Tropicals & Tender Perennials: xAnamea Raspberry Ice, 1 by gothqueen

gothqueen wrote:
This is a pretty cool bromeliad if you have the space for it (it gets over 5 ft tall and has a spread of about 5-6 feet). Its a bigeneric cross between a pineapple (Ananas) and an Aechmea.

I bought this as an offset from Tropiflora a few years ago, and it was an innocuous plant about 15-18 inches tall. I kept it potted for a while, then it started to color up on the spines with a nice pink ribbon so I thought it would partner nicely with my variegated banana in the greenhouse. It grew to such gigantic proportions that I kept backing into it every time I was working in that aisle and it was poking me in the butt, so I made the decision to relocate it out in the yard.

Soon after I moved it out, it bloomed. Not its winter and ti has proven to be very hardy so I am leaving it out. The bloom is gone, but it has a pup growing out of the base and now there are two! This is a HUGE plant. If you have seen it and are considering buying one, think twice.