I'll gander that it's a species of Pitcairnia, a genus I have absolutely NO experience with. I'm not sure what you mean by "pests"? The tiny brown dot on the leaf is scale, just dab it with a Q-tip and rubbing alcohol. The white residue is nothing more than salts from your water. Simply wipe off.

Thanks, Gonzer. Any idea how to identify it more precisely so I can know watering/lighting needs?

To get a more precise ID...you will need a flower..Watering and light for now go with bright indirect light and evenly moist like any other tropical plant.

Hi Hunter,

I have no experience with Pitcairnia, but looking at the close up shot in the second last pic I wouldn't entirely rule out one of the various types of Aechmea weilbachii either.
The other thing I would suggest is to find out just who was in charge of the growing of plants in that particular greenhouse and ask him or her.

All the best, Nev.

Your first photo has been removed, Hunter, so I'm only seeing the last two showing the base of the leaves. I'm not seeing a pest there, just some water residue, although the plant does look a bit stressed. Maybe too dry?

I'm with Nev in thinking it's an Aechmea, but I'm leaning more towards Ae. victoriana discolor or one of its hybrids than Ae. weilbachii. Both of those species (and other similar-looking ones) like fairly low light conditions. Not pitch dark, but not out in blasting sun either. As with most broms, keep it lightly moist in a well-drained mix, and keep some water in the central cup too (assuming there is one).

I'm with Lisa. Could be a heavily shaded Aechmea Fosters Favorite. But a bloom would help a lot.
Best
Bob

Hi, the first photo should still work. The link is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pitch/5405082975/
Thanks for the feedback. I've e-mailed the person who runs the greenhouses, so maybe we'll be able to get a firm identification.

I'm keeping the plant now on my dresser, about ten feet away from the window. I think it definitely qualifies as medium to low light. How often would you water the plants?

Okay, so stupidly I hadn't even thought to check the cups and surprisingly when I found the central cup I saw this. Is this a bloom and, does it help identify the plant?

{{gwi:438495}}

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Yes It is About to flower. It will be another 2 to 3 weeks for it to mature. Then hopefully we can come up with a name. Good timing.
Best
Bob

Nice plant

Hi everyone,
Here is the bloom as of today... is it fully mature? Can anyone say what plant this is definitively? Also, some of the leaves on the side opposite the window have turned brown on the tips, as you can see in the photo. Does that indicate it needs more light (or something else?) and should I rotate the plant every day?

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And here it is as of Febuary 15:

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Finally, for some reason my earlier photos got deleted, so I reuploaded them. Here they are:

First sign of a bloom:

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The plant when I got it:
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weilbachii f. leodiensis could be a possibilty

Thanks. Any advice on the brown tips/watering/fertilizing and whether to rotate it?

In your photos I don't see the brown tips. It could be to lack of humidity and water if is on all the leaves. If the outer/lower leaves have the brown tips and not the new growth in the center, it probaly means the plant was stressed(lack of water at some point)when you rescued it. The plant won't live indoors without a lot of light and proper humidity. It needs to be outside if weather permits. Keep it out of direct sun, bright light but shaded to acclimate the plant from moving from indoors.

Hi,
if you look at the first photo towards the bottom and top left you can see some of the crinkled leaves I was mentioning. The plant can definitely not be outside - it is consistently under freezing here and, the danger from frost will probably not pass for a few months. It is currently on my dresser about ~10 feet from a big Northernly facing window in my apartment. I've been watering it about 2-3 times a week, making sure there's water in the center cup and, misting it. Does this sound adequate?
Thanks!

If the new growth looks healthy then thats all you can do for now. Light and circulation are the two things that are tough to get right indoors.

Any further ideas on what kind this would be as indicated by the flowers? I'm gonna repot this and another (likely) Bromeliad I have - is a 50:50 orchid potting mix/standard houseplant potting mix suitable? I can safely summer this outside, right?
Thanks!

Just to let everyone know, the plant bloomed again in late December/early January. This past summer I had it outside and it was doing fine and, then a lot of the leaf tips turned brown. I'm not sure if it was too much sun or a pest problem - afterwards I moved it to a shadier location, cleaned some of the spider webs off of it (it didn't look like there were any other pests) and cut the leaves back and its put out some new pups since.

If it is pupping good chance its doing fine Hunter

Here is how the plant looks now. You can see all the new pups & all the old ones I had to cut back after most of the parts of the leaves turned brown:
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Compared to how it looked when I got it, I notice the leaves look a lot more light. Is this an indication of anything?
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One of the new pups:
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One of the ones I had to cut back:
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