What Kind of Flower Is a Bromeliad Tower?

Bromeliads

• Identify members of the bromeliace family by their stiff leaves that form rosettes, like the pineapple (Ananas comosus in USDA zones 10 through 12). Other than that, the some 2,400 species are more different than similar, some epiphytic, living in a tree without taking food or water from the tree; others are lithophytic, living on rocks. Some actually grow in soil like other plants; the largest bromeliad (Puya raimondii), grows taller than 6 feet with a flower stem that climbs some 15 feet higher in USDA zones 9 through 11.

Puya

• Puya is one of the numerous genera of bromeliads. It includes some 170 species of plant, all terrestrial bromeliads that grow with their roots in the ground, although the roots serve more to anchor the plants than to absorb nutrients. Most puya come from the barren slopes of the South American Andes. Puya species are found up to 6,500 feet. Many species grow with a thick, permanent stem.

Puya Alpestris

• The bromeliad tower, more often called the sapphire tower, is a terrestrial bromelied; it is native to Chile and Argentina, where it grows in the high Andes. Its species name -- alpestris -- refers to its alpine origins. The plant grows in a yard-high clump of thick, silver leaves that form a tight rosette. The leaves have spiny margins and are about an inch wide at the base. The shocking blue-green flowers appear in spring on branching stalks as long as the plant is tall. They sport brilliant orange stamens and are very attractive to nectar-feeding birds and bees.

Care

• If you want to grow a bromeliad tower, try to mimic its native growing conditions as much as possible. The plant grows in barren soil in the Andes holding little water near its roots, so you should provide thin, well-drained soil that allows good aeration. Irrigation is also important. Experts at the Missouri Botanical Garden suggest watering with rainwater or tap water that has been sitting a few days to allow chemicals to evaporate. Pour the water in the leaf rosette, allowing it to overspill and run down the plant as rainwater would.