Australian and New Zealand Gardening: Bromeliads for Novices and Addicts January 2012, 1 by splinter1804

splinter1804 wrote:
Hi everyone,

Karen – I like you little mini Neo Pheasant. It’s a very popular mini and although I can’t speak from experience, I have heard it likes a lot of sun to bring out its magnificent colours. Judging from the colour of the plants when you first got them, it seems to me you have the correct lighting sorted out anyway.

Bree – Your little seedlings are looking good. It will be interesting to see if they finish up with the banding of their parent or whether they turn out be something completely different.

Colleen – Those Neo concentrica x [Charm x Cracker Jack] pups I sent you were from un-flowered plants that had been growing in a shady area so you won’t really see them at their best until you grow on any pups from them, but there are some nice colours and reasonable shaped plants coming from that cross.

You have a nice lot of plants in the pic’s you’ve posted and the second last one you asked if I recognised, looks like one of the seedling pups mentioned above. Also is that last pic Nidularium Ruby Lee? If so, it will take more light than you are giving it and when grown in strong light it will be much darker in colour.

Wendy – Pleased to hear the recurvata seed has germinated for you and it will be interesting to see if the babies are as nice as the mother. You speak of your “one and only” billbergia seedlings and from what you describe the mother plant was possibly one of the helicoid (watch spring) types of Billbergias. What is the name?

I have a couple of different ones and Bill. rosea is one that self sets seed quite readily and the seed pods are a quite large being bit bigger than a marble with bumps all over the surface and are light green in colour and covered by a silvery/white scurf. I have sown some of these and find they “grow as quick as grass” so when planting don’t plant them too close as you’ll finish up with what looks like a container of sprouted seed of the type you eat.

Even though I don’t grow many of them Tillies always fascinate me as there are so many different types and they are always full of surprises and colour changes just like your Til. capitata.

I hope you and Jen have a great day at “The Olive Grove” today and remember, don’t spend all the housekeeping money!

All the best, Nev.

Billbergia rosea – Notice the tightly rolled petals resembling a “watch spring” and the reason for the name helicoids being given to this group of Bill’s ........