Australian and New Zealand Gardening: BROMELIADS IN SUMMER ..2014, 0 by ctmorris

ctmorris wrote:
Hi everyone. It's been a beautiful day here. We got a lot of cleaning up done outside as it was very windy here yesterday. It blew lots of pine needles everywhere. The large ones from the Norfolk Island pine. I went around and took them all out of the plants and the boys raked and swept them up for me. Great little helpers when they want to be. Nev about the lawn clipping rooting boxes. Get a large, but squat 8" foam box and fill with lawn clippings. let dry out . I put some Rapid Raiser pellets through the clippings and then take the pups off the Mumma one and write a tag and stick it into the top and make a hole in the clippings to accommodate the pup. When the box is full I water them and it usually takes about 3-4 weeks in this weather and the roots start to come. I only water them again when the rest in the SH get watered, about once a week in this weather. It makes the job really easy for potting up. Just fill the pot up with pine chips and mushroom compost a sprinkling of RR and stick the pup in,[ the name tag is already written out] and water in. Hope some of you give it a try. Nev, I think that you need to get Ailsa to parcel all those poor seedlings up and send them over here so that I can repot them for you.lol They would be very squished in 3" pots I reckon. Never mind they'll survive and it won't be long before you can tend to them yourself. You are going to be a busy man aren't you? Well must go and see what the boys are doing. Good night. Colleen