Nev, I have tried to grow this plant several times. It goes backwards for me each winter - and they went black and 'melted' in Winter 07, as did my Ursulaea tuitensis. Both species have quite thick, succulent leaves.

Your seedlings do indeed look healthy. To celebrate our Gold Coast brom society's 30 year anniversary last year, all members were each given a seedling of U. macvaughii (and a small cactus). They were a bit more advanced than yours currently are. Mine promptly died, maybe from too much TLC. I think I drowned it with affection. We have been asked to bring them along to compare in a couple of months. I do have a large offset which is growing quite well. As a joke, I thought I'd take that in as my seedling!
My friend Gloria has grown one to maturity, and flowered it, in northern N.S.W. She grew it in a protected, lightly-shaded spot in her courtyard. She has grown it from a large offset, but it took several years to mature. The flower spike is magnificent and, unlike billbergias, is very long-lasting.
I photographed hers in flower, as seen in the below photos. The inflorescence lasted about six months, with the small purple flowers opening gradually over that time.

{{gwi:471611}}

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Isn't it beautiful? Good luck with yours, Nev. I hope you are a patient fellow.

Cheers,
Kerry

Hi Kerry,
Thanks for the info. and the pic's. It certainly looks like my seedlings will be worth the trouble after all, so here's hoping.

All the best, Nev.

I think HDD posted a picture of one in bloom awhile ago at Michael's. I can only imagine how many seeds the whole inflor bears. I wonder why this one isn't more popular. Though, I have seen young ones popping up at sales around here.

Well Nev, it looks like you will have plenty to try in different places in the garden. Keep us updated as they progress.

1 year old seedling.

{{gwi:471614}}

Hi bromadams,
How do you manage to get them that big in one year, or is that a trade secret?

What size pot is the plant in the pic. growing in and would you mind giving us some tips on mix, conditions etc.?

Thanks in advance, Nev.

That's a 5" pot and I can't remember what the mix was but it has a top dressing of red lava rock. I have quite a few U macs so I tried different conditions and this one was the winner. A couple hours of sun and a bit of slow release fertilizer.

Oh, I found an answer! Thanks to my friend who is great at searching. I wonder why the search engine didn't come up with this one for me?
I'll put my plant in a warm spot then.
B_A

I'll verify that it needs warm conditions. I can't keep it alive in my greenhouse. A specimen at our local botanical gardens is quite nice. Here's a close up of the the flowers to encourage you further.
{{gwi:459467}}

The berries ripen to a golden yellow color, still covered with the wooly white scales.

Paul

I'm hearing that U. tuitensis is the nicer of the two in the genus. I finally got a U tu pup this week in a trade, so I'll be able to form my own opinion now that I have both U tu and U mac.

Thats a great photo showing the furry, frosty, wooly bits Paul!
Bromadams, I'm going to start looking for U-tu too! (U22)
I've been spelling Ursulaea wrong, but I'm a bit wiser now. No wonder I couldn't get many results when I searched! Doh!
BA

That's funny guys -- I have the U tu, but find myself longing for a gorgeous U mac! (And I've been spelling it wrong also, need to be more observant.) So how do you pronounce macvaughii??? Hard g?

Ive been saying it 'mak-vorg-ee-i'

Yep - me too B-A, with a hard g.
BUT, when in doubt, mumble!

K :)