Australian and New Zealand Gardening: Bromeliads for novices and Addicts - Dec 2012, 2 by splinter1804

splinter1804 wrote:
Hi everyone - Well we're back into the second day of another week and, is it me or are the days going faster and faster? It's a bit hot here today with a warm westerly wind blowing to make it even more uncomfortable.

I'm a bit limited in what I can do today as I can't bend too far because I scalded the right side of my chest and abdomen with boiling water last Friday morning and now the blisters are starting to break and the raw area is aggravated every time I try to bend down. They reckon there's no fool like an old fool and this all happened when I picked up the kettle with wet hands and it slipped out of my grasp. Instead of just letting the kettle fall on the floor and jumping clear, my natural instinct was to try and hold it which meant I copped the boiling water instead. I'll tell you something though, I'll bet no body's ever taken off a tee shirt as quickly as I did.

Ian – Thanks for the info on harvesting seed from a Quesnelia. I can honestly say I haven't done this before as I try to stay clear of all the teeth on the leaves. However I have a plant of Quesnelia Quesneliana 'Rubra' which has recently finished flowering and to satisfy my curiosity, I went looking for seed capsules on that particular plant, and I followed your instructions and low and behold I found them. These ones were white in colour however there was no seed in the two I picked out so maybe a bit early yet as they didn't come out too easily.

As for pollinating them Ian, the process is exactly the same for any flower, you just have to take the pollen which is on the anther (male part of the flower) and found on the top part of the stamen and then transfer it to the stigma which is the female part of the flower. However I'm probably over simplifying things a bit here, as different brom's have these male and female parts in different locations within the flower. For example a Neoregelia has the stigma concealed beneath the stamens whereas with a Billbergia the stigma is sticking out clear of the stamens. So I guess it's probably a case of a bit of botany homework to find where these parts are located on Quesnelias before you can start any pollinating process.

I really admire your Ae Bracteata with its nice sculptural shape not that much unlike an Ae Bromeliifolia. The nice large red inflorescence is really nicely set off by the brilliant scarlet bracts, and makes it a real “show stopper”; however it's all the teeth on the leaves that stops me from ever owning one.

Trish – I think I'm pretty safe in saying with your Neo. Aussie D seedling the “D” probably stands for “Dream” as in Aussie “Dream” seedling but which of the plants in the Aussie Dream grex is it, that's the question as there are many of them, both named and unnamed, see a list of just the registered ones at:
http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/bcr/index.php?genus=NEOREGELIA&i...

It could be from the “original”Aussie Dream grex or it may even be a seedling from another later cross using one of the many Aussie Dreams as one of the parents and as you know, once you start crossing hybrid to hybrid anything's likely to turn up.

I'm posting two Neo. Noble Descent pictures (Pic's 1 and 2) from different sources and as you know these plants vary greatly depending on the amount of light they are grown under. I've seen them grown in very high light where they all are almost yellow and also in shade where they can be green. Pic 3 is Neo. 'Noble Descent Too' which can also be grown in good light to get the same yellowish foliage as the others. If your Aussie D seedling is only a smallish plant it's probably worth comparing it to the pic of Neo 'Fanfare' (Pic. 4) as that also sometimes can have similar colouring albeit a much smaller plant.

Unfortunately I can't check if there's any link between Neo 'Ashanti' and Neo Cliff Siverd as Neo 'Ashanti' is unregistered, but now that you mention it they do look a bit similar. Having said that though, the plant in my pic has a bit more growing to do before it's fully mature and the colour could change as it's quite different to Jen's Neo 'Ashanti' which she posted a pic of some while back. (see Pic.5)

You got a bit of a bargain with your Ae. Ensign, but let's just hope that any pups from it don't have too much more white otherwise they may start throwing albinos. As for the dead leaves around the base, well that's pretty common with all of the Ae. Orlandiana group and I suspect is just a part of the normal life cycle.

Shirley – I suspected it may have been a trick of the camera that gave the white colouring with your Camelot, however we never know if we don't ask. The fact that it is a bit different to your other Camelot suggests it may be a different clone and worth collecting anyway.

As for Neo. 'Pink Star', I never previously checked that against the BCR as I swappedt two plants from a very reliable friend of mine who had previously bought them from a reputable bromeliad nursery in N.S.W. The two plants were Neo. 'Purple Star' and Neo. 'Pink Star' and I just assumed they were grex mates from the same crossing, however we all know what happens when we “assume” don't we? (says he with egg all over his face)

I think the nice Nidularium in your pic is Nid. Innocentii lineatum not just straight Innocentii.

That's it for now and I'll finish now with some pic's for Trish. Pic's 1 and 2 are of different Neo 'Noble Descent' plants showing the various colours. Pic 3 is Neo Noble Descent Too which I've also seen the same colour as the Noble Descents, Pic.4 is Neo 'Fanfare and 'Pic' 5 is a pic of Jen's Neo 'Ashanti' which she has posted here previously. How do I know? Well it had her name on the Copyright but I'm sure she won't mind me posting it again for her.

All the best, Nev.