Puya Berteroana - How do you care for this plant?

[Gbarce]

I have a Puya Beteroana that has so far survived here in the tropics.

I guess I am luck with this one -- this is not really adapted for the tropics.

I would appreciate any tips anyone could give about caring for this bromeliad.

Sun exposure, fertilizing, atering, soil mix, etc...

[Gbarce]

I am thinking of repotting it but what soil mix should I use?

So far I have used pure fern chips for its media. This is the same material I use for large tillandsia, and neoregelias. So far it is doing ok but I understand that this is a terrestrial bromeliad so I am guessing that a soild based medium would suit it better.

But I don't want to make a mistake and kill it.

[tank]

Gene,

I do not have P. berteroana, but I have an P. alpestris that I has been doing well for me for several years, with no signs of rot or damage from humidity or cold (down into the teens F) for the past two years. Plant has seen a noticeable increase in growth once it was planted out. It was potted in a store bought cactus mix amended with sand. It is now planted in a raised bed in my very sandy soil with out any ammending for drainage. It gets fertilized twice a year with palm fert. In the summer it is common for us to see days in the mid to upper 90s with humidity at 80-100%. Hopefully it will decide to flower soon. Need to find a few more of these as medium sized plants as I don't think I have the patience to grow these from seed.

I've heard of folks growing P. berternoana in the UK (obviously not as hot as your conditions) and in Florida so I think it should do OK for you in a sunny well drained bed.

From what I have read, P. berteroana is closely related to alpestris.

I would like to add a few more Puya species (including more alpestris) to the yard as it would be nice to get regular blooms (assuming that it will bloom for me). We get several hummingbirds in the yard and I've heard that Puya blooms are hummingbird magnets.

Good luck.

My Puya at the bottom of the pic. Supposedly they flower after about 6-8 years so mine should be getting ready to pop.

[bahia]

Gene, they thrive here in coastal California, where our climate is much closer to what they would experience in habitat. They aren't particularly fussy about soil type locally, even doing well planted in clay loam soils. I would think that a gritty mix for superb drainage, and probably growing it in the coolest location you can give it would be the best. Hot tropical nights and summer rains leading to rot would be my main concern. Do you get much cooling off at night compared to day time temps at your location? A breezy spot with good air circulation would probably be helpful, and perhaps growing under shade cloth to keep them a bit cooler in summer? They do best with full sun here, but we have a coolish marine influenced Mediterranean climate that seldom dips below 25F or stays above 80F for any length of time, and summer nights are typically only in the mid 50'sF, which is also what our day time winter temps often average at the coolest. If it does survive for you, be prepared to deal with a mammoth growing clump that can easily get 8 feet across with age. If you are keeping this in a pot longer term, it's been my experience that they want larger sized containers similar to Dyckia's if you want them to get larger faster. Small root runs tends to keep them dwarfed.

[Gbarce]

Thanks. This is exactly the kind of information I need.

Tank- its good to know that they can survive in Florida. I am pretty sure your climate is still cooler than ours but I think you guys still have rain and humidity that approximates the tropics. Not sure where you are in Florida but I have been to Miami and it kind of approximates the conditions we have here in my country. I have been told to treat this like a cactus so i just keep it in a shade house with a transparent roof so it is protected from the constant rain during the rainy season. I don't want to risk planting it in the ground for now.

Bahia - nice to hear they are not choosy with their soil. But I will still keep it as free draining as possible. I'll pot these in oversized pots and see what happens.

Thanks!

[BigFrond]

Gene,

I do not have P. berteroana, but I have an P. alpestris that I has been doing well for me for several years, with no signs of rot or damage from humidity or cold (down into the teens F) for the past two years. Plant has seen a noticeable increase in growth once it was planted out. It was potted in a store bought cactus mix amended with sand. It is now planted in a raised bed in my very sandy soil with out any ammending for drainage. It gets fertilized twice a year with palm fert. In the summer it is common for us to see days in the mid to upper 90s with humidity at 80-100%. Hopefully it will decide to flower soon. Need to find a few more of these as medium sized plants as I don't think I have the patience to grow these from seed.

I've heard of folks growing P. berternoana in the UK (obviously not as hot as your conditions) and in Florida so I think it should do OK for you in a sunny well drained bed.

From what I have read, P. berteroana is closely related to alpestris.

I would like to add a few more Puya species (including more alpestris) to the yard as it would be nice to get regular blooms (assuming that it will bloom for me). We get several hummingbirds in the yard and I've heard that Puya blooms are hummingbird magnets.

Good luck.

My Puya at the bottom of the pic. Supposedly they flower after about 6-8 years so mine should be getting ready to pop.

I believe yours has at least a 3-4 years to go. All the flowering ones that I have seen are about 3 feet tall. Mine was like that a some years ago. It is now a 3 headed monster at 2 ft tall with no flower yet.

[tank]

Gene,

If you have more than one plant, I would definitely put one out and see how it handles your conditions. I was worried about my alpestris when I first got it but it surprised me and tolerated our very wet/humid summers.

[Gbarce]

Yup I have more than one seedling. But when they were small they rotted one after the other during the rainy season where we would get continuous rains for about a week. Ill probably do it when they get a lot bigger so if one does rot it is still big enough to produce a replacement pup or too.

It would be a dream to let this loose here and it thrives.

[tank]

Gene,

I do not have P. berteroana, but I have an P. alpestris that I has been doing well for me for several years, with no signs of rot or damage from humidity or cold (down into the teens F) for the past two years. Plant has seen a noticeable increase in growth once it was planted out. It was potted in a store bought cactus mix amended with sand. It is now planted in a raised bed in my very sandy soil with out any ammending for drainage. It gets fertilized twice a year with palm fert. In the summer it is common for us to see days in the mid to upper 90s with humidity at 80-100%. Hopefully it will decide to flower soon. Need to find a few more of these as medium sized plants as I don't think I have the patience to grow these from seed.

I've heard of folks growing P. berternoana in the UK (obviously not as hot as your conditions) and in Florida so I think it should do OK for you in a sunny well drained bed.

From what I have read, P. berteroana is closely related to alpestris.

I would like to add a few more Puya species (including more alpestris) to the yard as it would be nice to get regular blooms (assuming that it will bloom for me). We get several hummingbirds in the yard and I've heard that Puya blooms are hummingbird magnets.

Good luck.

My Puya at the bottom of the pic. Supposedly they flower after about 6-8 years so mine should be getting ready to pop.

I believe yours has at least a 3-4 years to go. All the flowering ones that I have seen are about 3 feet tall. Mine was like that a some years ago. It is now a 3 headed monster at 2 ft tall with no flower yet.

Wow, if this is the case than I definitely should have planted more of these. Mine hasn't produced any pups.

[Gbarce]

Repotted!

I used an oversized pot. hope it likes its new freedom

[Gbarce]

I used a highly organic soil mix with a lot of perlite for drainage

[Gbarce]

I placed these it beside this planter where a lot of my arid plants seem to be doing well.

I also placed the Aloe Dichotoma that seems to be suffering from the rains we have been getting