That looks more like Red Waif than Fireball.

lisa....that kinda looks like the neoregelia "walmartiensis" that i was looking for an ID on. what ya think?

Its a nice plant what ever it is.

No, not the same, plantaholic. This is a little bitty thing, and the markings are different. Nice try, though! ;-)

Lisa: The pup is from a clump I bought in '05
from a reputable nursery. But I trust
your opinion, labels are easily mixed-up.

Plantaholic: As Lisa said, my plant is much
smaller than yours and is also
stoloniferous.

HDD: Thanks.

ctnchpr: check for yourself and see what you think.

Here is a link that might be useful: Neo. 'Red Waif'

ctnchpr,
(& Lisa)...If the above plant was grown in '05,and before,'Red Waif'was likely around back then.
I found it in Michael's catalog too.
He does list two kinds of 'Fireball', one being an F2 red spotted. Then 16 more 'Fireball' crosses. Could the plant above be the red spotted one? If memory serves,,'Red Waif' has a mostly dark red spotted leaf,but no solid green,as shown in the above photo. Waddaya think?
bob

Bob, 'Red Waif' will have green on it if it's been either well-fertilized or grown in somewhat lower light conditions. Shade it too much and the whole thing will be green, but the form is still fairly distinctive, as are the markings (even when faint). The same plant is grown down under as 'Cayenne'. See Uncle Derek's comments below.

It is a 'Fireball' hybrid, of course. I got something similar (but not as nice) crossing Fireball with ampullacea 'Midget'. I've seen the supposed "Fireball F2" that you mention, and it's a different plant. In addition, I doubt that it's really even an F2 because Fireball is solid-colored, and it is also a species, which means that it doesn't have any hidden traits in its background, so a self-pollination wouldn't make it spotted. Fireball has been used so extensively as a pollinator that the traits it gives are pretty well known, and it will always produce solid-colored plants unless you cross it with something that isn't. Most likely it got somebody else's pollen on it, unbeknownst to the grower.

Oddly enough, considering how popular and common it is, there are very few good pictures of Fireball on the web. When you google it you mostly get its hybrids.

Here is a link that might be useful: Red Waif/Cayenne

Okay, this is the best picture I could find.

Here is a link that might be useful: Neo. Fireball

Well,thanks Lisa,for the info,and especially the 'Uncle Derek's' comments.I especially liked his ironic reference to a waif not being wanted,and yet this plant seems to pop up everywhere,under various names.
I'm convinced now ;-)
bob

None of my Red waif have the sheen like the first photo
{{gwi:441747}}

Lisa and Bob:

Thanks for your input. Here is another photo of
two more pups (and their pups) from the same clump.
It may clear or cloud the waters, I dunno. I do
agree that they look, to my untrained eye at least,
just like 'Red Waif'. The greens disappear in the
high heat, humidity and bright sun of summer. They've
never looked anything like the 'Fireball' picture.
By Jove, I think Holmes and Watson have solved yet
another one!!

HDD:

The sheen in the first photo was from a recent misting.
The second photo looks more like your plant.

{{gwi:441748}}