Vriesea bleheri is not difficult in cultivation. In the winter I keep it moderate to cool with a minimal temperature of 10° C; in the Botanical Garden at Halle they are grown in the warm greenhouse. The only difference is in the faster growth under the warmer conditions. The regular bloom cycle is remarkable. The bloom time has always been in December regardless of whether the plant has been grown warm or cool. It is also noted that immature specimens have also produced some inferior inflorescences. It is difficult, however, to classify Vr. bleheri clearly in the sections VRIESEA or XIPHION, which will differ according to the relative length of the stamens and the petals. In my specimens grown in the cool greenhouse (the drawings in BRADEA) the stamens were approximately equal in length to the petals; accordingly they should be classified in the section XIPHION. In the specimens grown in Halle under warmer conditions the stamens were distinctly longer than the petals; therefore they belong to the section VRIESEA.
A further influence of temperature in the formation of the inflorescence is evident in the fact that in the cool-grown specimens the rachis elongates more quickly causing the inflorescence to be more open at the beginning of anthesis. The inflorescence of the warm-grown specimens, on the other hand, remains dense for a longer time and becomes open only after blooming.
Because of the dark violet leaves, the nicely shaped rosette, the brilliant yellow inflorescence and, last but not least, because of the favorite December blooming time, this new Vriesea bleheri will certainly attract the attention of commercial growers, whether as a species plant or as a hybridizing partner .
General notes
I and the Botanical Garden at Halle received simultaneously various orchids and bromeliads collected by Senhora Amanda Bleher - LOTUS OSIRIS - and by her son Michael in the summer of 1975 at the foot of the Organ Mountains. We were particularly attracted to some vrieseas among them because of their shape and the distinctive dark violet coloration of the under side of the leaves. In some of the specimens both sides of the leaves were of this color. and this coloration has not changed in the three years that they have been growing in the greenhouse. The first specimens bloomed in December 1976, others in December 1977, and it was evident that we had a hitherto unknown species. The Botanical Garden's Inspector Roeth and I published the Latin description in the bulletin of the Herbarium Bradeanum, Rio de Janeiro - BRADEA Vol. II/38 (1978) pp. 261-264. Since it is assumed that other bromeliad growers own specimens from this expedition, the English description is presented here: —SeeWeber 1979cp. 29\\(4): 172-174
