Turquoise puya (Puya alpestris) produces brilliant turquoise flowers accentuated by intensely orange anthers. Best grown in full sun with a very well-drained potting soil in low humidity, it takes years for a plant from seed to reach flowering size. To grow your own, foliar feed no more than one time per month at the lowest solution recommended. This particular accession was received as a small plant from the Huntington Botanical Garden in San Marino, California, in 1993, and has come into flower for the first time.

You may be wondering how a bromeliad (air plant) can survive in a desert. In this case, the species is native to the high desert mountains of southern Chile, and obtains almost all of its water from the morning dews that briefly precipitate water before sunrise. The long, thin, arching leaves are protected by spines along the margin that discourage herbivores from taking a bite.