Date: Fri 15-Dec-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Illustration: C

Quick Words:

Gardener-Bleach-Columbus-

Full Text:

Suburban Gardener-

Columbus' Gift

By Anthony C. Bleach

On his second voyage in search of the fabulous city of El Dorado in 1493,

Columbus found an unusual fruit on the island of Guadeloupe in the West

Indies. It grew out of the ground like an enormous pinecone crowned by a spike

of spiny leaves.

This he presented to Queen Isabella as the pineapple. Ananas comosus was

eventually identified as belonging to the bromeliad family, along with 400

different genera and over 2,000 species.

Mulford B. Foster, whose home and garden were in Florida, made the first of

his expeditions to Central and South America in 1935. He brought back some

spectacular types which he introduced into the trade. The most common in the

States is Spanish moss, Tillandsia usneoides , which drapes the branches of

southern trees like ghostly veils. It is not a parasite but an epiphyte. It

obtains its food partly from the moist air and partly from decaying leaves and

stuff that collects among the roots.

In frost-free areas, bromeliads are bedded out like geraniums are here. To

most of us they are the most brilliant of all the house plants. They have

scales on their leaves that absorb moisture from the air. These may provide

striking banding patterns, as in the foliage of Billbergia zebrina, or a

silvery sheen as in Aechmea fasciata , "Silver King." The genera most often

grown are Aechmea, Ananas, Billbergia, Cryptanthus, Guzmania, Neoregelia and

Vriesla.

Lexington Gardens in Newtown has enough for us to appreciate their variety. In

the wild we can find midgets less than one inch wide to giants of 35 feet

high. They grow in humid jungles, in persistently wet cloud forests on

mountains as high as 14,000 feet, low coastal slopes and deserts.

The most enduring are the earth stars or cryptanthus, which will survive most

household conditions including diffused light.Offshoots are produced in leaf

axils and are easily removed.

Plant them in a light and fast-draining mix such as comost and sand, but do

not expect them to root for a month or two. Unglazed clay pots are better than

plastic: they transpire moisture through the walls for added humidity, aerate

the roots and add weight against top-heaviness.

Another forgiving plant is Billbergia nutans , or queen's tears, with a

cascading inflorescence of rosy bracts and violet-edged green flowers. This

has the most beautiful flowers and is one of the easiest to grow.

(Anthony C. Bleach coordinates and teaches the horticulture programs at

Naugatuck Valley Community-Technical College.)