Bromelia

peter · Post by **peter** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 3:30 pm

Guzmania minor

hegar · Post by **hegar** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 7:19 pm

Hello Peter,
that certainly is a beautiful image of this member of the Bromeliad family. I had another Guzmania sp. in my office for some time, but it developed a fungal disease and I tossed it. Of course, because I do not have a greenhouse at work, the conditions for optimal plant growth for that genus are not good. We do have very dry desert air almost year round.
One thing I noticed though: It took quite a long time to download the picture and I do not have a dial-up modem. How many bytes does your image have?

Harald

peter · Post by **peter** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 7:57 pm

hegar wrote:One thing I noticed though: It took quite a long time to download the picture and I do not have a dial-up modem. How many bytes does your image have?

Harald

Hello Harald
The image does have 252.37 KB (258427 Bytes).
Not too many bytes I think.

Best regards

perrycornish · Post by **perrycornish** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 8:44 pm

What a very beautiful flower, Peter

hob · Post by **hob** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 9:12 pm

hegar wrote: One thing I noticed though: It took quite a long time to download the picture and I do not have a dial-up modem. How many bytes does your image have?

Harald

i had a problem with the pic downloading too ......... but its not the image size........most likely a problem with imageshack server

hegar · Post by **hegar** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 12:13 am

Hi Peter,
when I logged on this time your post showed up almost instantly. Looks like it had something to do with the server. Sometimes the system just does not work the way you expect it to.
How are things in Germany? I talked to my dad today and he told me, that the temperature there was almost identical to the one we are having in El Paso, Texas! If this trend continues you will be able soon to grow all your cacti outdoors as I am.

Harald

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 2:11 am

Very beautiful. Is that the only one. Aren't those temps, in Germany caused because of this subject is not allowed?

Mark

peter · Post by **peter** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 5:47 pm

hegar wrote:If this trend continues you will be able soon to grow all your cacti outdoors as I am.

Harald

Hi Harald
Maybe, but normaly it is too wet and rainy here.
The temperature went up to 14°C, 57°F last Sunday.
Today the temperature is 10°C, 50°F, a little bit rain and a little bit sun.
At all there is still a difference among West and East and the flat country
and the mountainous country in Germany.
In the Rhine area where I am living it is usually balmy, but this year it is
too warm and that is not normal.

Mark wrote:Very beautiful. Is that the only one. Aren't those temps, in Germany caused because of this subject is not allowed?

Hi Mark
No, and I have also Tillandsias, but they aren't flowering yet.

Is it this subject is not allowed or is it a natural fluctuation?
I don’t know.

Best regards

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 2:24 am

Ok, thank you.

Mark

Post by **daiv** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 7:16 pm

Nice Peter!

I picked up a whole bunch of Broms. at the San Diego Epi Society a few months ago. I got about 25 plants for $5. They were from someone's collection who passed on and nobody else at the meeting was interested. I only paid the $5 because I wanted to pay something even though they were just going to throw them all away.

I'll try and post a picture of them. I think only one has flowered for me so far.

Daiv

peter · Post by **peter** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 9:15 pm

daiv wrote:...I got about 25 plants for $5. They were from someone's collection who passed on and nobody else at the meeting was interested. I only paid the $5 because I wanted to pay something even though they were just going to throw them all away.

Hi Daiv
They didn't aware what incredible and interesting plants they lost!

A very good price for lots of plants! Usually Broms are expensive here.

Best regards

Reiki · Post by **Reiki** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 8:31 am

This is the only reliable (for me in the UK) hardy bromeliad (so far). I will have some for sale in my spring list. It is hardy in the ground and in a pot uncovered all winter.
Best regards
Chris

Fascicularia pitcairnifolia

phil_SK · Post by **phil_SK** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 6:18 pm

I have what I'd always believed to be Fascicularia bicolor. Mine got damaged last winter (05-06) as you can see in this thumbnail.

I posted this on another forum and was told by an ardent hardy exotics grower that mine was F. pitcairniifolia (now usually called F. bicolor ssp. bicolor). This is easily damaged by temps below about -5`C. The other one seen, F. bicolor as was, now F. bicolor ssp. caniculata, is hardier and has narrower, more silvery leaves. It's much more easily flowered - I've not heard of bicolor ssp bicolor flowering in the UK whereas lots of people seem to find ssp caniculata a reliable flowerer.
I've since read somewhere separately that F. bicolor ssp caniculata is becoming naturalised in Cornwall.

peter · Post by **peter** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 7:49 pm

Hi Reiki
A very interesting Bromelia. Fascicularia is an endemical species from Chile
with the most southern spreading of the family, till 44 degree of latitude, in Chile.

Hi Phil_SK
Fascicularias do need many years to flowering!

Best regards

Reiki · Post by **Reiki** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 7:54 am

Hi Phil,
The ones that have flowered certainly have narrower leaves than the plant I got last year which is currently untested. I'll try getting some out this year.

Hi Peter,
Yes they do take time to build up - and the offsets in some cases have taken a couple of years to root.

Best regards

Chris