Australian and New Zealand Gardening: Bromeliads for novices & addicts, October 2012, 1 by weed_woman

weed_woman wrote:
good morning all. Wow, Shirley, nice photos. I liked them all! The little marble one you have labelled as 'Hatsumi' is very cute. You seem to have them in just the right lighting to have the colours so good.
Ian, your hanger seems to do the trick nicely. The back ground shows alot of broms too! I, too, have used Miltons sterilising solution in my misting bottle, but seem to have stopped adding it at some stage, not on purpose, just forgot I guess. it could be the solutiong to preventing those gnats, as it would restrict the growth of fungus, which is what the bugs feed on. Thanks for reminding me about it, and I might start to add it once again.
Hi Trish, look at you dropping in on a weekday! It gets addictive doesn't it? And so much happens in one day, it becomes easier to comment daily. Thank you for your compliments on my photos. the spanish moss flowering never ceases to amaze me. Its so tiny! I only spottd two or three flowers amongst quite a few clumps, but I imagine I will see alot more from now on. I wonder if I cold cross pollinate them with another tillandsia, and what would result?
Hi Bree, yes N. 'Lila' they are fully shade grown nd won't see any sun for another month yet. They get big and strappy and dark green. I have some others growing in a slightly lighter area, but still no sun, and thy get the pink spreading a bit further, and mottling on the green parts, indicative of 'Lila'. Oh your poor V. ospinae gruberi! If anything, it might force it to throw more pups. At least it won't kill it! I find if you zap the sphagnum moss in the microwave for a few minutes, it won't grow anymore. I've just gone back to using it after having so much trouble with fungus gnats in the peat, but have started laying a paper towel over the top of the sphagnum moss before I add the seed. Why? I'm not sure, but they have germinated and are doing well.
Photo one is a plant that was sold to me,mounted on a stick and called a variegated Tillandsia. While shopping, I acidentally knocked one off and had to buy it also. It never recovered and this one went backwards so quickly that i potted it, and wah-lah, it is an orthophytum triolour!
Photo two is a Tillandsia gardnerii seedling on a peice of tree fern trunk, with my finger for size comparison.