I just looked through all the posts in this thread for the first time, but didn't read every word. I looked at the pictures and scanned for a certain genius of bromeliad and didn't see it. So, as an educational show I used to watch would say, " and now for something completely different"
What would you think about a bromeliad that loves full sun and laughs at 17F? How about a bromeliad that not only doesn't die after it flowers, but a single headed plant that will live a hundred years and can flower every year, yet alone a clustering plant that puts out multiple flower spikes as it continually gets bigger? Lastly how about a terrestrial bromeliad that in habitat survives having no rain for 6 months during the year, but also will thrive when it is regularly watered and fertilized?
Welcome to the world of Dyckias. I put them into two categories. There are landscape types that are the most cold hardy and ate a decent size so they they will have a good impact in a landscape. Also, they need to be inexpensive enough to be affordable for landscape use. One of the most popular landscape types is the Cherry Coke which has Dyckia platyphylla and Dyckia fosteriana ( both very cold hardy ) as part of the lineage. Then there are collector types. These may be unattractive or small species that may be interesting to a plant collector to keep in a small pot, but that's about it. Then there are all sorts of named hybrids. Some may be worthy of landscape use, but some of these might be too small, but also, some of these can get quite expensive to the point that most people would not pay that kind of money for such a small plant. The most popular dyckia hybrids in the last few years were made by Bill Baker, who died a few years ago. His most famous is probably " Brittle Star" and there are all kinds of named hybrids with the BS background. BS has D. Dawsonii as well as platyphylla and fosteriana in it's background. Along with BS, I like another hybrid of his, Arizona, which is red with white teeth. I'll go out and take some more pictures, but I'll start with showing one of my favorite dyckia hybrids for breeding D. "Snaggletooth". Tom

Very interesting! It seems to have an apt name; my only problem with Dyckias is they are so hard to weed around due to their vicious spikes!

They are pretty dangerous to work around but make nice complement plants when planted with cacti.

They can be pretty pointy, but I already love spiny cycads like Encephalartos arenarius, so these are a breeze in comparison. As it is, you could probably figure, Dyckia goehringii is one of my favorite species and my favorite species to get pollen from for breeding.
Yes they are hard to weed around, but I have had to adapt. I better because I have 10,000 of these things. My tools are extra long forceps, hemostats, and for hard to pull weeds, extra long needle nose pliers. I split up large clusters with the sawsall and long welder's gloves and to clean the old brown leaves, I found a nice sickle shaped saw/knife at the Selby plant sale in Sarasota that gets in under the leaves and keeps me from being all cut up.
For those who like these things, here is a picture I've never shown anywhere. I put goehringii pollen on that Snaggletooth because I wanted to make something that would be red with big white teeth and a bit of scurfing. but larger than the other hybrids based with Arizona. Out of 400 seedlings, this was the closest I could get to what I was wanting to make. Tom

What an exquisite looking plant!

I bought a little silvery one a while back at a Tropiflora plant sale. Hm, have to go hunt for it, I haven't seen it for a while. Maybe it got stuck onto some animal or other and walked away? Poor animal!

Yes, I had concluded that they were just too 'toothy' for my garden. But if I needed a barrier to keep dogs off a lawn, that would for sure be my 'go to' plant!

Gleni said:What a exquisite looking plant!

It is also good sized. After looking at the picture it is hard to tell the size. I went out and measured the plant, it had a 26 inch spread. So this one has a great contrast and it is larger than the brittle star and Arizona hybrids. I've pulled out about 25 plants that I think are way superior to the other seedlings just to observed them and if they look good when they are in 3 gallons and about 5 years old, I'll probably start naming a few of these. I have one that is more white than any other dyckia I have seen. You can feel the tricomes with your finger. Tom

Here are a few of my favorite landscape types Dyckias. Here is one that many people may have heard about, "Cherry Coke"


This is my most popular dyckia. I go through about 300-500 a year. They are the favorite of a few of the theme parks. One of the problems with cherry coke is that it gets nice and red in all day full sun, but if it gets shaded, like when the sun goes down behind some trees in the winter time, they will turn almost green, like with the group below.


Since this red plant is popular, I have searched the US for something even better. Here is something I found in California, "Black Gold" when this one looks it's worst in winter time it still looks like cherry coke when it looks its best in the middle of the summer time. A single head of BG on average will be 20% smaller than one on Cherry Coke. All of these plants have the same color flower, which is yellow.



The best new plant I found from a back yard grower here in Florida. The last one is Black Moon. This one is 25% larger than CC. I have had a single headed plant that measured 46 inches across. This one is close. You pretty much can't even see the 12 inch pot it is in.



I think these came from the same grex, but the owners of these plants didn't know enough about the plants to give me an answer. Both of these have black in their names because of they ate in all day fill sun, when though they are really dark red, they get real close to black. Tom

This is my favorite dyckia to use as a pollen donor. I love really spiny plants and this one has hooks on it. This is Dyckia goehringii


Since I like spines, I put this one on all kinds of dyckias to see w hat an extra spiny form would look like. You saw what happened with Snaggletooth, but I also crossed it will fosteriana, silverback, and another spiny species, beateae. Goehringii has an interesting form as it gets older. The offsets come out on short stolens instead of real close to the base, so when you keep a nice one for yourself, you put it in a big pot and just let it clump and send out short runners all the way around the plant. Tom
Oh yes, I forgot, I just made some little seedlings still in the tray where I put pollen of this one on the black moon. Just think, a dark red dyckia that gets 40 inches across with big white spines or hooks? I think I got about 1200 of them, there HAS to be at least one that turns out looking what I'm hoping for.

Yikes, Tom, that last one looks like a bouquet of razor wire! Cherry Coke is a really pretty one.

You'd sure have to be careful not to plant them where they could grab your ankles as you walked by, huh?

Here is one of my new hybrids. It's just green but it has wider, closer together white teeth than anything in my collection. It's a smaller one and will probably start splitting into multiple heads early. I will probably use this for breeding and use it will something like Arizona to keep the same size, but get some red next to those big shark's teeth. Tom

How do you pronounce " dyckias"?

On those two questions, it is pronounced like the name Dick with a ee uh.
Yes you have to watch just getting near the goehringiis. They have rounded hooks instead of spines so if they grab you and if you pull away real fast, something is ripping, whether it is clothes or skin.

Nice!

I'll bet a border of these would keep rabbits and raccoons out of my veggies!

You wouldn't believe it, but rabbits will shread a goehringii down to the nub.

Great Dyckias! I love your new green Hybrid.

You have a beautiful collection. I'm envious.

This noid is flowering for me at the moment. Excuse the photos but I hadn't had my toast that morning. Any idea on ids.

Very pretty Glen! They look to me like Billbergia nutans...aka...Queen's Tears.

on both counts.