Billbergia Bromeliad, Queen’s-Tears 'Mini'

I found a blue mini at Quail Botanical Gardens in North San Diego County years ago. It did very well as a bedding plant in an enclosed p...Read Moreatio at my mother's in the Encinitas area. She gave away many offshoots over the years to keep it under control. With a little babying through the summer drought, mine have done fine in pots in East San Diego County, but it clearly likes the coastal climate better.

This exotic looking flower scapes emerge in late winter. Here in my climate in the 7b range. These are now putting out flowers in un he...Read Moreated green house.

Billbergia nutans 'Mini' has succulent, stiff leaves which may vary in color and it has sharp, stiff spines, It is a miniature plant wh...Read Moreich has a much smaller, as well as more upright growth habit than other Billbergia nutans. Its tubular rosette also has fewer leaves. The banded undersides of the leaves have a bronze to rosey-bronze color depending upon the age of the leaves and the light conditions under which it is growing. It was collected in Paraguay by Carlyle A. Luer who is known for his knowlege of and expertise with orchids.