Return of the Bromeliads, New and Old

Even though it seems like most of my attention was on my succulents during the summer and fall, my love for Bromeliads remains unabated. While I was singing their praises in Monday's post, I remembered that I never posted about my latest acquisition:

Cryptanthus 'Black Mystic'

Another view. It is a fairly small plant in a 4-inch pot.

I love the color and striped pattern, and it has been extremely easy to care for. I had seen pictures of similar Cryptanthus in vintage houseplant books, but never any for sale until recently. I had just purchased this one by mail order, when I visited a new nursery and saw a few for sale there as well. I hope more species and varieties become more readily available; they are wonderful plants.

And now some updates on my older plants:

My other Cryptanthus, a more commonly available red and green variety, which I've had for a few months. It bloomed over the summer.

This is what my Aechmea fasciata looked like in May, with it's blue "true" flowers showing through the pink inflorescence:

Previously posted photograph of Aechmea fasciata

This is what it looks like now, spent, but still showy. The blooming rosette itself should still last for months, and there is a large pup coming up on the side to carry on when "mom" succumbs.

Speaking of pups, this Neoregelia has developed a large one:

Neoregelia 'Toucan' The original rosette is on the left, the new offset is on the right.

This plant seems to be the most easygoing of my Neoregelia varieties. There have been no drying leaves on the original plant, and the offset is growing fast. It is just starting to get the little red points on the leaf tips, and has a nice blush in the center that the original plant didn't have.

Last but not least, here is the plant that kicked off my Bromeliadmania, a Vriesea splendens I found in the grocery store last January. Not only has it survived for more than the six months I rather pessimistically predicted, it has done really well.

Vriesea splendens. The outer ring of leaves is the original plant, the center leaves are new growth. Apparently pups form more or less in the center of the "vase" rather than to the side. So the plant seems to constantly renew itself.

Journey to the center of a plant

Most of my other Bromeliads are also doing fine. I've kind of decided that right now, I have about as many plants (of all types) as I can handle. (Maybe more, if you've read my rather self-pitying reply in the comments to my recent Anthurium post.) But a being a crazy plant lady, I can always be tempted if the right plant comes along. Especially if it is a Brom.

Leftovers

Well, it's the weekend. It's hot, it's been stormy, and I can't think of a thing to write about. When I plan posts, I usually take a lot of photographs to go along with them, and I seldom use them all. Sometimes, an old photograph will prove useful for a later post, but most of the time they go unseen. Which is too bad, because some of them are pretty nice.

So without further ado, here are some pictures I took for posts in June and July that ended up unused.

Houseplants and Succulents:

By mid-June, my Neoregelia 'Zoe' which had been mostly green and white, was definitely showing a nice rosy blush

Peach and Red Hibiscus rosa-sinensis in bloom

Three shots of my succulents outdoors. The large Aloe in the third picture is supposed to be Aloe vera, but I'm not 100% sure. I do love how it colors up in the sun.

Adeniums. I think the one on the left is A. obesum and the one to the right is A. arabicum.

More uncertainty. I've always thought that this was Aloe dichotoma, but I am open to the possibility that it may be A. ramosissima.

Three pots of Crassula 'Campfire'

From my Outdoor Garden:

Linum lewisii (Flax) in June. I am completely smitten with that ever-so-rare shade of blue. It is still blooming intermittantly now, but its peak is over.

Coreopsis verticillata. I think this cultivar is 'Zagreb'

Rubeckias and Echinaceas in my Coneflower bed

Another view, showing most of the bed

Last but never least, (if you ask him, he's the Most) Peppermint enjoying the garden.

Bromeliadmania continues...

Clockwise from top: Neoregelia 'Olens x Diana,' Neoregelia 'Toucan,' and Neoregelia 'Dartanion'

No, I haven't broken my vow to take a plant-purchasing hiatus...yet. These are eBay purchases from April that I hadn't gotten around to posting about until now. I find that caring for Neoregelias is fairly easy for the most part. However, I have learned that I must keep the central leaf "cups" filled, or the outer leaves will shrivel. I also find that giving the Neos a supplemental misting at the same time that I mist-water my Tillandsias (air plants) helps. A terrarium might be a good idea for in the future, if I can find a place to put a large one.

