Good looking plants. Is it your hybrid? I will post some picture of my plants later when I have times.

Yong

Impossible to pick just one, but I do have my favorites. When I'm actively pollinating I bring all the currently blooming candidates up to the house and put them on my lanai so they will stay dry and I can play with them each morning. It's a constantly changing array (and it's actually empty right now), but this is what it looked like about 6 weeks ago:

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That HL x Foster's Pink Tips remains a firm favorite, and Razzberry Ripple is another. The last one has performed wonderfully well in the tropics, not losing its banding at all in our evenly warm climate as most do.

Also on the table are my hybrids Cloudburst and Lehua, Sharon Petersen's hybrids Sunday Picnic and Old Love Letters, an interesting white-cupped species (Michael is selling it as a N. laevis, but I'm doubtful about that name) and a certain variegate of unknown pedigree that I have come to refer to affectionately as "Uncle Tranny". ;-)

Nice Michael Kiehl hybrid Mike. Lisa I to like the razzberry ripple

Here are a couple that are BIG and in bloom now, so they kind of scream for attention right now.
The first is Vriecantarea 'Inferno'. It opened its first flower on Saturday.
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Next is Neoregelia 'Yang'. It's always a pleasure when inflower. It's been in bloom for a month already.
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Finally, here's one of my newest Neo. 'Gespacho' x 'Charm' hybrids that just started blooming a couple of days ago. Not a lot of the seed parent influence in this one...and rather unusual color.
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Paul

Dyckia dawsonii is the best spiney inspiration for me.

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Dyckia 'Dakota' is a real treasure-trove, but the most important is
I could find it because of the generosity in this great forum.
Thanks HDD (^_^)

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Chanin

Good idea Mike, and it is a very nice plant that you opened the show with!

DeRolf is still an alltime favourite for me and the colour of it's markings seems to be enhanced by Aech Alvarez sitting next to it!

Japie
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Vriesea 'Golden Legend' a very nice form of Vr. fosteriana Rubra.
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Alcantarea imperialis Rubra, with flower spike forming, creates perfect symmetry.
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I'm only picking plants that are in the ground, otherwise we'd be here all day.

Alcantera vinicolor ?

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Neo something. Looks like Avalon x Painted Lady in Baensh's book.

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That funky Aechmea that Lisa knows.

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Tillandsia mima w/size 10 shoe

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Tillandsia rauhii in bud

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...and Mike, just for you!

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Great pictures. Lisa Your plants are very beautiful, esp banded one. Vreisia and Alcantera are also my fevorite.

I try to hybridize my Hannibal lector with some of my plants for a couple of years

This are some of my first HL hybrid. They are still yong.

Hannibal lector x (Royal cordovan x Debbie)
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Hannibal lector x Alpha
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Wow I don't even know where to start. Great stuff guys!

Lisa - Does the "N. laevis" only have a white center when it comes into bloom? I still need to pick up one of those HL pik tips.

Chanin - Those spines are thicker than the leaves!

Udo - I'm a sucker for HL crosses and something tells me that HL x (Royal cordovan x Debbie) is going to be a winner.

Gonz - I was thinking about those the other day. I can't believe you've gotten two leaves out that section already. Most of the Tillys are doing great, minus a couple I killed by neglect.

Yong, I agree with Mike about HL x (RC x Debbie). Even though it didn't inherit HL's dark bands, the form of the plant is excellent and the dark edges and rosy glow make it very eye-catching. That one's a keeper!

Mike, yes, the white cup is only when it's blooming. Actually, there is kind of a lavender-pink ring around the cup, giving it a 3-tone appearance:

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I also got a white-centered burle-marxii, but aside from the form of the first one being slightly fuller and the petals a bit wider, I can't see a lot of difference. They both look more like burle-marxii than laevis. What do you think, did he send me 2 of the same thing?

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Two of my fovourite N. car.
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Mike,

What a great idea - Spectectular plants all round. I'll throw my Painted Desert into the mix, it was looking great a couple of weeks back but the colour is starting to wash out - it may be due to our winter although it has just finished flowering and is throwing pups.

Rick

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To me this view with my Nova is the best.

