Calandrinia is wonderful, needs more water than you would think a succulent would want, but with regular watering it continues to bloom and bloom. Easy to root from cuttings.

Puya is very easy here. Plant it. Done. You do want it away from paths. The spines are nasty. There is a clump of Puya venusta at the Huntington that must be 30 feet across.
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Chile has as much climate variation as California. Desert, Mediterranean, Temperate rainforest.

Thank you Hoobv! Those are some spectacular blooms!

Gorgeous! I can't imagine the weeding...

I am all for expanding our seed choices, and these sound good. Why not post your source? Al

You are somewhere in the San Joaquin Valley, and get regular frost in winter, don't you? The Cistanthe grandiflora and Calandrinia spectabilis are two different names for the same plant, and this one is somewhat frost tender and you'll want to protect it or plant in a favorable spot if you want it to remain perennial.

Gaultheria mucronata prefers cooler coastal climates rather than hot inland valley heat, so best to grow it with only morning sun and try to keep it cooler. I am not familiar with that particular species of Alstroemeria, but most of the Chilean species are winter growers that go dormant in summer and prefer to stay on the dry side when dormant. It appears that the A. umbellata is a higher elevation alpine grower that would be under snow in winter; so in habitat would be a spring into summer grower. I'm not sure whether it will be as easy to grow as lower elevation forms from Chile. Annie's Annuals which does mail order and has an excellent web site would list other species Alstroemeria that have proven successful here in California, and of course there are thousands of hybrids and cultivars if you are interested in low growing forms. The Dutch hybrids in the Princess series are superior garden forms that stay below 12 inches tall and bloom nearly all year round for me.

As already mentioned, the Puya venusta gets huge eventually, but it will be at least 5 years out from seed before you really noticed. Give it at least 5 feet clear from any walks or structures to be safe, and I like to use thick mulch over heavy duty weed fabric around this plant so I don't have to mess with fighting weeds around those sharp Puya leaves. You should check out the link to the Chilean Flora web site that I've linked to for more thorough information on where these all grow in Chile, photos, and maybe a better idea of what conditions they will prefer here. Most all the Chilean plants I use in garden designs are from coastal or mountain forest habitats, and probably not as suitable in the inland parts of California. I particularly like the perennial Calceolaria species, and grow several of these as well. Annie's Annuals also carries quite a few interesting Calceolaria species if you're interested.

Here is a link that might be useful: Alstroemeria umbellata

thanks Al, I love experimenting with south African, Australian and Chilean plants. There is so much diversity in our climates. I got these seeds from a guy named Michail Belov from Talca, Chile. I'll have to go through and post the link a little later, I'm currently on my phone so I'd have to navigate away from this page to find the link.

Bahia, thanks for all that information! You obviously have much experience with Chilean plants. One of the Calandrinia species is a succulent with a thick, fat trunk and small white flowers that look the same as c. Spictabilis. Conduct a search on google for calandrinia #1171 and it'll pull up the specific plant I'm referring to.

I just sowed a bit of all the seeds yesterday. Half in normal potting soil mixed with sand, and the other in soil from our fire pit mixed with the same soil mixture. Let's see how these different seeds respond to smoke treatment!

Sorry, I meant to write calandrinia 1190. The site where I bought them is chileflora.com :) great place, this is my first time ordering from them.

Bahia, I am in Chowchilla, just north of Fresno