Dear friend gave me this beauty but neither of us know the name. Thanks for your help.
Please help me ID this bromeliad.
That's an easy one - Aechmea fasciata.
Watch for offsets to form in the lower leaf axils. When they get 1/3 to 1/2 the size of the blooming plant you can remove them with a sharp serrated knife and start new plants.
Dave.
Thanks, Dave
I already have an 8" offset that I will remove when it is a little larger.
Appreciate your help.
BSD,
That is an Aechmea Fasciata allright but it is a cultivar so it is
"Aechmea Fasciata SANGRIA "
Armando
Giancarlo, How did you know the cultivar? I am amazed. I thought it was regular old Silver Vase.
BBINNJ,
Because I collect broms and have one Sangria.
Now I have a question,I'm in z7,and know nothing about bromelaids,and some one gave me the same thing,whitch is why I pulled this thread,and it is planted in my shade garden,and I need to know(please),do I need to bring it in for the winter,or will it winter???Mike
Bromeliads are very tropical. There are many that exist at high altitudes and can withstand slight frosts but certainly not Aechmea fasciata from Brazil. Pot it up, bring it inside, and give it as much sun and humidity as you can until Spring. ...then back in the shade. Nightime temperatures in the 50's are fine, 40's will not damage it but slow it, 30's will make it dormant (and susceptible to rotting).
Dave.
Thanks,Dave,I have gotten attatched.Mike
Thank Y'all very much for the info, I was going to post the same
"What is it" question, also given to me by a good friend.
What soil condirions do they like, now in 100% mulch as it came from the florist.
I was thinking a good cactus mix ???
Well, I've seen them grown in almost anything - tree fern, German peat, coconut fiber, coconut husks, fir bark, Pro-mix, and everything in between. Frankly, I'm not a big believer in any particular mix. What you want is a balance between reasonable moisture retention, loosness for aeration, and something to bind it all together. You must also factor in the type of pots you use. I use almost 100% plastic. If you use clay you may want more moisture retention (like more vermiculite) in your mix. Of course, your watering schedule also affects how wet your plants stay. I find that now I'm retired, there are days when I tend to water before the mix has dried out. This isn't good - Bromeliad roots don't like to be constantly wet.
I use 1/3-1/3-1/3 peat moss, vermiculite, and perlite. I buy it in compressed bales and big bags and mix it with a rake and snow shovel on my patio. The perlite makes the mix very light, but doesn't do much for stabilizing newly potted pups. I do add chunky fir bark for the tank-type Tillandsias that seem to grow better in soil than epiphytically (lindinii, cyanea, multicaulis, hildae, leiboldiana, etc.) The 1/3 mix fits the bill for me and it is cheap. It lasts quite a while before the mix is "exhausted," but by then the plant has usually bloomed, pups taken off, the mother plant used up, and the old mix/roots are eventually added to the compost pile.
One thing I would do - if this is the case - and it's very ironic to boot. I've seen many florist plants sold with the mix covered by a layer of (very dead) Spanish Moss (the Bromeliad Tillandsia usenoides). This only serves to keep the soil very wet and hamper aeration.
Dave
Thank You for the advice Dave, I think I'm about right then, I use a lot of chunk pine bark mulch with rice hulls & very sandy soil (Just north west of Houston, all free & available locally). I know what you mean about killing with kindness, I retired in January & my plants & cats would like for me to go back to work !!
Dave you were right, the plant started to wilt, the flower layed to the side.
I repotted & the florist pot was top half 1/2 peat moss & the bottom 1/2 was plastic peanuts !!!!
Flower is back up & it's smilin'
Wow, Genie, Plant is lookin good...but i have serious "pot" envy...that one is gorgeous!! Just love that cobalt blue! sue
We have had this plant for 5-6 years. First one in a pot. They now grow in our morning sun/shade garden. Right in good ole organic humus dirt.We have given some Pups away here and there and have about eight now with the new pups ! Promised one to a neighbor the other day !
Their the greatest plants and bloom for months !
Where did you find "good ole organic humus dirt" in Florida? LOL
We buy it as a nusery in 40 pound bags. Each garden bed we make we use this. Also I am always trans-planting inside Av's, Begonias, and more. This soil -mix which is made simular to what you used is dumped into our garden beds.
We bought the home next door. Lot's of garden beds but the people dug up dirt, put plastic bags down and filled with rocks..white ones and they use to place potted plants. My husband dug up one garden bed pretty large , cleaned our gutters three weeks ago and has not been able to walk well in pain 24/7 sense then. Getting old. So I am going to have to pay someone to do the other beds and extend the morning sun /hade garden then in comes the good stuff good ole organic humus dirt" :)) Then plants we want will be trans-planted. We don't grow as many anymore as we did a few years ago too hard for us. But Begonias, and Bromelaids, Plumeiras , Hybiscus , plants that here grow like weeds and need little care. We like to do seasonal seeds monring glories and marigolds, zinnias and more. But everything grows !
