Bromeliads: for novices and serious addicts #3

Looking good Colleen! I was lucky enough to be given an Aechmea chantinii on friday, along with an Aechmea mexicana, an Acanthostchys strobilacea (mouthful) and a possible Puya miribalis! How lucky am I? My friends sister (also now considered a friend, a really good friend! he he) was kind enough to give them to mee, without me even asking! I shall have to trade with her when she is ready.
DH and I started the extension on the brom palace yesterday. The frame is up, the cloth is on and the black plastic is covering the earth. All it needs is a couple of tonne of gravel on the floor and some mesh benches! Its now twice the size of before, so you can expect soem new pictures soon. What fun it will be to decorate it all. DH said I'm not to buy new plants, but to spread out the ones I already have! YEAH RIGHT! he he.
Leisa, holidays always go fast, but I'm glad you'll be back soon, as its altogether too quiet. Mike where are you?
Sue
pic is Tillandsia lindenii, newly mounted on the wall.

Sue that little plant is lovely. Wish I could get my shade house up. Noone seems to want to do it. The last guy hasn't even bothered to give me a quote. I was wondering where Mike was. I dont think he liked you going away and leaving him with us. He might pop in now that you're back. [just joking Mike] Catch you later. Colleen

Sue, your brom house is starting to sound like my epi house. Addition 1, add. 2 etc. Wait until it takes over the yard. Hubby told me to spread out the plants I have and not buy more but how can you not ??
Colleen, get yourself and some friends and build one yourself. It's easy. I'm sure Brian would help too. A few split pine posts and some shade cloth is all you need. The local hardware shop , if you have one , is always good for helpful advice. My shadehouses are going well even with all the wild weather. Becuase we are on a hill,we used old corr. iron and fibreglass sheets to fill in the cold weather side. but you don't have to do that. I hope to show photos of my broms later as the large flower head on one grows.
Jean.

Hi Colleen. I wish I was there to help you put one up. Like Jean says, its not too hard, depending on what it is constructed with. We're making ours using galvanised pipes and clamps/brackets to hold them together, then we back the ute under it and I tie shade cloth on with cableties. We got the idea to build one using pipe, when we went to the steel place to buy mesh for benches. They had one constructed in the showroom, (just the frame). I wonder if there is someone near you who could make you one. You have to put it together where you want it to stay, because its hard to move about, unless you have one person for each leg. I've also seen a shade house made with PVC pipe, and again another made using heavy duty polypipe (curved to form an arch) and slid onto steel posts. The possibilities are endless.
Jean, I joked to hubby that eventually we would be walking from one end of the yard to the other through a giant shade house! He didn't see the funny side? I still have another extension planned, between the garage and shipping container (a space of 2.5mtr) and just need to work out how to attach shade cloth across the gap. It also need a bit of levelling, and will require gravel. It will be quite a shaded spot, but ideal for placing freshly removed pups, and old mother broms, aswell as the shade lovers like guzmanias and nidulariums.
We put some gravel down today, and DH said he might put another load in there tomorrow while I am at work. I wish he was on holiday more often!
this is Neoregelia punctatissima. It gets little (or no) fertiliser, and lots of light, even direct sun.
Sue

Wow Sue, that's stunning. Was talking to my son about the shade house again tonight. Thanks for the hints. I will let him know what you've said. We were talking about maybe putting up a pergola frame and painting the treated pine.Do you think that would work, and stop the pine leaching into the soil? Colleen

Colleen, I have had pine shadehouses up for about 8 years and have plants in the ground in them. I have not had any problem with leaching from the pine as the plants are all still growing well. I have lots of pots under the newer shadehouse benches and nothing seems to be suffering. I am careful to keep the broms away from underneath just in case but there is one bilbergia that is liking it under the bench in the ground.
Sue;s idea of pipe is good but i used pine as it was convenient and cheaper for me. I once used the black polypipe as a frame for a small arched one but you can't hang baskets so I pulled it down. Great for a small greenhouse though.
Sue that is a gorgeous brom. I am still waiting to see my large flower open. It is taking forever to grow . The cold has not affected any of the broms so I will be trying a few more.
You will be totally covered in shadecloth there soon . How great for lots of broms and other plants. My hubby just sighs now when I mention shadehouse. I really could do with another one .
Jean.

