Ina is right, alstroemerias don't do well in pots once they have any size on them. Part of it is that they don't have a lot of "feeder" roots and that the root system is evolved to range very widely in the poor, open soils where they have evolved (at least, the western South American species; I don't know if the Brazilian species are more compact but suspect they are). In addition, their root systems go quite deep and thus remain cool even in the hot, dry climates where some of them grow. I collected seed of A. umbellata in a canyon in the foothills southeast of Santiago and investigated how it was growing. The stems with their beautiful succulent foliage were spreading around in rough volcanic talus on a very steep slope, but 30-40 cm below the talus layer was a layer of sand, or ash, in which the roots were growing, and this soil was both cool and moist. A. aurea, however, is more adaptable and frequents both open, rocky sites and Nothofagus woodland. In south central Chile I have seen it rising up out of blackberry (bramble) thickets. I brought some from my old garden and planted it in a moderately well drained site in heavily amended clay, and it's starting to flower there -- even though my plants are derived from the well-known population at Chile's Termas de Chillan, where there is a lot of color variation and the alstros grow on a rocky slope in full sun. Jane McGary Portland, Oregon, USA