Mike I think it was worth the crossing of the railroad tracks! Your Neo 'Ebay' might actually be Neo Spotted Night (with very nice markings!). The Miami I do not recognise, but I like it a lot!

This is what my Spotted Night looks like:

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Japie

Mike, I occasionally find some very nice Tillandsias on RainforestFlora's site. There are 2-3 respectable brom dealers on the bay with nice stock. I've often wondered if the seller 'Royannique'(sp?) is a memeber here.

There are some nice plants to be had there, you just have to find the right sellers, Strawberry Circles, is really nice plant I found there.

Just kidding Gonzer!

Gonzer I don't think Royanne is a member here. I will ask her.

Mike, did you go to the Searle Bros sale this weekend? That had quite a few broms. Unfortunately, nothing is labeled! Here is what I got Friday morning.

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I'm actually heading out there soon, again. I was rushed yesterday so didn't have enough time to look around. I quickly looked through the broms and was a bit disappointed. They had some great larger ones (nice score of the Alc!) that I just don't have the room for.

Japie- Spotted Night is awesome! So much better than the FCBS picture. I thought "Ebay" looks like some sort of Neo. tigrina cross with the added bonus of stripes on the surface of the leaves as well.

Hi Mike

That "Miami" is pretty, the purple and darker purple spots is a nice colour combo. BTW nothing like the plant that we have (I think from Aussie stock) called Miami.... I also like the Crypts ba pickup up at Jeffs! Nice.

Cheers

Dennis

There is a mom and 2 nice sized pups in that little crypt pot. I think I got it for $7. I just wish I know which one it is. I have very little crypt knowledge and Crypts aren't real
popular around here.

At Searle's they were constantly bringing out new odoratas. They must have sold 15 of them in the 30 minutes I was there. It seemed like everybody grabbed one. They did have a few of the more expensive landscape broms marked. However, they had quite a few trays of fireball cultivars that were just marked "tropiflora" and they were asking $6 for them.

Neo. Miami is a cv. of Neo. melanodonta.

Excellent score bromadams! If it was a Searle's Bros. sale I'll bet there were quite a few great palms for sale too.

I was frustrated at Searle bros when I was there on Friday.....got there around 8:00, and many things were not marked.

Found the same situation at the aroid show at Fairchild's a few weeks ago.

I really have a " thing" about knowing the plants in my yard.... Oh well.

I still had a great time shopping with my friends.

Neo. 'Ebay' looks like a plant I am used to called Neo 'blushing tiger'

The little purple spotted plant is Neo. melanodonta x pauciflora. It is also in circulation in Florida with an unofficial name as 'Melanodonta Miami'. The other plant looks like Wee Willy or Alley Cat. Hard to tell there are so many striped plants now that are just repeats of repeats

ok.....i have bought 10 plants off ebay just this month LOL ive been pleased. i love aechmeas.....my 2 latest are jc superstar and smithiorum :)

Did any of your ebay buys come with a phytosanitary certificate?

Thanks HDD! I think you've narrowed it down as much as humanly possible. I had heard that 'Miami' was a cultivar of melanodonta but it just didn't look right.

I think the broms at Searles were more for landscaping, which would make sense, since that's what they do! If I had room for some of those Vr. or Ae. I'm sure some of them would have follwed me home. Although, I did pick up some great palms of course.

No phyto on the Ebay purchase. But then again the seller was instate.

What size pot is that first zonate in, Mike? We're getting a wide range of sizes in the guessing, and none of them are turning on a lightbulb in my head. I'm not sure either, as there are so many similar looking hybrids out there these days, but a size comparison would help narrow it down. Definitely not BT, though. ;-)

Nick, a phyto is something the buyer has to request and pay extra for (it seems to vary but our last one was over $50). It's not worth it unless you a) live in an area that requires it, and b) buy a lot at one time.

I think the regs are pretty clear on phyto certs. If you ship into one of the states requiring a cert then you need one. If the ebay seller is shipping intrastate, then that's no problem. I just can't believe that they are following the rules. Of course, the rules are onerous and the penalties are trivial, so why not ignore them?