Thanks Colleen. I will take some pics of how its joined with the clamps incase you decide to go that way. Painting the timber is a great idea, as is wrapping it in black plastic. Its the copper in the treated pine that is poisonous to the broms, more so than other plants, because the water sits in the centre, which is the growing point for a brom. All the new leaves come from there, so if they are poisoned, no more new leaves! (or flowers) If you cover the roof with a rain proof material, and only hand water, you also avoid water dripping from the timbers. Theres always a way around it. My fernery is treated timber, and I just make sure the broms aren't under a cross beam, and so far, so good. I have rotted out the centre of a couple when I was unaware of the threat, but am much the wiser now! he he. I found my orchids don't much like it either, and it seems to stunt their growth. I am moving them over to brom palace, as they seem to like the same conditions.
We put another load of gravel in this arvie, so as soon as I get some besser blocks, I can put in the benches and start to decorate. It will fill up quickly, as I will be potting up some new pups very shortly. Hubby has been really good this week!
Sue

Sue do you dig holes to put the uprights into or do they just sit on the ground? Colleen

Douh I sent quick wave to you all from Singapore airport - but it's didn't arrive - I guess that's what you get for free internet connx! Anyway I'm back home now. We had a great trip - it all went way too quickly. I'll put some pics up for all to see soon.
We've returned to an amazingly hot day here in bris - just like summer - but dry! I missed the worst of it by taking a 3hr nap to catchup after our 26 hour return flights from Frankfurt (via Singapore). But it was a great day for getting lots of travel clothes washed! The sad bit is that our water tank pump has died - about 2 months after the 2 year waranty - typical. So we'll have to get that sorted before I can
My garden is looking ok - I have a few things flowering, including a couple of broms - a (noid) Billbergia similiar to Marleneann's above, Ae. recurvata & something I think is a Tillansia, but I'll have to find a name for. I've noticed a few black spots on my return on a few things, so I'll have to get back out with the spray.
Sue you're extention is coming along well. You haven't had the original palacevery long, so I wonder how long it'll be before you have to extend again ;-)
I'm just too jealous of eveyone's talk of shadehouses.

This message was edited Aug 25, 2009 9:54 PM

Good to see you back Leisa. Looking forward to seeing your pics.Sue had great ones from her hols and gave a running commentary . It was great. Colleen

Colleen, I just read back over some old posts above & realized you were asking me about Tim Plowman - to buy one I think. I'm sorry I didn't realize you were asking me. Sadly I've only got a single plant - maybe some pups by this time next year if I'm lucky :-) but sorry I can't help.
Someone else (Chrissy or Pam?) had a picture of a lovely big clump, I can't remeber who, but it wasn't me - sorry.
Your brom collection looks nice & healthy! It's amazing how quicly we collect so many! The broms you sent me are doing ok, but I'll be pleased when we get past this unseasonally hot weather!

It's okay Leisa.I;m sure will come up to buy. The trouble is that I have to get one for my son as well. He's been getting some more off e-bay but hasn't seen that one. I still have quite a bit of work todo with the Broms. Cleaning off the dry leaves and repotting the pups.I'm slowly getting there.Most of the broms in that pic were the ones you sent me. They haven't looked back and some of them have pups now but I wont take them off just yet. The heat or the cold doesn't seem to affect them too much. They do get a bit scorched when it's 47 for a week though. I have to move them so that they dont get afternoon sun then but other than that they do just great here. There's not a lot of people around here that collect them, in fact I dont know of anyone offhand. I think I will have to join the gardening club. The trouble is it meets on a Sunday and I'd have to find someone to lookafter the boys but it's a thought. Colleen

Colleen, I did forget to mention that the part of the shade house that my broms live in is under the roof of Alsinite that I used on the first construction. Sue is exactly right. It was her advice re. the copper in the pine that made me put them there where there is no runoff. I handwater the broms. All the rest of the shadehouses are just pine. You can use hardwood for the cross beams as we did in the fern house. This means no chemical runoff.
Good luck in getting your shadehouse done.
Jean.

