Australian and New Zealand Gardening: Bromeliads for Novices and Addicts - July 2013, 3 by brombirdie

brombirdie wrote:
Hi everyone.
It's great to see you back Shirley. Sorry to hear the weather was so horrible. Molly looks beautiful and very much at home. The Garden show was interesting and I got some good bargains at Olive's stall but with a $16 entry fee (an extra $7.50 if you wanted to park on the grounds) and an 11/2 hour drive I don't think I'll bother again. I'd rather save my money and spend it at a brom show.
Good to hear from NZ. Hope it's not too cold over there Therese. I've put a photo below of a miniature Billbergia nutans, very much like yours but only about 6 cm long. It looks good in a hanging basket when its flowering.
Sorry to hear it's so cold down your way Jean but it's good that your plants are coping well. Even with our subtropical climate some of my Vrieseas and Guzmanias get brown cold spots on their lower leaves. I'm trying a product that Sue uses, Yates Rose spray, in case the spots are fungal. Pretty Vrieseas in your photo. If you are peaking at the Vr seed don't be disappointed if nothing much is happening. They can take about a month to germinate and probably even longer in winter.
Hi Cody, lovely photo of you and your son.
Any sign of Jesse's dog yet Sue? Rotten people who would steal a pet. Hopefully now that it's the weekend some more people might share Mac's photo. It's been quite overcast here too and I agree that it makes it very hard to get motivated. We had sunshine Thursday and I raced around the yard like a crazy person. Got heaps done but by 4 o'clock I could hardly walk. How about some photos slacko? There's always something looking good in your garden. Get off the couch and get your camera out!
Trish sorry to hear you're not feeling well. Sounds like you need a holiday or at least a weekend in the garden to give yourself time to get over the bug. Took me a while but I finally took a photo of Vr Crackerjack. I cheated a bit and cropped it very close as the lower leaves get lots of brown spots in Winter. I'm trying it in the plastic house to keep it warmer and limit the rain on it during winter.
Ian I had a real laugh at your delete the housework file. Wonder if it would also work with cranky people. My husband had a chuckle at your garden of pricks. We'll have to start a file of 'Ianisms'. Between you and Nev we get plenty of chuckles. Good picking on Ae. Dark Goddess. I've got some seed from it coming up atm. The 3rd photo was Ae. Fantasia which is a tessmanii hybrid. Right also on Samurai. Nice photos especially of Clarisse and High Voltage.
Nev I hope you and Ailsa are enjoying the visit from your family. I miss your explanations and photos. I bet you're busy too Tash with the school holidays. I'm also looking forward to Bromsmatta and the one at the Sunshine Coast. The great thing will be that we can buy broms and not have to worry about quarantine.
I'd better quit before I lose the post. Photos are 1. Bill. nutans (miniature) for Theresa. Don't know its name. Minuata? Or is that a dance? 2. Vr Crackerjack for Trish 3. Neo Heatwave, a new release from Nambour 4. My Nambour buys, Neos Sonic Boom and Bobby Jo. Hard to believe they'll both grow up to be more than a metre across. 5. Random Vrieseas Night all, Jen