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Turquoise Puya

 

Quesnelia lateralis

Quesnelia lateralis

Planting tips

 

 You can root your unrooted Quesnelia in perlite (small or medium) or cactus mix.  Fill a pot with it, and bury just the base of the plant in the mix.  Tie it upright to a stake, barbeque skewer, etc.  Water the perlite or cactus mix until evenly moist, and also add some water to the "tank" of the leaves".  To keep everything moist, you can cover the plant with a plastic bag if you wish - just punch or 2 or 3 small holes in the bag for ventilation.  Check on the plant occasionally to make sure some water remains in the tank.

 Until it roots, try to keep it between about 65 and 80 degrees F (a little cooler at night is ok).  Keep it in a bright spot out of direct sun.  A bright LED panel kept 4 inches (10 cm) away provides the right amount of light (See: "Growing indoors with LED lights").

 After 3 months, gently tug on the plant to see if it's rooted.  Once it's rooted, you can stop watering the tank and only water the cactus mix.  If you rooted it in perlite, repot it into cactus mix or other fast-draining soil, preferably with some small piece of bark or coco chips mixed in, although that's not required.

 After another 2 months, you can give it some weaker sun.  Increase the sun exposure gradually to avoid burning.

 Growing onward....

Climate -- It's happiest when grown above 40⁰F, but it reportedly can survive a few degrees of frost.  Well-rooted plant can take anything from full sun down to bright shade.  I try to keep them in part sun in summer, and full sun in winter.

Water -- Well-rooted plants are fairly drought tolerant, but i try to avoid letting the soil get completely dry.  It's ok to keep it evenly moist most of the time, just avoid keeping it constantly soggy.  You can water the "tank" of leaves too like with some other Bromeliads, but it's not necessary. 

Feeding -- It has moderate fertilizer needs.  Feed the soil about every 3 months with a general-purpose fertilizer that contains micronutrients, following the dose on the package.  It's not necessary to feed the "tank" of the leaves like with some other Bromeliads, but you can do it with newly-rooted plants, using hydroponic or orchid fertilizer.

 General tips about the plant are here.

 Have fun growing it!

- Jeff

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