The Screw Pine
The most popular variegated plant for house culture is the variegated screw pine (Pandanus Veitchii). The leaves grow two to three feet long, one and one-half to two inches broad. They are light shiny green with broad pure white stripes and arch gracefully. Both the edges and the midrib of the leaf are thick, and set with spines.
When small, this plant is very useful in fern dishes as a center piece. To be successful with this in the house, one must get plants which have been hardened off. Soft, sappy specimens are very apt to rot. Give screw pine a rich but well-drained soil and plenty of water, but do not over water. As the roots are rather large and fleshy, the soil must not be packed around them too tightly or their growth will be restricted.
As the plant suckers freely, new ones can easily be made by removing the suckers and treating them as cuttings. There is another variegated pandanus, P. Sanderi, in which the stripes instead of white are yellow, and during the winter months the new growth in the center of the plant is a deep, golden hue.
Not as pretty, but just as hardy is the ordinary screw pine (Pandanus utilis). This is a stronger grower than Veitchii. I have seen specimens twenty feet high in greenhouses. The leaves are produced in a spiral, from which it gets its name “screw” pin. The leaves are light green in color and the edges and mid-rib are set with spines as in Veitchii. If you cannot get Veitchii, get this one.
One curious thing about the pandanuses is the stilted effect they give. This is particularly true of utilis. When the plant begins to attain a larger size it produces from the stems near the ground large thick roots which immediately penetrate the soil.
So many of these are made that the plants look as if they were standing on stilts. All the pandanuses are more or less subject to “spot,” which is caused by small insects burrowing under the epidermis of the leaf. There seems to be no remedy for this, so if your plant becomes badly infested, you can choose to throw it away. If there are only one or two spots, cut off the infected leaves but do not compost them. Keep the plant dry and water the soil sparingly. Over watering seems to induce insect attacks.
Cheryl Anderson said,
March 23, 2007 @ 7:16 am
I’d love to purchase a pandanus veitchii, however I am have been unable to locate a nursery that sells them. I’ve searched on the internet also to no avail. If you know where I could get one or two, I would appreciate it if you could provide me with that information. Thank you.
Sonya said,
August 17, 2007 @ 12:21 pm
Hello, I was just reading your comment and I could not agree more with you..these plant’s are very hard to find. Although I do have one that was given to me from a freinds trip. I have looked around to buy another, but have not found it anywhere else. My plant is almost 2 years old, and it’s starting to grow babies. This is a Great plant, it’s very beautiful and very hardy, I could not ask for a better plant. I would be willing to give you one of the babies when it is old enough to take away from the mother plant. If you are still interested, let me know. I am from Canada.
Dee George said,
July 19, 2008 @ 8:50 am
I am 62 years old. my mother was given a start of this plant when I was born in Ypsilanti Mi. It came from a restaurant there in town. We still have this plant in our family. It has been passed down all these years. At my daughter baby shower we handed out starts to everyone there. It has been called the Cavanaugh family plant forever. This is the first time I have ever found the real name or any information about this plant. Our plant got so big that we have to give it away to someone who had three story enterance way in there new home. It got so big that it had the bracer roots came down to the floor to hold it’s self up.
The only question I have is does the plant you are talking about have very sharp tiny teeth along both side of the leaf. After it matures. Because our plant was so hard to clean or move because it would make you look like you had been in a cat fight when you were done.
Good luck finding this plant and when you get it plan on it being around a long time.. Dee George.
JoAnne said,
November 9, 2008 @ 12:53 pm
I have noticed the absence of screw pines at nurseries over the years. I own several huge screw pines (varigated) that originated from my dad’s plant 40 years ago. When they reach the peak of our cathedral ceiling, I simply cut off the top portion, peal off the leaves to expose root nubs, and stick the top back into the potted soil. Right now I’m rooting a sucker for my daughter-in-law…so maybe my dad’s plant’s offspring will live on
I love to see the tropical setting at Frederick Meijer Gardens (Grand Rapids, Michigan) where there is an immense screw pine in the greenhouse area.