BTW, the tea smells really bad, and I don't put it in the cups.

Cheers

Dennis

How tall is that?

Thanks Gonz.

I just need to wip up the $40 to get one.....

Yes, I need to send a new photo in to FCBS. That one wasn't great to begin with but they somehow managed to make it exponentially worse! My old Bills tend to get really ratty-looking so it's always a challenge finding a decent looking one to photograph, not to mention an uncluttered background. Here's a couple I just took of DV (those are 6" pots for scale):

Personally, I have to say I don't quite get what all the fuss is about. I've done lots of DM hybrids, and to me this is just another one, and not necessarily the best. Yeah, it's nice and dark, but Smokestack has similar coloration, is a faster grower, and has a nice flower too. DV is slow as the dickens and has never given me a single bloom, but if you guys like it I guess I'll keep growing it!

Your second pic of DV is stunning! I reckon its one of the better dark Bills that I have seen. Yes keep growing it! Any pics of Smokestack and whats that white+green plant to the left of DV (second pic)?

Thanks again!!!

Dennis

Here is Smokestack, much more accomodating in it's willingness to pup...

and bloom...

BTW, Darth has a sibling, or semi-sibling-- the seed and pollen parents were reversed, which I've found makes no difference in the outcome in most cases. Here is Obi-Wan:

Much the same as DV, but more heavily spotted. Pay no attention to the ugly beat-up one on the left! I always have that problem with all the Bills, so I am constantly amazed whenever I see a big old clump where all the bloomed-out mothers still look just as good as the pups. How do you do it, Gonzer?

There may be some other siblings floating around Australia too. Cheryl Basic got a bunch of my culled seedlings from that (combined) grex. She later contacted me and said she wanted to name one Black Cinder, so I asked her to send me a photo of it so that I wouldn't register an identical twin. I never heard back so I don't know what it looks like or what the status of that is, but it hasn't been registered, so I figured I might as well go ahead and submit Darth and maybe Obi-Wan too (still pending). I got rid of all the rest, although there were some nice ones in there, but they all had basically the same look, so I didn't want to *ahem* confuse people..... ;-)

Wow Lisa! "smokestack" is a stunner. Does Michael have it yet? Lovely leaves and flower!

I must agree that DM is a snail!

You seem to have the "touch" when it comes to making nice new Billbergias. Any others you care to share?

Dennis

Siblings, Hana Hou and Bravo (these are somewhat smaller in size than the others below):

Hard to beat Pipeline in bloom:

Berry Blast:

...and its sibling, Midnight Sun (starts out dark and then turns white as it matures):

Oddly enough, MS blooms regularly but BB never has flowered. I have other pairs of siblings with the same story. In all of these photos, the ones you see in flower are good bloomers. The others...... not so much.

Never seen a bloom but I love the nice clean markings on Merrie Monarch:

Lots of silver banding on YouTube:

Black Pearl, very high-contrast:

...and I don't have a good close-up of the DM x sanderiana clone you saw in the other photo, but this is its sibling (AKA super slow-poke). Not as much white spotting on this one but it got the nice big black spines from both parents. Hey, maybe Slow Poke would be a fitting name!

As I said on the other thread, it's kind of hard to make a really BAD hybrid with Domingos Martins, but some are obviously better than others. They all have that DM look, though.

As to availability, check with Michael. I've sent him at least one or two of most of these (except the last one), but whether he has any for sale yet is another story. He might have some Smokestack still under formula (DM x RPSS), I don't know if he's changed the tags since I named it.

Now if MM does not flower, does that tube stays alive forever and give you some pups or does mother die eventually after giving a pup or two?

Japie

Slow Poke (that is now its official name) did actually bloom this year, the first time I can recall ever having seen it. Nothing to write home about, but I did manage to snap a picture just in case it ever gets registered:

Unfortunately all of mine get raggedy with age whether or not they bloom, and Merrie Monarch is no exception. It's not the fastest grower either, but still one of my favorites for foliage. For bloom, Pipeline is the pick of the (DM) litter, but it would be interesting to try pollinating DM with straight decora or one of the other big helicoids like rosea. Uh oh, now my blinders are starting to slip too! I haven't done any new Bills in a few years, but I think I need to wait until my current hot and heavy affair with the Neos runs out of steam. It always does, eventually....

Rachael Ray, gonzer? What's the connection there, am I missing something?

It's a good thing I'm not your neighbor because I'd probably be broke.

"Will work from Broms"

Thanks again!

Dennis

I see those pine bark chips in your Billbergia pots.
Do you pot them up in 100% of that or they are just toppings.
Thanks!

Lyndi

I need to repot my Billbergias soon, they are not performing well colourwise.