I think Tropiflora's prices on their Monday email specials are not bad. I have gotten several really nice broms and bills from them that way. The VIPP discount on the shipping helps too. I recently got Neo. White Hot Embers from them and while it was small, the smallest I have ever gotten from them, the colors are outstanding. I just took a picture but for some reason they are not downloading this morning. Here is a link that shows the colors. http://registry.bsi.org/index....

Ken, even when you think you have gotten over an addiction, posts like Mellie's with all those pictures, really make you think twice.

No, no, no, Elaine. One plant addiction is enough. Besides, I don't even have the space to store them dormant. I will probably always have some bromeliads. I do like them even when they are not in bloom/blush.

Lin, that huge plant is a bromeliad, but not a tilly.

Yep, and then I see the huge shade houses where the bromeliads are grown. I can't build another greenhouse.

Yeah, every one of those broms in the huge shade house is growing in a pot, ready for sale. But they do sell the bare-root pups at their sales, and they are just stacked in a box like cordwood. Doesn't phase them a bit.

I would just have to have another "fire-sale", Elaine. No profit there.

Glad everyone enjoyed the show! The ones in my yard should be starting to surprise me so I'll keep a lookout. Of course, with this El Nino, weird things are happening in the garden. All the more reason to stay vigilant!

Oh, I forgot to thank everyone for the acorns! And the thread got active again which is always fun!

drdawg said:Lin, that huge plant is a bromeliad, but not a tilly.

Ken, I was asking about the Gigantic Bromeliad in Elaine's post ... the huge one in the oak tree at Tropiflora. I'm thinking it's probably the Florida native Tillandsia utriculata which can grow really large! T. utriculata does not produce pups ... after seeding, it dies. Apparently there's a weevil or something killing them around the state so they are now considered endangered:
http://florida.plantatlas.usf....
http://selby.org/giant-air-pla...

Lin, perhaps I am looking at the wrong photo. I see a huge bromeliad up in what looks like an oak, but it is nothing like my t. utriculata plants. It is more like my Vriesea bromeliads.

So the utriculata only seeds but won't pup. I guess I am so used to my Tillandsia pupping, that I just assumed these "offset-plants" were pups. Perhaps they were simply seeded later than the large plants and germinated at the base of the large plant. These are two separate plants shown in the pictures.

I guess I will see if I can grow these from seed. I have never grown any of my tillys from seed, but have had several of them produce large seed pods. The utriculata has not bloomed.

I'm pretty sure one of the Tropiflora staff told me it's a brom, but I can't remember which one they said it was. The leaves are long and strap-like, and shiny bright green, which maybe rules out tillandsia? The Tillies tend to have that silvery sheen on the leaves don't they?

I agree that it looks like a Bromeliad to me too.

Don't forget, Tillandsia are Bromeliads. Elaine, I have some tillys with shiny green leaves and some that are silver-green. The leaves of that huge plant just look like it is not a tilly. I am anything but expert here. Y'all in Florida see bromeliads of all kinds literally growing wild.

My eyes aren't that great but it might have helped if I'd clicked on the photo to enlarge it. I see now that the large Bromeliad in Elaine's photo is not the Tillandsia I was thinking of. Below are my Tillandsia utriculata plants.

Planted in the cage of an old suet feeder February 2013, I just stuffed spanish moss (T. usenoides) into the cage and stuck the little Tilly's in the openings.


Same plants summer September, 2014 and ................... August, 2015 (can't even really see the suet feeder anymore. I'm not sure how many plants are still living in there, may be only one but I'll go out and check tomorrow.


Another one that I stuck in the crook of the Bottlebrush tree in 2014 has really grown too and seems quite happy. I just point the hose in their direction when I'm watering container plants or else they get water when it rains. If we have any extended cold temps this winter, they may not survive but I don't want to bring them in because they are full of ants!

If need be, it is quite easy to rid any plant of ants, Lin.

Yeah ... I have a container of cinnamon that I use at times but It's just a hassle with so many plants and so many ants!

If all you use are "organic" measures, yes, that would be difficult.

We have gazillions of carpenter ants here, they eat the leaf litter and they love any organic matter in potting soils also. They are incredibly resistant to any deterrent, chemical or organic. Bayer has a spray for carpenter ants and they just laugh at it. Never heard of using cinnamon but I am going to try it, no harm in trying and if it works it would be wonderful, those ants bite hard.

I swear I had a photo of that brom in the tree at Selby but I can't find it anywhere on this computer. Here are some other broms from Selby. If anyone can ID the one with the large pink blooms I'd love it. It was in the orchid house and I immediately contacted Selby, sending them the photo asking about it and they said it was a bill but they didn't know which one.

Alice, I have used Orthene Fire Ant Killer (powder) for years. When I find ants around my plants (perhaps under the wood pallets that I put my plants on when they are outside) or in plants that I am about to bring in during the fall, I sprinkle just a little bit on the ground or on the plants. It kills all the ants every time. For some reason ants seem to love to build a home in my large staghorns while they are hanging outside spring and summer. These are not biting ants. They are what I call sugar ants. Just a pinch behind the staghorn, where it attaches to the mount, kills those ants within hours. You might want to give Orthene a try if you haven't used it.

Wow that pink-bloomed Billbergia is GORGEOUS! I found one that looks similar that is called B. rosea?

Thanks Hetty, I think the foliage is different but that B. Rosea is gorgeous too. , another for the "wants" list.

Ken, years ago when I worked with a large wholesale grower I had to take the owner to the hospital one day because of a nasty reaction to Orthene. That is bad stuff. This guy was a multi degreed plant scientist and he was ultra careful with chemicals but I found him sitting on the floor somewhat delirious. Around here Amdro works well for fire ants and they can be a problem in containers but the carpenter ants are a bigger problem for me. We don't seem to have many sugar ants at all, I rarely see them.