Good idea Paul!

Your winter broms are looking good, and I do like the way Alcantarea seem to show off over the winterÂyour ÂSilver Plum is fantastic, one of the best examples IÂve seen of that clone.

ItÂs a cold wet winter day here, but youÂve given me a good excuse to get outside & take some photos, so here are some of mine.

Alc. imperialis Rubra in the front garden, with some almost ripe grapefruit alongsideÂlooking forward to grapefruit with breakfastÂyummy.

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A trio of Alcs on the front deck, at the back is imperialis Rubra (same clone as in the photo above) vinicolor on the right, and ÂRed Ensign to the left.

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ÂRed Ensign always looks its best in winter.

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Alc. glaziouana surrounded by Vr. philippo-coburgii

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Vr. fosteriana Rubra has lost some of its summer colour. But still a feature, and IÂm sure the rabbit appreciates it ;-)

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Aechmea ÂMirlo in the patio garden surrounded by Tillandsia.

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Now that the rain has set in, I thought IÂd get creative with a group of neo hybrids because they do have great colour.

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Cheers, Andrew

I love the Silver Plum...couldn't you drive here to the Sunshine Coast and bring me a pup. *G*

Hi Paul, has been very cold here, we have had a couple of 0 and one -1c so far.
Yes some broms just love winter! here are a few that caught my eye this morning.

Cheers Richard

Alc. imperialis rubra

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Alc. vinicolor

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V. fosteriana

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Neophytum Galactic Warrior

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Neo ?

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Can't type sense...drooling too much!

Paul - I love your trianglaris.

Andrew - I want your Red Ensign.

Richard - Good looking plants as always, your Neo might be Pink Sensation.

My contribution - mostly recently purchased from Bruce at Stockade:

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a nicely cooked heloisae

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a slightly undercooked heloisae

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Alc. imp x tarawera?

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Alc. imp x tarawera?

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Neo. DeRolf

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a young imperialus Rubra

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Alc. extensa

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Alc. odorata

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Alc. Peter Tristram

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Alc. vinicolor

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another vinicolor

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Some more colour.

Rick

Andrew, I just have to ask - what is Alc. 'Red Ensign'? and does anyone know if there is any of it in Oz? I've just discovered that I need it very badly. Also, those Neos sure do make a great study. What a lovely combination.

Richard and Rick, great to see those plants. Thanks for sharing them. Come on you other southern-hemispherians, how about a few more!

Cheers, Paul

Well What a lovely show ,thats a great "Red Ensign" Andrew , Paul, Red Ensign is a cross between Alc ,Imperialis and Vinicolor ,i have done the cross using my good red Vini and the Dillings Silver Plum ,they have only just germinated ( and not many ) but should have good colour , i did have a plant out of the cross never coloured real well ,but it flowered and made 4 lovely pups that are now showing great colour, there is a whole new brave world waiting in crossing Alcanterea's
Jack

Hey, great thread, I really like the silver plum - excellent deep maroon on both sides of the leaf. Lots of nice imperialis rubras in the thread, and that extensa looks quite a lot like a plant that goes by the name nahoumii here. The glazouiana is one of my favourite alcs - with a real tropical look, but for me the Red Ensign takes the cake - it has the robust form of imperialis with the rich colour of vinicolor. I was lucky enough to get a 30cm Red Ensign pup a few weeks ago and am really looking forward to growing it up. I also have a 40cm Totara Orange, which I am told is the same cross the other way, so will be interesting to see how they develop side by side.

Marvelous display of Alcantareas. I like that Silver Plum of Paul very much. Also Andrew's Red Ensign. As well as Rick's nicely cooked heloisae! Thanks for showing them all. Maybe one day I also will have a nice collection of them.

Here's some other broms that give me great pleasure although some of them does not have the brilliant colour they usually have in Summer. Even though it is sad to see a plant like Rainbow loose most of its colour, it is still very appealing to me with its Winter dress.

Neo Rainbow:
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Neo Giant - I just love the form of the plant:
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Neo Silver - A young pup and this time of the year, it is really silver:
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Neo Braz-el:
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Neo Carol Johnson:
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Neo Gespacho:
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Neo Jeffrey Block:
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Neo Ring of Fire:
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A group of Neo johannis x DeRolf:
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And one of mine that I am quite proud of - very difficult to get a nice picture of with its shiny leaves especially on an overcast day. Neo marmorata x Midnight:
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Aech mexicana:
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Aech Friederike variegated:
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Aech Alvarez (still very young):
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Neo Strawberry and Strawberry Sundae:
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Neo Princess Di:
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Japie

Thanks for making my day...ummm I mean week Japie!!!
...Really love your carchs, they are looking great, also your Ae. mexicana is a beauty.

