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Puya sp. 'Machu Picchu Gray' - A small gray-green bromeliad that grows to less than 2 feet tall with strongly recurved narrow silvery gray strap-shaped leaves with spiny margins. In early spring appear the pinkish tinged flowers well-spaced out on long open 3-foot-long wand-like inflorescences.
Plant in full to part sun and irrigated occasionally to infrequently. Ultimate frost hardiness unknown but it weathered the January 2007 freeze with 3 nights down to 25° F and this plant comes from a location that can experience temperatures a couple degrees below this.
Puya sp. 'Machu Picchu Gray' was grown from seed collected along the trail up to Machu Picchu, the fortress city of the ancient Incas in Peru at nearly 8,000 feet in elevation. We received seed from two species and the other larger plant with green foliage we list as < href="plantdisplay.asp?plant_id=2809" target="_blank">Puya sp. 'Machu Picchu Green'. We sold this plant from 2003 until 2004.
This information about Puya sp. 'Machu Picchu Gray' displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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