Brocchinia hectoides
Easy to Grow: Moderate
Dormancy: No
Native Range: Summits of the cool Tepuis of Northeastern South America
Zones: 9-11
Brocchinia hectoides is a carnivorous bromeliad with a tall, tubular, erect whorl of light green waxy leaves that are very slippery to insects. The leaves form a water collecting barrel where insects are trapped and drown. With the help of bacteria to decompose this material, the plant then absorbs the nutrients. In their natural habit of grass and shrub, they grow in nutrient poor, sandy, swampy, open sites. It grows in great numbers on the tepui summits and down their flanks to the grassy/shrubby lowlands. It is a terrestrial perennial, and it is without a stem. The leaves and young plantlets grow up directly from the roots. In cultivation they prefer a loose, well draining soil that is kept consistently moist . Keep the bottom of the tube filled with water. They like it warm, bright and humid. The flowers are small and inconspicuous rising on long spires above the tube of the plant. Seeds are rare in cultivation. It is rare in cultivation, and a very unique plant for the carnivorous plant collection. This from is from Gran Sabana, Venezuela.
Plants are shipped bare-root, wrapped in damp sphagnum moss. Photographs are representative of species, and not the specific plant shipped.
Height: 4"-12+"
Plant Type: Perennial, cool semi-tropical
Soil: Nepenthes Mix works well
Light: Partial bright indoors, light shade outdoors
Use: Grows well as a house plant, and in cool greenhouses.
