Eucomis Purple Reign® - Pineapple lily

Eucomis x Purple Reign®, known as the pineapple plant or pineapple flower, is a bulbous perennial with an exotic appearance and surprisingly good hardiness (down to -10°C), allowing it to be grown in gardens in many regions. Its foliage forms a wide rosette of long, ribbon-like leaves, intense purple from emergence until the flowers appear in midsummer. A sturdy purple flower stem then rises above the foliage, bearing a spectacular spike, up to 50cm in height. For several weeks, small star-shaped flowers in a lovely purplish pink open from the bottom to the top of the spike. Still little known and decidedly original, this plant always attracts attention, whether in a border or grown in a pot on a terrace. It thrives in fertile, moist but well-drained soil, in sun or partial shade.

The Eucomis genus now belongs to the Asparagaceae family, having previously been placed in Liliaceae and then Hyacinthaceae. This family includes many well-known ornamental plants, such as Yucca, Agave, and Chlorophytum, not forgetting asparagus (Asparagus), for which the botanical family is named. There are about fifteen species of Eucomis, all native to southern Africa. They grow in areas that are sometimes mountainous, sometimes coastal, where they enjoy hot, humid summers and drier winters. These plants are characterised by their fleshy bulbs and rosettes of erect leaves that resemble a pineapple in silhouette. 
Eucomis x Purple Reign® is part of the horticultural Crowning Glory™ series, which includes several cultivars of great ornamental interest. This pineapple flower is particularly distinguished by the beauty of its foliage, a deep burgundy purple that is especially intense when the leaves emerge late in spring. Grouped in rosettes, the long, very elongated ribbon-like leaves are vaguely similar to a hart's tongue fern, but their colour is unusual. A good thirty centimetres long, they stand upright, flaring out towards the top, giving the plant a pineapple-like habit. In July, when the inflorescences begin to appear, the vegetation gradually turns dark purple-green, highlighting the quite spectacular flowering. From the centre of each rosette, a flower stalk about 50cm tall rises, the top 20 cm of which are covered in small star-shaped flowers clustered to form a dense spike. Only about 1cm in diameter but produced by the dozen, the six-petalled corollas, borne on a flower stalk as long as themselves, are a lovely purplish pink, in perfect harmony with the purple of the flower stalk. Beginning in August, the flowering continues until September, sometimes spilling into autumn. After flowering, the vegetative cycle has run its course, and the above-ground part of the plant turns yellow and gradually disappears in anticipation of winter cold.

Eucomis x Purple Reign® is eye-catching when flowering, and its decorative foliage also means it is very ornamental outside this period, especially in spring. Its structured habit, ribbon-like texture and intense purple vegetation allow for interesting plays of contrast with other perennials or shrubs with softer forms. A yellow-flowered perennial such as Echinacea 'Lakota Yellow' will create a strong colour contrast during the summer. Your pineapple plant will be even more enhanced if you integrate it into a tropical-inspired border, alongside other very distinctive plants. A backdrop of Hedychiums, the ornamental ginger, will reinforce the exotic aspect of your display. If your border is partly shaded, plant a Fatsia whose large palmate leaves will further accentuate the tropical feel of your arrangement.