devo, as near as I can tell it's rosea-striata x spectabilis. I say "as near as I can tell" because I actually pollinated it with a Cryptanthus, LOL! This was when I was first starting out and trying all kinds of odd combos, most of which didn't give me anything worth saving. I did have a Neo. spectabilis (variegated form) that was blooming at the same time and that I tried a few crosses with, so the pollen could have easily gotten on there, and that's the only possibility that makes any sense. The hybrid is bigger than both parents though. I haven't done any further crosses with it, although Michael told me he'd crossed it with Orth. navioides. I have a newer one with some of the same traits that I like much better, so it's no big deal to me if it never gets registered.

I was hoping for a discussion like this. I'm not saying we're cracking the code but we are getting somewhere. (at least I am learning something here) I guess it is not this or that, but it is this AND that. You're right there Hanwc. Wich obviously makes it very hard to control the flowering. But still it amazes me that my broms flower at the same time, while they have very different growing conditions. The only thing I can think of now (in my case) is they're triggered by the few weeks of warm summer nights where the temperature hardly drops in my terrarium and in the garden. My house can be pretty warm at night. The length of daylight in my terrarium is constant, so I rule out that one. The only stress they get in there is extremely acidic water flowing through the root system but that is also constant. The morning sunlight shining in does not reach the spectabilis and that one is on time too. You are right Lisa I did not realise that the inflorescence is induced months before I take them in. In Hawaii the temperature goes up at the beginning of summer but stays up for much longer. (is that correct?) So saying that when the day/night difference get smaller is the moment Neo's 'initiate' sounds right to me. The internal clock thing seems unlikely if you look at the different times Neo's bloom wordwide. Still this can be explained both ways. It could also be a temperature drop at night before the warm season. I choose the warm nights as the trigger in my case, that lasts only a few weeks and is exactly four months before the flowers pop up. The big high/low difference starts about six weeks before they go in, so too late. Bob said that during summer, temps can go much higher and they get the most flowers in wintertime. Could that be four months in between? Sudden stress, like damage or low humidity, can be a trigger. Years ago I left a big spectabilis pup outdoors in winter in a sheltered corner to see what it could take. (I get loads of pups each year) When it looked completely dead I noticed it died with a starting inflorescence, that was in february -8C (17,6F). It even gave me one pup in april wich grew up to be the clump in my terrarium. So I don't think it completely froze. But I don't like forcing them into bloom at gunpoint. So, no way I can stop them but maybe some of you can start them by keeping them cool for a while.

Dr. Larry: Hi,this is Bob,and I feel that I know you from your 'Consultation''s in the CSJ. Thanks for the ID confirmation on the 'fosterianus'. As one of the'northern'collectors you refered to,it was good news to read that you and Michael K. are going to be able to expand the cryptanthus offerings. We on GW think highly of Michael and his operation,and order from him often. Additionally,as mentioned in earlier postings,I assist the Staff at the Buffalo Botanical Gardens with the bromeliad collection procurement and maintenance,and currently are preparing an order for him that will be quite extensive.These new broms will be used to establish an all new display in a soon to be completed 'Epiphyte House'remodeling.I will post a few photos,to give all my friends here an idea of the building size,an also some pics of the damage that occured around the property during the surprise early October snowstorm this week. The report is that 80% of our areas trees were badly damaged by the wet 18" snowfall and winds,as the leaves were still on them,and the weight was just too much. This freak storm was caused by a 40deg.difference in the Lake Erie water temp. and the freezing air temp.,resulting in just the perfect conditions to give us so much snow in just 12 hours.Ironically,after it passed,the temperatures were in the high 60's,and all the snow melted away. Good to see you on GW,and hope to hear from you and enjoy any photo posts you may have for us. Some BBG pics; Front view of the Main Dome and the Fern house and right Dome building,housing the bromeliad collection .The left Dome [not in picture] is the one being remodled for the bromeliad and epiphyte collections. View from the South side,showing the Dome bldg.for the epiphytes nearing the completion of the new glass installation. Back side view of the 3 Domes...and a few snow piles. Typical tree damage in the last three photos

The English climate is, of course, more suitable to rose growing than most places in Aus. We too (wife and I), did a garden tour of Englaned, Ireland and Scotland way back in 1996. We only experienced one season but the thing that struck me the most was that the summer was just beginning when we got there - in mid to late May - and the roses were just beginning to bloom. When we left the mainland and headed for Ireland, 6 weeks later, the roses were shutting down, going into dormancy, summer was over. I loved England and the gardens but I'd be bored to tears waiting for the season's magnificent blossoms to make their brief yearly appearence: The roses; the 'dogwoods'; the prunus' and malus'; the bluebells; the blue poppy (mecanopsis (sooo beautiful)), the rhododendrums and so many others. Seems it's all over in a heartbeat and you gotta wait sooo long for it to recur. And the cold, brrrr. Nope, the winter wonderland is lovely, along with the changing seasons but I reckon where I now live - on the fringe of the Tweed Valley - is God's own land. I think I'm an all-year-round outdoors person but no further north than here and no further south than, say, Sydney suits me fine. Mind you, today I spotted in a favourite nursery haunt a Taiwan Cherry (Prunus campanulata) and I couldn't resist it. It should be ok here but if winter was just a slight bit chillier it would suit it better - I had one in Sydney and there was a gorgeous one in the Sydney Royal bot. Gdns. before they cut it down. Grows well just that bit further south. Hope it grows and flowers as well here.