Pineapple Lily

Eucomis bicolor

• Position: full sun
• Soil: fertile, well-drained soil (or loam-based potting compost with sharp sand or grit for container-grown specimens)
• Rate of growth: average
• Flowering period: July and August
• Hardiness: fully hardy (borderline)
  
  A spectacular plant, with spikes of purple-edged, pale green star-shaped flowers on purple-spotted stems in July and August, topped with a pineapple-like tuft above a rosette of wide, fleshy leaves. This distinctive, summer-flowering bulb looks stunning planted in clumps in a large, well-drained container or in a sunny, exotic-style garden. Since it's not fully hardy in frost-prone areas, it's best over-wintered indoors in a cool greenhouse.

  
  

• Garden care: Water freely during the growing season and sparingly during winter. Protect the crown of the plant with a dry winter mulch or over-winter indoors under glass. Top-dress or re-pot container-grown specimens each spring