that's really pretty! but perhaps the mom bloomed long ago? this looks like a neo - and the leaves are very loose at the base - they get like that on old broms.

or may be it's a sport?

Hi Petrushka,

I realize that you can't see it in the photo, but that big, green Mom has definitely not bloomed. I have become a neo fan and have quite a few broms. I am getting pretty familiar with them and their habits now. Yes, the Mom's leaves are large and broad and loosely clustered, but they are not floppy like they are on most old, tired broms. They are young and firm.

I did not have their pot tagged - am in the process of making dramatic and necessary improvements to my labeling system - so I'm not sure which cultivar this is. Therefore, unfortunately, I don't know what this plant normally looks like when mature! Maybe it is a sport? Or not?

I will monitor and post updates. Here's some photos from today (no change):

Carol

Hi everyone.

Carol - It seems to me the mother had previously been growing in lower light compared to where it is growing now. The thing to remember is that good light equals good colour.

Another thing that may have caused the Mother to remain green is if it has been fertilised with a "high nitrogen" fertiliser; this will promote good growth at the expense of coloured foliage or flowers. It's just possible that all excess nitrogen has now been used up, that's why the pups are coloured more than the Mother plant.

Of course what you say about it maybe being a sport is also another possibility, but if the second smaller pup colours up as well, it's unlikely they are sports as sports are more often just produced as a "one off" in my experience.

My guess of an ID is Neo. Pink 'Sensation'; for comparison see: http://registry.bsi.org/?genus=NEOREGELIA&id=6362#6362

All the best, Nev.

Hi Nev,

Thanks for your reply! We have moved from spring into full summer - we are at our hottest now - and it is possible that the lighting has changed for this plant, too. In the spring, I did a tremendous musical chairs of cleaning up, repotting and moving the broms around. I don't know where this one was before - or even if the mom was a pup I pulled off another plant - there were just so many plants repotted and moved around that I lost track. So you're right - it sure could have been in less light. But it was not recent... the plant pot has been in the same location for the past 2-3 months... that is for sure. I would have thought that the Mom's color would adapt by now to any change in lighting. Heck, I have some broms that lose their color within days of being moved to a shadier spot.

Fertilizer is another possibility... although I haven't fertilized my broms in the past, I have hand-tossed/broadcast granular fertilizer into some of the flower beds and some may have randomly landed in the pot. Unintentional, of course, but it sure could have happened. Again, though, wouldn't it equally affect all plants attached to the same stem/stolon/root system?

I don't feel lucky enough to ever get a sport. On any plant. So I've ruled that out. :)

'Pink Sensation' is an excellent guess! The photos on your BSI link are a perfect match. I purchased labeled Neos 'Donna' and 'Lila' in 2016... and in 2017, I purchased some pink ones with no names. (I'm very partial to pinks... even when I try to get away from it, pink is like a Carol-magnet.) I could have a Pink Sensation and not even know it. Here are the trio of pinks I purchased in 2017. I had guessed they were 'Lila', 'Treasure Chest' and 'Lila Candystripe' - but I don't really know. I really wish all broms came with labels. I know in the future to bug the local nursery more to find out what they ordered from the grower. Maybe even make my purchase contingent upon it. I know they know. :)

I also have Neo 'Cotton Candy'... although the bizarre plant seems a little darker than 'Cotton Candy':

I also need to walk around my yard again and pay attention to leaf form. The bizarre plant has some distinctive leaves, as Petrushka pointed out, and I may be able to tie it to a mother plant with similarly shaped leaves.

Happy gardening!

Carol

Hi everyone.

Carol - Following your answer above I checked up on the BCR to see what was recorded for Neoregelias 'Donna' and 'Lila' and they are both pretty much like Neo. 'Pink Sensation'.

To check them out, go to

http://registry.bsi.org/?genus=NEOREGELIA&id=3988#3988

and http://registry.bsi.org/?genus=NEOREGELIA&id=5408#5408

The colours obviously would vary depending on the degree of light they were growing in.

All the best,Nev

Hi Nev and everyone!

Nev, I have learned from you to refer often to the BSI Registry. I'm in it almost daily. You are an excellent teacher.

As I'm sure you already know, there are a pile of pinks that look almost the same. Some of them may be, in fact, the same plant due to name games. The registry photos are rarely ever enough to demonstrate distinctions and differences for me when plants are close in appearance.

If you are still in the Facebook arena, Planet Bromeliad recently had a photo of Neoregelia 'Tossed Salad'. Many folks expressed surprise because the photographed plants looked so much more robust, brilliantly colored and, well, different than most photos of Tossed Salad - at least the ones I have seen.

You just can't believe photos because of light and camera variances . And then on top of that, you have the unscrupulous who actually adjust/play with image colors - make digital enhancements to either increase eBay sales or Facebook Likes.

Even when I get a plant that is labeled, it is sometimes wrong. This one was labeled and sold as 'Wolfgang'... but I'm not certain that it is:

I know this as 'Wolfgang':

It's not just a difference in color - there is a marked difference in leaf form and structure, too. The first plant has a very thick leaf. And the leaves like to stand up. The second plant has an extremely thin leaf, almost akin to a Guzmania, that easily splits lengthwise. The leaves are very thin and floppy and lay flat against whatever pot you put it into.

So it's always a challenge for me... and I can never be 100% certain...

Have a great day!

Carol

Hi Nev and All,

You are so kind to always respond and impart your knowledge to me! Therefore, I hesitate to even tell you this, but the label says "BROM WOLF GANG LANDSCAPE". Click on it to enlarge and hopefully you will be able to see it more clearly. That label means it's in Monrovia's landscape brom category and is sold outside in Lowe's garden area, versus Morovia's floral broms, which are sold in a plastic pot/clay pot combo, stocked inside Lowes in the air-conditioning, and cost almost twice as much.

We are on the same page. I've read and recently, re-read so many old posts on this forum about hybridizing, naming and registering (or lack thereof). The number of hybrids and those creating them has exploded - naming and renaming is all over the place and out-of-control - people selling plants on eBay, Facebook and various other platforms with only a guess or hunch as to what they have for sale. It's a mess from a database and control standpoint.

Love your visual aid demonstrating metamorphosis! Is that Neo. 'Galaxy'? I love that brom - it's on my Wish List!

Thanks again for all your time and expertise,
Carol

LOL, after spending a few minutes in the BCR, I just realized the irony of my inquiring about the name of your plant.

Hi everyone.

Carol - The plant I posted the pictures of above was at that stage an unnamed hybrid from a crossing of Neo. Marble Throat x Meyendorffii, so definitely not Neo. 'Galaxy'.

All the best, Nev.