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Sander

Chanin my friend you are very welcome :)
All the plants are beauties
Lisa is there a red form of Laevis?

WOW!!! All the photos look great and I miss out a lot too.
Mine definetely start with the letter 'T'

T. Tropiflora
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T. tomaselii
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Hi all

Love the shots so far....

Below is a pic of an Neo amp rubra.....or is it?

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Mixed assortment

Uhhh...Well done, HDD (^_*)

Sorry Chanin nothing is where it belongs yet...still putting them back from our brush with tropical storm 'Edouard' I will try to do better next time (*,*)

HDD, what is the name of that beautiful variegated one? And the one in the dark, left side of the picture, is that Chester?

Japie

I see Neo Shelldance, a Cryp of some kind (nice) and the variegated one, other than Ae

Dennis

i would show some of mine but all of mine seem to attracks more dogs than people and i dont have many difernt type that are as eye catching like you guys and lisa loveing all you hybrids i want to get hold of blushing tiger keep missing it on ebay.

Hey bromfriends,

Great idea to have a brag session Florida Mike! Good to be hearing from you again.

Too many divine broms shown here to mention all, but I've been slobbering over hanwc's carcharodons... and atmxyz, that Tillandsia tomasellii is truly tremendous!!....and Deviant Andrew, that V. 'Golden Legend' got me all excited :)

And welcome back to good ol' brom phil! I hear coffee grounds are a good dog deterrent, and won't hurt your broms. Show us your fave anyway - doesn't have to be a fancy one - or just show us your dogs :)

O.K. Here are my current brag broms. I'm breaking the rules by showing three (but Gonz and Lisa snuck in more!)

Mine are aechmeas all starting with "B".

Aechmea bromeliifolia rubra - love the form of this one.
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Aechmea brassicoides - that little shop of horrors. I'm just waiting for the flower spike to pierce its way through the inner leaf.....
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And finally, Aechmea 'Belizia' in flower with the winter sun shining through it.
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Keep 'em coming folks!

Cheers,
Kerry :)

Kerry, that's the most well-formed bromeliifolia rubra I've ever seen. Man oh man. We oughta have a show-and-tell more often!
Atm, I agree that your tomasellii is fantastic. Did you know that there is discussion regarding whether it is a form of xerographica? When (or if) yours ever dries out, do the leaves recoil back into the plant? Or do they hang like that regardless?

Japie that is a 'Chester' pup. The other is a plant I was given with no name as it was seed grown. I like the white coloration and it clumps up.
Kerry that is what I love about bromeliifolia rubra is its perfect form. I have seedlings growing from mine. Mostly to see if they produce green or rubra plants. My Belizia has formed a good clump but no bloom yet.
Carcharodon's always look great and large.

Yes Gonz, you are right. I've read over some article saying tomaselii is a close relative of xerographica and so is the kruseana. I'm not really into taxanomic but both of them have different flower morfology (I think!)or some other small differences that separate them apart.
From my personal observation, the leaves are much longer and thinner. Yes they doesn't recoil back and the infloresence blush more pinkish and longer compared to xero.
Anyway, I like both of them.

Kerry, I love your Aec. brassicoides. Seems it has caught me instead!

Kerry, stunning stuff! Now that I've seen it, I think I must get an Aech bromeliifolia rubra. That Aechmea brassicoides is truely unique, but wow! that Ae Belizia! To die for!! But I see it nowhere on any list where I get my plants from. I do hope some one get it soon!

Atm, your Till tomaselli and Tropiflora are very nice, I sure will keep an eye out for them!

Thanks HDD, I am sure Chester will grow up to be a beautiful plant! I just wonder whethter those margins while widen a bit as it gets older and if it gets the colours of Pink on Black, it should be stunning!

Kerry, on your Belizia, are those markings on the leaf underside raised and sorta diagonal? I have an unknown lime-green Aech with the same markings. They're not as pronounced right now but usually they are actually bumpy underneath.

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Kerry, your A bromelifolia looks fantastic. I like its shape and size in particular. The A Belizia has gorgeous colour, must try to get some. Atm, your T. tomaselii is eye-catching, it does look like xerographica except the long leaves, how long have you keep this plant?

