Puya species are fairly easy to grow from seed, but all of them get too large to be happy in a pot, and moreover they're viciously spiny along the leaf margins so you have to wrap them in a blanket to move the pot. I grew one of the highest-elevation species and tried one outdoors on the rock garden, but it turned to mush during an Oregon winter. I think this is another of the many alpine plants that can't stand freezing temperatures when wet. They certainly experience frost in nature, but they aren't soaked at the time. That said, I did have one flower in a large pot kept in a solarium in winter. It died after flowering, not having made offsets. Jane McGary Portland, Oregon USA At 10:01 AM 2/5/2011, you wrote: >In reading about South American bulbs, I found several references to >Puya (bromeliad) being hardy to zone 7-8. I would like to know what >PBS members' experiences have been with this genus. Are some of the >species hardy to zone 7 or colder? What growing conditions have been >successful? > >Kathleen >Pacific Northwest, in a mild and cloudy winter, unlike much of North >America