Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Random plant event: Cryptbergia x rubra


Discovered this on Saturday (3 Nov); the pot contains multiple rosettes, but only the one is blooming. I don't have a particularly good idea what the flowers are supposed to look like when they appear: Google comes up pretty much empty on photos, and what photos it does have are tiny, just barely large enough to show that they take more after the Billbergia side of the family (green with blue margins, on a tall stalk with red or pink bracts) than the Cryptanthus one (typically white, short, and bractless).

So we'll see what happens. If I am spectacularly lucky, there's a possibility that I might be able to cross this with a Cryptanthus that's starting to bloom in the basement and get seedlings, though 1) it's kind of a long shot, and 2) I'm not even sure that this is something I should be hoping for, considering the current seedling situation.


2 comments:

Paul said...

I wonder how one goes about even trying to pollinate Crypts -- their flowers (at least on mine) seem like they just barely emerge and they don't really seem to open up in any useful way.

Steve Asbell said...

I don't have any photos, but mine had a bit of turquoise coloration which is pretty unusual, huh? They are always described as being too small and hidden to be of much consequence, but I disagree. In contrast to Bilbergias, they last a good while too.