OH good....glad it won't croak immediately! Just had an agave bloom and Lordy....the pups that came off the stalk are all OVER the place and the Mama didn't die totally and is coming back with offsets and we are about to drown in Agaves. Its' the variegated something...will get the name in case anyone wants little plants. I will send as many to whomever for just the shipping...

Ken, I was not at all aware of the Merlots' flowers. Some others I am more aware of...and now that I know you all, will let you know if any seeds happen.

Alcantareas usually die after flowering so I am interested to learn the 'Merlot' does not.

I looked back through the sites to link it here and guess my dyslexia kicked in. It reads that they can grow for decades before they flower. Erghh... my apologies.

http://hawaiiansunshinenursery...

Thanks, Kristi. A quick google search, and I believe my Bilbergia is B. nutans var. nutans.

Carter- love the bilbergia flowers stunning
How about this one - aechmea 'Alvarez'

great colors!

I believe this is Billbergia Windii. It blooms in late January/early February for me. I have B. nutans planted around the base of a Pineapple Guava. They stay out during freezes and droughts here. Do just fine, blooming in January.

My fav, Blue Tango:




Close up of a baby pineapple, a brommie, notice the little purple blooms.

Is that going to be an edible pineapple one day? I love the Blue Tango. Ken

Yes ken they are just as sweet and tasty as the ones you buy from market. Some are 3rd generation.
Just buy a whole pineapple, cut the top off with about half an inch of the fruit, eat the rest:) Place in a dry bowl for a week. Then plant the fruit part just like you would a brommie. Here is a website that has a little bit more sophisticated way of doing it but I have found no need to do it this way but still interesting. http://www.alohafriendsluau.co...

my pineapple patch:


If you look at the one in the front with multiples on it, I didn't harvest the single fruit to see what would happen and wallah, multiple pups from the single fruit. Once you harvest the fruit a pup( a keikki) will sprout up for next years fruit.

Hope this helps

Robert B, does Blue Tango have any light spots on the foliage? I have a very similar brom, but it has already bloomed. Is the bloom a bit elongated? I planted mine in ground last spring and let them fend for themselves this winter. They did well with minimal covering.

Here's my A. 'Alvalrez'....the blooms and the seed st alks are so gorgeous!!!! (send me a SASE if you want seeds..)

beautiful!

Hello Sandi,
The leaves are green, no white spots and the bloom is elongated. It looks almost neon with the right sunlight.

Chiming in late to the party here, but I do have lots of broms, and love them. How can you not like a plant that flowers and spreads with no care whatsoever.

The people who owned our house before us were obsessed with growing broms in the crutches of the big oaks. I've been systematically removing them, as I don't much like the idea of the tree rotting in the Y and half of it falling on the house.
First is the mother clump in the tree, then a couple of the same plant in different amounts of light on the ground.


Most of mine are NoIDs but this one I'm pretty sure is Aechmea Black Chanterii. It looks fairly similar to one Kristi posted on the first page.


This one is my favorite for being robust and easy care. At least twice a year it puts up big pink plumes of flowers.



A huge one that has grown from a bare-root offset I got at Selby Gardens for $2. It's about 3ft. tall by 4ft. wide and the flower spike is over 3ft. Hope it puts out a pup or two!


This one looks similar to Ken's rainbow Billbergia. I got it at Tropiflora, (bromeliad heaven!) and used to have the name but have lost the tag.

So lovely to see all the lovely bromeliads! I attempted to care for one, sadly when I have to go on a trip two years ago, it did not survive in my hubby's care.. not even the pups survived.
I only have some photos to remind me of it..it was a guzmania bromeliad.




For now, I just concentrate on my tillandsias.

Elaine, that does indeed look like the 'Marbled Rainbow'. You will certainly know when it blooms. The flowers are beautiful.

Ken

Received SASE from some of you for seeds...please be assured that the pods haven't BUSTED yet...gestation is a real bummer!

No problem. I have lots of patience! Ken in Mississippi

While I should be cleaning the pond, I'm taking photos. This is a noid Bromeliad that is producing multiple blooms.


Same type noid, but in a different pot and close up of bloom. Both stayed out over winter in a hoop house.