Hi everyone

Pitter_col - Over the many years I have grown bromeliads
I have learned that you can't say with any certainty when or if a bromeliad
will flower. Long periods between flowering isn't uncommon but more so with some plants than others. Not knowing what type of plant you have (that won’t flower) I can
only give some general advice based on my own experience.

The reason a plant won’t flower depends on many things;
maturity of the plant, location in which it's grown, climatic conditions,
amount of light it's exposed to and whether or not specific cultural
requirements are being met.

We shouldn’t forget that with the exception of true “terrestrial”
bromeliads, all other bromeliads are epiphytic; i.e. in habitat they grow
naturally on trees, and this includes the five most commonly grown plants in
cultivation today which are Aechmeas, Billbergias, Guzmanias, Neoregelias and
Vrieseas.

Bearing this in mind, if we grow any of these plants in
pots we are immediately putting them in a situation that's foreign to them and
this will have a bearing on how well they perform. It’s true that some species
and most hybrids have adapted to pot culture and been grown this way for many
years, but there is always the exception that still prefers the original form
of culture as it grew in habitat.

I had a plant of Vriesea philippo-coburgii for about
eight years, it was a very large plant which grew in good light and produced
many pups which I regularly gave away to friends. It was healthy and seemed
happy in the place in which it was growing, yet it never flowered.

I was reminded by a Vriesea growing friend of how these
plants performed in habitat; they grew on trees and never had pups removed
which consequently allowed them to grow into a clump. He invited me to view his
plants and pointed out his Vr. philippo-coburgii which was a massive plant growing
on a tree, and judging by its size, had never had a pup removed, however it flowered
every year without fail.

I didn’t have a suitable tree on which to mount my plant,
however based on his advice, I immediately stopped removing pups and after a couple of
years when the plant had produced more pups and had grown into a bit of a
clump, it finally flowered and has flowered regularly every year since. This
doesn’t apply to all Vriesea philippo-coburgii plants but it did to my plant
and by simply not removing pups, I was able to encourage it to flower.

My Vriesea philippo coburgii

I also had a mature plant of Aechmea fasciata var.
purpurea which immediately after I bought it, for some reason just stopped
growing. It didn’t die back and it didn’t produce pups, it just did nothing for
two years. Finally I was advised to try it in another location which I did. Although I only moved it to the other end of
the same bench about ten feet away, this
did provide it with slightly more light than where it was previously growing and
sure enough not long after, it started to grow a flower spike, and it too now flowers regularly.

My Aechmea fasciata var. purpurea

I’ve used the two examples above to illustrate how minor
things prevented two of my plants from flowering; they won’t apply to everyone’s
plants as all situations are different, however in summary, there are three
basic things I’ve learnt with plants that won’t flower:

Firstly; it’s almost impossible to grow a plant from a
tropical habitat in a temperate or cold climate without some sort of heating.

Secondly; don’t keep removing pups - allow the plant to
form a clump first.

Thirdly; don’t be afraid to move a plant to another location
(maybe even trying several locations) until a suitable position is found, and most
importantly, when this position is found, don’t move the plant; leave it there.

All the best, Nev.

Thank you so much for all of that helpful information. The flowers have yet to open and hopefully they will soon. This one of course is on the ground where I think it was placed by a caretaker many years ago but I observe two others in nearby trees at the same stage of development. In the photo I attach the longest stalk is approximately 1.7 meters long. I would love to have it identified.

Hi again Pitter_col

Before I go chasing ID's just a little more info.

Do the leaf edges have spines and do the leaf tips come to a sharp point?

Have you seen the flowers open previously and if so what colour were they, yellow?

Is it growing in full unprotected sun light?

All the best, Nev

The leaves are smooth to the touch, no spines. The leaf tips are all old but appear to have come to a sharp point when they were fresh. I came into possession of the property where the plant is twelve years ago and have never seen to grow stalks and flower. This one is in full sun but I see two others in nearby trees (so less sun) that are at the same stage of developement with stalks and buds. I am dying to see the buds open to see what color they are.

Thank you so much Nev for that wonderful detective work. I am delighted to have it identified as I keep a record of what I find. So Guzmania diffusa it is.

The flowers have begun to open and they are white.

Hi everyone.

pitter_col - Thanks for posting the picture of the flower; such great clarity, right down to the droplets of water and the spider web - a fantastic nature shot.

The Photo Index of the FCBS doesn't have a picture of a close-up of the flower and I'm sure the web master would love to add it to the file. Would you be prepared to send it to him for adding to the file? If so he can be contacted at webmaster@fcbs.org

Alternatively, I'd be happy to send the picture on your behalf, but they do like to publish the name of the photographer which you could send to me via message if you don't want to show it here.

In any case, it would be a real valuable contribution to the photo index and well worth considering.

Thanks again for photographing it and for sharing it with us all.

All the best, Nev.

Nev by all means feel free to forward the pic to FCBS. They can credit the image to Peter Dexter Hoell.

Hi everyone.

pitter_col - Thanks for permission to forward the picture as it is a valuable addition to the information about this species that's already recorded there. It's only by people like us sending pictures and information to the F.C.B.S. and the B.C.R. that they have evolved into the wonderful wealth of knowledge available as a research tool for all of us.

If anyone doesn't know of these sites I recommend them as the best place to find information about all bromeliad species and cultivars.

The F.C.B.S. (Florida Council of Bromeliad Socities) site has, apart from all the informative articles, two wonderful Photo Indices; one of bromeliad cultivars and another of all known bromeliad species. It can be found at: http://fcbs.org/_index.php 

The B.C.R. (Bromeliad Cultivar Register) is a listing of all registered bromeliad cultivars. It contains basic information on all registered plants and in most cases pictures as well. It is compiled and maintained by the B.S.I. (Bromeliad Society International) and can be found at http://registry.bsi.org/

I encourage anyone interested in bromeliads who are not familiar with these sites to have a look at them and guarantee you will be pleasantly surprised at the mountain of information and pictures they contain.

I will forward this pic. on today, but it may be some time before it appears on the Photo Index as like the rest of the site, it is maintained by a hard working volunteer.

All the best, Nev.

I'm getting a "page not found" when trying to open the first link.

Hi everyone.

pitter_col - Sorry about that, I don't know what's going on there; unfortunately I didn't check those links as I usually do, but I'm getting the same response myself this morning.

Try either of the two links below; the first one will take you to the main home page and the second will take you to the page with the photo indices.

http://fcbs.org

http://fcbs.org/pictures.htm

Yesterday I sent the picture and the name of the photographer to the Web Master so hopefully in the not too distant future we will see it added to the index.

I now have another request; If a group of those flowers all should open at the same time, do you think you could post another picture as one can only imagine just how beautiful it will look.

Thanks in advance

All the best, Nev.

Thanks very much and yes I am certainly planning to photograph it when it fills out and of course will post.

Pitter. Your name rings a bell.

Hi everyone.

Gonz - Now there's a blast from the past, long time no see; hope you've been keeping well.

All the best, Nev.

This is the plant somewhat later. There are many small white flowers but still many buds to open. I'm sorry it is shot against such a busy background. Here also is the jealous owner of the plant who vigorously defends it against any and all intruders who are after a sip. Western Emerald.