(Ivory Coast Pineapple, Variegated Pineapple)

A cultivar of pineapple grown for its colorful foliage rather than its edible fruit, 'Ivory Coast' is an evergreen, terrestrial, rosette-forming perennial whose erect, sword-shaped, olive-green leaves have creamy white, spineless edges. Mature specimens produce pyramidal clusters of small lavender flowers with showy pink bracts. These are borne atop a stout central stem in summer. The flowers give rise to fleshy amber or golden brown fruitlets that fuse into a large, cone-shaped pineapple. The fruit...

(Variegated Pineapple)

Variegated pineapple is a terrestrial bromeliad with a rosette of narrow evergreen leaves colored green, creamy yellow and a little pink. Nasty spines line the leaves, and protect the fleshy amber to golden brown fruit that rises on a central stalk. It is believed to be native to Brazil.

Variegated pineapple needs sunlight and a moist, well drained soil. Full sun promotes the light pink blushing on the leaves, although it is faint or simply not present. It loves humidity and moisture, but soggy...

(Curagua, Pineapple)

A close relative of the commercial pineapple, curagua is distinguished by its rosette of stiff, smooth, slender red-bronze leaves and its pretty inedible fruit. This evergreen terrestrial bromeliad is from northern South America. Throughout the growing season it bears purple-white flowers and small, red, pineapple-like fruits on a stalk that arises from the center of the leaf rosette.

Curagua needs well-drained soil and full to partial sun. Insufficient sunlight will result in dull green rather...

(Dwarf Pineapple, Piñita, Pink Pineapple)

Curious as a tropical plant, the miniature pineapple's small fruit is edible, but usually no larger than that of a chicken egg. Native to northern Brazil to Suriname, this is a tender perennial bromeliad that grows as a spider-like rosette.

Long, stiff grayish green leaves lined in sharp spines, looking and piercing skin like curving swords. Healthy two-year old plants send up a tall, slender flower stalk from the center of the leaf rosette in spring's warmth. Atop this stalk is a rounded mass...

(Angraecum Orchid, Comet Orchid)

With fantastic drooping stems lined with apple green and white flowers, Angraecum eburneum is a large clump-forming orchid that bedazzles from mid-autumn through to winter. A tropical orchid native to the highly moist forests of eastern Madagascar and eastern coastal Africa, its long flower parts are pollinated by hawk moths at night. The starry flowers have long "tails" which is why its common name is the comet orchid.

This epiphyte is rarely found growing on moist rocks, making some...

(Kangaroo Paws)

The tall kangaroo paw is an evergreen clump-forming perennial native to the far southwestern region of Western Australia. In late spring and summer clumps of strap-like green foliage give rise to tall, leafless, broadly branched stems topped with clusters of unusual flowers. These tubular blooms are slightly fuzzy and range in color from yellow-green to maroon and brown. Some cultivars even have orange or pink blooms.

Kangaroo paw should be planted in full to partial sun and evenly moist soil...

(Bush Spark Kangaroo Paws, Kangaroo Paws)

Showy and long-blooming, 'Bush Spark' is an evergreen perennial hybridized from parents native to extreme southwestern Australia. It grows as a low fountain of tapering leaves from which emerge tall branched stems topped with clusters of tube-shaped red flowers that open at their tips, revealing that the inside of the tube is chartreuse. Flowering begins in spring and can continue into fall, or year round in ideal conditions.

Like other selections in the Bush series, 'Bush Spark' should be planted...

(Bush Bonanza Kangaroo Paws, Kangaroo Paws)

The Bush Bonanza kangaroo paw, 'Rambubona,'is a tightly clumping, long-blooming evergreen perennial, hybridized from parents native to extreme southwestern Western Australia. In mid-spring through summer, and even year round in ideal conditions, it freely produces flowers on well-branched stems above its upright, strap-like leaves. These floral tubes are a cheerfully bright yellow.

This selection,'Rambubona,' should be planted in a moist but well-drained soil that is kept drier in summer and fall....

(Bush Dance Kangaroo Paws, Kangaroo Paws)

One of several kangaroo paws in the Bush series, Bush Dance ('Rambudan') is a long-blooming evergreen perennial hybridized from parents native to extreme southwestern Western Australia. In mid-spring through summer, it freely produces flowers on tall, well-branched stems above a clump of upright, strap-like leaves. The flowers are tube-shaped and red with green interiors. They appear in fan-like clusters.

This cultivar should be planted in a moist but well-drained soil that is kept drier in summer...

(Bush Elegance Kangaroo Paws, Kangaroo Paws)

A free-flowering evergreen perennial, Bush Elegance kangaroo paw was hybridized from parents native to extreme southwestern Western Australia. In mid-spring through summer, and year-round in ideal conditions, it flowers on tall, well-branched stems above a clump of upright, strap-like leaves. The flowers appear in fan-like clusters and are tube-shaped, reddish-purple on the outside and green on the inside.

This cultivar, also known as 'Rambueleg,' should be planted in a moist but well-drained...