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Products > Puya 'Ed Hummell'
 
Puya 'Ed Hummell' - Silver Puya
   
Image of Puya 'Ed Hummell'
[2nd Image]
Habit and Cultural Information
Category: Succulent
Family: Bromeliaceae (Bromeliads)
Origin: Chile (South America)
Evergreen: Yes
Flower Color: Purple
Bloomtime: Summer
Parentage: (P. coerulea x P. laxa)
Height: 3-5 feet
Width: Spreading
Exposure: Full Sun
Deer Tolerant: Yes
Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs
Winter Hardiness: 15-20° F
Puya 'Ed Hummell' - A silver terrestrial bromeliad to 3-4 feet tall, branching low with upright stems holding leaves along the stems topped with 1-foot-wide open rosettes of green leaves completely covered in floccose silver hairs and with small sharp brown teeth along the leaf margins. In summer appear 6- to 8-foot-tall wand-like inflorescences bearing dark purple, nearly black, flowers emerging from red hairy calyces - more interesting than really showy.

Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil and irrigate occasionally to very infrequently. This plant has proven to be fairly hardy, growing in one of the coldest locations in Santa Barbara (called "Frog Hollow") where it weathered temperatures near 20° F during the January 2007 freeze. It is a very attractive addition to the garden that is similar but more narrowly upright than Puya coerulea var. coerulea, looking a bit like a giant Puya laxa.

This plant was growing in the Santa Barbara garden of our good friend Jim Prine (1920-2010), a professional animal trainer and plant lover. He had received the plant from Bromeliad specialist Dutch Vandervort who told us the plant was a hybrid between Puya coerulea and Puya laxa that he believed was created by the legendary succulent plant breeder Ed (Emerald) Hummel (1903-1979). We have been building stock on this very attractive plant over the years and were finally able to release it in 2016. To our knowledge this plant has never had a cultivar name assigned to it so we felt it fitting to honor Ed Hummell, the man who reportedly created this plant as well as so many other interesting succulent hybrids. We also grow the parent plants, Puya coerulea and Puya laxa

Information displayed on this page about Puya 'Ed Hummell' is based on our research conducted about this plant in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about it as it has grown in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.

 
San Marcos Growers closed for regular business at the end of 2025 as the property is being developed for affordable housing.
While our gates remain closed, we will open them by appointment so we can liquidate remaining plants, supplies and equipment. The plants remaining in the field are listed on our Live Inventory Page.
 
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