Growing Bromeliaceae from Seed

[Wolfram1]

Here is the progress so far:




Sadly the berries were picked by yours truly from within a huge collection of Bromeliaceae at one of the botanical gardens in Budapest, so nether do i know the exact species, nor if they may be hybrids. I am kicking myself for not taking pictures of the mother plants.

Anyway, am hopeful that i will be able to thell the genus in time as they develop, but we will see.


If any of you have experience with growing these or relatives of their cousins (Tillandsia) from seed let me know.

I just started some Tillandsia seeds recently and pictures will follow if successful.

For growing them in an adequately ventilated space i just reused some of my Poecilotheria sling boxes for them XD, doesn't having spiders come in handy : ).



Anyway feel free to add pictures of your own seedlings, pups, or even full plants. And ofc ask questions if you have any.

Cheers

 

[Wolfram1]

Tillandsia sp. seedlings, wow these grew fast, i could barely see the seeds and must have spread them out unevenly, but just a month later most of them already have 3-4 leaves at about 1-2 cm in lenght.

I was expecting them to take much longer than that.

 

[The Snark]

I wish I could take you back a few decades and introduce you to the botanical gardens huge epiphyte greenhouses and the team of fanatical keepers of what I termed 'the jungle'. At first glance the place was overgrown chaos. It turned out the overcrowding was intentional. They, especially the bromeliads, love company, the more crowded together the better. They create their own miniature ecosystems aiding and enabling their neighbors to flourish. Sort of the antithesis of most plants - the more dense the foliage, the more nutrient rich air and moisture becomes available. Quite similar to many molds where a poorly ventilated damp environment is their preferred playground.

 

[Wolfram1]

I wish I could take you back a few decades and introduce you to the botanical gardens huge epiphyte greenhouses and the team of fanatical keepers of what I termed 'the jungle'. At first glance the place was overgrown chaos. It turned out the overcrowding was intentional. They, especially the bromeliads, love company, the more crowded together the better. They create their own miniature ecosystems aiding and enabling their neighbors to flourish. Sort of the antithesis of most plants - the more dense the foliage, the more nutrient rich air becomes available.

interesting, i would have certainly loved to see that

 

[The Snark]

interesting, i would have certainly loved to see that

My memory fails me somewhat here but approximately in less than around 1000 square feet of floor space and 15 foot ceilings, they had over 1000 species or sub species of plants.

 

[Wolfram1]

the only sad part about collections like that is that many of the plants are still fairly young in evolutionary terms and can hybridize, & if you don't keep track of the original lines you end up with lots of unknowns

other than that awesome

 

[The Snark]

the only sad part about collections like that is that many of the plants are still fairly young in evolutionary terms and can hybridize, & if you don't keep track of the original lines you end up with lots of unknowns

Thanks. I got to have a good laugh at myself with that. While I'm functional rudementarily biological and botanical wise, with plants the bus stops there, dead in it's tracks. I call it my botanical brick wall and gazing beyond it my brain starts whimpering and preparing to go into a nervous decline. Me being the last person on the planet to place your plants care under.
IE I can relate to what you said but can't even imagine what the long term hybridizing effects would be.

Wife gone for three months I was entrusted to the care of her one little inside houseplant. In spite of everything I did it slowly turned brown and was at deaths door when the boss returned. Then in one week it's solid green and making up for lost time. A Chinese herbologist explained it as too much yan. Hot fierce hands that plants tend to hate.

 

[Wolfram1]

So here is an embarassing Update

I am pretty sure the "Tillandsia" seedlings turned out to be regular Grass because for one they grew way too quickly and secondly they look nothing like the stocky plants they should have come from. The only strange part is that i have not gotten any grass in the boxes were i did not seed out "Tillandsia" seeds and i did use the same moss.... who knows how that works.

here is what is left of them, i did stop caring for it for the most part once i made the determination, so it does look a little sad.



the Bromeliads however have grown well, the ones i separated out early did much better since they were spaced out better and have some soil beneath the moss to draw nutrients from.


Also, what i first assumed to be another species of Bromeliad turned out to be something entirely different.

I did wonder why the berry looked so different, all because i mixed up the plants it could have come from in my head.

It turns out they are bona-fine Anthurium seedlings, probably growing as a weed underneath the Bromeliad bench and me beeing distracted.

