It's true, "rare" is a relative term which can vary from region to region. Michael gets quite a bit of material from Australia though, and I don't think they are necessarily priced any higher than hybrids coming out of Costa Rica, Hawaii, or for that matter, Florida. The prices on his list reflect a lot of factors, and one of them is undoubtedly how recently the plant was introduced and how many of them are in circulation in his part of the world. There are several other factors, though. A cross from a known hybridizer will be priced higher than one of unknown origin, and a named cultivar will fetch more than an unnamed one with only a parentage formula, even if they are of equal beauty. Ease of propagation is another factor. If it grows like a weed and pups like mad it will become common and therefore valued less then that illusive and tempermental slowpoke that may be considerably less attractive. BTW, this is all based on what sells for his customer base, which is primarily collectors. The same criteria won't work for someone selling mostly to the general public, as they could care less about any of these things. Now back to the rare/not rare red blanchetiana-- doesn't anyone have a picture of the flower?????

Thanks for all the compliments, brom friends! - I'll make sure they are passed onto Jack, of whom we are very proud :) John and Agatha - one fine day I hope to be the proud owner of all these hybrids, plus the rest of Jack's! He is a personal friend, and a fine fellow (hope you get to read this Jack...hint, hint!!), but only a few of his earlier vriesea hybrids are yet available - I do own V. Milky Way, Kakadu and Montezuma's Gem....so far. Gonzer - those earlier hybrids have recently sold for very high prices on Australian eBay, so I don't know if or when they will be available outside Oz - nor how prices will compare to Shiigi's. Lemon Sorbet's parents are V. The Daintree and Milky Way. See below. Vriesea 'The Daintree' (V. gigantea x fosteriana) - an earlier hybrid of Jack's, and a great parent. Vriesea 'Milky Way' (V. gigantea - white centre x fosteriana 'White Bands') - another of Jack's hybrids. A larger photo of Vriesea 'Wombat', bred by Jack Koning - grown, named and photographed by Richard Harper. Here is a photo of Jack in his garden. I think it's nice to put a face to a name :) And finally, another section of Jack's garden, with evidence of more possible hybrids in the future. Winterlager, these foliage vrieseas are pretty tough. To achieve maximum desirable colours and form, they need to be grown in bright diffused light, or morning sun until about 11am. They tend to be more cold-tolerant than other bromeliads. We suffered a very cold winter last year, and although Jack's garden did not get any frost (he lives on the coast), all his vrieseas survived very well - perhaps the cold induced early flowering in some, but for a hybridist this can be a plus. I photographed many of his hybrids this summer, and as you can see, they are very healthy. In my own garden, which was badly toasted by frost last winter, the foliage vrieseas were the best survivors overall in my bromeliad collection. Some were damaged, but have all come back well since. Rick - hilarious Aussie description of Fraser Island! lol Hdd - yes I checked, you're right. Thanks :) The specimen of Uluru Sunset I photographed was much more compact and colourful - plus the dark background helps to enhance the beauty of foliage vrieseas - IMHO. Cheers, Kerry

GW bromeliad forum members are a very friendly group, it took me a bit of botching to get past the zone requirement but I do enjoy opening when I have a spare half hour  not very often. I am very wary of internet forums as they can be used to very quickly assassinate the character of other persons, we have seen it in the past. A good example is the ill informed accusations about Keith Golinski  then the apologies when he gave the facts. ÂSorry does not remove the mud! In reply: Friday 18 Dec: "It would be easy to name the perpetrator ,she is well known"  Yes it is me, Lynn Hudson, the Facilitator of the Council of Australian Bromeliad Societies, Secretary of Cairns Society and BSI Director  all voluntary. " i have let a close relative of her know of the matter"  Why has Jack not contacted me himself? "you bet i am P @$#^%& D of." - is a tragic waste of energy when this could have been sorted 18 months ago. You have stewed this in your mind until your accusations have become very dangerous. " there is the smallest possibility that the plant died ( ha ha ha )"  Jack it is alive and well. "i am not in the mood for any legal action that would follow if i did name her" - What???? What is this prattle??? " she is the secretary of that society ,would my complaint be acknowledged ? not a chance ,it would be a lost letter each time!" - This type of behaviour is not practiced by me. You do not know me Jack, I do not hide. I face up to my own actions and responsibilities. Sat Dec 12: " the plant of 'Montezuma's Gem ' i donated for the Cairns world conference ( it was donated at the Port Macquarie reginal conference ,and had a opening bid for some $250 to be carried on at Cairns )" At the time you said the plant was donated to Cairns Society for fundraising for the conference. "this plant was not produced for the rare plant auction by the person that took it up there ,and when questioned said she said had a headache and would worry about it some other time" - Jack did not at any time discuss this plant with me at the WBC or since. At the Auction Bob, my husband said there was an enquiry about the plant. I did not say I had a headache, I said "the grasshoppers made a feast of it", which was the truth, it was ragged. From Lisa "As for the woman who appropriated your intended auction plant, I'd be plenty steamed about that too. She's taking money out of the society's coffers!  Taking money out?? Previously not publicly mentioned is that I put in over $5000.00 of my own money into WBC18, not to mention time, petrol, phone calls etc. Plantsplus: "I would be asking the appropriator of the conference donation to return the plant to you" - I am happy to return the plant to Jack. I was hesitant in taking the tiny seedling in the first place as I have all sizes of grasshoppers feed on my bromeliads. " unless they want you to name names. Alternately send an open letter to the Brom Society in question (without a name) and voice your disappointment that a member would act so disgracefully."  This type of back door behaviour does not reap any good rewards. I prefer to work upfront and honestly. "Having said that we all know some people who will do anything to get a brom if they want it. I just wonder how many generous growers get "done over" by them just because they are too polite to "out them". These people are crooks plain and simple Â" - I am pretty well known as being too generous and honest. I seldom accept any plant without making payment. As Len Trevor says: "As soon as someone stands up to do something, there are persons who just want to criticize and knock them down. In fact these same persons are simply jealous as they are not as capable as the person who is busy doing the job." I was not paid to organize either the Port Macquarie or Cairns conferences. I also paid my own way just like every delegate. This also applies to attending BSI conferences and board meetings. Officers and Directors pay our own airfares, accommodation registration etc., but we do get free lunch at board meetings! We are volunteers. As Jack said "Ethics is now a endangered species". - Surely personally getting the facts up front before making accusations is ethical. I have just spoken to Jack. The plant will be up for Auction at the Darwin conference in April 2011.

How far from the beach and salt spray? This can be a debilitating factor. Is he up on the bluff or out the back? He can expect blackspot if growing modern roses, and should spray to keep it under control.