Australian and New Zealand Gardening: Bromeliads For Novices and Addicts - October 2014, 3 by splinter1804

splinter1804 wrote:
HI EVERYONE – GEE I MISS ONE DAY AND HAVE SIX NICE LONG POSTS TO READ; THAT’S GREAT, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

JEAN – WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT THE LONG LIFE OF GUZMANIAS WHEN IN COLOUR IS VERY TRUE. ALTHOUGH I DON’T HAVE ANY OF THE MINIATURES, I HAVE FOUND THAT EVEN SOME STANDARD SIZE ONES WILL LAST FOR NINE MONTHS AND SOME EVEN LONGER. THIS LONG LIFE IS WHAT PROMPTED NURSERIES IN EUROPE TO START PRODUCING THEM TO BE USED IN THE HOME INSTEAD OF CUT FLOWERS. THEY CAN BE A LITTLE COLD SENSITIVE, SO BE CAREFUL.

WHAT A WONDERFUL COUNTRY WE LIVE IN TO HAVE THE WILD LIFE REGULARLY VISITING US; YOU AND A COUPLE OF OUR QUEENSLAND FRIENDS ARE EVEN MORE FORTUNATE TO HAVE KOALAS VISIT. MAYBE YOU SHOULD GIVE YOUR FRIEND DIRECTIONS TO YOUR NEW HOME SO HE CAN VISIT THERE AS WELL.

COLLEEN – IT’S NOT A MATTER OF MY BRAIN WORKING, BUT THE FACT THAT I CAN’T DO MUCH ELSE AT PRESENT. I SAW THE SURGEON AGAIN YESTERDAY AND HE’S PLEASED BY THE WAY THINGS ARE PROGRESSING.

INCIDENTLY, I FOUND AN OLD VIDEO ON “YOU TUBE” SHOWING HOW THE OPERATION IS DONE AND IF ANYONE'S INTERESTED TO SEE HOW THEY FIXED MY FINGER, GO TO [HYPERLINK@www.youtube.com]
IF HOWEVER, YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH, PLEASE DON’T WATCH IT.

I LOVE YOUR STORY ABOUT BRANDEN EATING APRICOTS FRESH OFF THE TREE. IT CERTAINLY BRINGS BACK MANY OF MY HAPPY CHILDHOOD MEMORIES. IT’S A SAD FACT F LIFE THAT MANY KIDS IN THIS DAY AND AGE WILL NEVER EXPERIENCE THAT SAME PLEASURE.

THAT’S A NICE LOOKING VRIESEA COLLEEN, WHAT’S ITS NAME?

IN YOUR SECOND POST YOU SAY ITS OF YOUR OVERCROWDED BROM'S; THEY MAY BE OVERCROWDED, BUT THEY CERTAINLY LOOK NICE AND HEALTHY.

BRIAN – AH! LISTENING TO STEAM TRAINS PASSING THROUGH, THAT’S A BLAST FROM THE PAST AS FOR THE FIRST THIRTY YEARS OF MY LIFE WE LIVED JUST 200 METRES FROM THE MAIN SOUTH COAST LINE.

AS FOR POTTING MIXES, I THINK EVERY GROWER HAS THEIR OWN SPECIAL MIX AND THERE ARE AS MANY DIFFERENT MIXES AS THERE ARE GROWERS, IT’S JUST A MATTER OF ECONOMY AND PERSONAL CHOICE AS TO WHAT GOES IN THEM.. TO PROVE THIS POINT AND TO SUPPORT A TALK I ONCE GAVE ON POTTING MIXES, I GREW SIX SIMILAR SIZED PUPS IN THE FOLLOWING:

A MIX OF EQUAL PARTS OLD PINE BARK AND PLAIN POTTING MIX
A MIX OF THE ABOVE WITH AN EXTRA PART COMPRISED OF EQUAL PARTS OF SMALL POLYSTYRENE PIECES, CHARCOAL AND PERLITE.
EQUAL PARTS OF OLD PINE BARK, COCO PEAT MULCH AND CHARCOAL
STRAIGHT CHARCOAL
STRAIGHT POLYSTYRENE
STRAIGHT SKORIA

MIXES 1,2 AND 3 HAD A SMALL AMOUNT OF G.P. FERTILISER ADDED AT POTTING TIME

MIXES 4, 5, AND 6 WERE FOLIAR FED AT HALF STRENGTH EACH TWO WEEKS.

