Australian and New Zealand Gardening: Bromeliads for Novices and Addicts - February 2013, 4 by splinter1804

splinter1804 wrote:
Hi everyone – First of all a big thankyou to Shirley for starting a new thread for February; and now I must do what I forgot to do yesterday.

Yesterday I forgot to comment on Kristi's remark about the “Bromeliad Forum”. In 2008 I joined the Garden Web Bromeliad Forums. It was a great site and had many members which ranged from from “newbies” like me right through to international growers and hybridisers of world-wide recognition. The one thing they all had in common was they willingly shared information and we were getting answers to our questions from people from countries all over the world and even to this day I still refer to the archive files on that site which still contain a wealth of information and wonderful pictures.

The people on that site were much like the ones on this site and very friendly and willing to help where ever possible with the sharing of information and pictures, and I learned much more from them than I ever did from books I had read. My only criticism of that site was that it wasn't very “user friendly” and after a few years one of the members from South Africa started up a much more “user friendly” site which most of us joined. After a short time to get familiar with the new ways of doing things, I think everyone found it much easier to use to access information and it became more popular each day with the membership quickly growing. Sadly, although a few of us were using both sites, after a while the first site became very quiet with very little activity as most of the members spent more and more time on the new site. Consequently, now there are very few people posting about bromeliads there anymore.

This second site went very well for a few years but even now it is also getting quieter each day as more and more growers chose to change over to various Face Book Bromeliad sites. I tried some for a while but after having computer problems seemingly every time I opened up Face Book, I decided not to use it any more. It wasn't just the computer problems, but the people on the sites just didn't seem as helpful and friendly, and the camaraderie from the original site just wasn't there anymore.

It was then someone told me about this little site and “low and behold”, that same type of friendship and helpfulness exists here just as it was on that original Garden Web Forum and I've been happily posting here ever since even though I still do look in on the other two Bromeliad Forums from time to time. It seems to me that as soon as these sites get too big, the camaraderie goes out the door.

Shirley – That’s a beautiful perfectly shaped example of Neoregelia ‘Small World’ in the pic you’ve posted, well done! As for the wire hangers, I just make them out of whatever wire I have that will do the job. Small ones like that are made from the same gauge “galvanised tie wire” that I make my extensions for pot hangers from and if the pots are of a larger size and more heavier, I use a thicker gauge galvanised fencing wire. None of it is plastic coated and is available in most Bunnings stores.

They’re good sized Alcantareas you bought and the price was much less than they would ask down here, but the one that catches my eye is the beautifully coloured young Ae. Blanchetiana in Pic. 2, it’s a beaut, and it’s good to see “Rebel” the watch dog on duty guarding it for you!

Breeindy – The pic’s you have posted are also nice plants and the one of most interest is Neo. ‘Old Love Letters’ as it is a great example of just how much the colour can be bleached out of a plant due to too much sun and I think an example shown in a picture such as this can explain things much better than the written text, so thanks for sharing it with us all.

Trish – Thanks for the offer of more pictures of your Paper Bark Trees, I’ll certainly look forward to receiving them.

I like the look of your little seedlings, that’s amazing growth in a little over four months. It would take about eighteen months at least to get them to that size down here. It seems like you have that “magic touch” and are now starting on the journey of becoming a “Hybridising Guru”.

One little tip which I don’t think I’ve mentioned about small seedlings previously and which is an “optional extra” if anyone choses to try it. When you are planting these “little blokes” into their own pots, small plants such as these are often prone to rot if planted too deeply in their pots; on the other hand if they aren’t planted deeply enough, they are often inclined to topple over as the small root system is insufficiently established to support them. We all know that if a plant isn’t firm in its pot or on its mount it will be reluctant to put down new roots, and the same applies to small seedlings as well. What I have found is a big help, is to stake these little plants with simple bamboo tooth picks; this will hold them firm enough while they establish a sufficient root system to support them on their own. True, it doesn’t look too good but it’s better than having a group of rotted seedlings because they were planted too deeply to try and afford them the same support they can get from the toothpicks.


Kristi – I hadn’t realised that the Vr. Fenestralis had come to you via the post, I thought you had personally bought it at a nursery. I have found that with any plants I get through the post whether they are packed correctly or incorrectly, they will all benefit from the treatment shown below:

1. Open box as soon as it arrives.

2. Be careful not to lose any loose notes or name tags which may have become detached and be in the box.

3. Carefully un-wrap plants being careful not to lose name tags which may have just been tucked between leaves.

4. Bare-rooted plants will sometimes appear wrinkled and mis-shaped when first unpacked (like a butterfly when it first comes out of its cocoon) This is because they have been confined in an unnatural position and lost some of their fluid content due to dehydration. (No opportunity to absorb moisture from circulating air) This often happens no matter how carefully they were packed especially with softer leaved plants which suffer the most.


5. First, lay plants on a flat surface in the shade and give a good gentle hosing to completely wet them.

6. Take a cup of raw sugar and dissolve it in a bucket of tap water

7. Give plant/s a good dunking in this solution to ensure the leaves have been saturated and that the well in the centre of the plant is full of the liquid also. Then stand upright in the bucket all day or even over night, occasionally re-dunking the whole plant again a couple of times throughout the day.

8. The next day, carefully examine the plants for insects or signs of disease and if apparent treat as required. If clean, then pot up or mount them and give a thorough watering and place in a shady location.

9. As a really good "pick-me-up" give a good drenching of “Seasol” following the mixing instructions for "stressed plants" or "transplanting"

10 Keep in the shade for a few days until plants have regained their original shape and then gradually acclimatise them to your conditions. (Not too much bright light at first)

For some time I have been trialling various ways of promoting roots on Neoregelia pups more quickly than by simply planting in my normal potting mix. After reading a post from one of our members (I think it was Ian) I decided to give his idea of planting a pup in straight Skoria a try. The pup I tried had no roots whatsoever and the Skoria was the 3/8” size which I found in Bunnings.

On Nov. 28th I planted the pup in a 100mm pot with this Scoria as the only growing medium. The pot was positioned in a poly styrene box containing 25mm of Coco Peat in the bottom. It was given no fertiliser of any kind except a bit of Seasol as a tonic following the excessive heat we had.

Today Feb. 6th (65 days later) when I lifted up the pot I noticed roots protruding from the bottom and into the Coco Peat, obviously searching for moisture and food. On closer examination when I knocked the pup out of the pot, it had a much more substantial root growth than I would have ever expected by growing in my normal mix.

The question now is, was the “quicker than normal” root growth due to growing in the Skoria or due to the two abnormal heat wave days followed by excessive rain we had a couple of weeks ago? It seems like I'll have to repeat the trial once again to get a true result.

The following five pic’s show the results of the trial. Pic.1 shows the size of the Skoria used and the other four pic's show the root development photographed from varying angles

All the best, Nev