Hi everyone.

Stanofh - I saw a variegated Alcantarea on Aust eBay a while back with a starting price of $999. I heard it was sold but never found out what it went for because my computer crashed before the auction was over............. Just a "little" out of my reach, what do you reckon?

All the best, Nev.

I believe it. If I think any Brom looks nice? ..I can't afford it..ha.

Nev, check the BSI registry, look for my Bill. 'Chewbacca', I think you'll like it.

Hi everyone.

That's a great looking plant Gonz. It seems like the 'Darth Vader' has passed on it's wonderful scurf and silvery banding to its kids. This dispels Jack's theory that mostly it's the pollen parent that dictates the colour; but then he did say "mostly" didn't he?

I also like your 'Mad Max' with its abundant scurf and banding but I think 'Chewbacca' is the nicer plant of the two, however I wouldn't say no to either.

Are they seed pods forming as well? I see you don't have them tagged, are you keeping the crossing a secret at this stage?

All the best, Nev.

They're tagged.....somewhere. They're grex siblings in that the parents are DV and 'Pink Champagne'.

Hi everyone.

Gonz - Here's one I got from a friend as a small seedling it was from a crossing of 'Fred Red' x 'Hallelujah'. It's interesting this is from the same grex as the one I registered as Bill. 'Stephen Stone' and yet their colours are so very different. I guess that's what makes hybridising so very interesting.

Bill. 'Fred Red' x 'Hallelujah'

.....and this was its grex mate Bill. 'Stephen Stone'

All the best, Nev.

Here are some more Aes. This one I've had for over a year:

This one I got at Marina Garden Center in Marina Del Rey last month:

It would be nice if these would make nice flowers like yours, but I do not expect that.

May as well take a moment to introduce myself, as I will be here a lot! My name is Kim, and after a couple years with a reasonably successful outdoor garden I have gone into overdrive turning my house into a jungle. Hoyas are my favorite, but the broms are fast claiming a spot in my heart. I just have one urn plant pup currently, but hope to add more soon! Tillandsias, guzmania, and cryptanthus are all on my wish list, and I will almost certainly be popping in to pick the brains of all you experts. I am determined to turn my black thumb green. Off to a good start!

I am just a little jealous of you southerners who can grow these outdoors, and the selection you can find locally. I have to either order or browse through grocery/box store selections for mine. But I also don't have the heat and biting insects you all do, so fair trade, hahaha.

Hi everyone.

Lars – I assume when you wrote “Aes” you
meant Aechmeas; however, I don’t think your plants are Aechmeas, they look to
me to be Neoregelias. As for the names I’m not sure.

The fact that they were sold with just a
generic names could mean a couple of things, firstly they could be surplus hybrids
that were never named or registered, or they may have been a collection that
was bought from someone for on-selling and the names weren’t in the pots when
they were bought.

I have some similar plants to your first
picture in my garden here where I live in Australia and they are called Neo. ‘Stormy
Forest’ (Pic.1) and Neo. ‘Black Forest’ (Pic.2). The colours aren’t identical to
yours nor are the leaf shapes, but these can vary depending on the amount of
light the plants are grown in. Anyway, I’m attaching a couple of pictures for
comparison.

As for your second picture which you say
is a smaller plant; it could also be a Neoregelia but of the miniature type. As
for a name I’m afraid I have no idea.

The flowers of Neoregelias are quite
small, have three petals and range in colour from white though light mauve to dark mauve and are to
be found in the centre of the plant often partly submerged by water. (See
Pic.3) which depicts five flowers of a Neoregelia hybrid called Neo ‘Oh! No!’ x
Self.

All the best, Nev.

I have a brom that resembles photo no.2 Its very hardy,grows into a clump fast and takes much sunlight. It must have been a HD purchase. Sometimes,the local HD has leftovers from the local Brom society. I picked up a few and one turned out in full sun to have a lot of yellow- green. Nice contrast.
And in this drought,filling the Broms cups (and spillover to the roots) takes very little water.

Hi everyone.

Kim - I didn't intentionally ignore your post but ran out
of time yesterday and that's why I didn't answer. We're always pleased to see
new members joining this site and for people like yourself, it's an excellent
place to learn about bromeliads and although the majority of our members are
from the U.S. we also have members from many different countries that grow many
different types of bromeliads as well.

