Great use of Alcanteria...it looks great without other plants competing for your eyes. They remind me so much of those Gorilla habitat plants high on mountains of Africa.

Hi everyone.

Lars – First off, thanks so much for sharing your photographs with us, I personally enjoy looking at these wonderful plants in their natural habitat and never cease to be amazed at how successfully we growers have adapted them to domestic culture in pots where they grow well as long as some very basic rules are followed.

The magnificent alcantareas look great and your pictures clearly show just how large they can grow. Although not suitable for people with small growing areas, they do make quite a
statement with their magnificent inflorescence which can often reach 15 feet in height in some examples and generally make a great feature in gardens where there is sufficient space.

Although your pictures show mainly aechmeas, and vrieseas growing on trees there could also be others, as trees are the home of most of the common types of bromeliads usually grown in culture and although we see some magnificent plants in pots exhibited by talented growers, there’s something magical about looking at these majestic plants growing in the wild as MotherNature intended.

A very important cultural lesson can be learned by looking carefully at pictures of plants growing in habitat and if we closely examine what we see and apply it to the plants we grow in culture, then growing success is assured. The most important thing is that all of these plants on trees have is access to an abundance of circulating air as well as unrestricted access to any type of available moisture, be it rain, dew or mist. The thing is that these plants at certain times become soaked with water, in fact sometimes they can be what’s best described as “wringing wet”; however this doesn’t seem to cause any problems with rot such as seen with over watering of plants in culture.

The reason is the availability of copious amounts of circulating air which is available to the total plant. This quickly dries out any excess water from the leaves and around the roots. The central vase of the plant which fills with water can never become overfilled as the increased weight will cause the plant to lean to one side allowing excess water to empty out.

The two main things we should learn from this are that in domestic culture, we must use an “open” type potting mix which allows perfect drainage and air spaces around the roots. This can be provided by a normal “general purpose” potting mix in a 50/50 ratio with an “open” bark based potting mix. To open the mix up even more, additional pieces of charcoal, Perlite, pumice, scoria or any other inert ingredient may also be added.

Without the addition of fertilizer, there is very little nourishment in the 50% bark based potting mix on its own hence the addition of the 50% “general purpose” potting mix which should ideally have organic properties which as they break down, provide small amounts of food to the plant. In pot grown plants, this mix will allow the water to drain freely and air to move throughout the mix as opposed to plants if they were grown in normal garden soil which would quickly smother the roots and not drain sufficiently.

The other thing to learn from these pictures is that although there can be numerous plants growing on each tree, they all have their own available growing space with access to free flowing air, so this tells us to avoid overcrowding of plants on benches as this will restrict the access to available air movement and harbour insect pests thus providing stagnant
conditions in which to cultivate rot.

As for nutrition; in nature this is provided by an on-going very, very weak liquid manure provided by a “soup” like concoction made up in the leaf axils and the central vase of the plant. This consists of small animal, insect, frog and bird droppings mixed with rotting leaf litter which is gradually broken down by the water contained within these areas. This is similar (albeit on a much smaller scale) to the foul smelling liquid manure made up by
gardeners when they mix water, animal manure and green waste in a container and allow it to break down over several weeks.

This natural very dilute manure manufactured by the plant, is also used by the plant on a continuous basis to provide the required nutrition to keep the plant growing well and healthy. There is also a lesson to be learned from this, which is that this fertilizer is supplied continuously in very dilute form. This is probably where the old time nurserymen followed the example of nature and set the general guide lines of applying fertilizer as “little and often”.

This is a tried and tested method of applying fertiliser which is sufficient to keep plants healthy and growing well. On the other hand, excess fertiliser if not used correctly can cause a lot of damage and even death to the plant, so best play it safe and stick to “little and often”.

It seems as what started out as a “thank you” to Lars for sharing his wonderful pictures has led to me running off at the mouth (again) and almost writing a book, and for this I apologise; but hopefully some of what I wrote may be useful to those reading these posts who are just new to growing bromeliads.

All the best, Nev.

Here are some more from the same site; I'm not sure how many I can post at one time, and so maybe I'll try 12 this time. They might get redundant after a while, but I tried to show them from different angles and in different positions in the trees and landscapes.

Hi everyone.

