Australian and New Zealand Gardening: Bromeliads for Novices and Addicts - September 2014, 1 by splinter1804

splinter1804 wrote:
Hi everyone - It seems like the on-going problems with D.G. are slowly but surely killing this forum as we are having less and less posts every week, and I can understand how frustrating this can be.

This disappoints me as I've made some wonderful friends since I joined and I'd hate to lose contact because of something I have no control over.

Can someone with "computer know-how " suggest another way we can communicate as a group with each other and share pictures? Is there a way we could do it via email? Thinking caps on please, and collectively we may just be able to come up with a solution that suits us all.

Jean - Sorry to hear that you're still having add. problems (although not as bad as previously experienced). I haven't had a problem since I downloaded that "Adblock Plus" site.

Is your problem on your PC or a Laptop? It seems to me that a lot of these problems are more common on lap-tops, mobile phones, I pads and other modern equipment. Anyone wanting to try this programme see: http://downloadian.com/softwares/714128

Brian – Sorry to hear you still can’t load pic’s; I was having the same problem until I downloaded the above site and now everything’s working OK again, so probably worth a try.

Make the most of your grandson’s first birthday party, because when he gets to the 3-6 age group they will be very noisy functions, especially when you have three grandsons like I do and they invite all their little friends. You don’t know what noise is until you have experienced one of these, believe me.

As for your fertilising of plants; it doesn’t matter whether I buy, swap or am gifted plants from anyone at all (including professionals and other growers with much more experience than I). The first thing I do when I get home is to knock the plant out of the pot and inspect the root system as this is the bit you can’t inspect before you buy or swap any potted plant. (This is why I prefer to just buy or swap bare rooted pups)

The reason I always re-pot any new plants is that I then know what date it was re-potted, and that it was potted in the same mix as all of my other plants of the same type. This then means that the watering requirements will be the same and they have been fertilised the same as other plants as well.

Whenever I re-pot a plant, I give it a single dose of a suitable granulated, powdered, pelletised or prilled type fertiliser about an inch below the surface of the mix at the rate recommended by the manufacture. (I have found that this generally equates to 1gm per each inch of pot diameter)

This is then covered by the remaining mix and the plant thoroughly watered, left in a shady place for a couple of days and then moved to the preferred location. (Never put a freshly potted plant in full sun or strong light immediately after re-potting as this will increase the “transplant shock”)

When inspecting the roots, the worst things you may sometimes find are signs of the pretty common “Root Mealy Bug”. This is a little insect that can slowly but surely damage the roots of your plant to the extent that it can sometimes (after a long period) cause it to die.

It can easily be identified by a white looking sort of fine web usually just under the surface near the centre of the plant or around the edges where the roots meet the inside of the pot. These are the areas that dry out the quickest and it’s the dry environment that these insects like.

Control is easy, firstly remove all of the old potting mix and give a thorough hosing to clean as much mix away from the roots as possible. Next you need to give the plant a complete submersion in a bucketful of a reliable insecticide (I use either Confidor or Max Guard ) mixed up in a standard plastic bucket.

Leave submerged for about an hour and give an occasional up and down “swishing” to be sure all air pockets have been broken up, and the insecticide is reaching all parts of the plant. After an hour, remove from the bucket and allow to air dry before re-potting in fresh mix as described above.

I’ll finish today with a mixture of pic’s starting with pic.1 which is a plant infested with Root Mealy Bug, Pic.2 show the Root Mealy Bug web and eggs on the inside of the pot.

Pic.3 is a most unusual multi-flowered plant of Aechmea weilbachii f. pendula which was displayed at our meeting a couple of years back. Pic.4 is a picture of the Neo. compacta covered tree at the entrance to Paronella Park in North Queensland which I told Brian about but couldn't find. The tree is about sixty feet high and ten to twelve feet in diameter. It is the largest plant of Neo. compacta I have ever seen. I'll finish with a collection of colourful commercially grown Guzmanias just to brighten you day.

All the best, Nev.