatus Bunny Tails between the plants for lightness. This small scene will be less conventional than an all-pink composition.

At Turcieflor, the Pitchounes were named in honour of the children and grandchildren of the family, giving this line of miniature varieties a very personal history.