Brom Adams

Lisa-

It's in a 4" pot and it doesn't look to me like it's going to get much larger. Maybe when it blooms I could narrow it down to some possible parents.

I had a friend on another forum who had a bunch of plants shipped to him from the Big Island. They were from a certified source but the shipper somehow neglected to stamp the box properly. Once they arrived in LA, the local inspectors tracked him down and made him destroy not only all of the plants he had just gotten, but everything else that was in the same greenhouse with them....... just in case.

I don't take any chances with the Ag boys. All you need is one guy who got up on the wrong side of the bed to ruin your day.

Mike,
My first thought at seeing your Neo. 'ebay' was that it looks just like my Neoregelia 'Wee Willy'. So, I concur with hdd's guess on that one.

Paul

Mike, you can safely ignore Spotted Night as an ID. My plant is more than twice that size.

Sorry Mike, I didn't see your reply to my question earlier.

I don't have Wee Willy, but the picture of it in Zaghini's book is almost an exact match to your plant. That doesn't necessarily rule out other possibilities, but it's certainly a good place to start.

I grow Grace G.'s N. 'Wee Willy' and it lives up to its name. It is only about a quarter the size of Mike's Neo. 'Ebay', and more ampule in shape.
Mike's mystery neo looks quite like my N. 'Screaming Tiger', but possibly too small...

Mike I confess - I often surf Aussie eBay. For over 3 years I have sold and bought broms on there. Our site has a lot more broms on at any one time, than the American 'bay. I have bought some beauties, and rarely been disappointed. I only sell occasionally - excess pups. I'm glad I already had an established collection before eBay got big for broms, otherwise the family might not have eaten!
You may have noticed many new release or scarce (for us) broms go for very high prices.
Like the U.S. 'bay, we have some dodgy sellers who usually plead "Well, that's the name I bought it as!" when questioned on their names - and so those incorrect names are perpetuated. And a couple of sellers make up hybrid names, for the sake of a higher price. This annoys me intensely, and those less-informed are sucked in.
However, we have many excellent sellers who provide an appreciated service to many of us who live far away from specialist brom nurseries. It is a convenient way to buy, and certainly an adrenalin rush on auction close!

If a large silver Alc. odorata was auctioned on Aussie eBay, it would probably sell for mega dollars.

K

Kerry, Screaming Tiger was my first thought when looking at #1 also, but it would be somewhat bigger than that in a 4" pot. Also Mike's plant lacks ST's more reddish overtones. Of course if it blooms and it blushes in the cup, we've got ourselves a winner!

I agree with you about Aussie eBay being generally superior to the US version as far as the brom selection is concerned. Very often when I google a cv. name it will lead me there, and I'll take the opportunity to cruise and see what's being offered. Sure, there are some questionable sellers and wrong IDs on both, but that's just the nature of commerce.

I never thought I'd get an ID one the plant so I appreciate everyone tossing their guesses in. Like we say all the time growing conditions play a huge role in how a plant will look, so who knows? Here's a top down picture to throw in the mix. My inclination is saying not 'Screaming Tiger'. The banding seems a little off and it looks like ST has more pronounced pink tips? At least that's what it looks like from the pics I've gleaned off the internet.

Kerry - 'Wee Willy' must be tiny! The plant above is about 12-13cm tall and wide.

There are some real nice looking plants for sale on e-bay right now.

Whoops!

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Yeah it seems like there are a few quality sellers now. I can't believe the prices some things go for though! But hey, if someone's willing to pay it, go for it.

Kerry is right... 'Wee Willy' it is! Cheers, Roland.

LOL, actually Kerry said it WASN'T Wee Willy! ;-)

I don't know if it is or isn't, but from the top shot I can see it's definitely NOT Screaming Tiger.

LOL, thanks anyway Roland, but yes, I thought it was too big for Wee Willy.
Lisa, I agree - from the aerial view it loses that screaming look.

Maybe it is Wee Willy on viagra??

K

LOL! I think I need to get my glasses checked! Roland.