Thursday, July 7, 2011

Neomea 'Popcorn'

Neomea 'Popcorn' is an intergeneric hybrid created by crossing a Neoregelia with an Aechmea. The tight cluster of flower buds in the center of the plant starts out small and then continues to grow and expand (like popcorn) as more buds are formed. Flowers are white and open a few at a time during the early summer. Spent petals turn pink before shriveling away. The entire inflorescence lasts for two months or more.
The plant can grow to be over 3 feet across. The attractive foliage is olive-green on the top and reddish on the underside.
Mine grow in full or dappled shade. They tolerate temperatures in the upper 20°F range under the protective canopy of a large tree.

4 comments:

Mark and Gaz said...

That's a gorgeous bromeliad!

Andrea said...

Did you breed it yourself, Jim? lovely inflorescence.

Grower Jim said...

Andrea: No, I haven't gotten into bromeliad breeding yet, but I might try it sometime. I'm just starting to grow some species bromeliads from seed, so we'll see how that goes first.

Steve Asbell said...

I'm really starting to like all of the intergeneric hybrids out there. There's one called Neomea "Strawberry" that I should have bought when I had the chance at the last brom show. :(