Queen's Tears, Friendship Plant
Billbergia nutans var. schimperiana
Queen's Tears - Billbergia nutans var. schimperiana - common name comes from the royal blue in its blooms and because nectar that forms within the flowers spills out in tear-like drops as seen here (as well as the shape of the pink bracts).
This message was edited Mar 2, 2006 7:21 PM
Hi Hazel, I have never seen this plant before, it is just lovely.
Vi
Hi, I hope 2006 has been better for you so far. :o) It is great to hear from you. I had never seen this type before either. I have 2 types of the smaller leafed (and with smaller blooms) plants and love them. Thanks for your comment.
Great flower! great photo too! I have a Billbergia nutans I got from ebay a couple of years ago, well it has had 2 winters anyway, it gets through in a cold greenhouse fine, I don't think it would be this form but would love it to be! It is a really strong and robust plant, quite surprising it doesn't mind quite a bit of frost. Perhaps I ought to have some inside, it might flower better (none yet), but it was a young plant.
My Billbergia nutans var. nutans has bloomed at different times during the year. It is the one with the smaller leaves and blooms. I leave it outside when there are no hard freezes and put them in my greenhouse when the temps are gonig to be below 32 degrees (F) . I heat the greenhouse when the temps fall below 48 degrees (F). They are in containers and very root bound. I was told when I bought them that they were "hardy bromeliads". I was going to plant one in the ground and test to see if they are indeed hardy. But, the blooms hang down so far that I think that they look better in containers. It is good to hear from you that they can withstand some frost.
The ones in the photo have been on that porch from last spring until now and have not suffered any freeze damage, looked great all summer even through extremely high temperatures and are in a location that receives our hot afternoon sun for a good part of the day. We have had only 2 nights in the high 20s where I live. It is in another part of San Antonio which is officially in Zone 9a so its a few degrees warmer there than it is at my house. The other type of Billbergia that I have has been kept in the house. It has not bloomed since a person at my favorite nusery gave it to me last summer. It is even smaller than the Billbergia nutans nutans. I thought it may have not bloomed because it is not receiving enough light. What great plants these are especially because they do not take any special care.
I am going to beg the guy who owns the plant in the photo for some offsets. He is a plant nut like me and I hope he will want some of the offsets from my plants.
Thank you for your comments.
We have had a very cool winter, frost only to -5C, and a few just under freezing, but many days between 0 and 4C, it started really cold in mid November this winter. Last winter was quite mild, often around 6- 8C in the day, and night not much different, but had 5 frosts only to -4 & -5C. My plant was in a garage with south facing window then, this winter it is in a greenhouse with a pane of glass missing both ends, and it looks great. It has grown many offshoots too. I grow it in a light, leafy compost/gritty river soil/peat moss mix, my Agave amer. var. has been through prolonged frost to -9C in the same mix, even frozen solid with thick white frost rime, thawed slowly from top to bottom, no damage!
Now I said that it will curl up its toes won't it!
wallaby1, thanks for the information. When I repot my my Billbergia nutans var, nutans, which is a much smaller plant than this one. I think I will put some offshoots in a separate pot and leave them out during cold weather and see how they do. I was tring to decide what to use as a potting medium when I repot them.. I will try the mix you are using because your plants obviously have done very well growing in it. Wow, your Agave was frozen solid and did not sustain any damage. That's a really hardy plant. I hope it doesn't curl up its toes ... :o)
