Australian and New Zealand Gardening: Bromeliads for Novices and Addicts - February 2013, 2 by splinter1804

splinter1804 wrote:
Hi everyone – Nice to hear from you all again. Not much of interest to report just more re-potting and re-potting and re-potting and re-potting and re-potting!

Breeindy - Wow! That Neo. 'Duannes Night' has such vivid colour, what a statement yours will make when it's mature.

Just comparing the two pic's of Neo Gold Medal/First Prize, yours has much better colour, so keep growing it where you have it and don't change it. Possibly the “sellers plant” was grown in low light but more likely pumped full of high nitrogen fertliser to maximise pup production; this is why it's so green compared to your plant.

Ian – Thanks for the update on the Bill. x Ques., It will be interesting to see how it eventually matures and what sort of flower it will have and I look forward to more pic's in the future.

Field trips with Brom clubs/societys are always interesting – we go on one or two each year and as there are no brom nurseries anywhere handy we usually visit about three gardens of club members each time. It's just amazing at the little tips you pick up on these visits as everyone has a different way of growing these plants and the gardens are all very different which make it even more interesting.

I love Neo 'Gold Fever' it's probably one of the best spotted plants around. It's a beautiful plant but doesn't show its best until it's grown in quite strong light.

Wendy – It's great to see you back posting again. Glad to hear you and Johnny have been so busy with the clean-up, after all isn't helping your mates what's being an Australian is all about.? But please don't let Johnny run himself ragged, we don't want to see him back in hospital again.

Pleased also to hear your eye is starting to settle down, it isn't until you have something like this or are faced with a life threatening illness that you really start to appreciate the things around you; everyday things like trees, animals and birds and all of the other things in nature that we usually take for granted. It sound to me like you both need to sit back now and put your feet up for a bit and re-charge your batteries.

Trish – It's good to see you're really getting your teeth into the seed growing; you'll find it's one of the most interesting aspects of brom growing that you could wish for, just don't let it become like my place though where the seedlings are threatening to engulf the house.

Like you Trish, there's nothing I admire more than a nice tree, I don't hug them though, I just admire them from afar. There are two large Paper Barks that our local council planted on the nature strip outside the Girl Guide Hall when it was built many years ago. One in particular has the most amazing trunk you would ever see and I'd just love to have it in my front yard. Unfortunately, like often happens, they are now getting too large and starting to damage the road nearby and are going to be cut down, so I must get a few pic's before this happens.

I really like your Neo 'Rose Blush', I haven't seen that one before and it has most unusual colouring. I think it's all the different colour combinations in brom's that really appeal to me the most, there just doesn't seem to be any end to all of the different variations. The plant in your pic doesn't look anything like the pic of the one in the BCR so maybe this is an unregistered Australian version, who knows?

Shirley – I really must have a stock take as I didn't remember you sending me down a Neo. Chlorostricta F2, no doubt I'll find many others I had forgotten I already have also.

They're nice markings on your Ae. Chantinii, unfortunately they don't do well down here; they seem to struggle on for a couple of years but eventually the cold winters get them in the end.

A few pic's to finish with Pic 1 is Neo Gold Fever grown in bright light, Pic's 2 and 3 are a couple of brom gardens we have visited with our Brom. Society on past Field Days and Pic's 4 and 5 are of my area for larger seedlings, first standing in the entrance and looking left and then looking right.

All the best, Nev.