Orthophytum gurkenii

Normally, i'm not a big fan of bromeliads with a soft spot for compact rosettes or silvery scales. Just not able to resist purchasing this plant for 23US$. I've been eyeing it for a while. The plant looked a bit tired then but recovered.  This species is native to Brazil from mesic habitat, so i'm giving it a bright corner and light watering. While it is not commonly offered here in the old world, it is not an uncommon houseplant offered in the states. The leaves are covered with a mosaic network of white trichomes.  Need to take extra care during handling to avoid touching the leaves and cause irrecoverable blemish.  And also  to keep a keen eye for scales or mealies!  

Deutorocohnia brevifolia v brevifolia

Failure to notice your relatively "new" plants in flower is not a good sign. Possibly even symptomic of having too many plants and almost sign of negligence. A regular visitor to my collection spotted this xeric bromeliad in flower.  Lime green is an unusual flower colour.  I'm not completely sure if it is D. brevifolia v. brevifolia. I received it as that. It differs from its twin D. brevifolia v. chlorantha being bigger. Than again, what i also received a D. lorentziana. It is could be case of mixing up the labels.  D. lorentziana is a much bigger plant with close rosette 5-10 cm in diamater while D. brevifolia v. brevifolia is smaller with open rosette 5 cm across. Cultivation of this species is easy; grow in rocky open mix and full sun. 

Hechtia tillandsioides

Recent issues of Cactus & Succulent Society of America Journal have been featuring articles on xeric bromeliads.  They form neat ground hugging perfect rosettes in brown/greyish landscapes. Growing in dry savanna woodlands with cacti. Color changes in leaves at the center of the rosette signal flowering. I've been toying with the idea of buying a couple of miniature xeric bromeliads. And went to the extend of compiling a list: Hechtia tillandsioides, Dyckia choristamine, D. fosteriana. I was hoping to find a nursery that stocked my wishlist but that was not the case.  It did not pay to bring in a single plant due to high shipping and phyto certification charges.  

Back in November the day before i went off on vacation, i decided to visit a local nursery. I was surprised they had were carrying stock of tillandsia and other bromeliads including a couple of xeric bromeliads. Two H. tillandsioides were up for grabs and i got them. H. tillandsioides is a native of Veracruz, Mexico. It resembles a tillandsia and has a very compact flattened rosette (20-25 cm across) of lime-green leaves. The leaves are very long (30 cm or more) and thin with spines on the margin. So far it is growing well in a balmy corner partial sheltered from rain.

 

Tillandsia kegeliana

This is my first 2009 posting.  I have been pondering what to feature although i have many plant photos saved in my harddisk.  2 plants were purchased from Denis of Tropiflora during the inaugural Singapore Garden Festival Show in 2006. Tropiflora cargo report Vol 13 No 3. 2003 had this description "T. kegeliana. This is the rare deep-red clone from the hinterlands of the Darien in Pananma. A rather small plant, growing to about 6" across in a somewhat bulbous, greenish-grey red tinted open rosette. The inflorescence is a short, inflated, arrowhead-shaped scape of deep red with red flowers. Mature plants, US$7.50 (S$12.9). #480".  Each plant was priced at S$12 (US$7.8) similar to 2003, but nominally cheaper on a inflation adjusted basis. In Lyman Smith's Monograph on Tillansioideae in Flora Neotropica, Panama, Darien was recorded as a locality ofT. kegeliana in 1914. The distribution of this species stretches from Panama to northeastern Brazil. The type Kegel 881 is from Suriname and so i guess it is named after Kegel. 

Somehow, i find the name Kegel familiar and yes.. There's a Dr Arnold H. Kegel (1894 - 1981) who was a gynecologist that invented Kegel Perineometer (used from measuring vaginal air pressure) and Kegel exercises (squeezing of the muscles of the pelvic floor). I wonder if the same Dr. Kegel collect specimen 881! 

While i had 2 plants, one rotted and collapsed within days of owning it. I suspected it travelled with water in the rosette.  Wet Tillandsias travel very very poorly. The other plant grows exceptionally well and pupped into 2 here.

Deutorocohnia brevifolia

This miniature deserves to be more popular.  I often wonder why it is not part of cactus and succulent offering afterall some of the assortment offered can be rather slow growing plants.  This dry growing bromeliad originates from Argentina and Bolivia. It has been in cultivation for a long time, in particular in dry gardens of mediterranean climate.  I have seen it grown outdoors at Huntington BG in California. Hermann Jacobsen has it in his classic Lexicon of Succulent plants (a wonderful grandfather of succulent books for the hobbyist).  It detests wet or compacted mix and does best in a gritty and free draining media.  While each rosette is only around 1", it eventually offsets and forms a mould given good strong light, time and space.  Be sure not to accidentally brush against or fall in the pot, the needle sharp pointed leaves can really draw blood.