Australian and New Zealand Gardening: BROMELIADS IN SUMMER ..2014, 4 by splinter1804

splinter1804 wrote:
Hi everyone – Oh the frustration is driving me nuts! All that re-potting to do (which I’m sure I could manage physically) but I’m not willing to take the risk of getting an infection where the pins go through my finger (Pic.1), so I’ll just have to grin and bear it. Maybe I’ll make up a stock of name tags to help break the monotony instead.

Shirley – I’m a “glass half full” person myself, and I see all of those leaves and bark all over your yard as a great resource to be used in a fantastic compost heap and put back on your gardens as a mulch.

Years ago when I first started growing Cymbidium orchids, the most common orchid mix used was equal parts of leaf and bark litter (like in your pic), tan bark, coarse river sand and a mix of half old cow manure and half charcoal.

This was composted for about six weeks and turned weekly until there was no more heat in it. It was then sprinkled with a handful of dolomite per 4 gallon bucket full (made from an old kerosene tin) and left for another two weeks before using.

Since then I reckon I’ve tried hundreds of different orchid potting mixes (some very expensive ones) but none grew the orchids any better than the old original one and which the only thing we had to buy was the tan bark 5/- per corn bag and Dolomite 2/6 lb....a lot to be said for the “good old days”. If you even take a handful of small shells from the beach these days there is a Ranger ready to write you a ticket.

They’re great coloured bracts on your plant of Canistrum ‘Big Emma’ which initially reminds me of a rose. C. ‘Big Emma’ is a c.v. of a very large form of the species C. Fosterianum, so even though it's a cultivated variety, technically I guess it could still be classed as a species.

I really like the plant of Neo. concentrica x ‘Leopard’. It shows the obvious concentrica leaf markings over a really nice mauve/light purple centre. Is it one you bred yourself or one you bought whilst still under the formula name; and more importantly, do you know anything about its history?

The ‘Leopard’ parent has been the victim of a couple of name changes; firstly from 'Leopard' to ‘Rainbow’ then again from ‘Rainbow’ to 'Rainbow Carcharodon'. The records make interesting reading. See: http://registry.bsi.org/?genus=NEOREGELIA&id=5389#5389

Neo. 'Rainbow Carcharodon' is protected by armour of vicious spines which its hybrid thankfully doesn’t seem to have inherited, See pic's at:
http://registry.bsi.org/?genus=NEOREGELIA&id=6582#6582

Teresa - I've found the same thing as you with the weather, it seems to change every day; yesterday it was overcast and raining all morning, fine and sunny in the afternoon just like now, but more rain forecast.........crazy!

I once had a dog that did exactly the same as you describe that Sugar's doing now. It was so funny, he used to throw his toy and then as he started to run after it, his claws just kept slipping on the polished floor and he went nowhere, so he ran faster and still he went nowhere and had everyone in stitches until Mum spotted all the scratches on her polished floor. That was the end of Scamp's toys in the house; it was toys out in the yard from then on.

My daughter's dog had one of those toys with a squeaker in it and he tore it apart an swallowed the squeaker which the vet charged $415 to remove it surgically, so no more squeaky toys.

I also had a dog about fifteen years ago who chewed and swallowed a bit of tennis ball which got stuck just where her bowel exited the stomach, that cost $550 dollars for an operation to have it removed from her. When I warn people who give their dogs tennis balls to play with what can happen, I'm sure they think I'm having them on.

I guess pups and young dogs are just like little kids; a soon as you take your eyes off them, they get up to some sort of mischief..... Often very expensive for their owners.

That will do me for today and todays pic's are 1 my hand now that most of the swelling has gone down (DON'T ENLARGE IT IF YOU HAVE A WEAK TUMMY) Pic.2 is Ae. orlandiana 'Stain Glass' Pic.3 is Ae. weilbachii flowers (a very old but still very popular species) Pic.4 Ae. orlandiana 'Touch-a-Pink' and Pic.5 Ae. 'Shelldancer'.

All the best, Nev.