Lars - More great pictures; I never tire of looking at habitat pictures as it's the next best thing to being there in person.

As I look at the pictures of the alcantareas, in particular picture No.7 with who I expect is you standing in the middle, I can't help notice that the skirt of dead leaves around the base of the plants have not been removed.

Here in Australia it is customary to remove these just like other dead bromeliad leaves. However looking at the pictures I can't help thinking that they look more attractive with this unusual contrasting skirt around their bases left in situ.

Maybe we should leave things to Mother Nature and not interfere.

Thanks again for sharing your journey with us.

All the best, Nev.

Nev, I did take a lot of these pictures with you in mind, as you had said before that you liked seeing habitat photos, and there was a lot of habitat in Brazil. I would have liked to have gone to more wild parks, but Brazil is a very big country, and I only had so much time.

I also like the brown skirts of the alcantareas, but in photo #6 (just above it), they removed the skirt, and they often look a bit naked when they do that. I am in photo number 7, as you surmised.

One good thing about Brazil is that I did not have problems with my allergies the way I did in Costa Rica. Costa Rica had better botanical gardens, but Brazil had better habitat parks - at least for bromeliads. The bromeliads at the botanical garden in Rio were a bit pathetic - I don't think they had any that I do not have in my back yard. My travel partner (who is an orchid grower) was disappointed with their orchid collection and told me that there were lots of wild orchids in Brazil not represented in the botanical garden, just as there were lots of endemic bromeliads in Brazil not represented in that garden. Also, bromeliads that I saw for sale on the street in Rio (mostly Ipanema) were ones that I could buy at Home Depot here in Los Angeles for a lower price. If you want, I can post photos from the botanical garden in Rio.

Post whatever you have time for. These are great.

tj

Here are some photos from Jardim Botânico, including some from the bromeliarium, as they call it:

Hi everyone.

Lars - I totally agree with tj, "Post whatever you have time for. These are great".

They say that variety is the spice of life and you certainly have given us a good share of spice, but this just makes me hungrier for more.

I especially like the mounted plant in Pic.4 which I think is probably Neo. pauciflora; it just looks so natural as it hangs suspended from above with the Til usneoides hanging from it.

In Pic.7 (which seem to be inside a conservatory), growing on the branch on the right is what seems to be a plant of that little ever popular Vriesea species carinata. It's an inexpensive, easily grown small plant which in my opinion should be in every collection.

I've had a fascination for this plant ever since I first saw it many years ago and long before I ever took up growing bromeliads. My family and I were visiting the World Expo in Brisbane Qld. in 1988 (I think). We were standing in a queue waiting for entry into the Queensland exhibit and right beside us was what looked like a huge wooden power pole which had been concreted into the ground, and completely covering it from top to bottom were hundreds of flowering plants of Vr. carinata and its a spectacle I'll never forget as long as I live. I can't be sure, but just maybe that's what triggered my future interest in growing these wonderful plants.

Getting back to your pictures now and I'd now like to continue the comments I made previously about whether or not it's best to trim off the dead leaves forming the skirt around the base of alcantareas.

I know we are told to always remove dead leaves as they harbour bugs and disease but what about the plant's appearance? I think you'll agree with me when you look at the twobpictures below which are cropped versions of Lar's picture No.7 in his first post and his last picture in this post. (I didn't bother asking for permission as I didn't think you would mind Lars, but if you prefer, I can remove them). I just cropped them to make it easier to compare the two plants (The first one natural, and the second with dead leaves removed)

I personally don't think there's any doubt that the first plant looks the much more attractive, but I'd be interested to hear what others think.

Thanks for sharing your work with us Lars; many of these plants are ones we don't usually see in collections here in Australia and I for one really appreciate being able to look at them.

All the best, Nev.

Here are some clearer close-ups of the Alacantara:

I have more wild photos, which I may post later.

Hi everyone.

Lars – Your two alcantareas pictures are much
clearer than the ones I cropped and it’s now even easier for us to compare them
(before leaves removed and after) and in my opinion the removal of the dead
lower leaves definitely spoils the overall appearance of the plant; what do you
think?

I love the Neoregelias in picture No.6; do you
happen to know the name of these plants? The red leaf tips certainly are an attractive
feature of the plants with the darker colour of the rest of the foliage as a
background. I have several different plants with similar markings on the leaf
tips and I find that usually when they have just been watered or after rain
these red leaf tips seem to take on an attractive “glow”.

