PlantFiles: Portea
Portea petropolitana

i was wandering around my suppliers collection, he offered me freebies that he didn't want, he had an area of his garden for unwanted clearance plants, and through the mess of 2nd hand stock i saw this beautiful shiny green plant, a mother plant with 2 large pups attached, i scrambled through the mess towards the back where it was sitting, deep in the shade of a palm tree. i dragged it out and asked what variety it was, he had no idea, palming it off as an Aechmea, but i knew better, something told me it wasn't an Aechmea, it was too tube-like and upright, and after months of inquiry with experts i found that this was infact Portea petropolitana, and you know the best part, it was 100% free, 2 pups and a mother plant. the young pups have been removed and im expecting several more little babies. sooooooooo cant wait for the flowering part. its doing well in Perth, western Australia, but it needs to be grown in shade.

The plant I have is Portea petropolitana var 'extensa' The flower spike is elongated and the plant is very coarse and the edges of the leaves have dark colored large sharp teeth. I found the plant growing at a clients house in St. James City on Pine Island. My client gave me a start. This plant is very durable and seems to thrive without a great deal of care. The beautiful flowers arrive in spring and early summer and last well beyond mid to late summer. They last very long as a cut flower as well. Dividing the plant is not much fun and the foliage is very informal. The chief attraction is the 'otherworldly" flowers which are uniquely beautiful and very longlasting. Great in the ground or in a large container.

Origin: Brazil.