With the barbs along the leaves it might be an Aechmea but that is such a broad family of broms with all shapes, colors and sizes. Like Elaine mentioned, it might be easier to ID once it flowers. Looks like a beautiful plant though, enjoy it.

Billbergia is another one that has teeth.

Sondra, maybe an Aechmea, you may have to wait till you get a bloom to know for sure. That sure has nice foliage color, will look beautiful in garden display, even potted.

http://www.bsi.org/bcr/Aechmea...

Thanks for all the comments. I think I will keep it in a pot on my covered patio for now. My trees are young and don't provide much shade yet. I'm not sure how much water to give it though. It doesn't really have cups to put water in. Do I keep the the soil in the pot moist or on the dry side?

At next month's garden club meeting, I'm going to try to find out who brought it and maybe get more information.

The soil is really to anchor the plant so you will want to just keep it from being either too wet or from drying up. A little water in the "vase" of the plant at the base of the leaves is what hydrates it. I hope you can get an ID from the person who donated it, it has great color and shape.

Thank goodness that bromeliad nursery is not near me, Elaine. The cats would have to starve.

This is a picture of an airplant noid a friend gave me years ago. I keep on forgetting about it but it certainly has increased.

Nice one, Glen. Looks like those red flowers are about to open, too. Keep an eye on it - they can be fleeting flowers.

Yes, Tropiflora is about a 20 minute drive for me, otherwise I think our budget would suffer, too. As it is I limit my visits to when they have a clearance, or they host plant festivals in the Spring and Fall - one coming up in 2 weeks. (as she rummages in the folds of the couch for loose change . . )

Here's one of my favorite Tillandsias, T. cyanea that will begin pretty soon putting out a nice blue flower daily from each of those pink scales.


And yet another round of Billbergia pyramidalis 'Kyoto' Best bloom season I've ever had from them with 3 or 4 more coming along now.

I have that same Tillandsia cyanea and it is indeed putting out lovely blooms.

My T. cyanea hasn't bloomed for the last two years, but has grown like crazy. Now it has two buds on it, but with the weather getting cooler, and less sun, I don't know if they will make it, or not. I love the blooms and they smell so good.

Really? I had no idea tillandsias had a scent. Now I have to remember to sniff....

I was surprised, myself!

Me either - mine is way down there at ankle height, so I'll have to get on my hands and knees (on a gravel pathway) to sniff it.

I just went and sniffed mine and couldn't detect any scent at all

If you ever get a chance to sniff Tillandsia duratii, you will not be disappointed. Tropiflora has sold them before at USF sales, but I haven't seen one in years.

LOL...mine is at ankle height too, I can just see the neighbors looking at me sniffing my plants with rear in the air.

True and I can just see them laughing at me as I try to get back up.

I have a question for you all. I bought a Billbergia 'Casa Blanca' this past spring. It looks nice and healthy and has several pups now. The problem is the white spotted leaves are losing the spots, and more green leaves now. I have pictures posted when I first got it here: Bromeliad (Billbergia 'Casa Blanca') . You can see how nice Melanie's plant looks, then mine, but it isn't even that spotted now. Do you think I need to put it more sun? It gets filtered all day long.

I can tell you the one I took photos of was at USF Botanical Gardens sitting under an oak tree. They do move them around, so you might try that. But if you give it more sun, do it slowly so you don't burn the plant.

I am blessed with a 6ft. fence all around the back yard, so can crawl around, skinny dip in my pool, all sorts of ungraceful activities. It was a shock to me a week ago when my neighbor was having his new roof installed, the roofers could see me and I had to wear a swimsuit, too! That's all done now and my privacy is restored.

Elaine I know what you're saying; I've had to deal with construction next door for the past eight months and it has severely impacted my privacy.