Hi Colleen, yes, hubby dug the holes with a post hole digger (the scissor type) We probably dug them alot deeper than they need to be, as I reckon 300mm would have been enough. I think they went down nearly 1 mtr! He put the mesh on the back wall today, and I found a nice old dead branch to mount some dendrobium orchids on. I'm itching to start redecorating!
Leisa, yay, you're back! Now if only mike would come back too! I don't recall him letting us know he'd be away! Humpfffff! JOKING! I hope you're healthy and Happy Mike!
I noticed a few flyspecks too, so will have to decide on the best method. I have yet to find that granule method that Mike posted awhile back.
Just reseacrhed that and found it was too posinous to be recommended for use in the home garden! http://search.nufarm.com.au/label/nufarm/THIMET_100G_24107999.pdf
think I'll stick with malthion for now, and maybe try confidor this year too. I'm not going to spray just yet though, as theres only one or two, on about 3-4 plants (so far) so I'll wait and see if there are any beneficial predator bugs about. I'll just wipe off the few I find with a cotton ball moistened with metho, and monitor them weekly for now.
Anyway, Leisa, I look orwadr to your thread with pics! It must have been an awesome trip!
Colleen, I don't know where Bute is, but they have broms http://www.yp-connect.net/~billt/
or try The brom society of SA and ask if they have any growers close to you? http://www.bromeliad.org.au/news/SA.htm You can also access their magazine (the Gazette) which has some interesting stuff!
Hey Jean, its been quiet hasn't it? Everyone must be hibernating. I am guilty of not dropping into the tearoom much these days. I find this computer so time consuming and tend to go from one brom forum to another, and off on a tangent following links!
I hope everyone is having a happy time in their gardens to date.
No doubt I'll be back tomorrow!
Sue

Evening all, I'm busy putting some pics up in facebook for all to see, but I've been having some PC problems (typical) - so don't think I'm avoiding you!
Sue your Neo. punctatissima has great colour. Here's a lilliputian view of my plant with some little mushrooms! I must find a spot for it with more sun, to bring out the brown stripes & heighten the colour !

Ok here's a link to my photo album on Facebook of the broms I saw on my trip to Germany. I've named the plants where possible, according to the plant tags I could find. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=24456&id=1611465436&l=46b7cadc9d

This message was edited Aug 27, 2009 5:11 AM

Leisa, beautiful photos. Glad to see you back . Cute little mushrooms in that pot. I get little brown toadies in my pots sometimes.
Sue , we know you are always around and it is so easy to get lost in the threads as you follow links. . I am wanting to hang a log in my brom area too but have been unable to find a suitable one as yet. I have some broms that are small ones that would suit a log. Would a branch from a paperbark be okay ? I have one standing in a corner that I will drag out. It is not a thick one but at least it won't rot as quickly as some of the gums here do.
Your new brom house sounds well anchored. We put our pine posts in about 18''. The gale winds we have had haven't bothered any of the shadehouse.
Jean.

Hi everyone, I ‘m back but for how long? That depends on Telstra . Where I live I’m unable to get ADSL the line capacity for board band has been reached, so I had to go wireless that was fine as far as it went then for some reason they changed the ban width or signal strength, and since then I’ve been in a Monty python skit, Telstra’s help desk been about as much fun as an ice cube on a toothache and our local Telstra shop! ****###! {Instead of sending our crims to jail they should be made deal with Telstra call centres if that don’t put them on the straight and will probably not reoffend } cheers mike

This message was edited Aug 27, 2009 3:36 AM

Welcome back Mike - sorry to hear your tale - Telstra are shockers aren't they! I hope we don't lose you as a result!
We're so reliant on the PC & the internet connection these days. Bring on KRudd's broadband rollout - especially for country folk.
Here's a plant I bought recently at the markets. It didn't have a name - so does anyone know what it might be? The seller suggested a Tillandsia of some sort. It's got a few black specs, so I'll have to give it a blast before I let it join the brom crowd.

Hi everyone missed you guys !!! not a lot of fun when you can't talk to your mates.
All this talk of green houses I'am looking to extend or build a new one I've run out of room and have more pups that I can poke a stick at. we have had no rain for so long that the trees are stressing and shedding their leaves which is letting in to much light,so I guess its an other green house,Colleen, I don't mind the idea of polypipe arch Eliane and I knocked one up in two hours for her succulents the benching took a bit longer,the poly arch is 6 metres by 4.6 and 2.4 high the costs were not very high and is quite strong I'll post a picky later' another arch we built is 20 metres by 6.5 and a little over 3 metres high we used poly and steel and easly put up by one person {better with two}.Colleen you said in one of your posts that you wanted to hang plants in your green house if you have the head room theres no reason that you could not make a frame from timber and barbed wire [ barbed wire stops the plants from slipping along the wire and bunching together] if you're interested I'll post some pick's !Sue thanks for your concern yes the thymet is seriously poisoness but if used with caution and only a few grains in the brom cups I find it safer than sprays, as for any beneficial preditors I have never heard of one in Australia. The brom picky is one of my favourite little ones (neo dear jacque ) Cheers Mike

