Looks like we managed to get over another cold spell without any damage this time. No actual frost. The broms and orchids are doing well whereever they are growing.
tok a couple shots today on my walk around.
Hohenbergia burle-marxi. (note foot for scale)


Billbergia amoena v. striata in bloom .................. Neoregelia Orange Crush ........................ Neoregelia Michi ..................................Neoregelia Wally Berg



Neoregalia Franca .....................................Neoregalia Bob & Grace..........................Neoregalia Ying & Yang blushing pink ..........Canistropsis 'Tangerine (inflorescense)


All in all my broms are turning into color - must be spring time
Fred

Very nice collection you have there, Fred.

very pretty Fred! I especially like the Neo. Orange Crush.
this past weekend I had the heater running all night. I am afraid of the E-bill, but if it were to come down to it, I rather keep the heat on for my broms and have it cold in the house

Aechmea 'Black Jack'

Beautiful broms. I'm very envious.

I had the heater on both greenhouses for one night this week. Probably wan't even necessary.

I think the plants I saw at the mall were some kind of this plant. I enjoyed seeing the pictures. Now that I know about them, do they make good house plants? What are their requirements?

I'm glad I searched for this. I have a bromeliad question and posted it on the Houseplant site since I couldn't find anyplace else bromeliad. I hope there is a new forum developed. There are sooo many different kinds. I've enjoyed looking at the pictures.

The bromeliads are grouped with the tropicals because there aren't that many followers at the moment. The person who started this thread hasn't posted in quite a while. Why don't you ask your question and see if someone has an answer for you?

Ok I will copy it from the other forum in a second.

Hi dogpack,
I'm sure others can guide you along, but here's a great website for answering most questions you may have.
http://www.bsi.org/

I just joined this site tonight and was dissppointed that I didnt see a bromeliad forum. I posted a question and quickly got the link to this forum. Fred you have a quite impressive collection of bromeliads. I love looking at all of the pictures you post.I live in Houston, Tx and lost quite a few bromeliads during hurricane Ike. We lost the greenhouse too. So I had to start over. Recently I've found wonderful deal on ebay. The lady I order from is from Hilo, Hawaii. Her plants are very healthy specimens and if you order a few she gives you a really good deal on postage. Yesterday I won several auctions and got 18 Neoregelias for $185..What a steal. Her email address is [email protected] . Just send her an email and she will be happy to give you more info on her ebay store and link to her facebook website. Keep those beautiful photos coming. So glad I found this forum. LAURA

Laura. I am glad you have found such good deals. I hope your vendor is OK with you posting her email address on a public forum... It could cause her to get a lot of spam.
I too love Neos.
Fred does have an enviable collection!

Laura! I am up in Kingwood! I have adopted more new broms than anything this summer. I am a newbie to broms, there are so many, but love them all! This is the place to be!!

We have a fantastic bromeliad specialist here in Sarasota, too Laura. Try www.tropiflora.com I visit their nursery sometimes and it's like a Bromeliad Theme Park.

They have the most incredible array of different broms and if you get on their VIPP list you get a discount on special offerings each week.

That being said, broms are so easy to divide and transplant and they travel well, too. Once you get going with them, there are probably a lot of people who will trade with you.

I need some bromeliad advice. My Neo is making pups and I don't know when is the best time to separate them. It has one pup that has colored up and 2 more new ones that are still green and white. Does the parent die when you take off the pups? I've never been successful with them before probably because I kept them in a pot. This time I planted it in the garden and it is doing really well. Here are some pics, if you expand them you can see the newest pups to the right and the top of the plant.

Jonna, those pups are plenty large to separate from their "mother" plant. Removing them will have nothing to do with the life of the mother plant. She will slowly die after she has colored up (bloomed), pups of no pups. But don't discard her simply because the color has faded. She may produce more pups. I discard my post-bloomed plants when the leaves begin to yellow-brown and are unaesthetic. For some plants, this will take 6-12 months!

Jonna, I'm not sure how soon you can separate pups from the parent, but I generally wait until the parent plant starts to look scruffy. That usually indicates it's finished making pups. Then I roust the whole plant (they are so shallow-rooted you really just lift them) cut off and throw the parent plant - they only bloom once, so it is done - and place the pups in its place. Mine definitely bloom best if I keep them thinned out.

This timing - getting scruffy after blooming - varies by variety and yours still look beautiful.

If you are anxious to increase your clump of broms, you could probably separate the one pup on the left of the second picture, it's almost as big as Mama already! I use a small serrated knife to cut the umbilical, and wear gloves with long gauntlets to protect your arms from the leaf edges, they can be sharp!

Agree with both.... and make sure they each have a bit of root material.

Fred, do you know of a Neoregelia that basically turns orange as it matures? I have a physician I want to give one to for xmas.....please send link if you can find so I can order it....Thanks Laura