mrhappyrotter
Grand Chupacabra
These are Neoregelia kerryi and Aechmea recurvata var. benrathii.
Neoregelia kerryi has really lovely and highly fragrant flowers that show up ... whenever. I actually didn't know it was going to bloom, I just happened to catch a glimpse of bright color while I was working with some other plants, and it turned out to be this plant. Flowers are also fairly large for a bromeliad. I also appreciate that this species is fairly compact in size and it grows more upright. It's not one of the micro-mini Neos, but small and manageable enough for me. The new growths emerge on extended rhizomes but it's not too hard to contain.
I grow N. kerryi outside in the summer and it comes in once night temperatures drop in the fall. I don't know its cold tolerance, so I try to keep it on the warm side for now. This plant seems to appreciate a fair bit of shade and even indoors it seems like it prefers Paph / Phal light levels rather than Phrag / Cymbidium levels, though it's fine in either situation.
Aechmea recurvata is a fantastic miniature bromeliad. This particular variety has dark purple-black leaf bases so there's some extra interest to it even when it's not in bloom. The inflorescence has stunning color. I was actually caught off guard with this plant, I knew it had a single growth spiking up. As I was working in the greenhouse yesterday, I decided to pull it out of the coco basket it was sitting in, and then realized it's got several growths in flower. The flowers are faintly fragrant as well.
Bright colors and miniature size are compelling characteristics and on top of that, this species is easy to grow and bloom. Even more compelling for me, is that this is one of the most cold tolerant Aechmeas (if not the most cold tolerant). These can handle some amount of freezing temperatures, apparently it can handle temps into the 20F range (-4Cish). I don't plan to push it that far, but this and another variety that I grow were perfectly fine in the greenhouse last year in temperatures near freezing.
Neoregelia kerryi has really lovely and highly fragrant flowers that show up ... whenever. I actually didn't know it was going to bloom, I just happened to catch a glimpse of bright color while I was working with some other plants, and it turned out to be this plant. Flowers are also fairly large for a bromeliad. I also appreciate that this species is fairly compact in size and it grows more upright. It's not one of the micro-mini Neos, but small and manageable enough for me. The new growths emerge on extended rhizomes but it's not too hard to contain.
I grow N. kerryi outside in the summer and it comes in once night temperatures drop in the fall. I don't know its cold tolerance, so I try to keep it on the warm side for now. This plant seems to appreciate a fair bit of shade and even indoors it seems like it prefers Paph / Phal light levels rather than Phrag / Cymbidium levels, though it's fine in either situation.
Aechmea recurvata is a fantastic miniature bromeliad. This particular variety has dark purple-black leaf bases so there's some extra interest to it even when it's not in bloom. The inflorescence has stunning color. I was actually caught off guard with this plant, I knew it had a single growth spiking up. As I was working in the greenhouse yesterday, I decided to pull it out of the coco basket it was sitting in, and then realized it's got several growths in flower. The flowers are faintly fragrant as well.
Bright colors and miniature size are compelling characteristics and on top of that, this species is easy to grow and bloom. Even more compelling for me, is that this is one of the most cold tolerant Aechmeas (if not the most cold tolerant). These can handle some amount of freezing temperatures, apparently it can handle temps into the 20F range (-4Cish). I don't plan to push it that far, but this and another variety that I grow were perfectly fine in the greenhouse last year in temperatures near freezing.
