# neoregelia flirtation vs neoregelia echo



## goof901 (Jan 9, 2012)

i've heard that neoregelia flirtation and neoregelia echo are the same. anybody know if that's true or not?


----------



## flyingSquirrel (Aug 22, 2011)

goof901 said:


> i've heard that neoregelia flirtation and neoregelia echo are the same. anybody know if that's true or not?


I'd check with one of the forum sponsors that deals in broms, such as Jason of tropicalplantz.com.


----------



## Jason DeSantis (Feb 2, 2006)

They are not the same. They are from the same batch of seedlings known as a grex. Others like june night and andy ann are from the same grex, not the same as flirtation however. So they have the same parent plants but are grown from seed and chosen that way. Now you can have the same parent plants and cross them another way to create a new look from the same parent plants. So to sum it up for you, no they are not the same but they are from the same grex.
Jason


----------



## goof901 (Jan 9, 2012)

What's a grex? Also do, neoregelia flirtation hold water as much water as neoregelia echo?


----------



## phender (Jan 9, 2009)

goof901 said:


> What's a grex? Also do, neoregelia flirtation hold water as much water as neoregelia echo?


When you hybridize organisms, in this case neos, the parents produce a lot of babies. None of those babies are exactly the same. (The children in your family for example) In the plant world those siblings are called a grex. In this case these siblings (grex) are the grown up seeds produced by breeding two different neos together. Sometimes all the individuals are simply identified by the parent cross, like Fireball x pauciflora. Sometimes outstanding individuals from that cross are given a name, "Echo" for example. From that point on "Echo" can no longer be produced from seed. Echo can only be produced from offshoots of the original plant or offshoots of the offshoots or through tissue culture. Sort of like if your dog had a litter(grex), each puppy is different from the other even though they came from the same breeding at the same time. You can never exactly duplicate any one of those puppies even if you repeated the same breeding. The only way you could get the same puppy again would be to clone it.
So, to make a long story short. Flirtation and Echo are littermates (from the same grex) They are not the same plant any more than you are the same as your brother.

As for whether or not they hold as much water; I have found that growing conditions can change the leaf shape a little which has a lot to do with how much water they hold.


----------



## goof901 (Jan 9, 2012)

what growing conditions make the broms hold more water?


----------



## phender (Jan 9, 2009)

goof901 said:


> what growing conditions make the broms hold more water?


Haven't figured that out yet.  Maybe some of the guys how grow them as a business can chime in. I grow most of mine outside where I can't always control conditions. Sometimes pups off the same parent will grow with thinner pointed leaves and others will grow with fatter rounder leaves. The fatter rounder ones hold more water, but I have a handle yet on what exactly caused the difference.


----------



## Jason DeSantis (Feb 2, 2006)

phender said:


> Haven't figured that out yet.  Maybe some of the guys how grow them as a business can chime in. I grow most of mine outside where I can't always control conditions. Sometimes pups off the same parent will grow with thinner pointed leaves and others will grow with fatter rounder leaves. The fatter rounder ones hold more water, but I have a handle yet on what exactly caused the difference.


In my experience cutting the pups off early will create a rounder fatter brom. The longer I keep them on the mother plant the taller they tend to grow. I would have to assume this is due to the pup trying to compete with the mother for light. I don't know if this is proven but that is what I have noticed. Also the more room that you give each mother and pups tends to slow down them being so tall and slender.
Jason


----------



## Jason DeSantis (Feb 2, 2006)

More room as far as keeping the potted plants more separated. I wasn't all that clear above. Also forgot to mention that with broms they will get more slender if you fertilize directly in the axil of the plant as opposed to a time release fertilizer in the soil. I have seen mother plants grow twice the size as normal with this method and over fertilizing altogether.
Jason


----------



## goof901 (Jan 9, 2012)

so to make the brom have wider leaves, just cut it off when it's 1/3 of the size of the mother plant, or just once it's able to hold water?


----------



## Jason DeSantis (Feb 2, 2006)

Depending on the variety of brom. You can't cut a chiquita linda at 1/3 the size of the mother because it would only be and inch tall. You would have to use your discretion. On bromeliads that grower larger then 6" I would say yes 1/3 grown is fine. Some growers cut them at 1/4 the size or smaller. I would not go that small.
Jason


----------



## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

When grown in lots of light and fed/watered properly, Neo. Echo and Flirtation produce uniform rosettes which will facilitate better water holding. Its not easy to do in a terrarium but these 2 bromeliads will pretty much hold water any time whether they are grown perfect or not.


----------



## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

When I fertilized broms they got leggy and didnt hold water well. Now I grow NO FERTS in as high of light as I can manage. If they arent in a tank, theyre in almost full sun on my porch.


----------



## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Yeah, Neos are particularly responsive to foliar ferts and will get leggy in a heart beat. Lower numbered time release (Nutricote 13-13-13 for example) is a better choice. In the viv, of course, you need nothing.


----------

