I have only recently started growing Puya and currently have 4 types: alpensis, chilensis, berteroliana and dyckiodes. Also another terrestrial bromeliad Fascicularia bicolor. All of which are reportedly hardy down into the low 20s(about as cold as it gets here). From what I'm told most of the puya I grow take about 6 to 10 years to flower but the Alpensis supposedly flowers within two years. I have had luck keeping avocado trees alive through the winter by covering them and hanging incandescent Christmas lights on them and I hypothesize that this may work for the puya as well on very cold nights, at least I hope so. Once the plants are bigger I will put them in a raised bed with extremely good drainage to prevent water logging in the winter rains. Not sure if any of this would be helpful in Massachusetts though winters are a bit rougher there. Chad Sent from my iPhone Chad L. Cox, Ph.D. > On Dec 28, 2016, at 1:02 PM, pbs-request@lists.ibiblio.org wrote: > > Send pbs mailing list submissions to > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > pbs-request@lists.ibiblio.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > pbs-owner@lists.ibiblio.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of pbs digest..." > > > List-Post:<mailto:pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > List-Archive:<http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Chad Cox (Jane Sargent) > 2. Re: Chad Cox (Paul LICHT) > 3. Re: Chad Cox (Jane McGary) > 4. Re: Chad Cox (Paul LICHT) > 5. Flowering now (David Pilling) > 6. Re: Flowering now (Jane McGary) > 7. Re: Flowering now (David Pilling) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sun, 25 Dec 2016 07:49:10 -0500 > From: Jane Sargent <jane@deskhenge.com> > To: pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > Subject: Re: [pbs] Chad Cox > Message-ID: <8c76c9fb-d390-cef4-edff-83fcca7f8daa@deskhenge.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed > > You grow puya! I saw some in Venezuela once. Rumor has it that they have > a tendency to autocombust, and that some kinds take 150 years to flower. > Some have turquoise flowers. Does anybody know what zones they will live > in? I?d love to grow them in Massachusetts for the next 150 years or so. > Jane Sargent > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Sun, 25 Dec 2016 08:19:27 -0800 > From: Paul LICHT <plicht@berkeley.edu> > To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> > Subject: Re: [pbs] Chad Cox > Message-ID: > <CAEFbX2Thw4FzEqCzUSiZjdEVfyKcPBWGiGpQ-o8HOLQu2L2OXw@mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 > > Chad > The UC Botancal Garden in Berkeley has a large collection of Puya species, > alll growing outside for several decades. They bloom regularly. The most > unusual and largest is Puya raimondii from Peru/Bolivia. Said to bloom only > after 75-100 yrs in nature, several years ago, we had a bloom in a 26 yr > old (planted as seed in the Garden). Many Puya come from mountainous areas. > The P. raimondii typically occurs from 10-14,000 ft in the Andes and might > well live n Mass. > > Paul > >> On Sun, Dec 25, 2016 at 4:49 AM, Jane Sargent <jane@deskhenge.com> wrote: >> >> You grow puya! I saw some in Venezuela once. Rumor has it that they have a >> tendency to autocombust, and that some kinds take 150 years to flower. Some >> have turquoise flowers. Does anybody know what zones they will live in? I?d >> love to grow them in Massachusetts for the next 150 years or so. >> Jane Sargent >> _______________________________________________ >> pbs mailing list >> pbs@lists.ibiblio.org >> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php >> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Sun, 25 Dec 2016 12:54:57 -0800 > From: Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net> > To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> > Subject: Re: [pbs] Chad Cox > Message-ID: <fcc029eb-d675-0627-deb8-85303c7be743@earthlink.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed > > Nice to see PBS posts arriving again; the list host cut me off for a > couple of weeks. > > I've grown a couple of Puya species (and flowered one of them, as I > recall in about 8 years) and have admired a number of others in South > America. I don't grow them any more because (1) they are not hardy > outdoors here in Portland, Oregon; (2) if grown in a container, it would > eventually have to be far larger than I could move (in particular, P. > raimondii gets gigantic); and (3) they have vicious hooked barbs on the > leaf margins and you don't want to get too close to them. When I moved > my potted ones outdoors for the summer, I had to wrap a tarp around the > plant to avoid the fishhooks. > > The UC Berkeley Botanical Garden suffers frost rarely, and then it > usually isn't severe (barring what happened in 1990/1991, when plants > all over the Pacific Coast froze to death). More important, you can't > translate elevations in the Andes directly to North American USDA > "hardiness zones." At more temperate latitudes, the plants are likely to > spend their winters snug under the snow, and as you get nearer the > Equator, temperatures even at what seems (especially to a resident of > the Atlantic coast) as very high elevation are relatively moderate, > perhaps freezing at night and thawing in the daytime. > > So my opinion is, don't try them outdoors in Boston! And if you want one > in your greenhouse, look for a smaller species, such as P. venusta > (which has beautiful glaucous foliage and purple flowers). In my > experience the seeds germinate readily. > > Jane McGary > > Portland, Oregon, USA > > > >> On 12/25/2016 8:19 AM, Paul LICHT wrote: >> Chad >> The UC Botancal Garden in Berkeley has a large collection of Puya species, >> alll growing outside for several decades. They bloom regularly. The most >> unusual and largest is Puya raimondii from Peru/Bolivia. Said to bloom only >> after 75-100 yrs in nature, several years ago, we had a bloom in a 26 yr >> old (planted as seed in the Garden). Many Puya come from mountainous areas. >> The P. raimondii typically occurs from 10-14,000 ft in the Andes and might >> well live n Mass. >> >> Paul >> >>> On Sun, Dec 25, 2016 at 4:49 AM, Jane Sargent <jane@deskhenge.com> wrote: >>> >>> You grow puya! I saw some in Venezuela once. Rumor has it that they have a >>> tendency to autocombust, and that some kinds take 150 years to flower. Some >>> have turquoise flowers. Does anybody know what zones they will live in? I?d >>> love to grow them in Massachusetts for the next 150 years or so. >>> Jane Sargent >>> _______________________________________________ >>> pbs mailing list >>> pbs@lists.ibiblio.org >>> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php >>> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ >> _______________________________________________ >> pbs mailing list >> pbs@lists.ibiblio.org >> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php >> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Sun, 25 Dec 2016 15:52:42 -0800 > From: Paul LICHT <plicht@berkeley.edu> > To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> > Subject: Re: [pbs] Chad Cox > Message-ID: > <CAEFbX2S4FF-0-ynPrrOddmbpOtAjrUObAzBt3YxsTpmh7Q1cKw@mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 > > I didn't say that Puya were 'nice'; I got torn to shreds when I fell into a > big one. Another small species that blooms in a few years is P. mirabilis. > Paul > > On Sun, Dec 25, 2016 at 12:54 PM, Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net> > wrote: > >> Nice to see PBS posts arriving again; the list host cut me off for a >> couple of weeks. >> >> I've grown a couple of Puya species (and flowered one of them, as I recall >> in about 8 years) and have admired a number of others in South America. I >> don't grow them any more because (1) they are not hardy outdoors here in >> Portland, Oregon; (2) if grown in a container, it would eventually have to >> be far larger than I could move (in particular, P. raimondii gets >> gigantic); and (3) they have vicious hooked barbs on the leaf margins and >> you don't want to get too close to them. When I moved my potted ones >> outdoors for the summer, I had to wrap a tarp around the plant to avoid the >> fishhooks. >> >> The UC Berkeley Botanical Garden suffers frost rarely, and then it usually >> isn't severe (barring what happened in 1990/1991, when plants all over the >> Pacific Coast froze to death). More important, you can't translate >> elevations in the Andes directly to North American USDA "hardiness zones." >> At more temperate latitudes, the plants are likely to spend their winters >> snug under the snow, and as you get nearer the Equator, temperatures even >> at what seems (especially to a resident of the Atlantic coast) as very high >> elevation are relatively moderate, perhaps freezing at night and thawing in >> the daytime. >> >> So my opinion is, don't try them outdoors in Boston! And if you want one >> in your greenhouse, look for a smaller species, such as P. venusta (which >> has beautiful glaucous foliage and purple flowers). In my experience the >> seeds germinate readily. >> >> Jane McGary >> >> Portland, Oregon, USA >> >> >> >>> On 12/25/2016 8:19 AM, Paul LICHT wrote: >>> >>> Chad >>> The UC Botancal Garden in Berkeley has a large collection of Puya species, >>> alll growing outside for several decades. They bloom regularly. The most >>> unusual and largest is Puya raimondii from Peru/Bolivia. Said to bloom >>> only >>> after 75-100 yrs in nature, several years