I think I have the red form. I am going to take photos of mine tomorrow and post them for you, Gonzer. My plants are the same color as your red one. They were not ALWAYS that color, they started out lighter, but now they are RED and they are not even in full sun!

Hmmmm...... okay, for a long time there have been two "main" varieties used here. The one you call "red" is probably what we call blanchetiana 'Orange', that's the most often seen landscape specimen because of its color. Then there's a more compact form with yellow leaves which is blanchetiana 'Lemon' (also sometimes called blanchetiana 'Yellow'?). The leaves on that one are narrower and more stiffly upright, whereas the 'Orange' is a bigger plant with wider leaves and a more arching appearance. Also the inflorescence is taller and redder on the 'Orange'.

I've never been sure if there is also a "standard" green-leafed form or not, or if the 'Lemon' is the "standard" form. We now have so many variations from seed that any notion of there being just one or two clones has become kind of meaningless anyway. They naturally hybridize with any related species that are nearby so we've got all these slight variations that may or may not be hybrids. We're using them as a cut flower crop so we don't really care, but if other people got ahold of them and started growing them it could be pretty confusing. I don't remember selling any, but then I don't remember a lot of things. ;-)

I also bought a variegated clone from Michael's. The form and coloration is more like the 'Lemon', and the variegation is pretty faint-- paler yellow rather than white, and the more sun it gets the less noticeable it is. Not worth the bucks, in retrospect.

One of the seedling hybrids is actually from seed I collected from Ae. mulfordii, but the foliage is a glossy red unlike any mulfordii. (The late Aechmea expert) John Anderson said he was pretty sure it was a cross with blanchetiana, and then I subsequently crossed it back to blanchetiana 'Orange', so....... yeah, it gets confusing.

I think that red-leafed one may have gotten into the trade, I did sell a few and I occasionally see it around. The inflorescence is pretty wispy compared to a regular blanchetiana, so it's pretty easy to spot when it's blooming. I've never seen a straight blanchetiana with truly red leaves like that, just bright glowing orange.

I'm not familiar with 'Vermelho', but that is Portuguese for red, so wouldn't it be red and not yellow?

Well, here's some snappies of the supposed 'Vermelho' taken at rancho Soledad. The color is lemon/orange and the length of the leaves is crazy!
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I remember those pics, gonzer. Didn't we decide that was just Ae. blanchetiana 'Orange' grown in low light so it's long and strappy and not as colorful as it would be in full sun?

Oh, no, wait.... I think *I* decided that and you didn't believe me! ;-)

but, but.....I'm soooo confused now. ;-P

...as well you should be, gonz.

All I can tell you is that of the FBCS pics (linked below) the top 2 Dorothy Berg photos are 'Orange', maybe the third one too, the middle Antonio Miranda photo is 'Lemon' and the bottom ones I don't know what. Are they green because of lower light or is that the "true" form?

To add to the confusion, go look at Ae. fraudulosa. I would have sworn that was Ae. blanchetiana. If that is a fraud, it's a pretty convincing one!

Here is a link that might be useful: Ae. blanchetiana (FCBS)

Fraudulosa would've fooled me without a title, that is for sure! The bottom photos do indeed look like they have been sun-deprived, 'course some folks might enjoy the greener tint than a yellow one. Who's to say? Methinks a letter to Harry Luther is in order to soothe this inquiring mind ;-)

This is my colored up one:
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Yowzers Bihai!,magneefeeck. How much direct does the little one get?

The little one is about 24-30" across, just looks little in that photo. I have 4 more that look exactly like that one. These are planted facing DUE EAST, right up against the greenhouse back wall where the big 36 ft vent opens up. Since the vent never closes in the summer, these broms only get maybe 60-90 minutes of direct sun a day, when the sun rises (ah , Hark, through what yonder window breaks?...it is the East, and Juliet is the sun...) and before it gets shaded out by a few trees and the overhang of the vent. I also have a very huge green Ae blanchetiana, it looks exactly like th ephoto of th eone that you all are saying is light deprives, except its NOT, it sits out in full sun all day long, but never turns color. I will take a pic of THAT one tomorrow.

bihai, very nice conformation and color on your Blanchetiana. There are about a dozen at our Buffalo Botanical Gdns., (I'm a volunteer there for the bromeliad and fern house) and they are lime green in the shaded areas,and a bright orange in the sunny areas.But they all have rather lengthy leaves that tend to buckle at the mid point,from weight,I guess.Your's looks perfect. About coloring up in the sunshine,I've noticed that some plants I have at home,and some at the bbg,actually color up better in bright light,without direct sunshine. When the same plant is in sunshine,the color is not as intense as those in bright light. I particularly noticed this with a varigated pineapple plant that really colors up in bright light,or even under flourescent when indoors,but gets a washed-out look in direct sun. Have you,or anyone else, experianced this, or have a possible explanation ? Bob