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

splinter1804 wrote:
Hi everyone – Well another Brom Society AGM over until next year with the same old faces elected to do the same old jobs. Why is it that a lot of members seem afraid to put up their hands to take on one of the many positions? After all, they all seem to enjoy the benefits that club membership provides.

Plant sales went well and I cleared over $200 after the society took their sales commission, hopefully I will now be able to get this old computer sorted out. For anyone who has sent me an email recently and not received a reply, I apologise, but I forgot to mention my emails aren't working either; so thanks for the offer of emailing your pic's Sue but it wouldn't help as I wouldn't be able to look at them via email either.

Sue – Regarding the winter temperatures down here, the weather reports say it's not as cold as in previous years but I think it's because we are at almost the highest point in town that we cop those rotten cold south west winds and the accompanying “wind chill factor” which lowers the temperature more than they actually are at the weather station. Whatever the reason, I still reckon it's colder this year than it was last year and so do my brom's.

From what you and Ian say about Ae. Gigantea, I don't think I'll rush out and buy one as they sound too large for me.

There was a bare rooted plant brought into the meeting yesterday as a raffle prize. It was over a metre tall and had a small pup on the side but was a NOID. It had grey, very thick, leathery leaves and the spikes on the end were like spear points and I have no doubt that if you fell on it, it could probably penetrate to quite a depth. The lady who won it is going to keep a photographic record so we will all see what it is like when it flowers and maybe even find out a name for it.

The open ended igloo you have for you plant sales is a good idea as people can walk right through if they wish without clogging up the walkway but you probably need Bill at the other end to make sure they pay for all of their purchases, especially the small Tillandsias.

Cody – They say we have to be grateful for small things, and I'm very grateful we don't get any snow here after seeing your pic's. I posted a pic a month or two back of a “brom-friend's” garden in England where all of the garden plants, the green house and the trees were all covered in snow and I still get the “shivers” every time I think about it.

Theresa – Just one question, is the RSA the N.Z. Equivalent of our RSL here in Australia which is a club for returned service men and women?

I don't know if your remedy for a cold actually works as a cure, but it would sure make it more fun to have a cold if that were the treatment. I don't know if it would be a good idea for Sue to try it though as she would be “sozzled” in no time flat and would probably end up potting the same plant two of three times.

Ian – Like you, I think there are occasions where those of us with largish collections all sometimes wonder if we have “bitten off more than we can chew”, but just then we spy something that we didn't see last time we looked and everything seems worthwhile.

I have found as I get older and the aches and pains increase, the best way to address the on-going required maintenance is to do a little bit of work every day, it doesn't have to be a whole day's work, just an hour or two but you need to be committed to do it "every day", and it's surprising just how much you can achieve by taking this approach. But you only have to miss a week or two due to other commitments and the amount of work required to catch up seems insurmountable.

What you say you have found with the growth habits of Ae. Gigantea compared to how Sue has found it can be compared with many bromeliads and it simply comes down to”horses for courses” and what sometimes does well for you in your area won't do as well for someone else in a different area. After all, if all plants would grow easily in all areas, what sort of a boring hobby would that be as there just wouldn't be any challenge for the growers.

Ian, can you keep us posted on the results from the xNeophytum 'Ralph Davis' you've just potted up as it will be interesting to compare them to the results of the American grower I posted recently.

Just looking at the first of your pic's (Neo. Blue Nude) reminded me that I have a few seedlings in which I used this as one of the parents and they must be almost getting large enough to see if they show any promise. I must have a look to see if there's anything I think is worth keeping, and if so I'll post a pic.

Shirley – Isn't that always the way? Just when you think you know where you will have a good variety of plants to choose from, you find there's nothing worthwhile and you then have to start chasing something else.

As I mentioned above I unloaded quite a few “bits and pieces” yesterday so I'm not complaining about the plants sales; I just hope I can do as well at the next meeting and our spring show.

I too am unable to open the BCR yesterday and today, and I didn't take a lot of notice as I thought it was just my computer problems progressing to the next level, so maybe it's a problem with the BCR itself as the FCBS site is still working for me OK.

From what I can make out from your picture, the markings on the leaves of your Canistrum Seidelianum x Ae Corriea Araujoi look very nice. Incidently that particular cross would be a "bi-generic" hybrid which is called a xCanmea (for anyone here who doesn't already know). When naming a bi-generic hybrid, the name is made up of part of the name of each of the two parents. In this case, the “Can” part of the name is taken from the Canistrum and the “mea” part is taken from the Aechmea thereby giving the name “Canmea”. The “x” before the name indicates that it is a bi-generic hybrid and not some rare newly discovered species.

That's all from me today and now pictures of five of the "marbled types" from my collection to finish with. Pic.1 is one I bought with the name Neo.'Running River' (some may say it is called 'Red River' or 'Red Running River' but this is the name it had when I bought it from a reputable bromeliad nurseryman and this is what I'll call it) Pic.2 is Neo.'Marble Snow' the first of these types I ever got. Pic.3 is Neo.'Pink River', Pic.4 is Neo.'Pink Marble Delight' and Pic. 5 is a hybrid from Neo. Marble Snow x Self.

All the best, Nev.