Gonzer the leaves are ribbed and dimpled and you feel it more from the top of the leaves. There is also another photo of Belizia on the Easter post, second picture

Gee thanks bromnuts! Glad you like my brag broms :)

Yes Gonz, HDD is right about the leaves being ribbed and dimpled. I'm sure that's because of its orlandiana parent, whereas it gets its colour from the other parent - fulgens v. discolor. Here is another pic I just took today, in even more sun, which shows that dimpling better.

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Regards your lime green unknown aechmea, me thinks it is Aechmea 'Foster's Freckles', grown in shade. Those dark splotches come out more in brighter light. It also has orlandiana in its parentage, which gives it those diagonal dimples. The photo below shows one of mine - before I lost it last winter :(
The dimples can be seen best on the inner leaf at 3 o'clock.
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The fcbs shows one grown in more shade, but the bottom pic by 'roid shows it growing in similar conditions to mine, and the bottom plant in clump shows the dimpling on leaves - again most obvious on the leaf at 3 o'clock.

BTW, I reckon the aechmea registered as 'Freckles' is the same plant, and I question its quoted organensis parent.

Cheers,
Kerry

Here is a link that might be useful: Aechmea 'Foster's Freckles'

I agree there Kerry , many very dubious names given to this plant , like Florida Freckles !! wdf !!

Kerry and 'roid, have you ever seen that Aechmea tagged 'Bloodstains'? I'm pretty sure I've seen that on
Aussie eBay or somewhere like that, and it looks to be the same darned plant! For my part, I got it many years ago tagged 'Spreckled', and my friend who I got it from was very adamant about it being called Spreckled with a D, and not Spreckles with an S! I've never seen Spreckled with a D OR an S listed anywhere else, but she said it was fendleri x orlandiana, which is how Foster's Freckles is listed on FCBS (it's not registered, however, and I agree that organensis makes no sense). Anyway, I don't know what the heck to call it, how about just "reckle"?

Adding to the confusion is the fact that I also have an Ae. caudata 'Freckles' that I got from Michael's. Very much a caudata, but it may well be the same cv. that FCBS lists as 'Blotches'.

As to gonzer's plant, I agree 100% that it is an orlandiana hybrid of some sort, but it might not be that same one. Check out the pictures of Ae. Bittersweet, which has a similar look. I also have seen an unnamed cross of orlandiana x mexicana that has the same bumpy, slightly blotchy green leaf, but without the pronounced black spots/streaks of Foster's Florida Spreckled Bloodstained Freckles. ;-)

Kerry - That Ae. brassicoides is something else! I've nver heard of it until now and I'll have to keep an eye out for one. Please do us a favor and take a pic when it finally blooms.

Re that freckley reckle - LOL Lisa!
Yes I have seen that supposed A. Bloodstain on Aussie eBay, and questioned it too. In fact a couple of my brom mates here were querying it as well. One thought it might be Ques. edmundoi rubrobracteata, whereas I thought it might be......Ae. Bittersweet! Ha! Here are a couple of pics of my (supposed) Ae. Bittersweet. It hasn't flowered yet.

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I still think Gonz's aechmea is closer to 'roid's and my Fosters Freckles, than Bittersweet. But it might be the one crossed with mexicana that you mentioned, Lisa.
You confused more now, Gonz? Has yours flowered, and if so, can you show us a pic by chance? You probably didn't even care what its name is......but its fun to nit-pick.

Mike - yes that Ae. brassicoides is something else! I think I might have to wait until Summer for it to flower, because that's when I photographed Peter Tristram's plant in flower. So here is a preview. See how the flower spike actually does pierce through those thick closed leaves - aint nature grand?
NB. Peter's plant has obviously been grown in less light than mine, but I really like the purple tones and markings on mine :)

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Cheers,
Kerry

Wow some fantastic plants all. Love that N Ct of yours Han. We Would love to sit in your verander Lisa and gaze at those beauties! Kerry excited to see those Aechmea's!.Hard to beat above but have gathered up 5 Vriesea 'Tasmans' as follows,
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Clockwise from center back, 1=Tasman Hybrid, 2=Tasman 'Snowman' 3='Tasman Rose' 4= 'Tasman Tartan' and 5= 'Tasman Coconut Ice'.

