This is the 'Black' type that i like
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very nice plant, mike. that black cv. of chantini is the advertised in michael´s catalog? are there other black chantinis out there besides yours one?

greetings.

Nice 'Black'! Most of the others I've seen of this form are too leggy for my taste.

Patusho-

There are TONS of forms of Ae. chantinii, including many black varietes. Check out this article from FCBS:

Here is a link that might be useful: Invasion of the Ae. chantinii

My personal favorite (via this photograph) is 'Black Ebony'. I notice Michael does have a few chantinii's, including one called 'Ebony'. I think I smell an order coming on . . .

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:439252}}

Is this one? He was recently cut and given to me. Seems like he has an odd form!

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Paulh, your aechmea looks pretty. What is the name of this silvery blue achemea chantinii?

Thanks hanwc - what about this purple one - id?

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As Derek says, there are only a few "forms" in the strict botanical sense, but the number of cultivars from seed propagation is endless!

Ae. chantinii is one of the best seed parents in the genus because it sets seed very well but doesn't self-pollinate. This means you can cross it easily with other closely-related species, or with other chantinii cvs. From a commercial standpoint, if you have specimens of two different clones of chantinii, you can cross them and get a big saleable seedling crop in less time than it would take you to propagate that many from pups. Each offspring will be slightly different, but they'll all be marketable, which is probably why there are so many variations out there. It's probably not a good idea to give each one a cultivar name, though. There are already way too many, and it just creates more confusion.

I love chantinii; I wish I had more. I also like the unnamed'ness of them. I'm looking forward to people abandoning the excessive neo naming. I think the naming just drives up the prices. One of my favorite neos is simply "Unnamed Bullis Hybrid". You're unlikely to pay too much for one of those unnamed hybrids. No name == Reduced demand, which leads to reasonable prices.

Yes, but would you order a plant listed only as "Unnamed Bullis Hybrid" without actually seeing it, Winterlager? If so, I have some swampland in Flo...... er, make that lava-covered land on the Big Island to sell you! ;-)

The flip side of your equation could be: no name = reduced demand, which means the grower goes out of business.

Here's a picture of my Aechmea chantinii 'Black', which looked particularly nice when it bloomed for me a couple of summers ago. I've got a few other varieties, but the dark foliage and brilliantly colored inflorescence make this one a favorite!
Paul

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black ebony seems nice also. thanks mike.

Is A. chantinii a big plant? I suppose it varies, but that black cultivar above appears to be a somewhat tight form.

I like them a lot.

Thanks,

Mike

Nice photos of chantinii!
I love your chantinii 'Black', Paul.

I struggle with growing chantinii varieties well in my garden, because they don't like our normal winters here.
A couple of cultivars that seem a bit tougher than most that I can grow reasonably are these two shown.

Aechmea chantinii 'Dark Goddess'
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Aechmea chantinii 'Pink Goddess'
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I love them, but have given up on acquiring anymore until my illusive hot house miraculously materialises.....

Cheers,
Kerry

Kerry,

here in Rome they stay perfect during the cold winter weather and as soon as it warms up they ...melt!
One of the no no plants for me.
Tomas

Here's a black variety that I got this past weekend. I hope it keeps this form but it's just a big sized pup.

What's the best way to keep the black coloration? I know no fertilizer but how about light? I would assume higher light but I have a vague recollection of reading somewhere that more shade will intensify the dark coloration.

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Mike,

That is a very nice looking Black plant, I would say that low light will keep it black, I have a Neo VooDoo that is just about Black in complete shade, I also have a Nidularium that started off dark green almost black that has since turned pink with slightly increased light. My guess looking at the lower bands is that yours would go red in bright light.

Rick

I'm trying to envision a black plant in complete shade.

In my growing conditions darker neo's do better in less sun(50%) but not the Aechmea. 20% keeps the color on Ae