In the next picture there is a
group of plants (incorrectly) named as Vriesea
ospinae (this name has recently been changed to Goudaea ospinae). This is a great, easy to grow plant and worthy of adding to anyone’s collection and apart from the attractive mottling of the foliage there
is the addition of the brilliant yellow inflorescence which is often branched.

This plant is unusual because as it grows and becomes older, the lower leaves
die away and the bare stalk keeps growing and sometimes reaches a height of two
feet or more. It produces pups from the base in the usual way, but also from
the middle of the plant as well as from the bare stalk itself. I have seen one particular
plant which so far has produced in excess of twenty pups and it’s still growing (albeit now looking a bit untidy).

It’s
usually readily available with good size pups costing as little as $10 Aus. and
is certainly worth growing if you can get one. Just remember it may be listed
under either the “old” or the “new” name.

Your last picture shows why Vrieseas and Guzmanias are such popular plants. This is due to the colourful
display they make, and because of this they are often sold as a substitute for bunch
of “cut flowers” as they are a better financial proposition and often last for
several months in colour, long after cut flowers would have died.

Thanks again for sharing your
very interesting pictures and if you have any others, please keep them coming,
as they are very much appreciated.

All the best, Nev.

Thanks for the comments and info!

As for the Alacantareas, I think they look better with the brown skirt when they are blooming - as the skirt seems to anchor them. Also, when they are in an open space, the skirt also looks better to me, but in tight spaces, I think the skirt gets in the way.

I do not know the name of the Neoregelia - it only had a number posted beside it, as did other plants in that area. I tried to take photos of names when possible, but many of them were not identified or else only had cryptic numbers on their tags. When I was there, I was not really aware that so many bromeliads were endemic to Brazil - I had thought that there were more in Costa Rica and southern Mexico, but I did seem to see more wild bromeliads in Brazil than I did in Costa Rica. My friend Dean has invited me to go back with him when he has to return for business in three years, and I might go, providing I learn enough Portuguese.

I will post some more photos from the wild, but they might appear repetitious after a while - you will definitely see the same plants over and over, but from different prospectives and locations.

Serra dos Órgãos National Park, (cont'd):

Here's another from the Botantical Gardens, bromeliarium"

Hi everyone.

Lars – Although I have no idea what that plant in the
first picture is, it’s most unusual with the large strap like leaves with ridges
running length ways; do you happen to know what it is by any chance?

Picture 4 shows plants growing on tree trunks with Cabbage
Palms growing in the same area, did you happen to notice if these plants were actually
growing on the Cabbage Palms? I can’t see the tops of the trees to identify
them from the pictures but would be interested to know.

I don’t know what the plants are in pictures 7 and 8 but
they certainly have brilliant coloured flowers; very “eye catching”.

Your last picture is definitely a Neoregelia and could possibly be the species Neo. concentrica as that is a very widely grown species from South
America and it has the typical purple centre which it often passes on to its
progeny when used as a parent as you will see from a couple of pictures I posted
today in another thread.

Thanks once again for sharing your wonderful pictures, I
never get tired of looking at pictures of brom’s in habitat, and I for one really
appreciate your efforts to bring the habitat to us.

If you are interested in trying to ID some of those
plants, I could post some of the pictures on a bromeliad “Species Site” I often
visit where there are very knowledgeable specialist species growers as members.

I wouldn’t post the pictures without your permission though,
and if do you agree I’ll make sure I credit you as the photographer.

All the best, Nev.

Here is another photo of the plant with ridged leaves - I had not seen one like this before and had no idea what it is. It is probably not worth cultivating and probably does not make showy flowers:

Here's another view of picture 4, showing the tree tops:

Here are some growing over a pond:

Nev, you can feel free to post my photos on the other site, if you think it might help you with getting some identification. You can just say "photos by Lars Theoderik" or something like that. The location of these photos is Serra dos Órgãos National Park, Brazil.

Hi everyone.

Lars - More great pictures; I can browse through them and just dream of being there they are so realistic.

It's difficult to say with any certainty that the brom in picture 4 is growing on that palm tree; it could be on a tree behind it.

What a shot picture 8 is; can you imagine what it would be like if the broms were all flowering?

