But today, they had a table labeled "Bromeliads". And among the fairly common Guzmanias, they had these:
My new NeoregeliaI don't believe I've ever seen any Neoregelia varieties for sale anywhere before, either here in Illinois or back home in New York. Despite my poor track record with Broms, I decided I had to have one. I have no idea what species this is. I found one picture of this plant online, and it was labeled Neoregelia 'Fireball,' which I'm pretty sure it isn't. (Edited to add: Thanks to input from Mr_Subjunctive, [see comments for this post] I'm pretty sure that my plant is Neoregelia 'Zoe.')
Close-up of stolons, with pups
The other side, with two more pups. This plant has five in total.Anyway, I'm happy with my new purchase. It has less of a pinkish "blush" than some of the others on the table, but it had five pups on stolons around the center rosette, while the others had between two and four. Between this, and my recently acquired Vriesea splendens, it looks like I'm going to find out if I can handle Bromeliads after all.
5 comments:
Pretty! Where did you buy it?
I bet it is a 'Fireball,' actually. There are a few cultivars, which differ from one another in size and variegation. Failing that, it could be a hybrid of 'Fireball' with something else. I think there's one called 'Zoe' that looks something like this, though the one picture I have (from a wholesaler in Florida) has 'Zoe' a lot redder than this.
Diane: Countryside Nursery in Crystal Lake.
Mr_S: I think 'Zoe' might be it. I did chose one of the least red among those available at the nursery, in the hope that it was less further along in its life cycle. (They color up when preparing to bloom, no? Or is it strictly a sun thing?)
Thanks - maybe it's time to take myself on a field trip to the suburbs :)
Well, with 'Fireball,' it's kind of both: they get red centers when they bloom, but the whole thing will turn a blotchy red in intermediately-strong light, that's not necessarily concentrated at the center of the plant.
'Fireball' also seems to be an exception to the general bromeliad rule that plants die after flowering: they'll spread, but I have yet to see a rosette die while connected to living ones. I don't know if 'Zoe' is like this or not, but I'd bet that it is.
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