And this is the same Aechmea 'Red Flamingo' in bloom:

Aechmea 'Cracker Night'

In bloom in april 2017:

And now:

Aechmea correia-araujoi

I see 2 flower spike on it!!!

Aechmea 'Burning Bush'

Aechmea bromeliifolia var Rubra

Aechmea 'Mend'

Aechmea fasciata

Aechmea chantinii

Now, my Vriesea!

Vriesea ospinae gruburi 'Ice'

Vriesea fenestralis

Vriesea 'Blaze' from the collection of the Montreal's botanical garden

In bloom in july:

Vriesea 'Casse-croute' from the collection of the MBG again

In bloom in july:

Vriesea splendens

This is my old plant un december 2015

After blooming, I repot it but he does not gave me any pups :(

But he gave me seeds!

So, I do the seedling in 2017 january and now, look at my babies!!!

Which one have you never seen here ? (I am curious!!)

Thanks. Those are all nice plants and nicely cared for.

tj

Next time, I will show you the rest of my collection :)

Renee

By "here", I mean Los Angeles. I have seen them other places, however.

Hi everyone.

lavandula - That's a nice collection of well grown plants you've shared with us and I must say you seem to have a very "green thumb" to have them all growing with such healthy looking consistency.

You mention that your Vr splendens at this stage hasn't produced any pups. I don't know about Vr. splendens, but I do grow Vr. 'Splenriet' which is a cultivar of splendens, and this plant is what is called an "upper pupper" inasmuch as it produces (usually just one pup) from the centre of the plant and not from the side of the base like most other plants do.

As the pup grows, the Mother declines and the pup takes over the space the Mother previously occupied. Consequently it appears that the Mother plant hasn't pupped when in fact it has. Maybe your plant of Vr. splendens does the same thing?

They are a great looking lot of seedlings and to get them to that size in such a short period is quite an achievement. Do you mind sharing with us how you grew them as although I've been growing brom seed for about fifteen years now and doing a bit of hybridising as well, I'm still very much going up the learning curve and always interested in hearing how other growers grow their seed; things like type of potting mix, fertilising (type and frequency), location and any other information you would like to share.

I also notice with interest that a few of the seedlings appear to have a couple of variegated leaves, but I can't be sure and maybe it's just shadows on the leaves that make them appear that way. In any case, I'm sure you'll really enjoy growing them to maturity and find them just as interesting to grow as I have done with mine.

An old bromeliad growing friend of mine once told me that you can't say you've really grown a bromeliad until you grow some from seed to maturity as that's the real test of a good grower.

Your Aechmea 'Cracker Night' is a beautiful plant; have you checked to see if that has any seed on it. The seed on it will be very different to that of your Vriesea splendens as they will be in berry form and not of the parachute type.

If you look where the dead flowers are and see if you can find any berries beneath where the petals were and if there are, just try a gentle tug on them and they will come out when the seed is ripe. If they don't pull out easily, leave them a bit longer and try again in a week of two.

I look forward to seeing some more pictures of your seedlings as they progress on their way to maturity and I wish you well with the results.

All the best, Nev.

Hi all!

Thanks Nev for the comment!!

My V. splendens do a few pups in the center of the plant that you call upper pupper. I kept them but after the flower of those pups, nothing... I repot the plant in hope of new pups... but nothing happend... But a get some seeds!!

I will come back with photos...

Renee

This is some pictures of my V spendens baby, I dont see variagated on them but I am a new grower...

The technique I use is very simple because in that moment, I did not find nothing on the net to help me.... So, I use seedling soil, the same I use for my hardy plant. I put the fresh seeds on it and I add horticole sand, just a little bit. I spray water, put the dome on it and wait... for month!!

I dont do any fertilisation. I start fertilisation 2 weeks ago, just once, with seaweed (0.3-0.3-4) ant thats all I do!

I think it is the ''chance of the new' grower... :)

And now, about the Aechmea 'Cracker Night', yes, I think I have seeds on it!!

It is a good thing that I have a big pup on it and some seeds because I never in the past paid a more expensive Bromeliad than this one and I never see that Bromeliad anywhere else... ;)

Do you like to have seeds?

Renee

So Nev, do you like to have some seeds?

Renee

Hi everyone.

Renee - Sorry I haven't answered your question, somehow this post slipped past me and I've just found it. Yes I would like some seed if you can spare some ans id you email me at splinter1804@gmail.com I will send you my postal details.

All the best, Nev.

I send you a email!

Renee

I recieve your email! But I dont understand this part of your message: ''spare some ans id '', sorry for my poor english...!

Renee

Hi Renee - What I meant was that because the seed will be from a crossing between two hybrids, the seedlings will all be different and not identical to the parents. [Just like when Mum and Dad have children, they are all different (except for identical twins)].

If the seed is from species, they will usually all be the same as the parents.

The good part is, that if one of the seedlings turns out to be a champion, you are the only person who has it and you are then entitled to register it with a name of your choosing if you like to.

It's a bit difficult for me to explain with our different languages, but that's the best I can do.

All the best, Nev.

Fabulous collection!