Vriesea philippocoburgii, Mature With Pups, Potted

Family: Bromeliaceae (the bromeliad family)
Genus: Vriesea (includes silver vase [urn plant])

Botanical/Binomial Name: Vriesea philippocoburgii
Meaning of Name:
Vriesea, after Willem Hendrik de Vriese, Dutch botanist and physician (1806–1862); and
philippocoburgii, possibly after Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1844-1921)

Common Names: Vriesea philippocoburgii, Vriesea philippo-coburgi, Philippo-Coburg’s Vriesea

Botanical Characteristics: Herbaceous | Perennial | Epiphytic| Frost tender to tolerant
Propagation: Division of ‘pups’

Item Description:
PICK-UP ONLY
This is a mature plant with pups, in a pot 150 mm diameter and 135 mm height. All photos shows the actual plant for purchase.

This bromeliad cluster comes from a single plant potted two or three years ago, which is now surounded by all the pups which have grown since.

The original plant is the one spiking, and stands just shy of 900 mm tall with the flower spike and including the pot. The entire clump is about 600 mm across and 300 mm tall excluding both spike and pot.

Plant Description:
Vriesea philippocoburgii is somewhat cold-hardy. It likes part-shade to full sun. The leaves become lime-green with rich brown tips second photo) when grown in full sun.

The incredible flower spike can reach 2 or metres high.

Growing Information:
Vriesea philippocoburgii is an epiphytic plant, meaning that in the wild it would normally grow on another plant (without harming it in any way), and thus the roots are designed to attach to a surface rather than to uptake nutrients. They can still grow in pots so long as the medium is free-draining and their leaf ‘cups’ are always filled with water.

Grow this plant in full sun to develop the lime-green leaves with brown tips it is famous for. It is best fertilised with an occasional liquid fertiliser to mimic how epiphytes normally derive nutrients, which is from rotting leaf and other matter collected in the leaves.

The vivid and striking flower spikes emerge over summer and are very long-lasting.

V. philippocoburgii propagates via pups, and an individual plant will steadily multiply into several very easily. The pups are easily divided for potting on.