Bromeliad propagation

Just before leaving for Denver last week to attend the Garden Bloggers Fling, I was in the process of finalizing an order for some hard to find bromeliad species. My visit to the San Antonio Botanical Garden last December inspired the purchase; I admired the garden's display of epiphytic bromeliads growing on tree branches, small pitchers connected by a dramatic network of long stolons.

Below are the new arrivals from Michael's Bromeliads, all arrived neatly wrapped in newspaper with handwritten labels. If the offsets/pups look undersized, they should; most are mini Neoregelia species with a couple of small Aechmeas, plus an Acanthostachys for fun. Apologies for the terrible lighting.
This was the bromeliad I most wanted but seemed impossible to find in the US, Neoregelia pendula var. brevifolia.
Acanthostachys strobileacea arrived already in bloom, or perhaps fruit? While bromeliads are monocarpic, an unbloomed offset was also attached, so the bloom was not a cause for concern. The blooming plant was a bonus and will hopefully produce pups as it declines.
All of the new bromeliads arrived as unrooted offsets/pups separated from mother plants and will need time to root. For the potting substrate, I created a mix of coconut fiber, coconut chips, grit, and Orchiata orchid bark. And here are the bromeliads potted up.
My experience with bromeliads is limited to hardy varieties, so hopefully this experiment goes well!

Comments

  1. "plus an Acanthostachys for fun"... I like your kind of fun. Those plants all look quite happy and healthy.

    So far (I've not even been home a week though) I've managed to resist the siren call of Michael's. I did buy a triple Aechmea recurvata and Tillandsia flabellata at Ann, Evan and Dick's pop-up sale at Xera yesterday...

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    Replies
    1. I really wanted to go to their pop-up sale but couldn't justify back-to-back trips to Portland; I still have regrets about it though! Hopefully the sale went well and more will follow.

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  2. I love it when you find just the plant you were looking for. :o)

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  3. Hi, I looked up Acanthostachys strobileacea out of interest, says zone 9a, not so bad. Here in Manchester England it isn't quite so rainy as the reputation. That would be the main problem with trying epiphytes in the warmer months, but once the garden's grown itself some more shade, i'll be trying ferns and broms on branches. Also, there's not huge interest in bromeliads unless it's tillandsia so the choices aren't very broad here. Like you though, where there's a will there's a way! David. www.thechthonianlife.wordpress.com

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