Australian and New Zealand Gardening: BROMELIADS FOR NOVICES & ADDICTS - NOVEMBER 2012, 3 by splinter1804

splinter1804 wrote:
Hi everyone – It was quite hot here yesterday but today it's overcast and much cooler and would be a great day for working in the garden, but unfortunately I have to go to a Brom. Society committee meeting which although is a necessary part of running the society, is annoying when it eats into your brom “Play Time”.

Breeindy – Once more you've posted a nice lot of pictures and I was especially attracted to your first pic (Neo. 'Happy Thoughts') in the second batch. I think it's a beautiful and quite unusual brom., and very similar to one I have which is simply named Neo. 'Mulford Foster Hybrid'. Thinking I had at last found the correct name for mine I went to the BCR to double check it and unfortunately the Neo 'Happy Thoughts' which is registered is nothing like either of our plants. If anything it looks more like your NOID in the next picture. So it looks like both of our plants were wrongly named when we bought them. Have a look at http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/bcr/index.php?genus=NEOREGELIA&i... and tell me what you think.

Trish – If you think an allergy to Mango is bad, spare a thought for me as I'm allergic to Lobster, Crab and Prawns!

It's very true when you say, “It is amazing how many people we know that have never bothered ever trying to grow anything in their life”, I started growing things from seed when I was very young as Dad had a “veggie” garden and I learned all the tricks from him. What amazed me was what I saw on one of the Jamie Oliver shows when he was visiting schools in England and asking kids about “veggies”; many didn't even know what these different veggies on display were, and when asked to name some veggies, about the only one they could relate to was potatoes and even then one young kid argued that they weren't potatoes, they were called “chips”! I must add that these kids came from city schools and not from the country.

Great pic's once again, and hubby's Paph. is beautiful and from what Shirley says is the name, it sounds like a species, is this true? Please don't get me started on orchids again though as it's taken me years to change my addiction from orchids to brom's which I can manage better.

Shirley – It seems you're like me as my “get up and go” was gone years ago. However if I can't talk you into a big brom garden, how about a nice big Frog Pond” with some nice water plants and Yabbies. You could have the best of both worlds, you could enjoy the frogs and the plants while fishing for Yabbies to eat.

You have a nice collection of patterned leaf Vriesea hybrids there, and I really love the foliage colour of the “Blanchies”, what a “statement” they'll make as feature plants in the garden. (The pitcher plants in the background look great also) and your little Break of Day is a great little plant and a firm favouite of mine also.

Ian – It's great that “your Bunnings” has a supplier who puts the names of brom's on the pot, all we ever see down here is the same old generic name of “Bromeliad” no matter if it's a Neoregelia, Guzmania, Aechmea or Vriesea. These suppliers really “P... me off” and are just adding to the millions of NOIDS already in circulation. It's even more annoying when you think that the majority of these plants are mass produced using tissue culture and it would be so easy to provide the correct name. It's hard to say who is to blame, is it the original grower of the “meristems”, or the growers here in Australia who import most of these plants in flasks? I would think it's the growers who import these flasks who are at fault, because what I have seen and know about the lab's that do this sort of work, correct labelling is vital and meticulously carried out. A lot of the growers who buy these flasks are just after a “quick quid” and really couldn't care if these plants are named or not as they know the flowers will sell the plants for them anyway, whether they are named or not.

As for the “bent” foliage on you Neo 'Medusa', if your plant originally came as a pup from a plant, the crooked leaves may be a result of packaging. If on the other hand it was a tissue cultured plant, it could be a deformity which is sometimes (not always) caused by the tissue culturing process.

To clear up your dilemma about Ae. 'Fosters Favourite Favourite' and 'Red Ribbons', they are both sports (albeit two different ones) of Ae Foster's Favourite which came from a crossing of Ae. Racinae x Ae. Victroriana Discolor. I'll take some quick pic's of each which I will post so you can see the difference more clearly .

Sue – Glad to hear your sale went well. Did you have a chap from up that way somewhere called Bruce visit? I told him about your sale and he said he has been meaning to phone and arrange a visit to see your collection but as yet hasn't managed it. He had some other places to go on Sat. and told me he would try and fit your sale in on the way, so I hope he did and you've now made another “brom mate” as he's a nice bloke.

Thanks for the growing tips on the Till. 'Creation' and 'Cyanea' types, I think I have the light requirements right, but as I'm using the same open mix I use for my other brom's maybe it's not holding enough water, so I'll add a bit of potting mix and see how that goes.

I was interested to see you mention Neo 'Close of Day' (another of Grace Goode's hybrids). I don't have that one either so after you fill Shirley's order and if you get another spare pup, I'd like you to save it for me and we can swap for something you want if that's OK. I also have another little one called 'Cheery Day' (see Bree's first lot of pic's 23rd). I can't see it as being registered but it is similar to some of the others from that grex so possibly one that a grower has just given a pet name. I have to stop now and go to this meeting and I'll finish the rest of this when I come home this “arvo”.

Well, I'm home again after we solved the “problems of the world” at our meeting, so now to finish what I started this morning.

I like where you say, “Hubby and I have seats in various places”, I too have seats in various places, not because I have a large property, but because I'm getting too bloody old and need to sit down for a spell occasionally!

Your pic. of Till 'Somnians' has the same method of growth as Till 'Secunda' the only difference being that the Secunda can grow quite large (See Pic 1) It too produces pups along the inflorescence where the flowers were (See Pic 2)

Wendy – Your Neo. 'Painted Delight' seedling certainly looks different; I think if it was mine I'd be waiting to see what the first pup looks like as in my experience to date, they have always been an improvement on the original plant.

About Max; it may just be that the dosage is too strong for him, I'd ring the vet and see if it's OK to reduce the dosage rather than cut it out altogether, at least he could then still get some benefit from it.

Gee I could do with a couple of grandsons like Hayden around here, I'm sure I could find plenty of potting for them to do, good on you for training him correctly. Finally I have to agree with you; those two “Guzzies” do look very similar. I personally think that if a grower is selling you a NOID he could at least have a name for it for $25, even if it's just a formula name, or even half a formula name eg. Guz. Hilda x ?. I'm probably wrong, but I get an “inkling” there's something bi-generic about them, but with no name I guess we'll never know.

Pic 1 is Tillandsia Secunda growing in the centre of a rather large cactus owned by one of our society members. Pic 2 is a file pic showing just how the pups are formed on this plant. The next pic's are for Ian and I apologise for the state of the plants as I took the pic's in a hurry this morning and didn't have time to clean up them up beforehand. Pic. 3 is Ae. 'Foster's Favourite Favourite', Pic 4 is Ae. 'Red Ribbons' and Pic 5 shows them side by side to make it easier to identify the differences.

All the best, Nev.