Australian and New Zealand Gardening: Bromeliads For Novices and Addicts - October 2014, 2 by bromishy

bromishy wrote:
Hi Everyone!

Hi Shirley what a shame there was too much cloud in Brissie for you to watch the lunar eclipse; our skies were clear but today is slightly overcast and we may possibly get some rain but I highly doubt it as normally the wind picks up and push’s away all the clouds. Hope you get some rain to save you having to water as I am sure it is very time consuming for you.

Ha ha ah yes you’re my other brom buddy that talks to your broms other than Jean he he, ah it’s good for the sole so who cares the main thing it puts a smile on our face nothing else matters.

Lovely pics you shared with us, I really liked Pic 1 of Neo. ‘Burgundy Moss’ the way it gets the flecks only predominantly in its centre. Pic 3 of Neo. ‘Chirripo’ is also a favourite of mine although my plant has a lot more growing to do than yours. That’s also a lovely flowing shrub which must really attract the birds and the bees with all those beautiful flowers; I did not recognise the flower so would be great if you could provide a name when you get a chance.

Hi Jean pleased to hear you also watched the lunar eclipse, what a shame you had clouds that got in the way of you seeing it properly; I had trouble getting my eye’s to see it properly so did not get to see all the detail Joe described to me at the time when we were both watching it.

Roses always look great in front gardens so I don’t blame you bringing some over to your unit, my mum has them growing in a row both at her front fence and as well as right in front of her house (windows) and the amount of blooms they produce is breathtakingly beautiful, mum is always tending to them cutting off old buds and pruning / feeding them when they need and gets great joy out of growing them. I don’t blame you bringing over some more broms as it must be hard for you to decide which ones to keep and which ones to leave behind when they all means so much to you. What about talking to some other people in the units nearby to you to see if they would like to grow some of the one’s you will be leaving behind; then at least you know where to go if and when you want a pup and it would be a great way to make new friends?

Great pics you posted of your Tills’ looking very happy indeed in their new possie and what a pretty flower in Pic 1 of the one that has just flowered, purple and pink go so well together. All your broms are looking great and I like how you have them displayed as well as the pretty flowers on your Cyclamens. Do you also collect African Violets; I used too many years ago as well as Cyclamens when we lived in V.I.C but stopped growing them both when we moved to Q.L.D because I found they had a tendency to rot in our humid weather. When my Cyclamens plant had died back I used to lay the pot sort of on its side and just let it rest in the nursery until next flowering season, this used to work in V.I.C but when I tried same here they never grew back and the bulb still just rotted away so I gave up growing them.

Hi Nev great to hear you made a pretty big start on Seasoling your broms, I need to do the same with mine at some stage but keep getting side tracked.

Thanks for the feedback from Dave’s Garden, at least now we all know they are looking into the matter and hopefully things will be back to normal soon.

Thanks for sharing with us how you got your Neo. ‘Blushing Tiger’ to produce so many pups. With all my retirement bromeliads I place a single “prill” (no more) in each of the lower leaf axils but have never applied double the recommended dose to the surface of the potting mix, just a single does around the potting mix. I have experienced good success in getting up to 8 pups off one plant but that’s about it so far. I can see why you don’t do it anymore thought because of not having enough room to do so anymore. I will keep doing so for now as I give away or sell off any spare pups that I have which in turn helps me pay for all my brom supplies and including supplies for Joes orchids.

Thanks for emailing me the picture of your Neo. Auroa / Domino, I will get in contact with my friend and hopefully get an ID for you sometime soon.

Pleased to hear you like the overhead shots showing the contrast in the barring as you say of my Vr. ‘Splendriet’ and Ae. ‘Chantinii, they are both firm favourites of mine and it’s a shame they both can’t take the same amount of light as they would be great to grow side by side somewhere in our garden with their different markings.

Nev by all means I will keep a pup aside for you of Neo. ‘Chiquita Linda’, I nearly killed my plant about a year ago when it got knocked to its side (possibly by our pouches or a possum) and nearly died due to lack of water but luckily I found it and gave it some special treatment and it is slowly coming back to it’s former glory.

Thanks for your advise with Bil ‘Rosea’ and Vr. ‘Rubyae’, mine have not flowered yet so something to look forward to.

Lovely pics you shared with us of Peter Coyle’s new Billbergia hybrids, all beautiful looking plants. Great shot also of Neo. ‘Lime and Lava’, mine has pupped well and I have already potted up 2 x pups and 2 x more are still on the mother so I am pleased about that as it’s one I am very drawn to in my collection and I want to spread them throughout the garden beds as well as keep a couple in the Igloo to compare the different growing conditions and which I prefer to achieve the best result. That’s a HUGE Cane Toad and not something I would like to see in our garden even if it was stuffed LOL.

Hi Brian looking at how quickly your beautiful brom collection is growing it won't be long before you join us ladies and catch yourself talking to your broms and then it will just become something you do not even notice you are doing until you see the funny looks the neighbours give you like with the photo taking ha ha.

I think it's fantastic how quickly your brom collection is growing and I really like the pics I have seen so far on how you are displaying them in your garden which is so full of colour and I like how you have used the pebbles and pots to sit them in/on. What the one in the big pot as it's a pretty colour and I take it is possibly going to be a large grower which will look fantastic when it grows into the pot so to speak.

Take Care & Happy Gardening!

Time to put the kettle on so catch you all tomorrow hopefully.

Trish

Pic 1 - Vr. 'Gigantea Siedeliana'
Pic 2 - Vr. 'Fantasia x Illusion'
Pic 3 - Neo. NOID???? I luv this one to bits
Pic 4 - Neo.'Camelot'
Pic 5 - Neo. 'Sweet Dreams'