The thing is that when taking advice, you must adapt it
to your own conditions as they will often vary greatly from those of other
countries such as where I live here in Australia. Growers can only tell you
what they do under their conditions and you need to consider this when accepting
advice. My advice to you would be to start with the more common genera such as
Neoregelias, Aechmeas, Billbergias, Nidulariums, Guzmanias and Vrieseas. These
are all easy to grow (under my conditions anyway) and will give you something
interesting to look at all through the year.

Neoregelias, patterned leaf Vrieseas and some Aechmeas are
grown mainly for their foliage colours, whereas most Aechmeas, Nidulariums,
Guzmanias and green leaf Vrieseas are grown for their flowers and the long life
of their colourful bracts.

Billbergias have amazing colourful flowers and bracts but
unfortunately are short lived. However, they are still very popular as many of
the hybrids have very colourful foliage which is an ongoing attraction all
through the year.

Be warned though, if you fertilise these plant with a
high Nitrogen fertiliser you will get improved growth at the expense of colour
and the colour won’t return to its best until the excess nitrogen has been used
up. Here in Australia we tend to grow the colourful plants in good light (not
direct sun) and feed cautiously or not at all. If we do feed, we do so with a
fertiliser which is higher in Potassium than Nitrogen.

It's always a good idea to seek advice from local growers
if you have any in your vicinity as they know the local growing conditions
better than growers from other areas and other countries; what’s more, most
bromeliad growers are usually happy to offer advice to new growers.

Good luck with you collecting and I hope we hear from you
on a regular basis.

Below are examples of the genera I would recommend you
start with; Neoregelia, Aechmea, Billbergia, Nidulariums, Guzmanias and Vrieseas
(patterned leaf and green leaf)

All the best, Nev.

Neoregelia

Aechmea

Billbergia Group showing the flowers and foliage

Nidularium

Guzmania

Vriesea (Patterned Leaf)

Vriesea (Green Leaf type)

Hi everyone.

Stanofh - I have found there are many similar coloured
Neoregelias to the one shown in Pic.2 in the post you are referring to and many of these are doing
the rounds where I live and have been grown by locals long before I ever got
involved in brom's.

It’s interesting when I look at the history of these
plants as I have found that quite a few are the results of using either Neo. ‘Charm’
or Neo. ‘Cracker Jack’ as a parent in their breeding.

Charm was bred way back in 1975 by a well known Australian
hybridist called Grace Goode and was made from a crossing between Neo. marmorata
and Neo. chlorosticta.

Neo. ‘Cracker Jack’ on the other hand is said to have
come to Australia as seed from U.S.A., however according to the B.C.R. the parents and the hybridist are
all unknown and the date of registration is just shown as ? which causes me to
suspect that it’s been around for a long time also; both here and in the U.S.

In fact I have a plant which is from a crossing of these
two plants crossed with each other and which was made by a local man near where
I live and it too has similar colouring (See Pic. below) as do some of its hybrids as I've found when successfully using it as a parent.

All the best, Nev.

Neoregelia ‘Charm’ x ‘Cracker Jack’

Thank you Splinter for the kind welcome and suggestions! Those are beautiful plants you posted, I will definitely keep those in mind! I want to get the hang of my little Aechmea (or whatever it is) first, once I am confident there I will branch out. Well, maybe a guzmania, those seem easy and I read they like a little less light which gives me more placement options.

@gonzer-gw Hello! I'm just trying to get in contact with you about tillandsias but I can't find a way to direct message you. Sorry if I'm disrupting this thread!

I figured no one cares about my boring NOID broms (probably each a Vriesea species).

I bought them for 3 dollars each and that included the luxurious and expensive chocolate Terra cotta pot. I have two babies that survived the depuping. Not sure which species they are but both mom's are busy making more babies now. I really need to get them some supplemental light, we're running out of summer!

Hi everyone.

Laticauda - I for one am definitely interested in your brom's, NOIDS or not. Some of the nicest brom's I've seen are NOIDS and are certainly worth collecting, and besides it's very interesting trying to get an ID for these plants and you pick up lots of knowledge along the way as well. How about some pictures?

