Identification: can anyone identify this plant?

i bought two small plants from a reg nursery, which goes against my better judgement do to infestations, but this particular plant has no soil or roots. they are commonly used in bonsai tree settings because they grow very little and remain small, plus they can be glued in place, at the base of tree or on a branch, giving the effect of ferns growing in the forest. if you could please help me identify this itty bitty plant i would very much appreciate it, thank you. at present it is in flower, and is 4 1/2 cm tall, with multi coloured spikey leaves, and purple tubular flowers...

 

You're so lucky! It's a Tillandsia bromeliad; since so many cultivars are out there I can't help with anything more definite than that. The teensy weensie little ones very rarely bloom for home growers - so whatever you did, it must have liked it!

 

thank you so much, now i know where to begin my search! because my trees are mostly outdoor, i keep these little plants indoors under reg florescent lights during the cold winter months.( 6 cm from light,) 1 week after bringing it indoors, it began to bloom. this is the first year i have bought them. now i think i will go and get a few more! at $1.50- $3.50 each,( fox glove nursery salt spring island, bc) and so many dif types, these may become my newest hobby! thanks so much for the info!!

 

They are beautiful!!! I would get it if I knew what they were too! If I ever see them I am going to get them, thanks for the ID, so I can look them up too.

 

At least one Florida nursery sells lots of small bromeliads for growing indoors. Species like Tillandsia ionantha (which makes neat balls) grow well outdoors here in Florida, so I'm using a young live oak as a bromeliad trellis.

 

i asked my husband if he 'did' anything to my bromeliad, before bringing it in... he says, 'why? is is dying?', when i said, no, it was in bloom, he then told me he 'accidentally' emptied the coffee grounds from the basket into the compost, from the porch....it was raining outside, and he wanted a coffee... well, the grounds landed inside the plant, as did some of the coffee he tossed off the porch...hmmmm....he left it there for a week! only just remembering to wash it out before he brought it in...so it may actually like the acidity of the very dark coffee i drink...it has been in flower now for over a month, there is a flower for every inner blade. unfortunately, i dropped my camera!!! but its getting fixed, but it was my best lens too!!

 

Wow, this is spectacular. I wish I could find these locally, I have not had any luck yet. I will keep looking. Thanks for the tip for if I can find it.

 

Should be able to get them over the internet.

 

the nursery here on salt spring island, has hundreds! lots of dif varieties, shapes and sizes, from 2 cm-14cm tall. they ship all over the world, and are called fox glove nursery, on north end road, i was in last week, and bought ten more!! they are kept piled together in a fish bowl, and the larger ones are in a basket on the side.( for locals looking to find them, as the floor staff had no idea what i was asking for....) good luck!
i have moved the compost so now my lazy husband cant just toss it off the porch! i am wondering if it flowered in spite of the coffee ground mishap, or because of it!

 

Thanks, I was looking on the internet, a little pricy. At least more than a couple dollars. I will check the nursery out. Thanks again.

 

sometimes i find the internet to be too expensive for buying plants, and you never know what your really going to get. if there are no laws about mailing plants, ( as i forgot to check where you are! lol!!) i could send them to you, cod, at cost and shipping, if it helps at all with the costs. like i said, they ranged from $1.50-$3.50, ( canadian peso's, lol) and shipping. think about it if you cant get them at that price, as i am shipping crickets weekly, cod, whats one more package?

 

I'm in TN. I feel like the shipping cost from there to here would be huge. And I do not know the law on plants from there to here.... That's a great offer. I will look for cost estimates.

 

canada post has small boxes that go anywhere in north america for one price, about $5.50, yet its not safe to mail any plants from salt spring island, as they just dont have priority mail. ( i paid for 24 hr service, and it got there in 62 days,lol. when i asked about the time delay, i was told,and i quote, " what, do you think your special? we don't put the plane in the air for just one package!" it sits until the box is full! hippy mail service, its what i get for living off the grid i guess.
i go to victoria weekly, as i send my crickets worldwide from there, as i am a cricket farmer... so just let me know, and i will send them on to you. at the moment, i am trying to get seeds, if i am successful, i will mail you some.

 

Haha. That's hilarious. The seeds would make it.... I will pay the 5.50. Is that right? How do you want to do it? I send you a check? What kind of crickets do you sell?

 

