Australian and New Zealand Gardening: OUR BROMELIADS INTO 2015.. , 4 by splinter1804

splinter1804 wrote:
Hi everyone - Time for a day off today so I’m off to the Light Rail Museum as we’re back again after the Christmas break and are running small diesel rides for schoolkids on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It’s proved to be a good attraction over the last couple of years so I think we’ll be just as busy this time as well.

Teresa – Yes I thought I’d post a few spotty ones for you as you were the only one posting, so I’m glad you liked them.

Like many other brom’s which are red in colour, Neo. ‘Groves Grace’ is also difficult to photograph and get an accurate result, and no it’s not just me or my camera as many other growers I know have the same trouble. It seems that red objects in general are a regular pain in the bum for photographers. Even the two examples of this plant on the BCR and the FCBS sites are different shades of red as are the many examples I have “googled” on the internet. So it’s not just you and your rose, others have the same problem photographing brom’s.

Like you, I too have sometimes witnessed a type of fluorescence especially late in the afternoon; but besides that, the colour of this brom seems to change slightly all throughout the day. Although nothing much in the “shape” department, the main thing I’m fascinated with is where the red meets the green; it reminds me of someone applying paint with a brush and they have suddenly just run out of paint on the brush.

It will be nice if your in-laws can find a property over there near family and friends. I can imagine how lonely it would be when you have no family or friends around you. The lady in our society who grows the beautiful brom’s I’ve posted here very often is also considering selling up and moving from a home she’s lived in all her life. She says it’s a very lonely street now as all of her old friends have passed on and she’s the only one left. Although some of the new neighbours are friendly enough, they all work and there’s no visits and cups of tea and a chat as there once was, and she says that some days can be quite lonely and that’s why she immerses herself in the garden so much. She has a daughter who lives in the same area, and although she visits often and helps out a lot with the heavy work, she too works and it’s not quite the same as having friends next door.

Jean – Although this is a brom site, I don’t think it hurts to get off track a little now and then as we are a small friendly group who are interested in each other’s welfare and other interests as well as their brom’s. For example you said in a previous post that you were thinking of taking up painting again; that’s something I often thought I’d like to have a go at as I’m sure it would be very satisfying and relaxing........................... maybe one day.

Pleased to hear they’ve found out what’s wrong with your camera and are going to replace it. My son and daughter-in-law bought me a little Kodak digital camera for Father’s Day a few years back. It worked well; but exactly one day after the guarantee ran out it stopped working; I just couldn’t switch it on. I took it to the camera shop thinking it was some minor glitch and was told it was quite common for that particular model and to fix it would cost more than buying a new camera. Fortunately, my youngest son bought me a little Nikon Coolpix digital the following Christmas and that’s still going well after six years, (even if I still don't know how to use it properly).

I think what you say about benches being notorious for sagging is very true. I’ve always had a reputation for building things stronger than they needed to be and was surprised when my benches started to sag. I guess that like many others, I didn’t allow for the extra weight once the plants grew into adults; add to this the weight of all the water in them and you have a considerable weight, something I just never thought of when I was building. My problem was that the weight was forcing the legs further down into the ground even though I had bricks beneath them as “sole plates”. So to force the legs and the bricks below them down into the ground, the weigh must be quite considerable.

The four plants featured in your pic’s are all well liked and widely grown by many growers, but I would just like to comment on Neo. ‘Burnsie’s Spiral’ which is listed as a cultivated variety of Neo. carolinae forma tricolor. I have one which I have had for years, and although it’s noted as having a perpetual growth habit and is said to rarely produce pups, my original plant is at present over two feet high and has produced several pups, both from the bare stalk as well as the base and even on occasion from between leaves; so I guess you could say it’s unpredictable. It is another plant which will give improved colour when grown in bright light and produces a nice pink flushing effect. The pic’s on the BCR are quite an accurate example of the colours possible. See: http://registry.bsi.org/?genus=NEOREGELIA&id=3408#3408

There are some of the experts who have put forward the theory that it may not be a Neoregelia at all but a xNiduregelia (Nidularium x Neoregelia) this is something which can only be proved or disproved with DNA testing so I guess we’ll have to wait until sometime in the future if and when this test is done.

Trish – It’s good to hear you’re getting some good rain to freshen up the garden, there’s certainly nothing like it to “pep” things up is there?

I got the info you sent about the water tractor and was relieved to see that it was a “Holman” product. I have used Holman watering wands for years and they are good products and I only hope these are as good. Fortunately our local Bunnings stock Holman products so should be able to get one for me.

I like the NOID in your first picture, what it lacks in shape, it certainly makes up for with the unusual colour. I especially like the faint spotting which really lifts it up a notch or two in my opinion.

I think the plant in pic’s 2,3 and 5 are the same plant as I have which is called Neo.carolinae x concentrica. It original came from a Queensland grower many years ago and is now very plentiful and a popular addition to collections down here. If you look closely at your pic’s you can see traces of those “tell tale” semi-concentric rings which it has inherited from the concentrica parent.

We spoke a while back about your Neo. ‘Rose Blush’ and I questioned if it maybe the same as one I have called Neo. ‘Dark Rose Blush’. Unfortunately, neither of these are registered on the BCR so there’s no pictures for comparison. There is however a picture of a Neo ‘Rose Blush’ shown on the FCBS site (Pic. No. 3184) which doesn’t look like either of our pic’s, so I guess we’ll just have to keep wondering.

I’ll finish again with a few more pic’s, firstly the plant I have which is called Neo.‘Dark Rose Blush’, Pic. 2 is one of my all time favourites Neo. ‘Royal Cordovan’ and the final three are more of Peter Coyle’s beautiful Vriesea hybrids.

All the best, Nev.