John, always love to see your Vriesea. Wow seems like you have collected the whole Tasman series!

Kerry - That bloom puts the one shown on FCBS to shame. I wonder if it starts tall and then becomes pendant? I think I found a contender for the top of the wish list. Anyone here in the states know where I can pick one up?

Here is a link that might be useful: FCBS: Ae. brassicoides

This is the only photo I could scrounge up of my plant in bloom. The coloration changes drastically in full sun , the inflo is red. You can make out the diagonal black ribs which are very pronounced in this phase.

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John and Agatha - oooh! aaarh! drool, drool, drool! Absolutely LOVE those Tasman vrieseas. In fact, I love ALL the Maloy vriesea hybrids - in case you didn't know.... LOL

And congrats on the heavenly V.'Ming Dawn' and N.'Min Choo' finally showing in What's New on fcbs :)

Gonz - that photo has confused me more. The flower spike looks like it, but Foster's Freckles takes on a pink tone in very bright light, and the dark spots are more obvious, whereas yours now looks more like Bittersweet or ?. Ah - the thot plickens....

Mike - good luck in your quest for A. brassicoides! I've noticed all of John Catlan's photos on fcbs show pinks as more red, much to his annoyance. I didn't see Peter's plant in its earlier stage of flowering, but in my photo it looks like it's nearly finished flowering - so I assume the spike becomes pendulous with age?

This has been a very entertaining thread :). Although it takes ages to load each time, bring on more please!

Cheers,
Kerry

ok guys i did manage to go and get some picks of my favorets hope you enjoy.

first up is neoreglia erotica velvet
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secong of the ranks achmia something (if you know what it is could you let me know)
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oh yea one last one bilbergia nutans i just love its flower
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Brom_phil, your aechmea is A. pineliana var minuta. That is in my wish list and it's getting longer.
Mike, I think it's listed in one of the Cargo Report fr Tropiflora. You can check out the back issues.
Han, that's the second generation inflorescense for me. I've had it for abt 5-6 years.

Everyone's broms are beautiful. Congrats to you all.
This is one that catches my eye each morning when i go out to check on my babies. I was told it is Neo. Manoa Beauty but it looks more like Neo. Hotch Potch. It hasnt flowered yet.
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Hey Ozvon,
Love the luminous qualities of that neo! Thanks for sharing.
I agree it doesn't quite fit Manoa Beauty, but gee, it's very very nice, and to get that brightness of colour in winter down south is a real feat - well done :)

K

Hey Kerry
You dont know how much i appreciate your compliment = thanks a ton :-))) I am struggling to get the colors i want because of the outlay of my garden but obviously this brom is in the right spot(with the help of a lovely rain and a fluke with the lighting). In the last 2 years i have thrown my arms up in the air many times in defeat!! I am going to be a bit more ruthless with sun exposure this year and see what happens. I am also going to replace the green shade cloth with cream colored cloth in a small area that i have lots of mounted broms. Wish me luck!!

Hi Ozvon,

Your Manoa Beauty looks a lot like Aztec. Very healthy and beautiful colours.

Here's an oldie but still one of my favourites, Neo Syncopate.

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Hi bromcrazy,
Thanks for showing us Neo. Syncopate - it is now on my wish list! Purple just happens to be my most favorite color :-))
You could be right about Aztec altho i thought Aztec had more red rather than orange in it??

Seeing nobody posted any variegated broms, allow me to show you 2 more. It's hard to maintain colour in the neo's in Winter here in the Cape Town, but the variegated ones at least show their variegation quite bold.

Neo carolinae x concentrica - medium size plant:
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Neo (carolinae x Fairchild) x Bobby Hull - a huge plant. It's leaves are an average of 10cm wide!
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Mike428m - What a great idea it was of yours to start these posts initially, it's now bigger than "Ben Hur". Thanks to all of our brom. friends for posting such an amazing and educational trip from around our brom world - I for one really appreciate it. Keep up the great work - All the best - Nev.