A friend of our's that belong's to Bromelaid groups and Society and collest Bromeliads asked last year for one of our pups. We gave her a good size plant. She said they are hard to get and she could not find them anymore >
They have been the easiet most beautiful plant we have grown !
Since I started this thread on August 22nd asking for the ID of this beautiful bromeliad, you may be interested to know that today December 27th the bloom has finally died. Thanks for all the help and interesting comments. Dave's advise on removing the new plant when it is half the size of the Mother, I have also just done. This plant stays on my sun porch and get a little morning sun. I only water when it is completely dry. I use Dave's soiil mixture which allows for good drainage. I was told by a horticulturist at Coastal Carolina University here in Conway, SC not to water in the center of the plant. DAVE, is this correct?
Thanks again for all the great info.
Happy New Year from SC.
I'd be really surprised if that's true not to water in the cup of the bromeliads! That's their natural water-storage system in nature... right? That's how mine survive without additional water... or so I always believed :)~
Happy New Year's from FL, BSD :)
~Gina
Yes Gina - the tubular form of Bromeliads are precisely designed by mother nature to capture and retain water. But - in nature they are collecting soft rain water, free of hardness, dissolved metals, organic junk, etc. This is quite different than what comes from the tap. Municipal water is fine for you to drink but the "extras" are not usually good for Bromeliads. Try to collect rain water if you can and use it in the cups. The plants don't have to have water in the cups, but if not and the humidity is low they are susceptable to "quilling," where the new leaves in the rosette tend to stick together into a narrow tube.
You should not have any problems in S. Florida even if you don't water the cups.
Thanks Dave :)
Low humidity? LOL... you're right- no problems down here with that!
I have a great spot outside for filling my waterbucket with rain :)
~Gina
At the risk of sounding like a complete idiot, I going to ask this question. What do you do with the mother plant after removing the pup? I have a plant that I received about a year ago, it bloomed and now has a pup that should probably be repotted. The mother is looking pretty sad, I know I need to do something, but haven't done anything for fear of doing something wrong.
Thanks!
Kim
MY understanding the Mom dies after blooming and having babies ? But we have grown this plants for about 5-6 years and our's has never died. We have had to cut some burnt or old foliage off but that's it/
Kim, Go back to the top of this thread and read Dave's advise on starting new plants. I had heard that the Mothers dies after "Pup birth" but I have not found this to be true. I would like to know if this same Mother produces more pups or does the pup become a Mother??? Anyone else want to join Kim and me in the "Complete idot sounding club?"
I'm so glad someone else brought up the whole "does the mother die or not" thing. I always read that, and I have some bromeliads where this is true, but then I have some that have pupped and are still going strong. Plus, I sometimes wonder when I see really big bromeliads (I mean, huge, like as tall as me), and I think, "There's no way a pup got that big, that fast. Surely, some of them must live for years to get that big. Because I'll have the same species and mine will be much smaller than the one at the botanical gardens. As for the aechmea in the photo, I, like Allison had two that pupped (now I have seven) and the original two are still doing fine.
Oh, and yes you should water your bromeliad in the "cup" or the middle of it. That's how they exist in nature. It lets them go without water for longer periods of time. As a bonus, it also provides a water source for animals like my friendly green anoles (and the not-so-friendly evil Cuban Tree Frog). In fact, my brother has a Veiled Old World Chameleon, and we're going to put a bromeliad in his cage for that purpose. They're not very good about drinking out of dishes because in nature, they normally lick raindrops off of leaves. But it's very important that they stay hydrated (we mist him several times a day as well). So having a bromeliad makes a nice "alternative" water dish. As stated, use rain water, as the minerals in tap or well water can leave spots and deposits on your plant. Plus, recycling rain water is just a good idea all around (I'm a FL native and they indoctrinated me in elementary school on the importance of water conservation).
I'm glad I'm not the only one whose mother brom is still alive after blooming. And the whole to water in the cup or not is driving me nuts. for the record, I'm not using tap water anyway on my plants.
Yes not only are our aechmeas alive they bloom over and over again each year. Have given four neighbors just the past few months good size pups and sent some out in trades and have I think 6-7 left Sure we will get more soon !! To be honest we no longer know which was the first one from 5 years ago I have a guess the largest one . None have died :))
There is a man in our subdivision that started this bromiad that is shown and he started out with maybe five plants around his mailbox under the oak trees and now hes got about 30 or them . They spread over the past 3 yrs. I also have one and it has pups but I have not seperated them.
Its in one pot in semishade. Fran
They are great plants ! Beautiful and easy to care for ! I bet your neighbors are stunning !
Is this the same plant?
looks alot like it.
Thanks,
GG
Anyone know this one?
It's a Neoregelia, most like a hybrid with Neo. spectabilis in its past (judging by the pink leaf tips). There are so many Neo. hybrids that it's impossible to really tell. Give it as much light as possible, especially in the Winter, and you won't believe how the conformation (shorter, broader leaves) and the coloring will improve.
Dave.
Just got this plant: Dumpster diving find. LOL
Yeah it looks a little ruff right now.
But I will bring it back to life and have lots of babies
Thanks,
GG