Australian and New Zealand Gardening: Bromeliads For Novices and Addicts - October 2014, 5 by splinter1804

splinter1804 wrote:
Hi everyone – Hopefully it won’t take me as long with this post as it did with the one yesterday. I started about 7.30am and what with phone calls and other interruptions I had to stop typing and finish it off yesterday afternoon. In between times I managed to get a bit more potting done, but more importantly, some cleaning up.

Brian – I went to a Bromeliad Society of Australia spring show which must have been about five or more years ago at the same venue and it was overcrowded then. It was near impossible to have a good look at the exhibition tables which were poked away in a corner and getting near the sales tables was just as difficult as they were packed. It seems there is a very large Chinese population growing bromeliads in that area and like all brom growers, they love bargains and were there in force as well. I must say the show as a whole didn’t meet my expectations, and being the Bromeliad Society of Australia, I was expecting something much better. However I’ve since been told they were going down the same path as many other organisations with a lack of willing workers. I’m afraid I’m a country boy and just hate crowds so I won’t be back.

To delve a bit more into what amount of light is required, let me share with you some advice once given to me by a well-known and respected orchid nurseryman and show judge. (and I have found this advice applies equally to bromeliads).

He told me to use the plants leaves as a guide. He said you can learn a lot about a plant by studying the leaves. Generally speaking, a dark green leaf means too much shade and a light green and almost yellow leaf means too much sun. Also the dark green leaves will appear long and droopy and unable to support themselves (this is because they are reaching out trying to find more light), whereas the light green leaves will be tougher, shorter in length and able to support themselves easily.

The leaf can also tell you a lot about the plant’s health with the most common signs being burn marks which indicate the plant is getting too much direct sun. Fine spotting on the leaves that look like tiny burns indicate cold damage and the fact that the plant needs more protection. This is very common in plants with burgundy or bi-coloured coloured leaves.

Other things to look for are the colour of the leaf tips; Brown leaf tips means not enough water while yellow leaf tips means too much water. Leaves going yellow in the centre of the plant often indicate rotting due to too much water. (Usually as a result of plant being left sitting in a saucer of water).

Often plants are stood in a saucer of water to increase humidity when they are inside the home, especially if it’s air conditioned. The thing is though, that more plants are killed by over watering than under-watering. If the plant is inside and you want to increase the humidity. Three quarters fill a plant saucer with pebbles and half fill with water. Although the plant is sitting on the pebbles it’s up clear of the water. Alternatively, cut a piece of fine wire mesh to fit over the top of the saucer and sit your plant on this after three quarters filling the saucer with water. Either of these methods will provide adequate humidity and keep your plant out of the water. Another thing when checking your plants for insect pests, always carefully examine the leaf, but more importantly, the underside of the leaf as this is where a lot of insects hide and are often overlooked.

That’s a handy little brom. collection comprising three different genera you scored at the show. I’ve always had a soft spot for Neo. ‘Marble Snow’ and the other marble throated types, they add just that different little dimension to any collection and Marble Snow in particular is a very good grower.

Neo. ‘Groucho’ is one of the many unusual coloured brom’s bred by Chester Skotak using (carolinae variegated x Hannibal Lector) as a parent in a breeding programme commenced around mid -2000 and they just seem to get better and better.
To see 22 examples, go to: http://registry.bsi.org/index.php?fields=Parents&id=11638 search=%28carolinae%20variegated%20x%20Hannibal%20Lector%29

I don’t know much about Orthophytums except to say they are more of a succulent type of bromeliad and require different growing conditions to say Neoregelias for example. The name on your plant isn’t correct either, it should be just Orthophytum ‘Warren Loose’; although Orthophytum gurkenii was the seed parent your plant was selected from a batch of seedlings as being superior and registered as Orthophytum ‘Warren Loose’. For some basic cultural information have a look at: http://wn.com/orthophytum

Till. Ionantha is one of the most popular Tillandsias around, and I think anyone who has Tillies has at least one of these attractive little plants which take very little care to grow to perfection.

Finally, Neo. Noble Descent; this is one of the toughest Neo’s around and one of the few that will tolerate almost full sun. It’s virtually indestructible and when given sufficient light will colour up to almost lime/yellow. There’s a good picture of what it’s capable of on page 113 of Andrew Steens, Bromeliads for the Contemporary Garden 2003 edition. I think that all in all you have chosen your plants wisely and they should provide you with much enjoyment.

Shirley – A while back when the Bromeliad Forum was going through a very quiet time and had fallen victim to Face Book like a lot of other good forums, I decided to try and re-create some interest. I started a thread called “Let’s See Some Pictures” and kicked it off with a single picture. It has since grown to 15 pages and been viewed 4,376 times. On a future cold, windy, rainy day when you’re looking for something to do, scroll down the index to “Photo Requests” and select “Let’s See Some Pictures”. I’m sure you won’t have any trouble passing the time away. Although there is a little bit of text, the majority of the posts are just pictures of brom’s and as the yanks say, real “Eye Candy”.

Thanks for putting the pic’s of Neo. ‘Captain Moxley’ and Neo. ‘Stellar Blast’ together for comparison. It’s strange when you do what I did and get a picture of something in your mind, (in my case Neo. ‘Captain Moxley’) and your pic of Neo. ‘Stellar Blast’ triggers of the image in such a way as I was certain they were the same plants and yet when you see them side by side they’re totally different. Looks like the old memory is playing tricks on me. Just to confuse us further, there is also a Neo. ‘Captain Moxley’s Ghost’
See: http://registry.bsi.org/?genus=NEOREGELIA&id=12298#12298
Anyway, they are all beautiful plants and by the look of them all beyond my budget.

I’ve always admired the colour of Neo.‘Fool’sGold’ and was sure I’d swapped a pup with someone (maybe even you), but I’ve looked high and low and can’t find it anywhere so I’ll have to ask you to please add it to my long list of “wants”.

It’s very interesting, but I’ve never seen Neo. ‘Balmoral’ before, but it does closely resemble a hybrid I made using Neo.’Bea Hanson’ as the seed parent. When I looked your plant up on the BCR, I find that Bea Hanson was its seed parent as well…..very, very strange.

It’s also uncanny when you compare your Neo. ‘Solar Storm’ with Neo. ‘Stellar Blast’ how the centre of the leaves look very similar and it’s just the leaf margins that makes one look like a reversal of the other. Could Neo.‘Solar Storm’ be an albo-marginated form of Neo.‘Stellar Blast’, or is my brain playing tricks on me again? Whatever they are, they are all very nice plants and as usual, grown to perfection.

Time to go again and I’ll leave you with a few more pic’s to finish with. Firstly, Neo. ‘Orange Glow’, this plant is interesting as it usually produces two pups at a time with one being variegated and the other being a NOVAR (Having no variegation). Pic.2 shows the NOVAR plant. Pic.3 is one I bought with the name of Neo. ‘Rain Cloud’ but have since seen an identical looking plant with another name which I can’t remember; any suggestions? Pic.4 is a hybrid of mine from Neo. ‘Painted Lady’ x ‘Orchid’ and Pic.5 is Neo. ‘Purple Glaze’.

All the best, Nev,