i started breeding crickets for my sons tree frogs, as i noticed that every company uses chemical food/water cubes for feeding the crickets. on $100.00 a month in crickets, my sons frogs were starving to death. so i spent some time researching crickets and how to best breed them.
the crickets i breed are like no others, and the method i use is actually patented, and a secret! so don't tell anybody,lol. they are fully formed when hatched, ( no larva stage) and are egg to baby in 7 days, about the size of a pinhead. in 4 weeks, the female will begin to lay eggs. in optimum conditions, she will lay up to 200 eggs an hr, all day long. high temps trigger breeding. only the males sing, they are calling out to their harem, 'im ready girls!!' one male can have hundreds of females in his harem, crickets pair bond for life, a female can store enough sperm to lay eggs for 14 days. after feeding the frogs just 15 crickets each a week, they were so fat and healthy they couldn't get all 4 legs on the glass!
to make a long story short, i now breed organic crickets for human consumption, ( freaky eh?) they are gut loaded and deep fried by the millions for the oriental market, ( we remove the wings, legs and head) and ground into flour for the Canadian/american market. if you think you never had them before, think again, almost everyone has, usually without knowing it. the companies list it as secret, organic, or natural ingredients and get away with it.
cricket flour is tasteless, and has 9 grams of protein per 1/2 teaspoon. its added to yoghurt, ensure, protein drinks, like power aid, and muscle builder shakes, chocolate,energy bars and much much more. ( how else do you think they get so much protein and carbs in there?)
if you pm me your address, i will send the box with a few varieties, if you like them, keep them and mail me back a cheque. will that work? i am going to victoria next weds, and can pm you once sent. the way i see it, at 1.50- 3.50 each and 5.50 for the box/mail, it should be under $20, or there about.

 

In my area (southwestern Ontario) they are called "Air Plants"...I have seen yours, but also others, some flowering, some that don't. They are sold 'mounted' into anything from small shells, a small piece of driftwood, or even glued to a small decorative stone.

 

Thanks Cagreene. I pmed you. Now I am wondering if you have a site. If you do, I might order crickets for you in the future if you sell them live. I like animals too. When I had a bearded dragon he loved crickets, but not that I am older and know what those go through, I don't like the idea of giving any of my future critters these crickets covered in the chemicals that they use. My carnivorous plants too, but I just raise maggots or black soldier fly larvae for them. Hehe.

 

i am just getting modern, as i have been fighting joining the computer world, i l lost recently, as my sons are now adults living too far to visit more than a few times a year. so they have dragged me into the computer age kicking and screaming, and i am now getting a sight set up, but as it stands, unless the island trust here gives me permission to expand, i have contracts for millions of crickets weekly, i just can't meet. we are thinking of opening a distribution centre in ont, or quebec, to make shipping east easier. my company is called 'karma crickets'. i could send you some babies, to feed your plants, but it would be easier for you to get eggs and let them hatch, then you can determine the size best for your plants. the eggs can be hatched by putting them in a margarine container, w/lid, on your hot water tank. they should hatch within 1 week to 10 days. a few pieces of high protein food, or even cat food, and a wet sponge for their water source, and a few pieces of veg ends to gut load them.

 

You're awesome! I love someone who can handle bugs too. Lol. I will keep that in mind if I ever try to raise them again. I tried once when I was very young, FAIL!!!!!!!!!! Like I said, very young. Lol. I will keep an eye out for you if you ever expand though, and of course I get the need again, which I will eventually. Thanks for everything!

 

where i live learning about insect life cycles is just par for the course for any gardener, but i also love to fly fish fresh water rivers and streams. i moved to a fresh water lake, on the mildest temp island in canada. we rarely get below 5 c all winter. here is a shot of my new dock just built this summer. every morning between 3-6 am i am out there throwing out a line or try my luck with the belly-boat, and fly rod. ii also go hunting for caribou and moose in the north every 5 years or so...

 

AWESOME!!!! What ya catch up there?

Oh, btw, did you get my pm?

 

i did get your pm, and i am leaving thurs. to see my specialist, so i will send it then.
we have caught rainbow trout, cuttys, cut-bows, brown trout, salmon still come up the streams, but not in large numbers, large and small mouth bass and bullhead. a neighbour said he caught a dolly varden, but i doubt it, as they are mostly southern vancouver island.
the largest fish caught here was 12 lbs, 4 oz rainbow, the lake is closed so the trout are land locked and never go to sea and become stealhead, but somehow the salmon traverse the 75 feet from dry stream bed into the lake, probably because they are returning to the hatchery. my largest fish was 7 lbs out of this lake, a cutbow, (cut-throat or cutty crossed with rainbow trout )
salt spring is a great place to live, if you like the rain, with brief periods of sunshine. we also dont have traffic lights, street lights or any chain stores or fast foods. our island trust wont let any of them develop here. its been a big change from the city, having no garbage collection and no city water or plumbing, having a herd of deer for neighbours, no night noise, except the chirping tree frogs. with no street lights, the stars at night are HUGE!
my wide angle lens was broken when i dropped my camera, ( happened right after i took the picture of the bromeliad !) also broke the camera,... its being fixed, and i am praying it will be ready on thurs, as the whales are here for the salmon run, and i would love to have footage to share. seeing the whales with the babies feeding makes the ferry ride to victoria bearable.

 

if anyone is still interested in finding these plants, there are MANY kinds, multiple sizes, for sale at the fox glove nursery, on salt spring island bc,(250-537-5531) or chris@foxglovefarmandgarden.ca, or www.foxglovefarmandgarden.ca to order.
here are some pictures of what is availible...

 

insectivore, here is the three i bought for you, i tried to pm the pictures to you, but it wouldnt let me send pic's. so here there are... a extra small one that looks like a pineapple, one like mine size small, and a med one about 6 inches long. enjoy!

 

Thanks!