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Sotol Puya

Puya dasylirioides

Sotol Puya
Photo: Franz Xaver, CC BY-SA 3.0

Puya dasylirioides is a Costa Rican bromeliad species from cool high-elevation boggy areas that dry out seasonally; it is spineless along the leaf margins and produces blue flowers after 4 to 5 years. Grow it cool, in a deep pot with lime-free, gritty soil, and avoid hot nights.

Family
Bromeliaceae (Pineapple family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Water freely in the growing season, letting the top of the mix dry slightly between waterings, and reduce in cool weather.
Soil
Deep pot of gritty cactus-type mix that is free of lime.
Temperature
Cool to mild, about 10–25 °C; tolerates brief highs near 30 °C but may not thrive with warm nights; tolerated lows near -7 °C.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
Costa Rica
Climate
subtropical

About

Puya dasylirioides is a species in the genus Puya. This species is native to Costa Rica. It is unusual for a Puya, as the leaves have no spines along the leaf margins. The flowers are blue with brown buds and the plants reach maturity at 4 to 5 years. Another feature that sets this species is that it grows in boggy areas at 3000 m that dry up seasonally.

How to grow it

Puya dasylirioides occurs from 2300 to 3300 meter of elevation, where the climate is cool all year. It can tolerate temperatures of 30 °C, but it's possible that it won't thrive in consistently warmer conditions, especially if nights are warm. It is said to have tolerated winter lows of 19 °F (-7 °C), and might even handle colder temperatures. It grows well in a deep pot in normal cactus soil that contains no lime. Some protection from strong afternoon sun might be needed in warmer climates.

Other Puya plants

Sapphire Tower · Puya angelensis · Puya · Queen of the Andes · Puya

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Puya dasylirioides by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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