Australian and New Zealand Gardening: BROMELIADS FOR NOVICES & ADDICTS - NOVEMBER 2012, 3 by weed_woman

weed_woman wrote:
good morning
Trish, I think your noid in the first batch, number 4, is N. 'Grey Nurse'?
And the noid in the second batch, number 2 s N. 'De Rolph'? Is it a large plant?
Wow, so you have a trailer load too! I know exactly what you're in for. The photos you have posted are gorgeous. I love that Neo. 'Mirlo' any chance of a swap? Where did you go to make your purchases?
My hubby and I also use the pool to cool off, as no A/C here, but we don't get the temps you get, at least not for too long at a time.
Funny you should mention about the broms going into the garden. There is about 50 of the noid red Neo that I already have borders of, so if I can't sell the 15 or so that are flowering now, I will just make another row somewhere and harvest the pups next year. Also N. 'Painted Lady' must have been a favourite of the grower! There are stacks of them! At this point, most of the broms have been weeded, sorted into trays, and placed in groups around the garden in protected spots. We attempted to erect a shade house yesterday, but didn't have the materials to finish it and then it rained, so it will have to wait until monday afternoon now.
We picked up some broms from the growers yard, which I thought might have been his special stuff, and looked after, but it turns out we have two ute loads to repot!. Hubby and i went through them last night, one by one, trimming dead leaves and old mothers off, and today will be a big repot, as most have been living lying on their sides!
There were a couple of nice surprises amongst the bunch, and i will take pictures as I find them again.
Ian, are you saying you lost your seedling area to Crypts? What the? I wish I could send you our rain. It bucketed down all night! Today I will have to be on the lookout for those pesky leeches!
Bree, you are welcome to call in if you're ever down this way. If you give your N. concentrica x albomarginata a bit of slow release fertiliser, you might find it throws a pup. I would try dropping one or two of the fertiliser pellets (or prills as they are sometimes called) into a leaf near the base, as this sometimes encourages pups.
Nev, I think thats a lousy excuse for registering all those plants. I like the idea of giving the whole grex a registered name, and only the outstanding ones get a special name, and then mulch the rest. Look how hard it is trying to ID a plant that seems to have something special, let alone a wishy washy, nothing looking plant.
Yes, you are right! I am an addict, but had got to a point where I couldn't justify buying expensive plants for the collection, but now........I have enough to make a go of it, I think, and in time, if I can make a profit, I will be able to buy nice stuff to propagate more of, as well as enjoy the ones I have around me. I am worried that might go the way of other growers I have met, and the plants might become neglected, but at this time, I feel I can manage for the moment.
I had better get my potting gear on and get started.

photo one and two shows how we managed to do a double load, and get shelving home at the same time. I pulled the shade cloth over and it was the perfect length to drape down the sides and secure. I packed any spaces with trays to make sure nothing would move. All good
So far, we have done three loads of A. blanchettianas, at 18 in a load. Things must be planted in rock, they are so heavy! Most are cold damaged or wind damaged, but the pups will be ok.
Sue