Australian and New Zealand Gardening: SPRING AMONG OUR BROMELIADS..., 1 by splinter1804

splinter1804 wrote:
Hi Everyone - Another hot and windy one here yesterday and still they're managing to keep the bushfire on top of the escarpment contained. Choppers with water buckets flying backwards and forwards all day to help put out the spot fires in inaccessible areas and the endless sounds of sirens just to remind people of what the emergency is all about.

Wendy- Somehow I missed reading your first post yesterday, I was too busy admiring your Neo. seedling in the second post. That’s all good, handy information about growing the Tillandsia seed and thanks for sharing; I’ll add that to my ever growing list of cultural tips which I collect from various forums.

My next comment is about what you said about Neo. ‘Medallion’, apparently the fact that it just continues to grow up and up and doesn’t pup is the main distinguishing feature of the true Neo.‘Medallion’. See:http://registry.bsi.org/?genus=NEOREGELIA&id=5747#5747

I don’t know of the Neo.‘Robinsky Red’ you mention and can’t find it on the register. What more can you tell us about it?

Tash - Good to see you've been able to post again. Yes I'm still coming to grips with Windows Vista, I'm not too fussed about it and much prefer my old XP but as I had the offer of this computer on loan from the Light Rail Museum for as long as I want it, how could I say no. That first test pic I posted on the 18th which you asked about was one I've had for a long time and is called Ae fasciata rubra; the lady I got it from warned me that it was a very slow grower and very prone to rot. I've found it is a slow grower and have never got a single pup from it and all though I've had no rot problems (touch wood) the lady I got it from has lost both of her plants to rot, so as you can understand, I'm trying to nurse it well and get at least one pup from it.

Theresa – Thanks for the tip, I’ll make sure I never get Windows 8 as I don’t know what a “smart phone” is; my phone has a wire attached and is called a “tele phone”, I’ve had it for years and it works fine and lets me talk to people all over the world. As for a tablet, no thanks, I’m taking that many tablets now that I almost rattle so definitely not another one.

Great looking bark on those “Ponga Logs” I reckon the brom’s would love growing on them

Trish – Sorry to hear you are an asthmatic but glad to hear that you would like to volunteer in times of these emergency situations. Don’t let the fact that you have asthma put you off. I’ve been involved in emergency organisations most of my life and I can tell you there are many roles to play other than being on the fire front and in the smoke.

These organisations usually have a welfare section or a welfare organisation working with them and apart from preparing food for the fire fighters at the “front” there are also evacuees requiring assistance and it’s in these roles they are usually short handed and grateful for any help they can get in the evacuation centres. They need people to register the names of evacuees, prepare and distribute food, distribute clothing, toys, care for pets etc. etc… the list goes on. There are many facets to a volunteer organisation that we never hear about, but one thing for sure is, that if you offer to help, you won’t be turned down.

Sorry for the advertisement everyone, there I go again on my soap box; but it’s something that’s not widely known and everyone should be aware of.

Thanks for the ID on Neo. ‘Rose Blush’, I have a plant called Neo. ‘Deep Rose Blush’ (unregistered) but that is a medium sized plant.

You talk about making progress in the garden, the only progress I make is adding more plants (which I shouldn’t). I know the old brom. saying is “there is always room for one more”, and there usually is, but then that “one more” has pups and where do you then put them. Unfortunately my progress at the moment seems to be in a backward direction.

Great random shots of the garden again; what are the names of the two pinkish coloured plants in pic.5, one on either side of Neo.’ Painted Delight’ ?. One looks like a reversal of the other…… very nice.

Cody – Glad to hear Alex is home again. He seems pretty much like most kids in our family too. Always wanting to stretch out their free time before school as much as they can. However it’s very different when the weekend comes around, there's no getting back on the couch then, it’s more like, “let’s get up and at ‘em.

Shirley – I can remember when I was a kid and we had tanks and had to get water delivered in a tanker when our tanks went dry. Kids down here today think you’re pulling their leg when we tell them of these things - Three cheers for the town water supply.

Like you I can’t understand why people want to light fires period, but what puzzles me more is that it seems to be mostly teenagers down here. Is it due to “peer pressure” or perhaps even a “dare”? Yesterday police arrested two boys one 12 and the other 13; the day before it was two girls, about the same age….. what are they thinking, don’t they understand the devastation they are causing ?

Great pic’s again, I like your Neo. ‘Sometimes’, it seems that it’s a Grace Goode hybrid from possibly one of the ‘Aussie Dreams’, doesn’t look that much unlike Neo. ‘Perfection’.

That’s it for today and the pic’s are 1 A very angry red sunrise yesterday, shining through the bushfire smoke haze. 2 The “kids” waiting for breakfast, 3 and 4, untidy plants awaiting dead leafing and pup removal and 5 another of Peter Coyle’s beautiful new N.Z. hybrids Neo.’Apricot Nectar’ x ‘Jewellery Shop’.

All the best, Nev.