Puya chilensis hybrid

[Roaringwater]

I have been waiting 14 or 15 years for this one to reach flowering size. I was very excited to see the large flower spike emerging this spring. It was grown from seed labelled Puya chilensis, but it appears to be a hybrid, possibly with P. berteroniana. These two species have grown at Tresco in the Isles of Scilly for over 150 years, and many of the plants in cultivation in this part of the world probably derive from that source.

Emerging spike, 10 May

Flowers opening, 20 June

Close-up showing colour more accurately

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Well Done Micheal

you need to post on here more often

[Roaringwater]

Thanks Troy, I will if there is any interest. I guess not many people want such a big spiky monster in their gardens. There are some Puyas that are much smaller though. Here is another one I grow, the tiny Puya tuberosa.

Are you growing any Puyas in Tas?

Btw, I have started using a seaweed foliar feed on my plants, it's doing them a world of good.

[Geoff]

nice plant, thought could not tell it from a pure Puya chilensis... none of the beteroana color came through. I have no room for puyas in my yard (though do have a nasty, spiny Puya laxa in a pot)... but local botanical garden loaded with these spectacular plants.

Here are a few of the Huntington's Puyas (I think I may have uploaded these before... sorry if this is a repeat).

Puya alpestris:

Puya beteroana:

[Geoff]

more Puyas: another shot of P beteroana

Puya assurgens:

Puya chilensis

[Geoff]

hmmm... not uploading all the photos... will try one at a time?

Puya chilensis

guess I uploaded my quota for a non-IPS member.. oh well... i can upload more tomorrow.

Edited June 23, 2012 by Geoff

[Geoff]

I was going to upload another dozen or so photos.. maybe over the next week?

[Roaringwater]

Great photos Geoff, would like to see more. Most of the bigger Puyas do take up a lot of space eventually, but I love them! The monocarpic species are not seen much, but P. raimondii once flowered at the botanic garden in Berkeley I believe. Seed of this species is in circulation, but has anyone ever seen (let alone grown) P. gigas? It's supposed to be as big as P. raimondii. but not monoarpic.

The flowers on my plant above do actually have quite a lot of green in them. I will have to try again with a photo.

[Geoff]

K...will try a few more.. Puya berteroana

Puya chilensis

Puya alpestris

[Geoff]

Still not loading all the photos I put in... will try a few Puya coerulea shots

[Geoff]

Maybe just one per post...

Puya coerulea again

Edited June 26, 2012 by Geoff

[JasonD]

Puyas are just amazing. No other genus quite captures that crazy assortment of colors. Thanks, Roaringwater, for kicking us off. And please do post more often. As a resident of another cool, maritime climate (albeit rather drier than yours), I'd be interested in your gardening experiences.

[Roaringwater]

Thanks Jason. I am always interested in what is grown in SF. My climate is much windier than yours, and the rainfall is usually fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. It is the mildest, and one of the driest places in Ireland. Average rainfall is about 27" a year, though for the past few years we have had up to 32". The wind, salt spray ( I am perched on top of some sea cliffs) and lack of heat are the biggest problems. Plants like Cyathea medullaris and Metrosideros excelsa are easy here, so there are some similarities to the coolest parts of the Bay Area, though our annual mean temperature is 1.5c less than yours, and we don't get the warm sun that you get in the cooler months.

I love Puyas as foliage plants too. Here is another I grow, Puya coerulea v. coerulea;

I get the feeling that the big Puyas are not much grown outside of botanical gardens in CA. Is anyone growing P. raimondii? After many years of trying to get fresh seed, I finally have some seedlings coming along. Also have a small P. clava-herculis to plant out next year, I am still searching for Puya gigas.

[John in Andalucia]

I have a batch of P. raimondii from seed acquired on eBay back in February. They haven't grown much at all in the last couple of months. Way too warm here in summer. I keep these in the bathroom at the moment. It's funny, because I was in Peru last year, hoping to collect some myself, then voilà!

[Roaringwater]

Hello John, good to see you are growing some too. Watch out for damping off. I have left mine in the sowing pot for about 9 months, better safe than sorry. The seedlings do seem much tougher han P. clava-herculis.