Puya weberbaueri

The Puya weberbaueri (synonym Puya textoragicolae) is a medium-sized species, very rare in cultivation, native to southern Peru and northern Bolivia, where it grows at an altitude between 2500 and 3800 meters (8202 and 12467 feet). It belongs to a group of fairly spectacular succulent perennial plants, related to pineapples, but hardier, more undemanding and more cold-resistant. Until now, these strange queens of the Andes have been almost impossible to find in Europe, but they are slowly making their way into the collections of exotic plant enthusiasts who also know how to be patient. This one forms a rosette of long, arched, gray-green leaves bordered with spines, and produces a stout and branching flower spike, loaded with almost white tubular flowers. A beautiful collector's plant!

The Puya textoragicolae belongs to the bromeliad family. Native to the Bolivian and Peruvian Andes, this species can withstand short freezes of around -6°C in a very well-drained soil, possibly even more, but the rarity of this puya in cultivation does not allow for more precise indications at this time. Its water needs are moderate and it has excellent wind resistance.

This puya shows fairly slow growth, forming fairly dense rosettes of leaves that can reach a height and spread of 80 cm (32in). The plant spreads over time to form large clumps composed of a few rosettes. The leaves are wide at the base, very long, tapering to a point, leathery, grayish green in colour, erect towards the center but trailing towards the periphery. They are edged with numerous fierce spines that curve inward towards the plant. Mature rosettes, several years old, flower in spring, from May to June. From their center emerges a flower spike that resembles an asparagus and can rise up to 1.50 m (5ft) above the ground. It bears branches filled with numerous tubular flowers, flared, about 10 cm (4in) long, slightly drooping towards the ground. Each flower is composed of 3 white petals and 3 grayish sepals. These flowers are well adapted to the beaks of nectar-feeding birds from their native Andes, which come to drink nectar while ensuring their pollination. Flowering marks the death of the rosette, but the plant ensures its perpetuation by producing daughter rosettes near its base.

In a mild climate garden, Puya weberbaueri finds its place among Agaves, Dasylirions, Nolinas, and other Aloes, in a well-drained soil exposed to full sun. Do not place this spiny plant near a pathway and keep it away from young children. It is easily grown in containers, using a cactus-type soil mix. As soon as the first cold weather arrives, you should protect it from humidity and cold, handling it with caution due to its spines, in a temperate greenhouse or an unheated conservatory.

The Puya is called "sheep-eating plant" by English speakers. Indeed, its spiny vegetation allows it to defend itself against the teeth of herbivores in the arid heathlands where few plants manage to survive. Imagine a sheep with its wool getting too close to the puya; it would risk getting trapped until its death and serve as food for the plant.