The Garden Guy fell in love with the pineapple lily during the years as director of the Coastal Georgia Botanical Garden in Savannah. Every year they returned and did their beautiful display without any extra attention from any of the horticulturists. They also enlarged their clumps giving multiple blooms. All I could think was how in the world could such beautiful plants be so cold-hardy. By that I am referring to zones 6 through 9.

They are native to South Africa and known botanically as Eucomis comosa. Doggone, as you might expect they are members of the asparagus family, which this year I have pointed out other relatives being the hosta, and recently the agave.

When I left the Coastal Georgia Botanical Garden, I figured I would never get a chance to grow them again if for no other reason than I have never seen any for sale at a garden center. Then surprise of all surprises, Proven Winners has introduced two varieties to the market, Crowning Glory Purple Reign and Crowning Glory Princess Bride. The difference is foliage color and bloom stalk color, which shifts with edge. I promise you want both.

This thrills me because this should mean increased production, and widespread use of the plant, which will lead to more varieties. I say that but I can tell gardeners do not know the plant, and pineapple lily sounds funny. What do they think when they hear the word pineapple? Edible pineapple and tropical, and they know they can’t grow those in zones 6-9 without a herculean effort. Then put a tag lily on it and who knows what pops in their mind?

I’ve had mine two years now and I have a whole new perspective on the pineapple lily. This year I’ve seen it as an architectural plant in the landscape. I have swooned over it even without the presence of blooms. Its long strap-shaped leaves might make you think of phormium or New Zealand flax, agave or Hawaiian Ti.

With this look and the opportunity to try Art & Sol Lavender Lady and Thunderbird mangave plants, I chose to create triangular clusters. This year was perfect, but I know I will have issues in the future. The mangaves will at some point send up really tall blooms and the pineapple lilies will expand their clumps, but of course the apocalypse may happen and modify everything to edibles. In other words, the fun of gardening is dealing with it, when and if it occurs.

So I have mine at the corners of a pollinator garden that has Rockin salvias, Luminary phlox, Truffula Pink gomphrena, Meteor Showers verbena, Mean to to Bee agastaches, Serendipity ornamental allium, rudbeckias and zinnias, as well as the mangaves I described earlier. I know it sounds eclectic, but most mornings you will find me in a chair with a cup of coffee and a camera ready for the action.

I love the bed I just described, but if you find yourself longing for the tropical look then use the Crowning Glory pineapple lilies with bananas, elephant ears, Hawaiian Ti, Heart to Heart caladiums, Shadowland hostas and ColorBlaze coleus. All you will be missing are the steel drums.

The blooms are borne on tall stalks that defies imagination. They may be 18 to 24 inches tall with dozens of tiny greenish-white flowers that open from the bottom working their way upward. A close examination does show the tiny blooms have a tinge of purple. There will be a tuft of leaf-like bracts on top. Overall, you will think it resembles a pineapple. A wonderful aspect is that this bloom experience will last 6-8 weeks, maybe more.

I watch as much as I can for pollinators, and so far it has been bees, hands down. That’s not bad for an exceptional looking plant like the pineapple lily. You will need fertile well-drained soil and plenty of sun. In the South, a little mid-afternoon shade will be greatly appreciated, especially in a summer like this one.

I planted mine from container grown transplants. If this is your situation you will plant at the same depth as they are growing in the container. In other words, the top of the root ball will be even with the top of your soil line. If you are planting bulbs, you will want to set these in the soil 4 to 6 inches deep. In colder climates the bulbs can be lifted in the fall and stored in a cool dry place until spring planting.

Once you start growing the pineapple lily, you will ask yourself why it took you so long. Jump on this bandwagon and start asking your garden center to get these plants for you. There is a good chance you will have to educate them, but that’s OK, they want to hear the cash register jingle too!

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(Norman Winter, horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.” Follow him on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy.)

(NOTE TO EDITORS: Norman Winter receives complimentary plants to review from the companies he covers.)

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