We are just about to head into Autumn here in australia, so these plants have had very bright light and warm temps for the last 3 months. most I have had for less than a year, so are young plants and growing into their colours anyway. I am pleased with how colourful the brom palace is! I swear, I have not touched up any of my photos!
Sue
This is Neoregelia 'Jewellery Shop'
Neophytum 'Firecracker'
Neoregelia kautskyii
Neoregelia 'Pheasant' (a mini)
Neoregelia 'Hannibal Lector' at the back and Neoregelia 'Maggies Pride' to the right. Off to the left is Neoregelia 'Painted Lady'
Neoregelia 'Shelldancer'. I luuurve this one.
This one is just amazing! Neoregelia 'Takemura' x 'Silverado'. I got this one for $12 last July! If you look at the colour of the concrete blocks and gravel, you can see I haven't altered the colour.
Just throwing this in cause its soooo cute! Tillandsia ionantha.
Enjoy
Sue these are amazing....beaut colour..........
thanks Mya. I put a couple of nice orangey ones under the golden canes about 4 weeks ago, and they reverted back tro a murky green colour. I didn't think it would be so quick! I don't know what effect the winter sun will have as it shifts position, but I hope to keep the vibrant colours as long as I can
Hows that purple frangi going? And have you self pollinated it yet?
Sue
OH MY!! I just saw this thread now. I want them all. SO SPECIAL!! I haven't seen any so special here at all! Oh my. I am speechless.
Neoregelia 'Jewellery Shop' might be my favorite.
You lucky duck!
I walk into a nursery today and I find this one! Neo concentrica
I didn't get it because it was $69. But I may need to go back. LOL!
I am so broke!
Hi kell, you need to find a cheaper supplier! Try googling 'bromeliads' and your area and see if you can find someone localish to buy from. The nurseries are waaaaay to dear, or try a bromeliad society for meeting people who might like to swap! You'll go bankrupt with that addiction of yours, he he.
I used to buy alot from ebay, and still will if I see anything I like (nothing lately) and I usually end up with the sellers personal email address so i can email them direct and ask for things on my wishlist. Also, if i am planning a trip/holiday somewhere, I google that area + bromeliad too, and go garden visiting when i can. People are usually happy to show you their collections, and some are willing to part with a nice brom for a good price.
I am stoked with the colours i managed to bring out of my collection, as most looked nothing like this when I bought them.
Sue, I googled the name on the tag of that yellow one and found 1 reference to her from the Brom Society. A little digging and I got her email. She is in So Ca. I emailed her last night but she has not responded. I wonder if she has other fancy neos.
I decided to go buy that yellow one just in case I never see a fancy one again. LOL I am such a glutton. And seeing yours just got me all hot and bothered. I go tomorrow to get it. I have to raid my husband's account though.
I only see the fancy neos on the Australian eBay, never on ours. I have been looking pretty regularly for a couple of years.
I just love all of yours. What do you think brings out those colors so much on yours? Are they all about to flower?
I saw this one a few weeks ago but it was high and not quite gaudy enough to capture my need.
I reckon, given bright light and starved of fertiliser, that last Neoregelia would probly turn red? The first thing I do when buying a Neo is to repot with a mix that has no fertiliser in it, then I place them in my brom house, which is made of cream shade cloth (I think 75% UV protection) and located in full sun. Thats it. I water them when its hot and hasn't rained, and tip the water out if it turns cold and keeps raining. Not all Neos flower when highly coloured, but some change colour in the centre when about to flower. I think the trick is high light (not direct sun) and no fertiliser. Once the Neo plant has flowered and begins to pup, I add slow release fertiliser and when the pups are about 2/3 grown, I remove them, repot the mum and fertilise again, which usually gets me one or two more pups!
I pot the neo pups in a pot only half filled with potting mix (so they stay upright) and when they have got roots I repot them again, add a bit of fertiliser then no more until they have flowered and pupped. Of course, Vrieseas, Aechmeas, Guzmanias e.t.c appreciate fertiliser to bring on the flowers and grow larger foliage. Neoregelias tend to stay a bit smaller when grown without fertiliser.
I really think you should refrain from buying any more broms until you get the addiction under control. He he. You will find you become a bit more selective when limited by space and money. I find it hard to buy a plant that is similar to anything I already have. I started out buying the more common Aechmeas until I had a grip on looking after them, and have only begun to buy more expensive ones once i had the right environment to grow them in. The more common ones have now been relegated space in the garden and only my 'show off' ones are in the shade house, and once they are passed their best, they go into the fernery to grow their pups and pass away peacefully! LOL. I always put the best plants on show, and replace them with others that are beginning to do their thing.
