Thank you, Bihai! I suspected they were billbergias but I'd really like to know more about them. I always thought the top one is nutans but I've been assured that nutans doesn't have such large bracts and the pinks are paler. The second one looks a lot like a heliconia to my untrained eye(not that I think it is a heliconia, it just has that kind of hanging-down, open-look thing going on. I don't know if I've expressed that correctly, lol, but it's the best I can do right now. I'm sort of on cloud nine, I think I'm going to buy a nursery and I'm so excited! Anyway, I think it looks like from the Florida Council of Bromeliad Societies Bromeliad Photo Index, I'd love someone knowledgable to either confirm that ID or let me know the correct one. It's a beautiful plant, the leaves are quite wide for a billbergia, up to 4" wide, and on the short side, although I haven't measured them I'd say 18" or less, with a looser vase than many. The vibrant, medium green leaves have a touch of blue in them and what appears to be a certain amount of translucency but that may be due to the extremely fine silver fuzz that covers the surface and disperses the light waves. This fuzz also covers the bracts, which are a beautiful candy pink with thin darker rose veining. Thanks again, I value your insight!

The pink will still look good even if the blue buds have faded. It (the mother plant) will not bloom again so there is no hurry to cut the stem off. Just a matter of when you tire of it. The pups will have the next bloom. From what I can see it looks like it could be Aechmea fasciata. tj This post was edited by tsugajunkie on Tue, Sep 24, 13 at 19:21

I liked being an owner and the intense joy that my incredibly loyal following enjoyed from my hard work. I had many people who just stopping by my garden center could revisit the feelings they had when they walked in their grandmothers garden. Some came as a form of therapy. Others came at night when I advertised in advance about the opening of the Night Blooming Cereus. Still others loved the fragrances, oh how I loved finding new and aromatic plants. Hummingbirds loved my place for they knew dozens and dozens of tasty plants awaited them in all sorts of colors not just red. For some I was the home greenhouse they wanted but could enjoy none the less. The joy I felt in treating the poorest customer just like I did the customer who (literally) was a millionaire and founder of a NYSE listed company. Being in the greenhouse in the quiet of January and feeling warm and seeing beauty all around me. Working harder than I knew I could work and feeling pride and fulfillment. Sharing moments of excitement with a customer who for the first time saw an American Goldfinch or Red Breasted Nuthatch at a feeder I sold them with the correct food to attract them. Being well known in a 6 parish area(county for those of you not from Louisiana) for the fantastic diversity and quality of the plants I sold. I had the pleasure of dining with the late J.C. Raulston of North Carolina. Knowing the late Dr. John Griffin of Louisiana Tech University, a man who made you feel like the most important person in the world,at least to him, every time you visited with him. It was about me but it was also about connecting with all kinds of people.I have been out of the business as an owner for 7 years and I miss the people the most.

Hi everyone. Bunny – First of all lets discus the idea of using tobacco as a repellant to insects. Being an old orchid grower, at the mention of using “tobacco with plants”, the alarm bells start ringing. The reason is that tobacco has been traced as the source of mosaic virus diseases in orchids. The following excerpt from an article on Mosaic Virus informs us, “There are no cures for viral diseases such as mosaic once a plant is infected. As a result, every effort should be made to prevent the disease from entering your garden. ... Avoid working in the garden during damp conditions (viruses are easily spread when plants are wet). Avoid using tobacco around susceptible plants.” The key words here are “susceptible plants” – of these it is widely known that orchids and bromeliads are susceptible to contamination from viruses, therefore this should answer your question, “How successful do you think the tobacco tea might be, particularly on these little air plants?” To read the article about mosaic virus in its entirety go to: https://www.planetnatural.com/pest-problem-solver/plant-disease/mosaic-virus/ The thing is; there are other alternatives with the two most accepted methods being prevention and treatment. Myself, I prefer the prevention over treatment simply because I don’t want to go spraying insecticides around my yard where it may harm friendly garden creatures such as frogs, fish, lizards and birds. To do this I use an insecticide but not as it is intended, i.e. I don’t spray it over my entire collection of plants. I just spray it on and around the individual pots and I find the repellent properties in this product keep the insects away, even grass hoppers, which are very destructive and were a real problem until I found this product. The product is called “Clensel”and it is an insecticide made from natural ingredients. See: http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3857331/katydids-and-clensel In conclusion I would say this product will meet your requirements inside the home just as effectively as it does in the garden; and what’s more it’s non-harmful to humans and pets and doesn’t have an offensive smell. If you aren’t able to buy this product in your area you could probably get the same result by just using the Citronella Oil which is the active repellent ingredient in the Clensel insecticide. All the best, Nev