AT THE MEETING ON THE DAY OF MY TALK, ALL PLANTS WERE KNOCKED OUT OF THEIR POTS FOR COMPARISON.

THERE WAS VERY LITTLE DIFFERENCE IN PLANT SIZE OR ROOT DEVELOPMENT HOWEVER, THE HEALTHIEST “LOOKING” PLANTS WERE FROM MIXES 4, 5 AND 6. WHICH SUPPORTS THE OLD NURSERYMAN’S RULE FOR FERTILISING, “LITTLE AND OFTEN”

PERSONALLY I DONT THINK IT MATTERS WHAT THEY ARE GROWN IN AS LONG AS IT’S WELL DRAINED. IF IT’S AN INERT MIX SUCH AS STRAIGHT SKORIA, VOLCANIC GRAVEL, CRUSHED BRICKS AND SIMILAR TYPES OF SUBSTANCES, JUST REMEMBER THAT BEING INERT THEY WILL HAVE NO NUTRITIONAL VALUE AT ALL AND THE PLANT MUST BE FOLIAR FED TO COMPENSATE.

AS FOR POTS, I GET MINE THROUGH OUR BROMELIAD SOCIETY WHO PLACE BULK ORDERS WITH GARDEN CITY PLASTICS. IF YOU CAN GET TOGETHER WITH A GROUP YOU CAN DO THE SAME BUT YOU MUST BUY A MINIMUM OF $500 WORTH. THE ADVANTAGE IS THEY COST ABOUT HALF OF WHAT YOU WILL PAY AT BUNNINGS AND NURSERIES. THERE ARE MANY ADVANTAGES IN BELONGING TO A BROMLIAD SOCIETY AND I BELIEVE THERE IS A CENTRAL COAST BROMELIAD SOCIETY WHICH YOU WOULD BE WISE TO CHECK OUT.

AS I TOLD YOU ABOUT THOSE PLANTS THAT WERE FOR SALE, THEY ALL LOOKED A BIT ROUGH, BUT WHEN YOU LOOKED CLOSER, THEY ALL HAD NICE PUPS ADVANCING AND THAT’S WHAT YOU WERE BUYING.

REGARDING YOUR ALCANTAREA, A JUDGE ONCE TOLD ME THAT ANY BROM THAT WAS GETTING MUCH MORE LIGHT ON ONE SIDE THAN THE OTHER WOULD NATURALLY GROW TOWARD THE LIGHT, TO PREVENT THE PLANT FROM GROWING CROOKED, TURN THE POT ¼ TURN EACH WEEK.

YOU WON’T FIND ALC. VINICOLOR ON THE B.C.R. AS IT’S A SPECIES AND THE B.C.R. IS ONLY FOR THE REGISRATION OF HYBRIDS. TO LOOK UP SPECIES, YOU NEED TO GO TO THE PHOTO INDEX ON THE F.C.B.S. SITE: http://www.fcbs.org/pictures.htm WHERE AS WELL AS MOST OF THE SPECIES, YOU MAY FIND SOME NAMED BUT UNREGISTERED HYBRIDS AS WELL. BOTH OF THESE SITES MAKE UP THE “BROM GROWER’S BIBLE”. THE TWO SITES COMBINED, MAKE UP A MASIVE DOCUMENT CONTAINING A WEALTH OF INFORMATION WITH THOUSANDS OF PICTURES AND IT'S A RESEARCHER’S DREAM.

