No, that's not normal, Kristan. It does look kind of cute, but I don't know of any miniature forms of hieroglyphica.

I'm guessing something must have triggered premature flowering. I know that the cooler winters of more temperate climates can cause many broms to automatically burst into bloom the following spring, whether they are fully mature or not. I don't know if the same principle would apply to a heat wave or not, but if you had a bunch of other broms suddenly bloom about the same time, It sounds like a plausible explanation.

cheers Lisa.

The majority of my broms were bought from more tropical areas of Aus (Nth to mid East Coast) a few months ago (late summer, autumn/fall) and faced their first winter here(where we get reasonably cold winters with some frost - broms go all but dormant) before spring bought about three weeks of well above average temps so sounds like you have hit the nail on the head. At least I don't have to wait so long to see it flower (and hopefully get some seed)!

The Neos that began flowering at the same time are about the right size to flower (I think) so I'm just hoping the ants etc do their work and help me pollinate some.

cheers and all the best
Kristan

Excess heat stress will cause premature flowering of Foliage vrieseas ,as will a sudden shift of climate /culture .dont worry Kristan the pup(s) will settle down, cheers
Jack

Hi Kristan

I grow mine in quite deep shade. Its also flowering now. I will take a pic and post...

Cheers

Dennis

I agree that heat stress, or any other forms of trauma/sudden change, can induce premature flowering in many bromeliads.

K