Veragated Bromeliad ( live plant)

Aechmea caudata var variegata (Variegated Tail bromeliad) - A medium size funnel shaped evergreen plant to 3 feet tall (a bit taller in shade) with stiff slightly arching leaves to 30 inches long with very fine teeth along the margins. These leaves are light green with longitudinal creamy stripes that have a pink tinge towards the leaf bases and on the newly emerging shoots. Flowering is typically in summer months but sometimes earlier, with an inflorescence lasts for 6 weeks or better and consisting of compact tightly branched cluster of orange red bracted buds that open to bright yellow flowers sitting atop a stout whitish stalk above the foliage - the inflorescence remains showy many months after the flowers have faded. As with other bromeliads this plant is monocarpic and the rosette bearing the flower eventually dies but is replaces by several new rosettes from shoots at its base.

Great plant in light shade or morning sun but can take coastal full sun once acclimated and the variegation is better and plant more compact with brightest light. Not fussy about soil type so long as it drains fairly well and is relatively drought tolerant with the need for only an occasional overhead watering to add to water stored in center cavity. This is a very cold tolerant bromeliad that is hardy through much of coastal California and noted as tolerating short duration temperatures down to below 20° F and also tolerating windy near seashore conditions. This tough, cold tolerant bromeliad is very showy in or out of bloom and can be planted in the ground, in pots or be grown epiphytically.