Here is one growing between the Bromeliads. I can't wait so see what type they are.



Cheers,
Wolfram

 

[liothewitcher]

Hi there!
Well done

 

[Wolfram1]

Thanks. I guess an update is in order.

There is some older thrips damage on the bromeliads sadly, but despite that they developed well this summer.



it defenitly looks like a reminiscent of a pineapple even if it is not in the Ananas genus...

 

[fcat]

How is your grass coming along though?

This is beautiful and inspiring. I think this is the only source/ method I would feel comfortable with using live plants.

I would like to try Tillandsia myself, I hope you try again!

 

[Wolfram1]

How is your grass coming along though?

This is beautiful and inspiring. I think this is the only source/ method I would feel comfortable with using live plants.

I would like to try Tillandsia myself, I hope you try again!

the grass is dead, i discarded it

well, i had to use systemic insecticides to save the bromeliads and on top of that it ist starting to grow wicked spines, so i wouldnt use these ones.



if you plan on setting up future terrarium plants i would reccomend using stem cuttings of Epipremnum, Ivy or vining Ficus. That way it doesnt matter if any pesticides were used as all you will eventually add is the new growth.

I will try again for sure, just as soon as i get my hands on some hopefully viable seed.

 

[Wolfram1]

it grew a little bit


some other projects... it never ends really

Hydnophytum sp. & Myrmecodia sp.


i also very much enjoy growing fancy bulbs, there is such a huge variety

Albuca cf. namaquens

etc.

 

[Kada]

Fantastic photos!

I just say, I am in LOVE with your living room! How do you give that mj storage light? My wife would love kithing more than a monster like that next to the sofa!!! Beautiful !

 

[Wolfram1]

Fantastic photos!

I just say, I am in LOVE with your living room! How do you give that mj storage light? My wife would love kithing more than a monster like that next to the sofa!!! Beautiful !

thx, they tolerate very low light conditions so all it gets are the light from two east facing windows and a little bit of direct sun in the mornings when the rays are weak.

thats also why the leaves are so dark, if i had it in a sunnier spot it would grow even better and the leaves would be a lighter shade of green

If you start with a big mature top-cutting you will get that nice look much sooner, still conditions are not perfect otherwise the leaves could be even more impressive.

The lady i got mine from couldn't handle the repots anymore and gifted it to me. She told me it she had taken the original cutting from a M. deliciosa farm in South Africa 55 years ago, so its at least 61 years old by now. Most of it grew in my care, but I like that it has history.

I am just sad i didn't take her up on the offer when she asked if i wanted the maidenhair fern of a similar age as well. That one was magnificent, almost bonsai like, with little trunks, but back then i wasn't confident in taking care of it nor did i recognise how special that was.

The Monstera deliciosa was also my test-plant to see if i could consistently care for a living beeing for a year prior to getting my first spiders.

i moved it backwards, towards the couch as it was growing towards the light, until i finally mounted it to the ceiling, but i am afraid of what might happen in a few years when i run out of room .

when it gets to a certain point i might have to activate the node i want with "keiki paste" prior to taking a rooted top cutting. I certainly can't move it anymore.

Oh Yea,
this is what became of the Anturium seedling (Anturium cf. obtusum) in between the bromeliads. It just developed its first flower bud.

 

[Kada]

What a wonderful history to that plant! Truly a special one, and quite amazing indoors!! My house is so dark....

cytokinins work well, in my opinion always better to use first, once buds form, then cut hehe.

Im curious, does it flower for you indoors? May I ask what country you are in?

Apologies for all the questions, but despite it being a common plant, it's on of my family's absolute favorite plants! The ones outside here are amazing, but so big. Your picture is inspiring me to do some living room reconfigurations haha.

That's a good tip you gave, take a cut from an already thick, bigger plant.

 

[Glorfindel]

nice to see fellow A boarders with green thunbs too. and beneficial in refreshing the air around us.

 

[Wolfram1]

Np, np.

No it doesn't flower. Sadly. I would love to eat the fruits sometime.

Central Europe.

I would love to be able to grow it outside, to see it actually climbing, now that would be a dream.

There are some fantastic videos about this plant by 'Wonder Keeper' on YT, but i guess you don't need those to see them in their full glory.

take care