All the best, Nev.

Let's see. One of the mother plants is not looking too good today, I should have repotted her as soon as I got home like I did for the big one. This was like...maybe two weeks ago?

I'll try to get more. Of the babies as well, but no promises, lol

And the one on the left:

Here are the babies, I think they came from the bigger plant, but I can't be certain. All the other pups didn't make it.

Are the babies etoliated or should I be giving them more light?

Hi
everyone.

Laticauda
–When you buy bromeliads at that sort of “knock down price” you must expect
them to have a few defects such as split or torn leaves, finished flowering or
needing a bit of work doing on them such as cleaning up and re-potting.

Firstly,
let me say that the plant on the left in your first picture with the red centre
is a Neoregelia not a Vriesea. Without seeing it “in the flesh” so to speak, it’s hard to be
certain but it appears to have smooth leaf edges like a Vriesea. If this is so
it makes it easier to identify as most Neo’s have prickles or teeth on the leaf
margins; the most common exception is one called Neo. ‘Deroose's Medusa’ See: http://registry.bsi.org/?genus=NEOREGELIA&id=5753#5753

Is
your plant with the red centre the one that the pups were removed from?

Although
the common advice for when to remove pups seems to be when they are one third
to half the size of the mother plant, personally I get better results by
waiting until they are almost three quarters as big as the mother plant and
removing them in spring time when the weather is starting to warm up. By this
time they usually have a few roots, don’t suffer any setbacks and become
established more quickly.

I
don’t know what your growing conditions are like where you live, but as suggestion to a
suitable degree of light to grow them in, and judging by the leaf colour, a
little more light wouldn’t do any harm as long as it’s increased gradually, but
definitely no direct full sun as you may burn them.

All
the best, Nev.

I had removed pups from both of them. The reason I took them off is because they were all so big already (height wise anyway!)

They actually were in pretty good shape when I got them. The two pups that survived my attempts at rooting may or may not have already had a root or two, at least one of them did, I know that for sure.

I am planning on leaving the remaining pups on both plants and maybe grow as a clump, instead of pitting them up individually.

Fortunately, I already knew that broms only bloom once and then put out babies, so I'm not expecting any flowers lol.

I only saw the inflorescence of the all green one and it looked like a vriesea. The red one already had its inflorescence removed, so I don't know what it looked like. They both came from the same store.

I am hoping at least one of these planted pups comes from the red one....that one is really the one I like best. They all were in a north facing window, but I'm going to be adding supplemental light hopefully.

Hey guys might be time for a new thread this one is a bit long LOL

Hi everyone.

Laticauda - Let me say that I wasn't inferring that you removed your pups too soon. It's just that not knowing how much knowledge you have about brom's and seeing the pictures you posted of plants with very small pups, I though you could be tempted to try and remove these as well as I have sometimes seen "newbies" do this with unsuccessful results.

I have to agree with HDD; this thread is getting quite long and it's time to close it and start another. I only started this with the aim of getting members communicating and sharing knowledge and asking questions with each other and we seem to have achieved this, so please start some new threads and keep the communication flowing. I'll start a new one called "Tell us of your growing conditions" and we can all compare how we grow our plants.

All the best, Nev.

Just before u close this thread Nev, I never though that some one would be as forward as to say; "Nev, most people have the atttention span of a gnat, not like us old-timers." Luv the comment gonzer_gw, so appropriate.

For those who do not know me my real name is allan ladd in Oz am only on this forum to see if it is still going or if economic disintegration has got this forum also. Cheers

<For those who do not know me my real name is allan ladd in Oz am only on this forum to see if it is still going or if economic disintegration has got this forum also. Cheers>

Verdict?

Hi everyone.

Yes I'm back on this thread again as I just have to present some facts as I've found them.

Allan, I don't know whether it's "economic disintegration", "lack of interest" or just "laziness" on the part of the members, but like you I've watched as some of these great forums seem to have fallen in a heap and now virtually seem to have gone into hibernation.

However when I look through the stat's I see there is still a large member following, it's just that the members aren't supporting the forums by posting. Whether it's because they are time poor or prefer Facebook where they only need to give very brief comments or press that dreaded "like button" I don't know. It can't be the content of the threads as they can add their own content if they so wish.