The second last picture supports what we already know; i.e. that brom's and orchids are great companion plants which enjoy similar conditions.

Thanks for the permission to post your pic of that unknown plant on the brom site where hopefully we'll be able to get an ID.

Certainly a great lot of habitat pictures Lars; thanks so much for sharing them with us.

All the best, Nev.

Hi everyone.

Lars - Below is what I posted on the species site along with your picture:

Hi everyone, or should I say help!
A brom friend of mine has just returned from a trip to Brazil where he took many photos of bromeliads in the Serra dos Órgãos National Park.

Although none were named, there was one in particular which stood out from the rest because of its unusual strap like leaves with multiple ridging on them and I was wondering if one of you "species experts" may have an idea of it's ID.

Unfortunately it isn't flowering but I thought the unusual leaves might offer a clue.

The photograph is by Lars Theoderik who kindly gave me his permission to post it here in an attempt to find this plant's ID.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

And this was the feedback I received:

Comment 1 - Maybe
an Alc of some sort Nev. They are around that area.

Comment 2 - Could also be a big Vriesea species as they
abound up in the forests. Alcs are usually on cliffs in the sun.

My comment - I
thought the pronounced ridges in the leaves may have been a significant factor
to aid ID

Comment 3 - Looks
like a stressed or shade grown Vriesea bituminosa. It has those ridged leaves
and also grows in the Serra dos Orgaos NP.

Comment 4 - I have
ridged ones here from seed from the Organ Mts that have affinity to Vr.
bituminosa. Big babies!

Unfortunately nothing definite but who knows, maybe something more could still turn up and if it does I'll let you know.

All the best, Nev.

Here are some photos of what I think might be Vriesea bituminosa:

I found videos from my brother's video camera (He had thought that they were lost), and I was finally able to edit the one from the Bromeliario at the Jardim Botanico in Rio de Janeiro:

It took me a while to get PowerDirector to work properly, and I had to get help on line to find out what the problem was.

My brother took the video, and I only added the soundtrack. I was happy that I was able to save it in high def format and upload it that way.

Hi everyone.

Lars - And still they come; more great in habitat shots. I'm not really into Vrieseas so I can't confirm that the first few plants are Vriesea bituminosa, but the one in the second picture (what ever it is) has a fantastic inflorescence with over sixty flowers (yes I counted them).

I love the shots of the mountains especially the last one, really picturesque.

Not only great photographs, but a great video as well. now we can all say we've read the book and seen the movie also.

Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us and a big thank you to your brother for his video as well.

All the best, Nev.

I was hoping that Carol (love_the_yard) would see these photos also, but I haven't seen her here lately.

I have one bromeliad that is similar to the Vriesea Bituminosa, but I think it is actually a hybrid. It did not bloom this year, however, and is fairly slow growing.

I have about an equal number of Vriesea and Neoregelia, which are my two favorites, but I also have quite a few Aechmea, which I like as well. I also have a fair number of Guzmania - some of which do well and some of which do not do so well.

I appreciate all your comments, Nev, as well as the photos of your own that you post!

Hi everyone.

Lars - I too though we may have heard from Carol; I hope she's OK. Maybe she's away on holiday or is just too busy to spend time here at present no doubt there's a good reason.

I've been a member of this forum for a long time now, and a few years back when a group from here started the “Bromeliad and Air Plant Forum” (later
called the “Bromeliad Forum”) many members went there and never came back.

A few of us stayed
as members of both forums as they both had something to offer, but many also went
to Face Book and didn’t come back. In case you don’t know, Face Book has many
different sections with some dedicated to the different bromeliad species, but
it’s set up differently to forums like this and an old fart like me has trouble
negotiating his way through the maze of different sections.

Although there is still lots of picture sharing, the main
thing I miss on Face Book is the long conversations and discussions that once
occurred (and still do sometimes) on these forums and I guess that’s due to the dreaded Face Book “like” button
which people just press instead of commenting. This then obviously kills any
on-going long discussions and robs the threads of many of the cultural tips and
much of the knowledge sharing available on these older types of forums.

Anyhow, while ever there’s a few of us which still visit occasionally,
we can keep this forum alive and maintain access to the valuable wealth of
information stored in the archives.

All the best, Nev.