AS FOR THE PLANTS IN YOUR PIC’S, NEO.’BLOOD SPOT’ MAKES A NICE DISPLAY IN A BASKET, OR MOUNTED ON A TREE, AND THIS APPLIES TO ANY PLANT THAT PRODUCES ITS PUPS ON LONGISH STOLONS.

I DON’T KNOW YOUR NEXT PLANT BUT I HAVE BOTH OF ITS PARENTS; ‘MORRIS HENRY HOBBS’ IS A LARGIST PLANT, AND CROSSED WITH THE SMALLER FIREBALL, I WOULD I EXPECT MEDIUM SIZED OFFSPRING.

THE NAME ON YOUR NEXT PLANT SHOULD BE WRITTEN AS:
Neo. carolinae x (concentrica x ‘Painted Lady’).

MANY GROWERS SEE THE BRACKETS AS UNIMPORTANT, AND FOR THE AVERAGE “JOE BLOW” WHOSE INTEREST IS THE PLANT AND NOT THE NAME, TO THEM THIS IS TRUE. ON THER OTHER HAND HOWEVER, PEOPLE INTERESTED IN BREEDING AND THE HISTORY OF A PARTICULAR CROSS WON’T KNOW WHICH WERE THE PARENTS IF NOT CORRECTLY WRITTEN WITH THE BRACKETS.

E.G. IT COULD BE Neo. carolinae x (concentrica x ‘Painted Lady’). WHERE Neo. carolinae IS ONE PARENT AND Neo. (concentrica x ‘Painted Lady’) IS THE OTHER;. OR IT COULD BE Neo. (carolinae x concentrica) BEING ONE PARENT WITH Neo. ‘Painted Lady’ BEING THE OTHETR. IT’S JUST A LITTLE THING TO MOST, BUT A VERY IMPORTANT THING TO ANYONE INTERESTED IN BREEDING.

THE PLANT IN PIC. 4 IS NEO. ‘AZTEC’, NOT ‘AZTEX’.

I WOULD SAY THE PLANT IN YOUR LAST PIC. IS ONE OF THE MANY FORMS OF Neo. cruenta WHICH SOMEONE HAS ADDED (BROAD LEAF) TO THE NAME; NOT AS PART OF THE NAME BUT TO IDENTIFY IT HAS WIDER LEAVES THAN MANY OF THE OTHER CRUENTAS.

THE PLANT IN YOUR PIC APPEARS BLEACHED BY THE SUN (WAS IT ONE OF YOUR NEW PURCHASES ?) THE PICTURE DOESN’T DO IT JUSTICE AS IT’S A MUCH MORE BEAUTIFUL PLANT (SEE PIC.5)

SHIRLEY – THANKS FOR ADDING RED DAWN TO MY WISH LIST, (ONE MORE TO FIND A HOME FOR EVENTUALLY)

AS FOR THE PUPS THAT ARE READY TO SEND, YOU CAN SEND THEM WHEN YOU’RE READY AS I CAN KEEP THEM UNTIL I CAN RE-POT BY JUST PARKING THEIR BASES IN A BOX OF DAMP COCO PEAT. THIS WILL ALSO PROMOTE NEW ROOTS AS WELL.

I HAD SOME NEO MINI PUPS I TREATED IN THIS WAY SO I COULD “BUY A BIT OF TIME”, AND SIX MOTHS LATER WHEN I WAS READY TO POT THEM UP, THEY HAD GROWN ROOTS RIGHT DOWN AND WERE ADHERING TO THE BOTTOM OF THE POLYSTYRENE BOX THEY WERE IN.

I’M LOOKING AT YOUR PIC’S NOW AND THOSE PLANTS ARE ALL NEW TO ME, SO ONTO THE BCR TO SEE WHO MADE THEM AND FROM WHAT PARENTS.