What I do know is that I greatly miss the fantastic discussions and pictures we previously had on this and other forums, and what a wonderful learning platform they were for people like me with limited knowledge about bromeliads.

Many of the "original members" of this forum went over to a new forum that was set up by some of the members from that original Garden Web Bromeliad Forum and there were people like myself with such a thirst for knowledge who were members of both forums and still are.

Let me say that the other forum is having the same problems as this one with what I thought was lack of interest by the members until I started a thread called "Let's see some pictures" on the 6th June 2014 just to "test the water" so to speak. As from this morning that thread is still alive and is now 27 pages long and has been viewed 10481 times.

This sounds impressive until you look past the statistics and see that there hasn't been more than a dozen or so members posting throughout the entire thread and now there are just three of us as regulars. From this I conclude that members are just interested in "taking" but not "giving" i.e. reading the thread but not prepared to support it by commenting and posting their own ideas and pictures.

Personally I don't know the answer, that's why I started this thread "Where's everyone gone", and I'm pleased to see at this stage there has been a far better response from this forum in the short time this thread has been running with more members willing to participate (14 at this stage).

I don't want to get into arguments about the length of this thread, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I started a new thread because it was suggested that this one may be getting too long.

Perhaps the thread is too long, I'm no expert and don't know how long it should be, but then when I first joined this forum the threads went on for pages over many days, sometimes weeks, and I think the length is governed by the amount of interest from members who are prepared to continue contributing and while ever they do the thread will keep growing.

I admit it can get confusing with some posts branching off into many different topics, but then the other forum had all the various topics separated into their own particular areas so that members could post in the most relevant section.

This caused a lot to leave or not join as they put it in the "too hard basket" and said it wasn't "user friendly", so I don't know what the answer is, I guess it's the same old story of "You can't please everyone all of the time". All I can say is we are having discussion once more on this thread, and after all aren't forums about discussion and knowledge sharing?

With this in mind I have stared a new thread called "Tell us about your growing conditions" as I know many of the members on this forum are from different countries and it will make more sense about advice given, if we all know what country that advice is coming from.

Please keep supporting these posts by sharing your information and pictures, it's in everyone's interest to keep these forums alive.

All the best, Nev.

Hi Nev,

I've been busy with work, hopefully that will relax up a bit and I can spend more time cleaning the garden up.

It's good to see some of the old timers are still here, Gonz, HDD, Alan...

Cheers,

Rick

Hi Rick - It seems everything has gone the full circle for me as this was the first forum I ever joined. I've tried several others and like this one they all went quiet which I personally think was mainly due to the popularity of Face Book.

Some of them finally folded through lack of member support, however I kept looking in here occasionally and it's pleasing to see as you say, "some of the old timers are still here" and there's a possibility of this forum picking up again with the addition of some "new blood".

All the best, Nev.

Nev,

(I think that's who identified my Bromeliad as Neoregelia)

It has very fine serations along some of the leaves. It seems like they had been rubbed off on the larger parts of the leaves. Hopefully I can get these babies to flower and in a year or so, you can help me ID it!

Oh, and the reason my other pups didn't make it was either because I packed them in the substrate too tightly or...nope, that's the only reason I'm pretty sure.

Nev, something else that crossed my mind as to why people quit frequenting this forum is the resounding lack of etiquette many folks show when posting an ID question. I myself will no longer ID plants for folks I do not know due to a simple lack of a "Thank you, I appreciate it".

*bleep*

Hi Gonz - I think the problem could be that because many of these people are used to pressing the "like button" on Face Book, they don't say thanks because there isn't a "thank you button" ???????????????

All the best, Nev.

AMEN gonz and no excues Nev. If we take the time to answer it doesnt take any longer for a simple thanks....

Hi HDD - I'm not excusing them, I'm just saying that a lot of the younger generation find it too hard to write more than a couple of words, and even if they do it's often in the language they use for "texting" which means that "oldies" like me don't understand anyway; Ha! Ha!

All the best, Nev.

Agreed Nev and Hdd. Simple solution? Learn some manners.

