Australian and New Zealand Gardening: BROMELIADS FOR NOVICES & ADDICTS MARCH 2012, 2 by splinter1804

splinter1804 wrote:
Good morning everyone,

I’ve been feeling a bit crook the last few days with this rotten cold and continual coughing which has been so persistent my ribs are now all aching, so yesterday I went to the Doctor’s yet again. Would you believe this time he tells me I have pneumonia; so more bloody pills and X-rays etc. etc.

Colleen – It’s good to see someone can keep up with their pup re-potting, I wish I could say the same! Yes your Neo. Thunderbird x Avalon should colour up nicely given good light as both parents are reds; but then you never know as they are seedlings and the odd ones are turning up with spots, which is what makes hybridizing so interesting. I mean if you could accurately predict what each seedling would turn out like where would the interest and anticipation be?

They’re three nice looking plants you show there Colleen, but how about some names so we all know what they are and while you’re at it, tell us what you have on the floor, is it wood chips or mulch of some type? I was once able to get a good waste product for the floors of my shade houses which was a fine hardwood type chip from a mortising machine which they used to mortise fence posts. Unfortunately the owner of the timber yard had a daughter who bought herself a horse, and from then on she used it for the stable floor and I couldn't get any more.

Karen – You mention your large Cocos Palm; did you know that brom’s can successfully be mounted onto these as they have a rough enough surface for the roots to attach to. I once saw one in Southport many years ago and the owner had mounted mini Neo’s all around it and it looked fabulous. Unfortunately I was into growing orchids and not brom’s at that time, and never bothered to take a picture and I’ve been kicking myself ever since. The main thing to remember when mounting plants is that they must be firm and unable to move. If they can move they will not put down roots. The best thing to tie them on with are Pantyhose which I get pretty cheap from the $2 shop and use them for straining paint as well as mounting plants, although I think the girl behind the till thinks I might be wearing them as she always gives me that funny look. Once the plant has been tied on, the pantyhose can be hidden by draping them with a bit of “old man’s whiskers” and you would think it had been there forever.

You ask about brom’s for a shady aspect; personally I don’t think you can go past Nidulariums. Probably the most underrated brom’s of all; I don’t know why because they are easy to grow, don’t cost much, have a good range of colours in the flowers e.g. pinks, reds, purple and even gold and orange and the flowers last for months. You can get them with leaves of varying shades of green right through to burgundy as well as some with variegations.

Another option is some of the burgundy leafed Aechmeas such as Foster’s Favourite, Chianti var, Jean, Mirlo etc. as well as Aechmeas which have the discoloured leaves, i.e. burgundy beneath and green on top; plants such as Miniata Discolour, Purple Heart, Victoriana, Big Stuff etc. So there really is plenty to pick from for your situation.

As a suggestion, you could put the Nidulariums on the ground against the fence with the larger Aechmeas in between them, and hang the smaller Aechmeas along the fence above them. There really are a lot of options when you look at it.

That’s it for another day and I’ll finish with a few more of Chanin’s pic’s of the Noong Nooch Gardens.

All the best, Nev.