Australian and New Zealand Gardening: Bromeliads for novices & addicts, October 2012, 5 by splinter1804

splinter1804 wrote:
Good morning everyone – It's been raining here all night, not heavy but good continuous drizzle just what we want; rain that will soak in and not run off and be lost down the drains to the ocean.

Sue – I also had my suspicions about Kev from India that's why I only asked him/her to tell us what sort of brom's they grew in India. I see the post has been removed so you're probably right about it being a scam of some sort. Speaking of Indians, I had a call the other night which showed up on the LCD as “overseas”, I had to answer it as our son is overseas and when they answered it was obviously a woman who said in a very strong female Indian accent that her name was Kevin and she was calling from Melbourne! Will these people stop at nothing as they try interrupt our dinner each night?.

About the Ae. April Showers, yes it did keep that colouring however it did what every Aechmea Weilbachii I've ever grown did, and suffered badly from leaf tip die back. I've tried growing these plants in every conceivable situation and still I have this problem, so I divided that particular plant and gave half each to two brom growing friends of mine so that at least it would have better chance of being grown on properly and established and perhaps down the track even being registered as a separate cultivar.

I also have Bill Dark Ladd which I got from Ross when I first got the Pyramidalis crosses, and I eagerly await the day when mine will put up a sport like the one you were fortunate to get (I wish!). When I first saw it before it was registered it was obviously going to be way way out of my budget so I just forgot all about it. When it was registered, I did post a couple of pic's here just to show everyone what it was like however it was just a “pipe dream” that I would ever own one. If you ever get a pup that I can afford please don't forget where I live (if I'm still alive by then). The story all about it plus a few pictures can be found here: http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/bcr/index.php?genus=BILLBERGIA&i...

I love your pic today of Neo. 'Chirippo'. it's magnificent!

I too get a type of light brown/white soft scale around the base of old “mums” especially ones that have been growing overcrowded in the garden and haven't been “dead leafed” for some time. I just hit them with a mix of 5ml of washing up detergent mixed with 10L of water and that seems to kill them, I give the whole plant a good hosing the following day and they all seem to just drop of.

I like your little orchid, it's very similar to one I used to grow which was an Indian species called Dendrobium periardii which has since been changed to Dendrobium aphyllum (see pic). Unfortunately like all Indian Dendrobiums, although the flowers are beautiful, they were also very short lived compared to other orchids.

Tash – Nice to hear from you again and to see you are still keeping busy extending your bromeliad collection into “town houses”. It's probably an “all time first” having a brom house with a verandah, but then necessity is the mother of invention. Brom growing just seems to be an ever increasing hobby where we get rid of plants of “lesser quality” to make more space, only to have it filled with higher quality plants shortly after, and so the search for more space goes on.

Are they the same Hippeastrums that you bought for your daughter and showed us a couple of years back? They certainly make quite a statement don't they?

Trish – It's you this time who have given us yet another “safe” treatment for scale and mealy bug. This is one I've never tried although when I grew orchids we would use a cotton bud dipped in straight metholated spirits the kill the occasional Mealy Bug and that seemed to work OK but I've never tried it on scale. It's amazing how in the course of conversation on these forums, little tips on various treatments are learned.

Re. the pups on Vrieseas, I have found that vrieseas with patterned foliage usually don't pup until after they flower, but like everything, there are exceptions to all rules and I have one Red Chestnut in particular that produces its majority of pups before it flowers. Generally speaking with good quality plants that I want to produce more of, I always treat my old mother plants very well and give them a double dose of fertiliser as well as a single “prill” in each of the lower leaf axils. I have found this definitely increases pup production; and remember when you have a mother plant with about four or more pups, they are a drain on the mother so a bit of foliar fertiliser as well helps balance things out and keeps mum healthy as well as the pups.

Trish, your seedling trays look very organised and it looks like you're on the right track. There's just one question I would ask; is that a marble or Terrazzo surface they are sitting on, if so this could slow down germination as it may be a bit cool. If this is the case I would put a layer of polystyrene (you only need about 1/2” or thicker) under the containers to insulate.

Ian – Thanks for the offer of following up the recipe for the metho and ammonia mix, it's all extra knowledge we can share. While you're talking to that lady, see if she would like to join our little forum. Re the N.P.K., an old nurseryman explained it to me years ago as “Up down and all around” (N) Nitrogen is UP i.e is for the leaf growth, (P) Phosphorous is DOWN i.e. for the root growth and (K) is for everything else such as flowers and fruit; very easy to remember. Or, Shoots, Roots and Fruits. N=Shoots, P=Roots, K=Fruits.

Ian, what do you call Mushroom Scale, do you have a pic? Also is that what you call sensitive weed growing in the pot in your Macho in the pic? How much salt to how much vinegar do you mix and is it also harmful to brom's if you get it on them?

Shirley – You say you are always worried about damaging the foliage with sprays. I think it can safely be said that damage to plants from spray occur in two main ways:

Firstly, the spray is not mixed in the correct proportions and is often applied too strong, so always read and follow the instructions, especially the SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS.

Secondly, the plant is sprayed either in the sun or is then put out in the sun to dry. The combination of the chemical in the water, the wet leaves and the hot sun scalds the leaves. So only ever spray plants in the shade or if they are in the garden, do them late in the afternoon when the sun is off them.

As for your question about mosquitoes, I think the article on the following site should answer all of your questions: http://fcbs.org/articles/mosquito.htm

Wendy – Or should I say “great grandma”, the plant in your first pic is Ae. Distichantha but which one as there are four listed? Actually when I turn my head on the side “ouch” and look more carefully at the second pic it is the large form Ae. Distichantha.

The two most common ones grown down here are a large form and a small form. The large form is Ae. Distichantha which grows to a height of about 36”- 40” down here and has an extremely vicious spike on the leaf tips. The other one is Ae. Distichantha var. Galziovii which looks just like a miniature of the first one being only about 10” high. The flowers of both look identical except for the size. There is also a beautiful white flowered form called Ae. Distichantha albiflora and the fourth one is called Ae. Distichantha Schlumbergeri which has a more red inflorescence with mauve flowers. (See pic's and article in the FCBS Photo Index)

Well that's about it from me today and now for a few pic's to finish with. Pic 1 is Dendrobium periardii for Sue to compare with her new Dendrobium. (It isn't my plant, just one I found on the internet) Pic 2,3 and 4 are for Trish and show firstly one of my Vr. Red Chestnuts coming into flower which will soon be cut off. The next two pic's show what's left of an old mother which produced five pups in ones and twos before she flowered (That's one of them in pic 2) and following flowering and the treatment I outlined above, went on to produce first five pups (all at once) and finally as she is now starting to die she has another thee pups (at the same time).That's a total of thirteen in all, by no means a record but not too bad either. Pic.5 just has Vr Fosteriana (white clone) on the name tag.

All the best, Nev.