Australian and New Zealand Gardening: Bromeliads for Novices and Addicts - August 2013, 5 by splinter1804

splinter1804 wrote:
Hi everyone – I got a bit of tidying up and sorting out of plants done yesterday as well as picking out what plants I'll be taking to the show to sell. I've been trying to come up with an idea for a table top display instead of the usual one showing the life of a Neoregelia starting from a seed and going through the various stages until maturity. I was thinking of something along the lines of showing various ways these plants can be grown, such as in different types of pots, various types of baskets mounted on bits of branches or old timber or even mounted on old paling off-cuts (Tillandsia). Also show examples of the different types of materials that can be used in potting mixes.

I probably won't get a lot done today as we have two of our grandsons who had a “sleep over” last night and the third will be coming to visit this morning also, so I expect the secret track up the back of the brom's in the northern shade house will get a bit of a workout as they search for imaginary lions and tigers and other wild animals.

Cody – I know you're not very happy when Alex goes to see his Dad and you are without him, but just think at least he does have two parents who love him very much which is more than a lot of children have, so don't worry and avagoodweekend.

Jean – Gee you must have really done something to upset the “Weather Gods” as they're throwing everything they possibly can at you and your brom's. At last the weather seems to have taken a turn for the better here and we've had two nice sunny days in a row without the wind.

Regarding your Ae. Chantinii Rose where you say you see no resemblance to any of the other Ae Chantinii cultivars, do you think there is any chance it may be a Billbergia? I remember I was at a grower's place a year or so back and he had a plant which I commented on that I was surprised that he could grow and Ae. Chantinii in this area and he just laughed and said, “that's because it's a Billbergia brasiliensis”. The plant he had was very similar to yours with the same very prominent banding and if you look at centre top pic's on the FCBS Photo Index, you will see what I mean. If you also look carefully at the first pic you will see that has no markings on the upper surface of the leaves either.

It's good to hear your seeds are starting to swell. Just wait until the weather starts to warm up and spring arrives, then you really will see some progress.

Thanks for posting the pic of your Gespacho pup, I'm saving them all in the one folder and then I can look at the thumb pic's of them all at the same time and see the variations.

Speaking of Dendrobiums, my old mate of many years who passed away recently had a wonderful collection of Dendrobiums and seeing that the topic of orchids has come up again I'll see if I can find some of the pic's I took of his plants the last time I saw him, shortly before he passed away.

As for repairing shade cloth, I have what I would describe as a smallish “bagging needle” it's a similar shape to a bagging needle with the curved pointy end but not quite as long and it's ideal for these type of repairs. I think I saw it in a little sewing kit in a $2 shop when I was having a bit of a “sticky beak” one day and I bought the kit just for it and gave the cottons and other needles to my wife for the sewing basket. Your needles must have been made of platinum at one hundred dollars each????

Ian – It must be frustrating for you while you wait for your shade cloth, all raring to go and no shade cloth to work with; never mind it will turn up and then you can get stuck into it and just watch your brom's start to smile.

I understand everything you say about the culling process and I totally agree that is necessary, but it still doesn't make it any easier for me.

Your first three pic's all seem to have the streaky type marks of a paint brush left on the leaves don't they? Although I haven't head of Neo 'Lime Fizz' before, there is also a Neo.'Lime Light' which is a Grace Goode hybrid and is the palest of lime in colour and almost white in the centre; a most unusual coloured plant. It is a good example of just what genetic mix in a breeding line can do as both of its parents are Neo.'Pink Plum' and a totally different colour.
See: http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/bcr/index.php?genus=NEOREGELIA&i...

Shirley – Keep trying with registering on the Bromeliad Forum as it will be well worth it in the end. If of course you still can't get on, let me know and I'll email someone and find out what's going on and how it can be overcome. A thought just came to me, did you at any time have to put in your post code? I know I had problems joining one of the forums as it wouldn't accept my four digit post code as American post codes are five digits. All I did to overcome this was add a zero before the first number and “BINGO” it was accepted.

That's my plant of Neo.'Catlan's Leopard' which I got as a pup from a very generous friend called Jen. Unfortunately I didn't grow it in quite enough light to get the colour just right but I'll know better next time. You're quite right about the Neo. concentrica being in the breeding as it is a selfing of a select clone of Neo. concentrica.
See: http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/bcr/index.php?genus=NEOREGELIA&i...

Wow! look at the teeth on that plant in your fist pic., very aptly named Neo.'Great White'. Is the Neo. 'Puppy Love' a small plant? I like it's nice compact form, and the colouring in you Vr. fosteriana hybrid is probably the richest I've seen so far. Although Vr. fosteriana has been around for years and years, the hybrids being bred from it just keep getting better and better; it's just one of those timeless excellent parents just like concentrica is among the Neo's.

I'll finish up today with a few Aechmeas that are in flower at present. Pic's 1, 2 and 3 are from hybrids I made from an Ae Racinae x Caudata crossing. They all had a similar type inflorescences but the flower colours were all different. Pic. 4 is Ae Cylindrata with the flower head just starting to poke up out of a large clump. Following our discussion about Neo compacta, I though you might like to see a large clump of this plant and just what it's capable off. This tree is about six feet or more in diameter and the Neo.compacta was completely encircling it. It's amost to the top of the tree where a Philodendron is taking over. This is outside the entrance of “Paranella Park” inland from Cairns in Quensland, a truly amazing place which reminded me of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and if you haven't been there and ever get the opportunity, don't miss it as it just shows what one very determined man can achieve. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paronella_Park

All the best, Nev.