Spectacular flower I can't get to bloom again

[Tracy]

Anyone growing Puya alpestris and having any success in getting them to flower.  My last plant to bloom was April 2014, and it was also my first to bloom.  I have been growing them since 2010.  I have several clumps and when it shoots up an inflorescence you get many sequential blooms for a few weeks.  My wife hates the plants themselves, as its miserable trying to weed around them without getting hooked.  They are a wonderful drought tolerant bromeliad, but I wish I could get them to bloom more frequently.  Anyone have any advice on getting this Puya to bloom?

[tunku2]

Beautiful colors Tracy and congrats on the flowering even just once.

I tried Google but its mainly buying not how to flower. One forum member it took seven years.

Puya alpestris

 

[Josh-O]

I just googled this plant and the flowers are outstanding indeed!!

I may want to plant one at the vista garden someday soon?

[Silas_Sancona]

4 hours ago, Josh-O said:

I just googled this plant and the flowers are outstanding indeed!!

I may want to plant one at the vista garden someday soon?

Id say go for it Josh, just keep in mind the clumps can get HUGE in time.

Here are a couple i came across while at the Huntington from a couple years ago. Regardless, they are awesome..and big Hummingbird magnets. Planning on trying them here once i have enough space.
 Can't remember the species in the first picture..
2nd, i believe is Puya coerulea with Yucca faxoniana behind it.




 

[Josh-O]

21 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Id say go for it Josh, just keep in mind the clumps can get HUGE in time.

Here are a couple i came across while at the Huntington from a couple years ago. Regardless, they are awesome..and big Hummingbird magnets. Planning on trying them here once i have enough space.
 Can't remember the species in the first picture..
2nd, i believe is Puya coerulea with Yucca faxoniana behind it.




 

Awesome pictures!! Thanks for sharing 

[Tracy]

On 3/12/2016, 8:59:31, Josh-O said:

I just googled this plant and the flowers are outstanding indeed!!

I may want to plant one at the vista garden someday soon?

There are different species of Puya with variation in plant size, blooms and bloom frequency.  I have one smaller variety which has annual blooms, but nothing close in beauty to the Alpestris.  Pictured is the clump that had one plant bloom in 2013, and it was planted at the end of 2010.  I need to thin it some, and have contained part of it with some boulders to inhibit it growing back up into the Encephalartos longifolius on the mound above/behind.  I have harvested some offshoots, which I can share when you are ready.... they are prolific producers of offshoots like many in the bromeliad family.  Very drought tolerant and appropriate for the part of the garden you don't want to irrigate.  I have some in part shade in Carlsbad, which have a bit more green on the top sides, but retain the white/silver undersides.  They don't suffer if they do get watered.

[DoomsDave]

The best collection of Puyas I've seen is at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino. Large, old clumps of them. I've got a feeling that they're one of those plants that has to get old before it will keep blooming. Alas.

[nachocarl]

I had one in my old garden, I'll have to drive by and check it out.  It was probably ready to flower, but be warned, it has fishhook like barbs and gets huge.

 

[Josh-O]

On 3/16/2016, 1:48:39, nachocarl said:

I had one in my old garden, I'll have to drive by and check it out.  It was probably ready to flower, but be warned, it has fishhook like barbs and gets huge.

 

ok, maybe I will reconsider my options  

such a buzz kill Carl 

[BigFrond]

Mine is becoming a monster.  The hooks are like the new and improved barb wire. It's been in the ground like 7 years and no flowers yet. I'm kinda annoyed because she is not putting out ;-)

[Tracy]

On 3/21/2016, 7:59:44, BigFrond said:

Mine is becoming a monster.  The hooks are like the new and improved barb wire. It's been in the ground like 7 years and no flowers yet. I'm kinda annoyed because she is not putting out ;-)

All will be forgotten when it does bloom.... if you find a trick to make it happen, let me know.

[Geoff]

Haven't grown this one myself, but from I gather, most Puyas grow better in California inland where it gets hot but with a marked cooling down period in winter with minimal frost.  They are treated just like the bulk of cacti and outdoor succulents at the Huntington.  Colonies are huge and very old, but reliably flower yearly. Not 100% sure all photos below are true Puya alpestris, but are labeled as such by the Huntington.  However, there are many many Puya colonies that are unlabeled at the Huntington, as well as a large number that seem to be 'renamed' every 5-10 years as something else... so who knows.  Guess it is a tricky genus to pin down as far as identification goes.   

[Tracy]

3 hours ago, Geoff said:

Not 100% sure all photos below are true Puya alpestris, but are labeled as such by the Huntington

Nice shots of the Puya flowers, thank you for sharing them.  The third shot looks like a different variety of Puya to me and as you point out there are a lot of different species.  I have also been growing P mirabilis which flowers annually right from the get go; but it's flowers are not nearly as spectacular as alpestris.  I also am growing P venusta, and another unknown, much larger species of Puya, neither of which have bloomed yet (6-7 years in).  You are probably right that I lack some of the heat in my climate that they might appreciate.  I'm growing them in full sun, alongside Aloes and Encephalartos genus cycads, so no irrigation in winter.  The Encephalartos and Aloes are getting sufficient heat to grow reasonably well.  I recently thinned an area of some of my alpestris, because they were intruding on one of my coning Encephalartos nat x horridus.  A friend will be planting them in La Habra Heights and I hope that colony will bloom soon for him.  Maybe the stress of transplanting will push them to reproduce?