Australian and New Zealand Gardening: Bromeliads for Novices and Addicts - May 2013, 5 by splinter1804

splinter1804 wrote:
Good morning everyone – There seems to be a touch of winter in the air this morning down here with a freezing cold south west wind blowing and I'd bet pounds to peanuts it's coming off snow somewhere. All this after yesterday being such a beautiful warm almost summer day.

Sue – Glad the babies arrived safe and sound so that's two out of three, all I need now is for Trish's to arrive safely and I have a perfect score. As I said when I first made the offer of seedlings, an occasional pic along the way to maturity would be nice to share with everyone and I would especially like to see what they turn out like (I'll really kick myself if I've given away a champion); just joking, as the important thing was to find them good homes.

As for my suspected Ae. Shelldancer plant, yes I did have to go through layers of plants to get to it, but now I've got it to flower I'll pull it out and put it in a brighter spot in the garden; besides it has two large pups that need taking off as well, so I can try it in a few different spots. I forgot to mention, that it has rather savage spikes on the leaves, that's why I put it where I did. Since I've been taking Warfarin I bleed every time I get spiked, (no big deal, just a nuisance) so any plants with bigger than usual spikes are relegated to that “out of the way” bench.

As for asking to look in someone's bag, I wouldn't think of it as I only invite friends and people I think I can trust (I even let you into my back yard didn't I?); it's just that this woman somehow slipped beneath the radar; anyway “it takes all sorts”, but I would ask how could you enjoy a plant knowing it was stolen?

As I've said before, although I'm not a “Tilly” grower, I can and do appreciate them especially the bigger “pot grown” types like in your pic's. The winner however has to be the Vr. Gruberii cultivar, what a beaut! It is similar to Vr. 'Smudge Grub' but I think it has a lot more yellow on it than the Vr. 'Smudge Grub' plants I have seen, that's what makes it “jump out at you”.

Shirley – Isn't it so annoying when your computer or Dave's Garden eats one of your posts/ That's why I always now first type it on Word and then transfer it when I'm finished, if it goes off into cyberspace somewhere, it's still on Word and you can easily post again.

I'm pleased you like your babies and as I said to Sue, an occasional pic of them along the way to maturity would be nice to share with everyone here, especially me.

As for starting a new thread, you “did good” but as they say, practice makes perfect so I'll vote for you to be the “official new thread starter”, will someone please second the motion?

Now that you mention it it does seem that you may have a touch of “Vrieseaitis”, this is however reasonably easy to cure, every time you get the urge to buy a Vriesea, you just by a Neo instead.

Breeindy - Personally I wouldn't move the little seedlings until the weather warms up (although you may already have warm weather up there so if it's warm, then it's OK to continue) I've been getting good results from not so much “potting up the little seedlings” but thinning them out and still using the take away containers.

I usually plant 6 or 9 to a container depending on the size and use equal parts of Coco-Peat, Sphagnum Moss (chopped up finely) and Perlite for mix. They can then be left in the container until they are large enough to pot up. Some of mine are 6” high and still growing OK when grown in this way. I find if I use individual pots when the plants are still small, I get a lot of losses and that's why I do it this way instead. This suites my conditions down here in these conditions but maybe it won't suit your so you're probably better to ask some of the growers closer to your area.

That's it for today now for a few pic's; Pic.1 is Neo.'Knockout' a rather large plant better suited to the garden than a pot. Pic. 2 is Neo.'Lady Luck', Pic.3 is Neo.'Lambert's Pride' (Shade grown) and just for comparison, the next two are 'Lambert's Pride' hybrids with Pic.4 being Neo.'Lambert's Pride' x ('Charm' x 'Cracker Jack') and Pic.5 is Neo.'Lambert's Pride' x 'Charm'.

All the best, Nev.