Australian and New Zealand Gardening: BROMELIADS FOR MARCH ....2014, 3 by splinter1804

splinter1804 wrote:
Hi everyone - Well the weekend's over and the rain stayed away and we had a beautiful sunny day for my grandson's birthday party and a great time was had by all; even “Spider Man” (and friend) who dropped in for a visit.

Time to get back onto the reno. once again as it's a nice fine sunny day, so straight after breakfast I'm into it and hopefully no distractions this time. Yesterday before I went to the party I went around the yard with the camera and just took random shots of “colour” and once again I came across a nice surprise. A couple of days back I had noticed what looked like a white/blue inflorescence coming out of the centre of a plant I previously though was a Neo. I had used as a “fill in” between a couple of Alcantareas. Much to my surprise when I looked again yesterday this inflorescence had grown to about 12” since I last saw it and it looks like it could be a plant of Ae. 'Shelldancer'. I know I have a plant of this but never knew I had two, so a nice welcome surprise.

I thought we might have had more reading this morning but I see there's still quite few who have been too busy over the weekend to post. No doubt we'll hear from them in time.

Cody – Sounds like “spring has sprung” with the trees putting out new leaves and the wild flowers popping up. What sort of wild flowers do you have there?

Wendy – Today I was looking forward to seeing the seedling pic's but again a “no show”; if you don't post them soon, I'll be too old to use the computer to see them. Ha! Ha!

It sounds like the new area that Johnny's working on will be very handy and an extra tap installed with sprinklers to come as well. I've always said I prefer to hand water (and still do) but I've been toying with the idea of putting in a few “misters” just so I can just give everything a brief misting each morning to freshen them all up. I guess I'm trying to mimic the evening and morning fog and mist they would get in their native habitat. Just when this will happen is anyone's guess, as this job is on the bottom of a very long list and possibly by the time I've gotten around to it I'll be too bloody old and weak to even turn on the tap!

I can't work out how your pic's keep coming out sideways. Are they the right way up when you load them from your camera? If so it's obviously a DG problem, or the way you're holding your mouth at the time. Ha! Ha! Why don't you tell DG about it by using the “contact us” box at the bottom of the page. I've contacted them quite a few times since I've become a member and found them very quick and helpful.

If the pic's are the right way up when you're posting them, the other thing I would be inclined to try would be to rotate them anti-clockwise by ¼ turn before you post them and see what happens then.

Shirley – It seems you're like the rest of us and finding the days aren't long enough to get everything done. I shudder to think what will happen during the winter months when the days are shorter still, but then we'll have daylight saving again by then which will help things out. I mean you must be really very busy when you weren't even able to fit in a trip to a brom sale; anyway, think positive and look at all of the money you saved.

Nice pictures you've posted once again and I can't help being drawn toward the pic of that unusually coloured Neo.'Mini Me', please put my name on the list for a pup “Pretty Please”, I think it's a great looking little plant which I just must have.

It seems it's unregistered as I can't find it on the register, and that gets me asking the question of why would anyone with such a differently coloured mini Neo. to anything else I've ever seen give it a name but not take the time to register it as it's certainly different and worthy of the name being recorded on the register.

The colouring reminds me very much of a standard sized Neo. I've seen on this site (I think posted by yourself or Trish) but I just can't bring the name to mind....The “CRAFT CLUB” is the problem you know.

You've done a good job of flowering the other three plants also but I'm a bit puzzled why I've never seen Neo.'Wally' before as the picture on the BCR and FCBS was taken by Jarka Rehak who although is not from our local area, he and his wife are long time members of our brom. society.

Neo 'Macho Splotcho' is nice also and this plant is a hybrid from Peter Tristram who is another Queensland hybridiser. The crossing is Neo.'Macho' x 'Predator', and although I can understand the Macho” part of the name, it's the 'Splotcho' part than has me wondering where it came from.

Finally, Neo. 'Screaming Tiger', a great little Neo which was bred by Sharon Petersen of Hawaii from a crossing of Neo.'carolinae 'Tricolor' and Neo ampullacea. Once again you've done it proud with the great colouring you've managed to get.

Colleen - Sorry to hear about your post and I can understand just how p...ed off you must be - "been there and done that". I know you shouldn't need to, but it looks like you'll have to start putting your posts on MS Word first and then cutting and pasting like I do, it really saves a lot of hassles.

Time to go again and today's pic's are all random shots I took around the garden yesterday morning starting with Pic's 1 and 2 of the mystery Aechmea which I think could be 'Shelldancer'. Pic.3 is an old 'Noble Descent' which although a bit battered, the colour is still nice, Pic.4 is just another of my many Neo. seedlings taken from a very crowded seedling area and just “plonked” in the garden until I can find somewhere better to put it to grow it properly and Pic.5 is “Spider Man and friends” from the party yesterday. When my daughter first talked about having “Spider Man” I said he would frighten the life out of the “littlies”; how wrong I was, and as you can see, when Spider Man and his friend sat down for pictures, the littlies were all over him like a rash.

All the best, Nev.