Australian and New Zealand Gardening: Bromeliads for Novices and Addicts - November 2013, 4 by bromishy

bromishy wrote:
Hi Everyone!

It pelted down rain here this morning at about 5.30am for a good solid 30mins +. I laughed as I got up early to water my seedlings in the nursery and some other plants in the garden, then while I was sitting potting broms a squall came through along with the heavy rain and I just sat there in amazement and watched with a big smile on my face as I had not expected it plus I had really missed the rain. Anyway the wind got that strong it ripped one corner of the shade sail over our pool and into our pool so now we need to fetch it out and attach it back to the wall clip. On the news it said we got 21mm.

Hi Wendy great to hear from you, sounds like you have been keeping really busy. I once had very high blood pressure and the doctors said I would more than likely need to be on medication for life but they did say similar that exercising and losing weight could help but that if it didn’t then it was probably hereditary as my mum suffers from high blood pressure and that I would be stuck with it for life. Anyway I lost a fair bit of weight and am no longer on blood pressure medication, I don’t exercise as much as I should but I am keeping the weight off as well as still losing some by watching what I eat so I am thrilled to bits about that. I have been off my blood pressure medication for about nearly 10 years now.

Wendy great pics of all your Tills they look so wonderful when they are in flower. And I really like that coir filled ball for hanging your Tills. I have some Till seeds I collected recently, could I germinate them straight on a coir filled ball and just spritz the ball every day until they germinate and maybe use the flour and water paste helpful hint that Nev mentioned recently that his friend uses and paint this on the coir filled ball as the Till seeds would be mixed up in the flour and water paste?

Wendy sorry to hear about the rats and the seedlings, our problem is grasshoppers and you have to get up really early to catch the little buggers aside from trying to find where they are hiding.

Nev I posted you a pup of Neo’ ‘Sam Smith’, a gift from Rob Smythe back on the 18/05, so where have you got it hiding amongst your broms? I posted you another Neo on the same day so I hope you got them both as I remember you confirmed with me that you had received your parcel, anyway I hope you find ‘Sam Smith’ and wish you good luck in your search for it amongst all your other beautiful broms he he.

Nev the Vriesea you spotted in amongst the other broms is I believe Vr. ‘Tiger Tim’ the last time I checked. I ended up potting them outside as they were not doing well where I have my other vrieseas and seem to prefer the new position far better.

Nev thanks appreciate your advice in relation to taking the lids off any seedling trays where the seedlings are touching the top of the lids. I had a look at them all last night and many vrieseas are now touching the lids so it is time to take the lids off on a good majority of my seedling trays. Joe also gave me the idea of just popping the tray into a slightly larger tray with a bigger lid until I come to a decision on what I am going to do with them next. I really liked your Styrofoam idea very much so I have been madly trying to get a few more from Woolworths so I can get some ready in our nursery to sit all my trays in with the lids off but I have not got enough as of yet as some have just been too small but as soon as I have enough I am looking forward to giving your way a go as there is far less chance of them drying out as quickly this way which is what I am afraid of as I don’t want to loose any.

Hi Tash appreciate your advice also in relation to taking the lids off my seedling trays, I am getting to the point of having no choice now that a lot of the seedlings are touching the lids so I just have to bite the bullet, I think I have just been worried to because I am not around as much as I would like to be to look after my babies but if I go with Nev’s great advice using the Styrofoam boxes to sit them in then they may have a chance in still absorbing moisture and humidity with the core peat in the bottom under the trays but in more detail the way Nev explained. And yes like you say it will make it so much easier to fertilise them whenever I need to with their lids off. Tash nice brom pics, I adore the Ae. Chantinii dark form and it’s one that I am looking forward to getting down the track amongst many others on my wish list, one day as there are so many nice one’s to pick from but it’s just working out which order to put them in and I keep changing my mind on the order of precedence LOL.

Hi Jean your seedlings sound like they are doing well and it sounds like you are really enjoying growing them, now we just have to think about where to put them when they all grow up he he. Jean lovely brom pics you posted.

Hi Tropicbreeze pleased to hear your well, wow that’s a lot of Guzmania’s you got in and the names of them sound lovely. I do not have many Guzmania’s but when I do get them by post I give them a good overnight soak in water and brown sugar like Nev often mentions that he does with his broms when they come in the mail. This helps to rehydrate them and then you can pot them up like you would other broms. I tend to treat my Guzmania’s like my Vrieseas, they get a little more attention than my Neo’s and enjoy regular foliar feeding and I water them more than my Neo’s; the main thing is the mix is free draining and they don’t get soggy feet or they are prone to rot just like any other brom. I have mine growing in the nursery under 70% shade cloth as well as under shady trees where they enjoy filtered light conditions. I also like growing mine in groups in the one pot as they seem to do better this way and look far prettier when they all flower together and then it is just a matter of cutting out the old mum as she dies and the new ones will just fill the gaps.

Anyway time to put the kettle on or maybe I can talk Joe into making me one he he.

Hi to anyone else looking in or on the sick list.

Take Care and Happy Gardening!

Trish

Pic 1 & 2 – Vriesea cv. that I got from a friend for my birthday that came with lots of pups

Pic 3 & 4 – Neo. ‘Kinship’. I have had this one growing in a lot of sun but have recently moved it under 70% shade so hopefully its colours improve as it was starting to loose colour but thankfully did not get burnt. I have had it in the same possie for two years so it’s a pretty tough one to have endured all that sun for two summers coming into its third summer but then I relocated it.