I think basically what one does is not take the pups off the mother plant and the plant grows by pups maturing, flowering, having pups which have pups which continue until they break apart somehow (by humans doing it or by, say, falling out of a tree). If they are a kind that do not easily clump (I understand that funckiana is like this), you can arrange them together and perhaps use fishing line (since is can be nearly invisible) to make the into a clump. As for favorites... funckiana, heteromorpha, and similar plants, because they remind me of pine trees and visiting the forest, which I don't get to do often enough. Xerographica and similar gray ball-shaped ones (like chiapensis) because they're... loners maybe, lone wolves, and I like Mexico, too. Whacky looking ones (bulbosa). Whatever is growing well at the time or being surprising (lots of ionantha flowered this last winter, and two what may be filifolia, which was very cool). While I take pictures of all my new plants with their labels for later identification, I don't always recall their names. I should work harder on that.

If the leaves are fine, it's fine. Blooms don't last forever on any plant, and bromeliads are no exception. T. cyanea forms a pink paddle of bracts from which blue flowers emerge, starting at the bottom and moving towards the top. Each flower will last only a day, and once they have all opened, that's it, it's done. It may take a while for the pink to fade to green, and then brown, but that's its natural progression. It won't rebloom. Cut it off and wait for the pups to mature and bloom.

So cut down the whole stalk, leaves and all to soil level? Or just the stem the flower was on? I did cut some down all the way to soil level, leaves and all on the Strawberries n Cream..I feel like I killed them..I dont see anything happening. Right now I have an andromeda bloom thats done, but I wanted to be sure what I did to the S&C's was correct before I did it to ANdromeda also. Are heliconias just slow to have more babies pop up? You think it will perk up and produce faster come spring? Thank you, Daniella

Farmerton X said "I'm sure in nature these plants do a better job of attaching themselves in a way that doesn't cause them to stay moist and rot." I saw a picture somewhere of a lot of caput medusa(? might have been bulbosa, can't recall exactly) that were growing in the wild. They had attached themselves to the bottom of the limb of a tree and were pointing downward. Any heavy rain would drain off the plants easily. That picture made me decide that if I ever get the chance to go Tillandsia hunting in the wild, I will hunt with my camera, not with a bag to collect them (too much trouble getting them through customs!). That way, with pictures I can help fans see how plants grow when they are left to their own devices. Your plant looks familiar but I can't come up with a name. I'm sure Gonzer or any of several other people will give us some clues to help you look it up. In the unlikely event that they can't, you can check the pictures at the various sites that sell Tillandsias. I do count four pups on the plant, there may be others on the other side of it. You're doing something right as the plant must feel you will take good care of the next generation .