Australian and New Zealand Gardening: BROMELIADS FOR NOVICES & ADDICTS MARCH 2012, 0 by splinter1804

splinter1804 wrote:
Good morning everyone,

I posted this on the old thread this morning and in case anyone didn't visit it I'm posting it again here.

When I saw the sun shining yesterday morning and felt a slight North Easterly breeze blowing, I decided to try and cut the back grass. My wife had done a load of washing earlier and hung it on the line hoping for a fine day, but I had to wait until the grass had dried out a bit. About mid morning the clouds were coming over again and I decided to cut the grass there and then. I’d just got everything ready when the young bloke who used to cut our grass dropped in just in time to save my old back by offering to cut the grass for us. No sooner had he started and fine rain started to fall. Fortunately this was short lived and as well as cutting the back grass, he did the front also and now everything’s starting to look reasonably tidy again. He had just put the mower away and down came the rain again and it’s been raining all night, but again not raining this morning.

Wendy – Dead leafing seems a never ending job with brom’s but it’s sure a good way to get to know your plants better and often pick up little problems before they become major issues. I’ve recently finished doing all the Neo’s and now the Vrieseas need to be done, at least they are smooth leaved and don’t start my arms bleeding like I've been attacked by some vicious animal.

Neo Blushing Tiger is a well known “selfer” and I think everyone who has it has at some time tried a bit of seed, and however even though some of the offspring are sometimes barred, I haven’t seen anything as good as the parent show up locally yet, but then you’ll never, never, know if you don’t give it a go!

I have a little Neo ampullacea ‘Black Beauty’ which “selfs” regularly also, and as you say they are very quick to germinate and I’ve found them to grow much quicker than the standard Neo’s also.

No doubt there are dozens of plants in your collection that I would like but unfortunately I always try and commit the names to memory and don’t go to write them down until I’ve forgotten and it’s too late. I’ll send you a wish list of plants I’m chasing as I just usually stick them all on a “wish list” meaning to write the name of the owner beside them but never seem to get around to doing it, and there may be some on the list that you have to swap.

I really do like your little mini Neo ‘Shamrock’ you’ve posted this morning, so when you get a spare pup put my name on it please. The other recent “want” that springs to mind, is Neo ‘Lime and Lava’ that Colleen posted a pic of a few days back.

As for the Bill’s, I haven’t gone through them all yet to sort out what’s available to swap and sell and what I want to keep, but one that does spring to mind is one of the older ones called Billbergia ‘Kip’, it is a plant that really makes a “statement” in the garden; and I’ve seen it grow to almost a metre tall. It’s a light brown colour with spotting and when given good light, it seems to get a beautiful pink cast through it. Grown in the shade it’s a most uninteresting dull green. I’ll see if I can find a pic and email it to you.

I also know I have spares of two beautiful rather large growing species; Bill. macrocalyx and Bill. rosea (see the FCBS Photo Index for a good selection of pic’s) These are what is commonly referred to as the “watch spring” types because of their tightly curled petals.

Thanks for starting the new thread and I’ll post this here in answer to your questions and I’ll also put it on the new thread as well if no one has posted anything there yet.

Now to finish with a few pic’s of my Neoregelias.

No.1. Neo. ‘Blast’, No. 2. Neo. Concentrica x (Charm x Cracker Jack) seedling, No. 3. Neo. ‘Heck’, No. 4. Neo. ‘Marble Snow’, No. 5. Neo. Marmorata (hybrid)