Fascicularia bicolor

The Fascicularia bicolor is a vigorous perennial, cousin of the billbergias, which is among the most beautiful plants of Chilean origin. It forms a sometimes wide and tall clump of 80 centimetres (32 inches), made up of rosettes of ribbon-like, evergreen leaves. At the end of summer, the central leaves turn a blood red color, while a corymb inflorescence of small pale blue flowers surrounded by white bracts appears in the heart of the rosette. This spectacular plant offers a particularly exotic aspect to the garden throughout the year. Hardy down to -7°C (19.4°F), it thrives in mild climates. As an isolated plant or in a mass planting, in a rockery, this very graphic plant is ideal for mild climate regions. It will also thrive in a large container, to be overwintered in cooler regions.

The Fascicularia bicolor, also known as the andina species, belongs to the bromeliad family, like the pineapple or the guzmania for example. It is native to the Chilean mountains. It is a terrestrial perennial plant, which forms numerous juxtaposed rosettes, with a clump reaching over 1m (3ft) in height and 2m (7ft) in width under optimal conditions. Each rosette is composed of long, dentate and evergreen leaves, glaucous green in color. Its flowering, offering a tricolored spectacle of red, orange and blue, is truly spectacular: at the end of summer or more often in autumn, the leaves located inside the rosettes turn a bright red color, while an inflorescence composed of pale blue flowers mixed with white bracts appears in their heart.

This Fascicularia is a plant that is still little used in our gardens, but of great ornamental value. It is suited for mild climates and well-drained soils, planted in large mass plantings or in a sizable rockery. Used as an isolated plant or planted in groups, the Fascicularia andina structures the space and gives a very exotic charm to the garden. Like large grasses, it is also a wonderful perennial for a modern garden with clean lines. In cold regions, it can be installed in a very large pot on the terrace or balcony, to admire its extraordinary flowering at the end of the season, and overwintered frost-free, in a cold greenhouse or a lightly heated conservatory. In an urban garden, it softens concrete structures. For an exotic and contrasting atmosphere, it can be associated, for example, with the Embothrium coccineum, a small tree with red flowers, the Eccremocarpus scaber (Chilean glory flower), the Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Tom Thumb', proteas, or even the Daturas, plants that, like it, thrive in mild climates.