Puya alpestris (Sapphire Tower) - This plant forms a 2-3 foot tall clump to rosettes of recurving, spiny-margined, light green leaves that are silver-gray beneath. The leaves are up to 2 feet (60 cm) long and up to 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide. In spring, but usually not every year, appear turquoise blue-green flowers with vivid orange stamens that are held on a branching, up to 4 feet (1.2 m) tall stalks in the spring. Each branch of the inflorescence terminates in a long sterile branch with pink bracts.
How to Grow and Care
Watering: It enjoys regular moisture during the summer growing period, but reduce watering in winter. It, like all Puyas, it’s very tough and drought tolerant. Requires complete and perfect drainage. Give it excellent drainage.
Feeding: Apply a very weak liquid feed every month or so over the growing season and a mild solutions (one-quartet strength) of foliar fertilizer at 3-month intervals to both garden and container plants. Apply fertilizer to leaves, roots, and reservoir.
Origin: Puya alpestris is a species of bromeliad native to Central and South America.
Propagation:
Puya is propagated by division of offsets and from seed. The offsets can be detached and repotted when they have reached the dimension of one third of the mother plant. Be sure to provide high humidity for a month after propagating the offsets. Fresh seed germinates in as little as 14 days from sowing. Remove seeds from inflorescence and lay them uncovered on a bed of of pumice grit; keep constantly but moderately moist. Starting from the seed, 6-10 (or more) years are needed for the blossoming, whilst at least 4 years are needed by division.
- Scientific Name: Puya alpestris Gay
- Common Names: Sapphire Tower
- Synonyms: Puya alpestris subsp. alpestris, Pitcairnia alpestris, Pourretia alpestris
- Family: Bromeliaceae
- Subfamily: Pitcairnioideae
- Genus: Puya
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| source pic: pinterest.com |
How to Grow and Care
Watering: It enjoys regular moisture during the summer growing period, but reduce watering in winter. It, like all Puyas, it’s very tough and drought tolerant. Requires complete and perfect drainage. Give it excellent drainage.
Feeding: Apply a very weak liquid feed every month or so over the growing season and a mild solutions (one-quartet strength) of foliar fertilizer at 3-month intervals to both garden and container plants. Apply fertilizer to leaves, roots, and reservoir.
Origin: Puya alpestris is a species of bromeliad native to Central and South America.
Propagation:
Puya is propagated by division of offsets and from seed. The offsets can be detached and repotted when they have reached the dimension of one third of the mother plant. Be sure to provide high humidity for a month after propagating the offsets. Fresh seed germinates in as little as 14 days from sowing. Remove seeds from inflorescence and lay them uncovered on a bed of of pumice grit; keep constantly but moderately moist. Starting from the seed, 6-10 (or more) years are needed for the blossoming, whilst at least 4 years are needed by division.
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| source pic: bloggingwoolf.wordpress.com |
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