@gonzer_gw

Greetings Gonzer,
I heard you are the expert here on tillandsia care, and I am new to tillandsias. Could you please take a look at my post and give me some feedback/advice? I have done a lot of research and been looking through the forums but I'm only getting bits and pieces of info and not sure if I'm providing adequate care. If you'd be willing to help me, it would mean the world to me and I'm sure my tillandsias would thank you too if they could :). Please be my tillandsia sensei :P Thank you very much!

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3255470/new-to-tillandsias-need-advice-suggestions?n=3

*claps*

How brave of you to post during this CJ. It's a good thing you also bowed your head.

I'm confused Laticauda, is there a problem here? I'm sincerely asking for advice from Gonzer and I am being appreciative and polite regarding such.

I'm thinking Laticauda was teasing. I've see Gonzer here and there and have read a lot of good advice and wisdom in his posts. Good pics, too!

I agree Debbyabq, Gonzer is truly knowledgeable about tillandsias and has really great pics/wisdom in his posts. That's the main reason why I'm seeking his advice before I mess up as a Tilly-noob and hurt my new tillandsias :P also np @ Laticauda, just a minor misunderstanding earlier, all cleared up now thanks!

Hi everyone.

dd - Keep the questions coming, that's what this forum is all about.

All Gonz said was that sometimes the receivers of our advice can't even be bothered to say "thanks", which as far as I'm concerned is just a matter of simple courtesy.

I'm not a Tillandsia grower so I can't help you, but I encourage you to keep asking questions.

All the best, Nev.

Still here!

I don't own any bromeliads, but I like looking on this forum because they seem like interesting plants. I'd like to try owning a few at some point-but, I don't have the space right now. ;) Nice to see what you all have though!

Hi everyone.

Noteybook - You're very welcome on this forum whether you have brom's or not. They are fabulous plants and I'm sure after seeing a few pictures and picking up tips on how easy they are to grow, you will be hooked on them just like the rest of us.

Keep visiting us and I'm sure you'll soon know the basics of how to look after them.

All the best, Nev.

Thank you Nev! I know I want to grow pineapples, and varieties of Vriesea(which I called red hot pokers before knowing the actual name)... One I can eat, one I can paint! Actually I can paint both, but it's just fun to say.

I may not have the space right now, but I'm happy to learn. I'd rather do that before getting anything! So this'll work great!

Growing Pineapples in a non-tropical location is really about the novelty, and everyone I've asked about it (who had tried it) said that it was really cool seeing it root and growing into a plant like that but ultimately, it's not worth doing it again. They get big and unwieldy and probably won't produce good fruit for you anyway (especially in zome 5!) without serious supplemental lighting.

Maybe a dwarf variety of pineapple, they aren't very delicious, but they stay small, have all the novelty of the big one and won't make you hate it forever come fall.

Have you thought about small banana plants (I know they aren't bromeliads)?

Oh, I see.. that's a shame then! But that's why I usually ask first before buying! Maybe if I lived more south I'd try for it.

I have seen banana plants in my area-people bring them in for winter, then take them out again for summer. I'd love to nab a dwarf variety, but I haven't got the space for it quite yet..

Hi everyone.

Noteybook (5) - You mention a bromeliad you call "red hot pokers" By this do you mean Vriesea 'Splendriet'? (See picture below)

If this is the plant you mean, you may have a problem with this in the cold weather as well. I find even here where I live in an Australian temperate climate close to the sea, they do suffer cold damage in the cooler winters when grown in a shade house with my other bromeliads.

However, there is information available as to what plants are suitable for what areas and this could be a better guide for you when selecting plants (See link below); or better still, try and locate local growers and get advice from them.

http://www.fcbs.org/articles/cold_sensitivity_of_bromeliads.htm

Vriesea Splendriet

Hey Splinter! And yes, those are what I was talking about.. I couldn't think of the actual name for them!

I overwinter most of my plants in a small indoor greenhouse with some full-spectrum lights. I've been able to manage to keep it in the 60's, thankfully. Now if only the weather outside was so consistent!

Thank you for that guide-it'll be very helpful to make sure I don't get stuff that's too cold tender-and save me a lot of worrying!

Hi everyone.

noteybook(5) - I'm pleased I could help you.

All the best, Nev.