Closer view of Neoregelia 'Olens x Diana'

Closer view of Neoregelia 'Toucan'

Neoregelia 'Dartanion' with a pup starting. This plant was actually a surprise bonus sent by the eBay seller when I purchased the other two.

Now regarding that hiatus: Though I haven't purchased any new houseplants since May 22, just as I promised, I'm considering moving up the start date of the break. After all, I do have my (50th) birthday coming up, (I'm called Karen715 for a reason.) So the new start date for my six-month plant-buying hiatus is now July 16, 2010, to end on January 16, 2011. This doesn't mean that I'm definitely going to buy plants between now and then, or even for my birthday, but I'm keeping my options open.

Neo Neoregelias

There is no further use in pretending. I'm not only a crazy plant lady, but a fickle one as well. I'm saying Sayonara, Solenostemon. Hasta la vista, Hedera. Arrivederci, Aloe. Bromeliads are my new true love. (Okay, I'm kidding, mostly. Even though I've had a frustrating winter with coleus and ivy, I still love them, and will probably acquire a few more of each over the next couple of months. My aloes haven't given me any trouble whatever, and I'm always on the look out for something new and interesting.) But I'm loving the Broms more and more these days.

I picked up this as yet unidentified Neoregelia last week at Lowe's. It was a reward for having finally taken care of some banking business I'd been avoiding. (I hate dealing with banks for anything more than simple deposits.) I had seen it a week or so beforehand, when I was at Lowe's for some more utilitarian reason, but failed to purchase it. Since the bank is in the same neighborhood as Lowe's, I promised myself that if I took care of business, I could buy the plant if it was still there. It was. Edited to add 04/15/10: In the comments, Mr_Subjunctive identified my plant as Neoregelia 'Ardie'

Neoregelia 'Ardie'. This is a large plant, at least a foot across.

And then there is this petite beauty:

Neoregelia 'Mo Peppa Please.' The colors are even richer and more varied in person.

One of its two pups

This was an eBay auction win. No rationalization for this purchase; I just saw it and wanted it, so I bid. I'm not crazy about the name, though. Lots of cultivar names are puns or other attempts at cleverness, and I'm mostly okay with that. I love wordplay of all types. But something about the use of dialect in this case rubs me the wrong way. What's next: Neoregelia 'Pass Da Salt, Yo'?

And as further proof that I was joking about saying au revoir to Aloe, here is a plant I bought earlier last week:

Aloe arenicola. This was a nursery purchase.

A closer view, showing the adorable spotted leaves, and an aerial root

I love it. I've never seen an Aloe with aerial roots before. I've found that aloes can be a trifle difficult to propagate vegetatively, unlike many other succulents. These roots have the potential to make things much easier.

It Might Just Make it After All

When we last saw my Vriesea splendens, it was a new purchase, and I was concerned, given my track record with Bromeliads, (dismal) that it wouldn't survive. I was somewhat reassured when I noticed that it already had a pup, since its inflorescence started to fade soon after I purchased the plant. Here is that pup back in January:

Tiny bit of new growth in the very center of the "cup"

and here it is today:

Two views of my Vriesea splendens, from the top, and a side view. The pup is very much larger, and blends well with the mature foliage, making the regeneration of the plant appear nearly seamless.

In other Bromeliad news, my Neoregelia 'Zoe' is coloring up, just a little. It was mostly green and white when I purchased it, but now it is showing a hint of a blush:

Neoregelia 'Zoe' has been coloring up a bit in the spring sun

Bromeliads seem to be the hot thing in houseplant fashion, at least locally. At first I was thinking that I was just noticing them more, since I've become willing to try them. But now after some reflection, I do think they have become more readily available. It wasn't too surprising when the local nurseries began carrying more of them--they have to have a variety of plants to stay competitive in the houseplant market. But I've been seeing more and more at the box stores as well, and not just the typical Aechmea fasciata and Guzmania varieties either: both the nearby Home Depot and Lowe's have had some striking Neoregelia cultivars for sale.

New Month, New Plant

As is typical for this time of year, one of the local nurseries has its houseplants on sale at 40% off. So naturally, I went to take a look. While this particular nursery always has nice, well kept plants, they don't often have anything particularly unusual or different.

But today, they had a table labeled "Bromeliads". And among the fairly common Guzmanias, they had these:

My new Neoregelia

I 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.