I like my Vr. heiroglyphica this time of year...it is a large old beast at over 1.5M across and sits in the full shade of a China Doll tree all Summer. When Winter comes and we get the sun from the north very low in the sky all day, it gets a lot of warm direct sun on the sides of its leaves, which seems to really lighten up the inner new growth that occured over spring/summer...

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Cheers
Graeme

Japie, that really is a great show of colour all round and that 'Rainbow' of yours is still inspirational even in its winter colours. I hope I can grow mine that well. Also, I just have to ask you about your Ae. 'Alvarez'. That colouring is sensational. I can only seem to manage to either over- or under-cook mine, so I'd be really interested to know what sort of lighting your one gets.

Graeme, that certainly is an impressive heiroglyphica, and is that a 'Kiwi Sunset' next to it? Great colour in that as well. Thanks for sharing them.

Cheers, Paul

Wow, thanks all for the great winter shots!

As Japie mentioned those lovely Alcs arent availible here, guess we are going to have to wait. Japs, I love you marmXMidnight too! Hou hom vir my as jy Frankryk to trek ne! :-)

What sort of temps do you need to get them to colour up like that?

Andrew are those Euterpe trunks in the one picture? Lovely!

Cheers Paul, no that's a 'Tango Lace' next to the heiro...another one of the many recent 'Kiwi' bred beauties that's still to be formally registered I believe ?! It's looking a wee bit washed out from all the day-long winter direct sun actually. The pink tinges get darker in a bit more dappled light and warmer weather.

Hey Japie, I also meant to mention that Neo. marmorata x 'Midnight'. What a great colour contrast, and shiny as well. What a beauty! That variegated 'Friederike' also has great colour. I didn't realise that it can develop that pink blush, so I think I might give mine a bit more light.

Graeme, thanks for the id. on that pink Vriesea. Hopefully we'll get a few more of those NZ Vrieseas coming into Oz.

Cheers, Paul

OK; I might be able to string some words together now!

Sensational show; winter has to be good for something.

Hey Rick..I like that Alc imperialis x Tarawera (?) Did that come from Greenstock also? Tarawera is a superb looking plant, and I did not think it was in Oz. Of course the seed could be here.

As for your heloisae, just beautiful - I like your cooked version best. (Mine is in the maternity ward in a few weeks, and seed will be off to QLD!)

Well done all!

Paul, I was also under the impression that Friederike variegated was just a green plant with white stripes. And that was what it looked like when I got it as a young pup. I tucked it in my shade house and kind of forgot about it. Until I saw this:

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I had the same problem of 'over cooking/under cooking' with my Ae Mend. Then I read/heard somewhere that it must be well fertilised. So I started fertilising both Mend and Alvarez and the results where very good. And they can take quite a bit of sun then without burning!

Japie

Hi Japie, thanks a lot for the info. 'Mend', 'Alvarez' and 'Rodco' are about to get a bit more feeding!

Rick, I have to agree with Shane's comment about that Alc. imperialis x Tarawera(?). It's going to be great to see how that one develops, and all the others of course! Also, that Neo. DeRolf of yours is a beauty. I've been trying to encourage mine to pup but so far I don't seem to be able to get anywhere that much variegation. Thanks for showing it.

Cheers, Paul

Japie,

You have done a great job with your cross, I love dark neos and yours looks like a beaut.

Graeme,

What did you do to get your heiroglyphica that big and good looking?

I picked one up flowering a few months back but it was nowhere near that big.

Shane,
The imperialis x Tarawera came from Greenstock, Bruce had a few left - Matt picked one up as well. The colour on it is magnificent - it has the red like the Tarawera on FCBS, my photo didn't do it justice.

Paul,
Up until recently I only had a poor clone of DeRolf with little varigation that mostly threw non-varigated pups - I was pleased to pick up that one.

Rick

Fantastic photos from everyone who has posted; Paul Andrew, Richard, Rick, Japie and Graeme.
Andrew I particularly love your Red Ensign its a beauty and Paul your Ae. Triangularis is great too.

I've been waiting for a sunny day here in Brisbane but the weather gods haven't been kind in recent days so i've taken afew shots today in overcast conditions.

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Loads of dark purple colours are coming through atm with the wax look which i'm wrapped with.

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My Heloisae has really begun to show to nice maroon colouring in the tips.

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I wish those b***dy grass hoppers would leave this one alone but they always seem to pick at it.

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As Rick has said these have come from Bruce's place. Rick was lucky to grab the first pick but i'm pretty happy to mine also. Certainly loads of potential here and I can't wait to watch it grow over the next few years.

Matt

Hi everyone,

Gee Paul, you sure started a great thread. I had a quick poke around the plantation yesterday and the only bit of colour I could find was this Billbergia.

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All the best, Nev.