Flowers You'll Love

Exotic and easy to grow, pineapple lilies put on a show.

Tony Avent loves weird plants. So it's not surprising that he grows a bevy of bizarre and beguiling bulbs called pineapple lilies at Plant Delights Nursery in Raleigh, North Carolina. When these tropical perennials bloom in his gardens, you just might think you're visiting Mars.

Pineapple lilies (Eucomis sp.) actually hail from southern Africa. They get their name from the pineappleshaped tufts of green, leaflike bracts that form atop their flower spikes. Small, densely packed, star-shaped flowers decorate the spikes, which emerge from clumps of straplike leaves in summer. The spikes of dwarf species top out at only 8 to 10 inches tall, while those of giants reach 4 feet. Ornamental seed capsules follow the flowers, extending the show for weeks.

Take Your Pick

The most common pineapple lily, E. comosa, is also the most variable. Sweetly scented blooms on its 18- to 24-inch spikes range from greenishwhite to pink and attract butterflies. A form sold as 'Pink' sports rosy blooms and purple-edged leaves. In 1980, Tony discovered a seedling in his collection that became the most coveted pineapple lily of all: 'Sparkling Burgundy.' It combines showy pink flowers with elegant, burgundy foliage.

If you like green flowers (and you should, because they're weird), you'll like E. bicolor. It marries large, green to greenish-white blooms with light green, wavy leaves. The selection 'Alba' offers whiter blooms on 16- to 20-inch spikes.

The tallest easily available pineapple lily has a name that sounds like a comet's-E. pole-evansii. Growing 3 to 4 feet tall, it bears vivid green flowers.

How To Grow

"Pineapple lilies need only average conditions, and they're all very easy," notes Tony. "They probably wouldn't like soggy soil, but that's about it." Plant bulbs 2 inches deep and 8 inches apart in fertile, well-drained soil during fall or spring. In the Middle South, mulch in late fall to insulate the bulbs against cold. In the Upper South, dig up the bulbs in fall, and store them during winter.

Plant pineapple lilies in sweeps. When blooming, they make striking vertical accents. Cut flowers last a long time in water. Plants also look great in containers. If you want, you can even grow pineapple lilies as houseplants beside a bright window.

But be warned: If you try them, people may eye you strangely. Maybe it's because your new flowers look weird. Or maybe it's because of that teenage martian you hired to water the yard.

-STEVE BENDER

left: Dwarf pineapple lilies add a lush appearance to the front of a border, below: One look at the shape shows you how these plants got their name. This selection is E. bicolor 'Alba.'

Pineapple Lily

At a Glance

Size: Spikes are 8 inches to 4 feet tall (depending on the selection).

Light: sun or partial shade

Soil: well-drained, fertile, lots of organic matter

Plant: fall or spring

Hardiness: Winter hardy in all but Upper South. There, dig up bulbs in fall, and store during winter.

Sources: Brent and Becky's Bulbs, www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com; Plant Delights Nursery, www.plant delights.com

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Aug 2007
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