FIRSTLY, NEO. ‘REAL CLASS’, WHICH ACCORDING TO MY TASTES IS MY PREFERENCE OF THEM ALL. UNFORTUNATELY IT HASN’T BEEN REGISTERED SO THE BCR CAN TELL US NOTHING. WHICH IS UNFORTUNATE AS IT’S A VERY NICE PLANT.

HOWEVER THE OTHERS ARE ALL REGISTERED AND WE FIND THAT O.B.E. IS A GRACE GOODE HYBRID BRED IN 1998 FROM NEO.’CLOSE OF DAY’ AS THE SEED PARENT AND AN UNKNOWN SECOND PARENT.

NEXT IS THE NICELY COLOURED AQUARIUS WHICH WAS BRED BY CHESTER SKOTAK IN 2005 FROM A SEED PARENT OF (CAROLINAE VARIEGATED X RED WAIF) AND A POLLEN PARENT OF RED WAIF.

ACCORDINGLY WITH A DOUBLE DOSE OF GENES FROM THE MINIATURE NEO.‘RED WAIF’, IT HAS TAKEN ON THE PEPPER LIKE FINE SPOTTING OF THAT PARENT WHICH ATTRACTIVELY OVERLAYS THE VARIEGATION OF THE OTHER PARENT AND I IMAGINE LEANS TOWARD THE MINIATURE (SIZE WIZE) AND CERTAINLY ANOTHER I HAVE TO ASK TO PLEASE BE ADDED TO MY WISH LIST.

FINALLY, NEO. ‘AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE’ WHICH WAS BRED BY R.L. FRASIER IN 1998. HE OBVIOUSLY DIDN’T WANT THE WORLD KNOWING WHO THE PARENTS WERE AS THE INFO IS PROVIDED IS WHAT I ASSUME IS HIS OWN PERSONAL CODE WITH THE SEED PARENT BEING 1-X AND THE POLLEN PARENT GIVEN AS 1- X BATCH 1

ALL NICE WELL GROWN PLANTS.

TERESA – FOR YEARS WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, THE TREATMENT WAS TO SPRAY APHIDS WITH THE USED SOAPY WASHING UP WATER. IT ALWAYS WORKED IN THOSE DAYS. I DON’T KNOW ABOUT NOW THOUGH AS INSECTS HAVE DEVELOPED AN IMMUNITY TO MANY OF THESE SIMPLY REMEDIES OVER THE YEARS. HOWEVER IT’S EASY TO FIND OUT, JUST MIX A LITTLE WASHING UP LIQUID IN SOME WATER AND GIVE IT A TRY SAY ABOUT ½ TEASPOON PER LITRE OF WATER.

I SUPPOSE SUGAR HAS A SWELLED HEAD NOW SHE’S WON ANOTHER PRIZE, SHE CERTAINLY LOOKS VERY PROFESSIONAL.

WINNING ISN'T AS IMPORTANT AS SHARING WHAT YOUVE ACHIEVED WITH OTHERS, IN YOUR CASE IT'S SHOWING SUGER SO EVERYONE GETS TO SEE HER.

THAT WILL DO ME, I'VE BEEN GOING ON AND OFF FOR HOURS, JUST TRYING TO CATCH UP.

I'LL FINISH WITH SOME GUZZIE PIC'S FOR JEAN FIRST AND 1. IS GUZ. CHERRY RIPE, 2. IS A GUZ. NOID, A NICE LITTLE PINK FLOWERED PLANT I INHERITED FROM A FRIEND, 3 IS GUZ. 'SCARLET WONDER', 4. (NOT MINE UNFORTUNATELY) IS THE BEAUTIFUL GUZ. 'FIRE CRACKER' AND I'LL FINISH WITH MY NEO. CRUENTA (BROAD LEAF) FOR BRIAN FOR COMPARISON WITH HIS PLANT.

ALL THE BEST, NEV.