Neoregelia ‘Van Durme’ Mounted on Cedar - Hanging

Grapewood gives you character. Cedar gives you consistency—and sometimes that's exactly what you need.
 
This is the classic form of Neoregelia 'Van Durme', mounted on a 5.5" × 16" cedar board. Where the grapewood versions vary in shape and length from piece to piece, every cedar mount is the same footprint: a long, narrow, portrait-oriented rectangle. That means you can plan around it. Line two along a wall. Hang a row of three. Place one where a twisting vine piece simply wouldn't fit. It's the difference between a found object and a designed one.
 
The plant. This is the original form—the one that built the cultivar's reputation. A green to yellowish base carries reddish-pink stripes, dots, and patches across firm, broad, lanceolate leaves, with a green-to-cream margin visible on mature foliage. At flowering, the center turns a vivid rose pink to red, and that display holds for weeks. The flowers are small and violet, tucked among the inner leaves.
 
The history. Neoregelia 'Van Durme' originated in Belgium as a sport of 'Perfecta Tricolor', selected from the collection of a grower named Van Durme. It was propagated extensively by Paul DeCoster, and divisions went out under several names: plants sent to F. Gruber in Colombia were released in the United States as both 'Van Durme' and 'Gloria'; material distributed to DeLeon in Florida was introduced as 'Inferno'; and plants acquired by Rainforest Flora were released as 'Van Durme'. Same plant, four names, three continents.
 
Why cedar. Western red cedar is naturally rot-resistant—its oils (thujaplicins) resist decay and fungal growth without chemical treatment—which matters for something that gets watered regularly. It's also light, which helps when you're hanging a 16-inch board on a wall. Fresh cedar runs warm reddish-brown and gradually weathers to a soft silver-grey, developing a patina rather than deteriorating.
 
Why mount it. Neoregelias are epiphytic, and mounting is how they grow in the wild. On a cedar board, the rosette sits at eye level, the foliage arches freely, and the whole piece reads as a sculptural object rather than a plant in a pot. The soil-and-moss base at the point of attachment gives the roots something to grip and a moisture reservoir to draw from.
 
A note on the dimensions. At 5.5" × 16", this board matches the footprint of our other cedar-mounted plants. If you already own a cedar-mounted staghorn or a mini Neoregelia on cedar, this will line up alongside them—same width, same height, same clean rectangle. That's the whole point of choosing cedar over grapewood.

Care Instructions:

Bright, filtered light. Aim for the kind of bright to semi-shaded position that suits Neoregelias—a bright windowsill indoors, or dappled shade outdoors. Good light brings out the reddish-pink markings and the cream margins. Avoid harsh, direct midday sun, which can scorch the leaves.
 
Watering the plant: Keep the central "cup" filled with fresh water. Refresh it weekly to prevent stagnation and mosquito breeding.
 
Watering the mount: The soil-and-moss base should stay moist but never soggy. There's no drainage hole in a cedar mount, so you're managing moisture by hand. Water the base lightly and let it dry somewhat between waterings. If the moss stays wet for days, you're overdoing it.