BILLBERGIA PYRAMIDALIS, an attractive and interesting member of the pineapple family, comes to us from Brazil.
It is well known in Florida and California and it should be better known in the North as a window garden plant, for its stiff, bright green leaves endure the adverse conditions of the average home very well.
Characteristics Of Billbergia Pyramidalis
The leaves are 1’ to 2’ feet long and 2” to 3” inches wide, with stiff, spiny edges. They grow in a rosette form, and the vase-like center should be kept full of water.
From this center rises the bud, bright red, which develops quickly into a club-shaped inflorescence, not quite as tall as the leaves, bearing about 30 florets.
The three-parted calyx is red, overlaid with a white mealy covering. The corolla, also three-parted, is about 2” inches long, blue-tipped, with recurved petals.
The six stamens are white, bearing masses of golden pollen, and the tall white stigma has a round blue top. The effect is very showy and brilliant.
Soil For Billbergias
The soil for billbergias should be light, containing sphagnum moss, fern fiber, and leaf mold, with a sprinkling of charcoal.
They should be given little water during winter but liberal amounts in spring and summer.
After the bloom has faded, young plants will appear from the base of the old plant, which gradually loses its beauty and dies.
Specialist For Billbergia Pyramidalis
The young plants, when well grown, may be potted separately and grown on until they flower, or a larger pot may be used, and the entire plant kept intact.
Billbergia pyramidalis is obtainable from specialists in exotic plants in various parts of the country.
44659 by Bessie R. Buxton