Hi Leisa Thanks and I hope your trip was everything that you had hoped it would be you certainly came back to some warm weather,I think your plant is an Aechmea I have it in correctly named as A pom pom Sue might be able to put that straight cheers

Mike that Neo is so lovely. Yes I would be very interested in any hints that you have about building a shadehouse, The more hints the better. Thank you. Colleen

Hi Colleen, if you give me a couple of days I'll put some photos together and hints and email them to you ., if that is alright with you maybe you could D mail your Email address to me Cheers mike

Hi just seen on Ebay Blanchetiana red form , take a second look at the back ground and tell that's not photo shopped the back ground is magenta.cheers

Hi Mike, I was just lookimg around on eBay - was this the blanchetiana you mean: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Bromeliad-Aechmea-Blanchetiana-RED-Form-Pup_W0QQitemZ140341407934QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAU_Plants_Seeds_Bulbs?hash=item20acfff0be&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14 The background does look red rather...! The pic of the pup looks more realistic.
Ah so many thing for sale - so many varierties... by watchlist is huge!

Hey Leisa, nice pics! Number 40 is Quesnelia liboniana. I love the variegated Canistrosis billbergioides. Number 44 is Acanthostchys strobilacea. I'm amazed at how nice those broms are! It would have been a heated place yes? I'm glad you got to see some broms on your trip. As for your little Neo, Im pretty sure it'll colour up well with more light. They can take full sun, but need to be watered more often, as the tank is so small and evaporates very quickly in full sun. I would suggest your mystery plant is an Aechmea, as mike said, and I thought probably a recurvata hybrid? Not sure, but it reminds me of blue cone also. (which is a form of A. cylindrata?) pretty anywy eh?
Hi Jean. Your paperbark branch should be fine. Mike had a pic with some Aechmeas growin in his large trees. I use any wood, as long as it is kinda interesting. Bill cut me a huge log today, and tomorrow afternoon, I have plans to do some decorating, using the Dendrobium orchids i got last year, and maybe some Medium to large Neos, I haven't decided which ones yet. I'm going to perch that 'Adams family' birdhouse on top.
I love the shape of your Neo Mike! The way it spirals is really amazing! Talking of photoshop, these were taken on my fuji, on the flower setting. I haven't done anything except resize them! I took them in the late afternoon, and they haven't had fertiliser since last spring and some haven't had any!
Colleen, I hope you find some useful ideas from all us shadehouse builders! I wonder if you google 'shadehouse' images, or fernery or something if you can get some more ideas. I might go try that myself.
Anyway, the carboot market has come around again, so i'd better get off to bed!
I'll leave you with some pics

larger Neos

These are the medium to miniature neos

Some sun lovers, Neo kautskyi (quite small, Leisa) Neo. 'Painted Lady', and some N. olens hybrids on a log

This message was edited Aug 28, 2009 11:42 PM

The Vriesea and Tillandsia wall. I am going to move the Vriesea to a higher light position, although they are doing very well where they are, but I'd like to see what kind of colours I can get with more light. The cloth is only 70% in the new section. I thought the original cloth was 50%, but now I'm not so sure. Anyway, I'm getting pretty good colours considering we had no sun in late summer (all those rain clouds) and have just come through lower light levels due to winter! I have a few pups ready to pot up, but just waiting till the weather settles into a steady temperature range.

Sue your broms are fantastic. I noticed yesterday that I had a few more flowers coming on my lot. I haven't got the beautiful coloured ones that you have but when the shadehouse goes up I will venture into some more. Good luck with your bootsale. Colleen.

oh dear, wrote a huge big post and then lost it when i went to look at pics. Doh!
In a nutshell
Thanks Colleen. I am lucky in soooooo many ways.
Sale went well! Have money for the next plant fair now!
Will begin log decoration tomorrow and also working for an hour watering for a customer.
Having a wine with my hubby and a mate, whose close friend passed away this morning from prostate cancer (64). Gosh its a terrible disease! We're going to watch funniest home videos to cheer him up!
I'll see you tomorrow colleen, if you're online. Don't you worry, you're brom collection will be large and colourful in no time! Its so addictive.
Sue

