Paul I did a few billbergias this winter (bad timing for sure) and they all flowered rather quickly but had weak inflorescences. If you just want some pollen parents then I'd say go for it. I'll see if I have the exact time it took for them to flower.

Paul, I put Florel on two B LaNoche on 22 Jan and had open flowers on 14 March and 22 March.

Paul, I put Florel on two B LaNoche on 22 Jan and had open flowers on 14 March and 22 March.

Thanks Nick, that gives me something to go on... somewhere around 50-60 days. Can anyone address my other concern? (aborting inflorescences in early stage of development) I supppose that issue woudn't be exclusive to Billbergias, but could be a concern for any broms.

Paul

I seriously doubt that anything bad will happen if the inflorescence has started because the Florel directions recommend a second application after two weeks.

Thanks again, Nick. That information is quite reassuring. I've got a plan for action. I just need to fine tune my timing.

Paul

Hi Paul,

If you grow your plants hard then I would recommend increasing the fertilizer rates slightly after inducing bloom. I hardly fertilize my Bills at all and the hybrids tend to just abort rather than bloom without a little extra food. Cut back to lower rates once plants are in spike.

I have used both Florel and rotting apple's on Bills, for me it usually results in blooms in about 90 days when it works. In most cases the flower spikes have been smaller and with fewer flowers than on plants that decide to bloom on their own.

Joel

Cactus Juiceî (1-7-6) works great will all my hybrid Bills. Half-strength at the onset of warm weather once a month for 3 months gives great results.

If this is to late, wow, this is post long ago...but heres my experience with Billbergias. These i have no problem with at all with my B. 'Saunderagi' all just bloomed,12/10, like crazy. I completely ignore mine. I ignored them to the point they were so over grown the clay pots cracked from all the pups. Now these new plants, only a year old, are in 4in clay pot, hanging in cypress baskets, facing east, hanging from my awning arms over a door. Out of the blue,every 'cup' had a hot pink spike come out of it, and then turned into the long colorful spires of flowers hanging down,and the pups have started already. Yet a tiny crypthanthus I cant get back to hot pink!

I have the same luck with the very common B. 'Bridal Tears', it is on my north facing porch,no sun hits it ever, it blooms like 4 times a year,it is so pot bound I have to get out there and just hack away at it, it wont stop blooming. I totally ingore my bromeliads, and they thrive on it. This type especially. I would say, try bloom booster fertilizer, and I put it in the cups! I know,not to be done..but thats how I feed and force mine to all bloom. The roots to,but I just flood them and blooms happen in a few weeks.
Never lost a bromeliad yet. Dont know what chemical you want to try to force it to bloom, but bloom booster by 'Miracle Grow', made mine bloom during our coldest 'cold snaps' in over 150 years on record! The rest are colorful and deeper in color, the cold really seems to have made them happier for some reason. Since it has been so long since this post...did you get them to bloom?

Starting with the last question first- "did you get them to bloon?" I'd say I had success with about 75% of the ones that I tried to force. Those that did react to forcing bloomed closer to 60-75 days after treatment, depending on the variety, rather than the 90 days that Joel suggested. I still find that several of the hybrids, particularly those with 'Domingos Martins' as part of the ancestry are still pretty stubborn about blooming for me.
Hi Gonzer- I like your recommendation for Billbergia fertilizer. I've been using a cactus fertilizer with a 2-7-7 formulation for a few years. I'm quite happy with the results- except again for the 'DM' hybrids.
Of course, my main goal in this whole exercise was to get plants to bloom at the same time for hybridization purposes. I had a couple of successes, but quite a few misses. I tried using saved pollen for the first time (with very limited success). Even with fresh pollen I found many of the plants were just not compatible. But I did get a few berries, and those seeds have been planted. If anything interesting develops, I'll post a follow-up.

Paul

Paul i have reviewed what little records i have and you are right the time frame is shorter than i estimated.

Also i am becoming more and more convinced that some billbergias require a lot more fertilizer than others to bloom to their potential. Especially slow growers and those with large flower spikes like sanderiana. I have taken to setting a few aside and hitting them with full strength orchid fertilizer at least once a month.

Paul, your observations about the DM hybrids echo my experience. The blooms just peek over the lip, never reaching their potential.