ago, we had a bloom in a 26 yr >>> old (planted as seed in the Garden). Many Puya come from mountainous >>> areas. >>> The P. raimondii typically occurs from 10-14,000 ft in the Andes and might >>> well live n Mass. >>> >>> Paul >>> >>> On Sun, Dec 25, 2016 at 4:49 AM, Jane Sargent <jane@deskhenge.com> wrote: >>> >>> You grow puya! I saw some in Venezuela once. Rumor has it that they have a >>>> tendency to autocombust, and that some kinds take 150 years to flower. >>>> Some >>>> have turquoise flowers. Does anybody know what zones they will live in? >>>> I?d >>>> love to grow them in Massachusetts for the next 150 years or so. >>>> Jane Sargent >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> pbs mailing list >>>> pbs@lists.ibiblio.org >>>> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php >>>> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ >>>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> pbs mailing list >>> pbs@lists.ibiblio.org >>> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php >>> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> pbs mailing list >> pbs@lists.ibiblio.org >> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php >> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 5 > Date: Wed, 28 Dec 2016 12:29:35 +0000 > From: David Pilling <david@davidpilling.com> > To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> > Subject: [pbs] Flowering now > Message-ID: <63bc5546-5e79-254f-0e7f-4d7bca5ace5f@davidpilling.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed > > Hi, > > Flowering now (in North West England at the seaside), a white nerine > bowdenii and an Ipheion (aka Tristagma 'Rolf Fiedler'). Signs of flowers > forming on the galanthus nivalis. Nothing else, a contrast to a year ago > when there were narcissus flowering. > > > > -- > David Pilling > http://www.davidpilling.com/ > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 6 > Date: Wed, 28 Dec 2016 12:42:41 -0800 > From: Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net> > To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> > Subject: Re: [pbs] Flowering now > Message-ID: <75875e90-41b9-e2aa-aaf6-ff2dffc209e9@earthlink.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed > > Here in the maritime Pacific Northwest (USA) we are having intermittent > periods of moderate frost, snow, and ice, punctuated by rain and a few > sunny days. Numerous Galanthus have emerged but are not quite open yet, > and the two fall-flowering Galanthus in the garden have withstood the > weather so far. Acis tingitanum is in flower in both garden and unheated > bulb house. No crocuses at the moment. A few Colchicum or Merendera > species are in flower in the bulb house, such as Colchicum triphyllum > and Colchicum doerfleri. Many forms of Narcissus cantabricus and its > hybrids are flowering, but the flowers don't stand up to the weather, so > I enjoy them under the roof of the bulb house. Narcissus romieuxii is > just starting to open. A few Cyclamen coum subsp. caucasicum are in > flower; most of them come later. > > Not geophytes but rather shrubs are pleasing at this time of year, > whether the numerous broadleaf evergreen and coniferous ones grown so > much here, or the deciduous winter-flowering ones such as Chimonanthus > praecox and Viburnum 'Dawn'. Mahonia 'Arthur Menzies' is pleasing both > people and hummingbirds with its bright yellow flowers. Sasanqua > camellias diligently open a few new flowers after each freeze. > > Jane McGary > > Portland, Oregon, USA > > >> On 12/28/2016 4:29 AM, David Pilling wrote: >> Hi, >> >> Flowering now (in North West England at the seaside), a white nerine >> bowdenii and an Ipheion (aka Tristagma 'Rolf Fiedler'). Signs of >> flowers forming on the galanthus nivalis. Nothing else, a contrast to >> a year ago when there were narcissus flowering. >> >> >> > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 7 > Date: Wed, 28 Dec 2016 21:00:49 +0000 > From: David Pilling <david@davidpilling.com> > To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> > Subject: Re: [pbs] Flowering now > Message-ID: <d3090c4c-ea5d-e343-43c9-c65104499f05@davidpilling.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed > > Hi Jane, > >> On 28/12/2016 20:42, Jane McGary wrote: >> Not geophytes but rather shrubs are pleasing at this time of year, > > If you're going to cheat - I'll raise you winter flowering jasmine, > Fuchsia, passiflora caerulea > > > -- > David Pilling (at the seaside in North West England) > http://www.davidpilling.com/ > > > ------------------------------ > > Subject: Digest Footer > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > > > ------------------------------ > > End of pbs Digest, Vol 167, Issue 11 > ************************************