Hi All,
Nice pics Sue - your palace looks so wonderful! Your plants have got great colour! Glad to hear your sale went well! Thanks for the info re the plants.
I went on a BSQ bus trip today to the gardens of Cheryl Basic & Nigel Thompson. I bought a box of broms - mainly Neos., but also a nice sized Vr. Kiwi Cream for $25. They had cheaper/smaller plants but my Vrieseas seem to grow sooo slowly I decide the extra $10-$12 was worth it!
Here's some pics from Cheryl's place: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=24848&id=1611465436&l=289377229d
I didn't get a lot of names - just shooting at all the colour. I've got more pics from Nigel's place & will put them up tomorrow. he had lovely Guzmanias & vrieseas.
Colleen, on your pic above the red/green plant on the right hand side 2nd from front could be Neo. Debbie (I may have sent you one). With enough sun it should start to go red once the weather warms up a bit.
Boy am I tired - too much sun today!

This message was edited Aug 29, 2009 11:24 PM

Thanks leisa. Lucky you! I read the outings in the mag and wish I lived close enough to go! Are you going to Greenstock on Sept 26? I am trying to organise a trip, so if you are going, I'd love to catch up with you! Yes, sometimes better to pay the extra for a larger plant, that way you get flowers and pups sooner too!
Great pics. Number 22 looks like my Guzmania cardinalis var Broadview! (can send you a pup anytime) I really liked N. Charcarodon Tiger too, and the other zonated plants you shot. Number 54 looks like Portea stellata, another on the wish list...sigh...
How big were the gardens/shadehouses?
The colour in my brom palace is scarey! Bill and I have been hanging in there of an afternoon, drinking lambrusco and eating crackers and dip. We had a visitor yesterday and he was blown away by the colours and variety. I have definitely found the right spot for them! The frogs are becoming more and more visible by the day, and there seem to be more than ever.
I worked on the log today, and attached some mini Neos, a Vriesea flammea, some Dendrobium orchids, an Elkhorn fern and Neo predator. Of course I disguised all the string and cocoa fibre with Spanish moss. it will look great when everything has established.

This is a view from the western side, looking to the east. I swear, it hurts your eyes because its so vibrant!
Sue

Great pics Sue - that tree trunk looks great now & will get even better! Your palace looks so well organized & spaced out - very professional. I knew you'd like the pic of N. Charcarodon Tiger. Cheryl Basic had a couple of them & they were lovely, but with a price tag of $150! A fellow on the bus bought one. I spent about $120 on my box full, including the $25 for the Kiwi Sunset; a couple of people spent several $100's.
I did some re/potting today. I didn't have much time, as some friends dropped in this afternoon. Some of my smaller "nursery" plants have been copping it a bit due to no water (water tank pump broke) for the last 2 hot "summer-like" weeks. I rearanged a few plants - motivated by the Nigel Thompson's garden, especially his colourful Guzmanias planted around the base of a Buddha Belly bamboo. I'm going to try the idea under my Buddha Belly with my Guzmanias that are looking good (finally) at the moment.


This message was edited Aug 30, 2009 10:16 PM

Sue your shade house is looking really great. Hope I can get one soon. Leisa what is the last brom called. It's beautiful. I have seen the Kiwi sunset it's really lovely. Colleen

Hi everyone Sue your plants look really good, love the colour and shape of your plants I like to keep my plants on the hungry side brings out the colour better I believe ! as for that A blanchetiana on Ebay the other day yes that was the one have been seeing that photo for quite some time I don't believe it's not been touched up could be a big disappointment to anyone who spent big bikkies. I'v been a bit pee off with some of the sellers on Ebay missed named plants etc. Most sellers are more than reputable and give good service, but having ended up with real dogs I suggest tread with care Leisa thanks for sharing your trip photos with us the weather must have been kind I see one chap in shorts, when to have a look at a freinds new brom house yesterday and could not get over how great it looked, no sides just roof and back wall so here a picky

Hi an other shot sorry could get all the detail in becauce of the angel of the sun, cheers

one more, photo of my plants hanging from a simlpe frame and barbed wire

This brom is taking forever to fully open so I thought I'd put up the latest pic. I need an ID but maybe will have to wait until the darn thing opens properly. A few warm days would probably help. It has been growing in the pot for a few years and used to be outside . There are 2 large pups on it too.
Love those broms, especially the hanging baskets on the barbed wire. I have a lot of it rolled up from an old fence. Maybe somrthing to try.
Jean.