I now have a few extra than I need, and am thinking of taking them to the market next spring (September) Which is where I have bought most of my best bargains from.
Do you have markets there Kell?
Real, real cool Sue, Ed
No, not outside plant markets. We have farmers' markets but mostly vegetables and fruit are sold there. I wish we had big plant markets! LOL
Thanks for the advice on the bromeliads. I am going to clean off my porch, it is full of plants so I can hardly walk on it anymore. Toss ones I am done with and hang up all my variegated clivia I was so enamored with for a couple of years on my porch posts using some cool pot hangers I bought at a coop here. Then I have a bench that goes all the way around my porch and I will put all my new bromeliads there. Organize, organize, organize!!
I have to figure out how to deal with mosquitos though in their water wells. I may keep mosquito insecticide in them. Do you worry about mosquitos breeding in the water in the cup on yours?
My red chestnuts both lived on the porch all winter long and did fine so I am wondering if I will have to move all my new vriesas inside this coming winter or if they will make it outside.
Sue, I found this, thought you might be interested, they won't ship to US, Ed
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/BROMELIAD-%2F-Neoregelia--15--pups---tropical-%2F-epiphytic_W0QQitemZ140313456659QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20090411?IMSfp=TL090411122001r3565
Hi Ed, thanks for that link. Woodburn is about 2 hours drive from here, and i have seen that sellers listings before. I should send them a note and see if I can get a visit in next time I go North!
Kell, if your Red Chestnuts did alright on your porch, I imagine the other vrieseas will do ok. How cold does it get where you are? As for mosquitos, when its warm here, we get a few, but I flush the broms every two days, just the centres, to wash out the stagnant water and keep them fresh. It does the trick, so no pesticides needed here thank goodness. The mossies find plenty of other places to breed unfortunately, and as we get a high rainfall, its hard to not have puddles/pools of water in various places. I make sure I have no containers that hold rainwater, and empty the dogs water buckets every two days also. Apparently it take two-three days for mosquito larva to hatch. So tipping it out before three days ensures none get to mature. They seem to have disappeared now, as the temps are beginning to drop, so strolling around the broms in the late afternoon is now much more pleasant
I have spent a bit of this Easter long weekend, taking off more pups from the brom house broms. I've fertilised the parent plant and put them under the palm trees to either grow more pups, or pass away peacefully, and the freshly potted pups have gone into the brom house to get bigger and get better colours for next spring summer. Each plant that I started with has now become 3 or 4, except for some of the slower ones (like Vrieseas) so when they look their best, I will part with a couple of each to make more room, and hopefully start to make my money back! Thats the plan!
I'll go out when the rain lets up and take another pic. Its funny, 'cause all the broms in the brom house are now all small! Most still have good colour, because they've been in bright light all summer.
Sue
Nidularium 'Ruby Lee'. This is a variation or N. innocentii var. linneatum.
It is showing good colour. I fertilise this one for size and for flowering (probably next year)
The underside
Neoregelia 'Little Prince', but it's quite large! I bought two, have one in the brom house and one in the garden. The one in the garden is half the size! Same potting mix.
Vriesea heiroglyphica.
It is about 5-6 years old I think? Its getting quite large and looking really healthy. i have some seedlings of this, at 4-5 months old they are still about 2mm!
I have never seen most of the brom's in your collection. I wish we had more of the brightly colored ones here.
Mostly we have the 'subtle' colors>
Amazing Sue! Ed
Once in a great while I see bright foilage, but, it is usually this one>
Hi Dale, the broms you pictured are mostly large landscaping broms, suitable for full sun (Alcantarea and Aechmea blanchettiana) The ones I have are mostly seen in private collections and kept in shade houses like mine I suppose? Gosh, if they were put in public gardens, they'd soon disappear! I like the pictures you've shown here, and in the past. Nice work.
Hi Ed, thanks for your kind comment. They keep me happy, and since I've been busy removing pups and potting things up, I haven't been out and spent any money on new ones, so thats got to be a good thing!
This is Neoregelia 'Kahala Dawn' It's a relatively young plant, but has always had good colour since day 1. It should get a bit larger than this, I think? At present its the size of a medium/small brom.
Neoregelia 'Barbara' (aka N. 'Barbie Doll')
Winter is upon us, and the light is not as bright or around as long as before, so colours are beginning to fade!
Tillandsia lindenii in flower now
Aechmea lueddemanniana 'Alvarez'.
What a mouthfull!
