Australian and New Zealand Gardening: BROMELIADS FOR MARCH ....2014, 5 by splinter1804

splinter1804 wrote:
Hi everyone – Well at last the area round the frog pond area is finished. At least all the bits to do with brom's that is. I still have a little bit of prettying up to do around the pond itself yet with a few bits of moss and Maiden Hair Fern, but once that's done it's “all over red rover” and onto the next project..... now where did I put that list of jobs to be done?

Also, a big “Get Well Soon” to anyone on the sick list, I hope you're soon up and about and running on all cylinders. Hi also to everyone we haven't seen for a while; it would be nice to hear from you all again sometime if you can squeeze in a brief visit.

Cody – It's that initial contact that does it; I once got a pup that was the runt of the litter who no one wanted and it was going to be put down because it had a crooked tail. While I was looking at the litter, she came straight over and licked my hand and I rubbed her tummy. That was the start of a wonderful bond for fourteen years; she was a wonderful little dog who became a very important part of our family.

Jean – I wouldn't worry too much about your brom's, from what you tell us you seem to have everything in hand, and besides they are very resilient and very capable of looking after themselves.

I'll keep an eye on the Pemiento NOVAR pup you sent and it will be interesting to see what it matures into, as sometimes these NOVARS turn out completely different to what we expect.

I have found Ae. orlandiana to be a bit difficult to accurately identify with each one being just that little bit different to the next. Given that, plus the fact that the different degrees of light on them alter the colour dramatically; “name wise” they are really all locked up like a big can of worms as the great majority of plants with a varietal name haven't been registered and I think these names for the most part were just given by the growers for their own convenience.

I know I have several that I mentioned in a previous post ('Dark Knight', 'Dark Form', 'Dark One', 'Touch-a-Pink', 'Stain-Glass' ) and none of these are registered on the BCR these are just the names they carried when I bought/swapped them. Even the one Wendy mentioned yesterday called orlandiana 'Snowflake' isn't registered as such, yet it's been around for years under that name here in Australia. However, if it's the same plant that's grown in America its registered name is orlandiana 'Snowflakes' (plural). One letter can make a lot of difference when you're researching a name.

Even the BCR tells us that if there was the slightest variation orlandiana was given a “cultivar name” and also crossing and back crossing with Ae. 'Bert' (which is Ae. orlandiana x fosteriana) also gave many orlandiana “look-alikes” to confuse the issue even further. It goes on to say that “no doubt there have been others given these ‘fancy names’ but not registered”. We can only guess at how many there are and they are all lumped under the collective title of “Orlandiana Group”. But if you are to type “Orlandiana Group” into the “notes section” of the advanced search window of the BCR you will be rewarded with a list of eighteen extra orlandiana plants with varietal names currently registered; …......So there's your homework.

Jean, I think you mean Pic.4 on the March 3 post as the March 4 post were all Neo's. The pink one in the front isn't a nudicaulis, it's Ae. pineliana minuta, and the banded green one behind is Aechmea nudicaulis var. aequalis which was grown in “low light” (it has more colour when grown in high light but I like the contrast between the two colours)

I'm sure hanging your plants from a length of water pipe would be successful, but us “old blokes” who have learned by experience are dead against cutting a long length of anything unless it's an absolute last resort because you can guarantee that within a week or two you'll find you need that long length for a job and the bit that's left won't long enough..... Murphy's Law!

In regard to your hanging Bill's getting too large for the hangers I can only tell you what I do.

Firstly as a general rule for all plant in pots suspended by hangers a constant watch is required to make sure the new leaves aren't getting trapped at the top of the hanger where the droppers all come together below the hook. This can happen very quickly as I've found; one week they look OK and then the next thing you see after a couple of weeks warm weather when everything has had a growth spurt, the tops of the new leaves are all trapped within the droppers at the top.

I find that by manipulating the leaves you can sometimes coax them to grow out between the droppers without effecting growth progress, but it does mean that your plant is often then growing at a slight angle and not nice and straight. The only way to really overcome this is to remove the hanger and put the pot back on a bench.

If it's too top heavy and keeps toppling over, place it inside a slightly larger terracotta pot and pack gravel in the space between the inner edge of the terracotta pot and the outer edge of the pot containing the plant. The extra weight at the base of the plant will keep it stable. Don't re-pot it into a larger pot as they grow much better when slightly “pot bound”.

You say, “sticking up above the hangers and leaves are being pushed out of shape”; by this do you mean the leaves are touching the roof? If this is the case the answer is more simple, just get a bit of 1-2mm wire about 12” long and make a hook on each end, connect one end to the top of your hanger and the other to the suspension point where you hanger was previously connect to, this will lower the plant to an acceptable level..

Like you, I too look at all of Pete Coyle's beautiful plants as "unreachable", and something I'll never have, so I think the next best thing is to treat them all as “eye candy” and soak up the visual enjoyment which doesn't cost us anything.

Nice pic's you've posted today and I must comment on Vr.'Angela', it's been around for a very long time now and it's still one of the best when grown properly. I'm sure you'll get good value with your two new ones from Tamera and Jack, everyone I know who deals with them are always satisfied.

I like you Pic. of the old bits and pieces under the bench and the new pup popping up, it just goes to show how resilient they are at reproducing themselves. And Bird Rock, well that's one of my favourites as well and is another one which looks good when viewed from below.

Theresa – I suspected that you may have been a nature lover from an early age. I don't think it matters where you live or are brought up it's just a natural love and interest that you're born with and one that stays with you all of your life.

I hope every thing's OK where you are and you haven't been caught up in the latest Christchurch natural flood disaster.

Wendy – Sorry to hear you had an “arse up”, I hope your injuries aren't too serious. I know what you say about your toe though, it always seems to be the sore one you bump all the time.

About the bi-generic, I thought yours looked a bit like a Neomea also, but then I've been wrong before. I think that bi-generics are a whole new world of brom breeding that we've only just touched the surface of and there will be some beautiful bi-generics to come in the future. It sound like you already have a head start on me as I only have two or three plus quite a few seedling of my xNiduregelia 'Something Special' x (unknown pollen parent), some of which are looking OK.

For some reason, D.G won't let me enlarge your pic's this morning so I can't see them well enough to comment so maybe I'd better end and post a few pic's of my own before it stops me doing that as well.

Pic1 shows a general shot of the plants in the "frog pond" area. Pic.2 is looking from the outside in (the pond is out of the picture on the right) on the left is a bench made of recycled and cut down polystyrene boxes Pic.3 shows the recycled boxes again making a Neo. bench along the back wall. Pic.4 is one of the Ae. nudicaulis x ? seedlings coming into flower and Pic.5 shows one of the xNiduregelia 'Something Special' x (Unknown pollen parent) seedlings

All the best, Nev.