Killer bromeliad - Aechmea veitchii

[XYZ]

I have been exceptionally fortunate to have seen a large number of striking ornamental bromeliads in habitat. As a plantsman, I have also been lucky enough to have grown almost all of the bromeliad species that have struck my fancy, including some very exceptional wild-collected clones and their progeny.

One of my favorite bromeliads is Aechmea veitchii. This amazing plant occurs locally from southeastern Costa Rica through to northern Peru, but is most common in low elevation cloud forests of Panama and western Colombia. If grown soft they can reach almost a meter (39") across the rosette, but the ones I have observed and grown under bright, cool conditions tend to max out at ~75 cm (30"). This species used to be not uncommon in cultivation in the 1970s and 1980s but is now very rarely grown in the US. It is part of a lookalike complex of three sibling species (all formerly in Chevaliera) that includes A. germinyana and A. rubiginosa.

The clone I grow now is an offset of an offset collected in premontane tropical rainforest at ~800 m (2,600')  near El Cope, Cocle Prov., Panama. As is evident in this rather crappy photo, the parent plant was not particularly exceptional looking in nature...

 

In stark contrast to one of my "other" favorites, A drakeana, A. veitchii has a very extended flowering process whereby the inflorescence continues to elongate for over a year. The photo below shows floral initiation in early May 2016; compare with the followup image that was taken yesterday. One of many nice things about this species is that the floral bracts stay in perfect nick throughout the prolonged flowering, so the final product is an amazing Ferrari-red, tall, aloe-like spike emerging from the heart of the rosette. From removal of large offset to flowering takes about two years in both Guatemala and San Francisco, although the original collection (a tiny pup) took more than six years to flower.

Here is a link to an online image taken in situ of an exceptional Colombian clone that is almost done flowering. Note how much the inflorescence can elongate in some plants.

http://www.scielo.org.co/img/revistas/cal/v30n2/v30n2a2fig25.gif

Cheers,

 

J

 

[Gonzer]

Excellent Stoney! So roughly 8 months in? Those bracts are mesmerizing.

[XYZ]

Thanks, Gonz!

Yes, about nine months from start. For the first three the infl is unremarkable and even a bit disappointing if you don't know the plant, since it stalls as an artichoke about 4"/10 cm tall. From here on out is when it gets markedly nicer by the week and elongates quite rapidly. Based on past experience in Guatemala, it should add about another 6-7"/15-17 cm in height before starting to fade in early July. So, all in all, in full color with nice size for almost a year. I am very pleased with the clone, since it has pupped quite heavily over the years. So far, all the offsets have ended up in US botanical gardens, but I have a lot getting rooted on this end.

J

[Gonzer]

Thanks for that info. When you mentioned A. drakeana I had to chuckle. The photo of that species on the cover of Esteves' book has always been my favorite...until now.

[XYZ]

Mine, too. I believe the cover shot on Oliva Esteve's big book is from Peter Bak's personal collection. If you Google the name, there is an image of a very, very good one of mine that I posted on "Growing on the Edge". I ultimately decided not to import either of my clones since the infls are so short-lived (days, not weeks). From my perspective, too much baby-sitting required for a once a year event. They require cool nights and pure water to do well. The nice thing about both of these species though is, for aechmeas, they are fairly small and have quite innocuous marginal spines.

J

[Palm Tree Jim]

Great details on this plant.

Thanks.

[Really full garden]

Really spectacular! Reminds me of the inflorescence of Tapeinochilos ananassae, the Indonesian wax ginger.

[aussiearoids]

And lots available in FNQ both veitchii & germinyana , from the usual supplier of equatorial exotics

I got one at Xmas sale .. the veitchii pic on FCBS from me is actually germinyana

no www for info way back then .