Nice Hannibals there John,
I like them too,as they are a bit different as Neos go,something inbetween a soft leaved Neo and an Aechmea,like maybe Ae.orlandiana.Tough looking and very spiny too.
I have one also,outdoors now,and something is 'canibalizing' the one leaf of it.[how fitting!] I'll try for a pic tomorrow. Its the same plant that I sent out seeds from. Yours are 'look'n good'
Bob

They are something different aren't they. I see your one in the first pic has a pup. I have a semi mature one which also has a pup.

I wonder is it usual for hannibal to pup eary like this?

Sad to say, the cultivars are not readily available in Australia yet or I would be after them as well.

Hannibal will usually give several pups before it blooms, neonut. If you got some of Bob's F2 seeds, I imagine you'll probably get some out of the grex that are just as good as the named cvs. Of course I haven't grown my HL F2s out all the way yet, so I can't swear to that.

They are beautiful plants! And if one looks at the FCBS picture of HL, that burgundy and gold colouring, is to die for! So, my plant gets quite an amount of sun even if it is still very young!

And speaking of the F2's Lisa, am I correct thinking that there should also be some that almost resemble Tiger and some, punctate? And could they do a switch (theoretically) size wise - a large 'punctate' and a small Tiger? Why am I so fascinated by the small things lately? Japie

Japie, ask me those questions a year from now and I'll be able to give you a much better answer. Anything I say now is pure conjecture, since this is what my seedlings look like at the moment:

{{gwi:486900}}

Generally speaking, since HL is a simple (2 species) hybrid, you would expect some of its F2s to look more like mommy and others more like daddy, with the majority somewhere in between, at least as far as markings go. Size is another matter though. I would be pretty surprised if any come out as big as Tiger or as small as Punctate Red. My expectation is that most, if not all, would be medium-sized.

The only similar cases I can think of to compare it to in my own experience are the Marnier-Lapostolle F2 grex and the correia-araujoi F2s. Although the markings in those were variable, the size of the seedlings in both of those grexes was fairly consistant, just as the size of the offspring in most crosses you make will probably not vary greatly. There's always the oddball exception, but I wouldn't count on it.

Small size seems to be kind of a recessive trait anyway. More often than not, offspring will be closer in size to the larger of the two parents. It's not that uncommon for a seedling to be larger than either of its parents (this is known as "hybrid vigor") but I don't think I've ever seen one come out smaller than its smallest parent. In this case, the F2s' smallest (and largest) parent is....... Hannibal Lecter (despite who the grandparents are).

Just my thoughts. Time will tell, as always.

Lisa, as always, you have an extremely nice way of explaining things! Thanks. Every little bit gets stuck in my memory for furure reference. One more - ok, 2 - questions. How old were those little plants when you planted them out into that tray, and how old were they when you took the picture?

My Hannibal--Animal--Cannibal-ized,
Yes,sad to say,with sooo much other stuff to eat around the yard,H.L. was the chosen one. I had said earlier,that just one leaf was nibbled,but last night,a second one was tested out,center left,and bottom right. Dessert perhaps?
And no pups yet from Mr.Lecter. ;^(
Heres poor H.L.
{{gwi:486902}}
Another view
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And a close by neighbor.(looks like a rabbit bite)
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Serves you right Bob, for growing such tasty looking plants. Is rabbit stew on the menu at your place this weekend?

That would be appropriate neonut.
But first I need to take a DNA saliva sample from the damaged leaf,and have it matched to the guilty rabbit's DNA,.... then ,heh heh heh.
Let justice be done!
Bob

I don't know why any critter would choose to chew on a tough leathery leaf with spines if there were other options. Are the rabbits in your area running out of food, Bob? I did find a nice recipe for sweet and sour rabbit on the web, if you're interested. I'm thinking that cooking it with a bromeliad (i.e. pineapple) might help drive the point home! ;-)

Japie, those seedlings are almost a year old, but they would undoubtedly be much bigger by now had I not sown them so thickly on the moss to begin with. That's a bad habit I have because I'm trying to conserve on space and media, but when you do that they get too crowded and can't really spread out and develop properly. I didn't fertilize them as much as I could have either. All those things can set them back, but once you spot them off into a tray they generally take off and grow much more quickly, no matter how long they've been stagnating in the community pot.

I try to spot them off when they have about 6-8 good firm leaves on them. I don't like to disturb them when they're little and soft. The time that takes will vary with your climate and conditions. Maybe about 6 months?

I have been keeping my plants on tables, I don't worry too much about rabbits, Our Jack Russell and a 6 foot privacy fence(neighbors suck)keep them out. I do have little mole like critters that would live under and around the pots and Lucy would be knocking them over so she can catch and kill them. Anythin smaller than a 3 gallon pot is bound to end up on its side. Our only real problems with critters here are the racoons getting into the trash, and the occasional skunk that comes in, there was one out back last week, and thankfully Lucy came running to me this time, she's already been sprayed twice.

As promised here is a photo of a NEO. rubrifloia x Hannibal Lector seedling. I purchased a mature plant with 2 pups, this is a newer pup, and the most colorful. The plant is really prolific, there are already 2 more pups forming.

{{gwi:486905}}

I have another one but missed it during the last photo session. I'll get a pic today and post it later.

Hi everyone this is my Hannibal Lector , I just love the stripes, it must be their time to pup because mine is pupping also.{{gwi:486906}}

I love the new hybrids that are being produced with all the strong and beautiful banding, as in 'Hannibal Lector' and 'Blushing Tiger'. Here are a couple of N. punctatissima rubra x 'HL' just starting to bloom for me.
The first one is labeled with the grex name above.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k152/Michcello/Neo.punctatissimarubraxHannibalLectorx2.jpg

The second one I picked up at the San Diego conference last year. It's named 'Tunisia'

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k152/Michcello/NeoregeliaTunisia8-3-07.jpg

John, I empathize with your rabbit problem. The little buggers did a lot of damage last year. It's curious that they seem to prefer the thicker textured leaves. I even had a Dyckia that got severely maimed.
This year I've tried to keep everything of any value off the ground. Haven't seen any damage so far this year. Maybe just luck... maybe my beagle/shepherd has kept them at bay.
Paul

I copied the the url link instead of the html tag in my previous post. Here are the pictures referenced above. Paul

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Paul - I have the same two plants from that grex. The first, and unregistered as of yet, plant is one of my favorites. Mine is beginning to pup but hasn't bloomed yet.

{{gwi:459587}}

Those are nice seedlings!

Great plants and photos,Paul.
Some excellent plants with form,color,bars,and spines.
Many of the best parental traits evident.
Must obtain some of those !

Mike,your collection is growing with some of the really neat ones.

Bob