Sunday, September 6, 2009

Pretty picture: Aechmea fasciata flower


Not only a pretty extreme close-up, but it's also a pretty big picture when opened full-size in a separate window. So have all the detail you want.

My ex-work has several Aechmea fasciata blooming right now, plus some brand-new Aechmea 'Del Mar,' barely old Neoregelia 'Ardie,' and a handful of other Neoregelias of varying ages ('Yang,' some NOIDs). Some are pricier than others, but they're all pretty. If you're in the area and want to be impressed, or you're looking for some cool bromeliads, and you haven't yet figured out where I used to work, e-mail and I will happily let you know where to find them.

No, I'm not getting paid to advertise for them. But I ought to be, shouldn't I?


6 comments:

lynn'sgarden said...

Bromeliads are way cool. I like that their blooms last for months. This photo ROCKS!

Anonymous said...

Terrific photo, she says as she weeps all over the keyboard. Let's see, from the easternmost town in the US to Iowa is how far? Unless I levitate or transubstantiate (or run into the kitchen and cook up a plasma drive?) I'm out of luck. I love Bromeliads. More pictures?

Bangchik and Kakdah said...

Excellent work. Yes, flowers are beautiful to the naked eyes, but they are even more beautiful to ant's eyes !!... I guess flowers are not meant for humans only... ~bangchik

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

What great color combination in one bloom! Just great!

mr_subjunctive said...

Anonymous:

If you live in the U.S., plants can be mailed to you via USPS, rather than you having to come to them. I've bought plants at [ex-]work to mail to people before.

The arrangement previously was that I'd do it for the cost of the plants + whatever it cost me to mail them; I might want a little bit more than that now, since I don't work there anymore and it's more out of my way to do, but last I knew they had:

*Ananas comosus 'Mongo' in 3" ($4) and 4" ($7)
*Neoregelia 'Fireball' in 4" ($7) or hanging basket (8, 10, or 12 inch; I don't remember) ($30-35?)
*plain green Neoregelia NOID, not in bloom now but have hot pink center when they do bloom; 4" ($7)
*Cryptanthus 'Black Mystic' or something similar in I think a 6" pot ($25)
*Cryptanthus cvv. (brownish, red, pink) in 4" (I think $10); I have some unrooted or barely rooted 3" plants at home which are either red or pink that I would be willing to sell for $4
*Aechmea fasciata 6", in bloom (not sure of the price; probably $20-25 but don't hold me to that)
*Neoregelia 'Yang' 6" (I'd have to ask them about price)
*Aechmea 'Del Mar' 6", in bloom (I'd have to ask them about price)
*Neoregelia NOID, entire plant dark green-purple, 6" ($40)
*Neoregelia 'Ardie' 6", in bloom ($25)
*Vriesea splendens 6", post-bloom (priced $20, could probably be talked down to $16)
*Assorted colors of post-bloom Guzmania lingulata cvv., 6" (also $20 or $16 but you would probably not be able to choose color: IIRC they were either orange or burgundy, and orange is more likely), and a few 3" or 4" rooted offsets, also of unpredictable color (those were, I think, either red or yellow). I also have some personal 4" Guzmanias I would be willing to let go for $6-7, which are all either yellow or orange.

The specifics about how all this would work would need to be negotiated via e-mail, but there's still time: most of these should be safe to mail until late October. Cost would be (plants + 7% sales tax) + (cost of shipping; it would almost certainly be less than $20 even for a lot of plants) + (whatever we agree my inconvenience is worth).

I'd be willing to do this for any resident of the continental U.S. who is interested; some western states have laws that plants must be sent bare-root, which could complicate or nullify the offer (depending on how much trouble this would be for me). Send me an e-mail if you're interested in any of those, or anything else you've seen on the blog, for that matter.

mr_subjunctive said...

Oh, and there were also a few Alcantarea imperialis, which were like $50 and had not bloomed yet.