 |
I have been growing this prickly little tuft of dull greenness since 1986. It is thinner leaved,
harder and spikier than the form from Paraguay. It is also much tougher, though it needs to be totally dry in winter.
In mid summer the mature rosettes fatten into rounded spiky globes that blush red and then flower
inconspicuously. So dull it is fabulous, but if you become over affectionate with it, it will spike you
without mercy! The reddish leaves at flowering are more impressive than the short lived flowers (so short lived that I didn't manage to get a picture of them open). It is interesting that I have been taking pictures of it flowering in April for some years without realising that it followed such a clear seasonal pattern. Andy's Air Plants says: "Aechema recurvata is a wonderful and very easy to grow species with a few naturally occurring varieties and many cultivars. It is native to Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, where it grows as an epiphyte or on rocks or rocky areas. In cultivation these are very easy plants to grow that thrive on neglect. I grow mine in pots and hanging baskets in a peat and potting bark mix with a low nutrient content. They can also be mounted as long as they are given some medium to root into eg tree fern sections. They like mid to high levels and regular watering. They are also quite hardy, with plants here surviving temps down to 0c easily. Aechmea recurvata var. recurvata is the most common of the recurvata's. It colors up well during its flowering process, clumps well, and is a very versatile plant." Desert to Jungle say: "This bromeliad has proven fairly hardy for me will happily survive in a cold greenhouse. It has small rosettes of dark green leaves that will form nice size clumps fairly quickly. The flowers are pink and appear in the centre of the rosette." |
|
| 28th March 2006 | ||
