Bromeliads for the novice and the serious addicts #4

Hi Leisa, yes the price tag on N. Carcharodon Tiger is quite high, but as your collection grows, the plants on your wish list get dearer! Or at least, thats my experience! I reckon I would have snapped that $75 one up if it had good colour!
I was thinking if the smoke induces my plants to flower, I won't be too unhappy either! I should put all the large guzzies out in it, they sell better with flowers! It will be interesting to see what your guzzie becomes Leisa. It almost looks like a Vriesea flower at that stage! I've heard of Vriesea Barbara, but not Guzmania. Will have to look at FCBS to see.
I got my Ebay plants today, so am happy they don't have to sit in the post over the long weekend. I've potted them up and placed them in quarantine, as there appeared to be a little bit of soft brown scale, but I think it was old scale, and possibly dead, but you can't be too carefull.
Gotto clean the house tomorrow. YUK! its sooo bad, with all the dust and bits of vegetation that comes in on me. It hardly seems worth it, when I know I'llbe dragging more in by Tomorrow night! he he.
Leisa, I forgot to post a pic of Vriesea platynema variegata.
Here tis
Sue

Help. Can anyone identify this mold and how do I treat it? Colleen

Here we go again 2nd attempt at this post!
Colleen good question re fertilizing. I've heard that broms only take about 1/4 of their food thru the roots -some even less. And Mike could well be right to say none at all. As well with Neos say you might try to keep them on the hungry side, as they can grow long green & strappy, with too much food or not enough light. But once you're trying to promote pups, you might use the opposite rule. My gut feel is to give them a good potting mix, ie a bit extra granulated fertilizer in the mix, but if they actually take more nourishment thru the leaves, it might make more sense to foliage feed them instead... Mike what do think of that idea?
Actually it'd be interesting to get 3 parent plants, which are producing pups, feed 1 via the potting mix, 1 via the foliage & the last using both methods & see which is most productive. Sorry I can't help with the black mould.
Sue thanks for the full pic of the platynema - you sure know how to produce lovely plants!
Mike the Roy's Special is lovely as is that other Neo. I hope the road trip is successful!
There's an open day at Greg & Narelle Aizlewood's tomorrow, which I'll have to miss. They are lovely people & very encouraging & have lovely plants, so it'll be one I'm disappointed to miss!
And you guys have eagle eyes! I checked out the tag on my so-called "guzmania" coming into flower & yes it clearly says -Vr.- Ginger, which is very much like Barbara. Not sure why I called it a Guzmania?? I was actually expecting it to be Vr Sundance, which is due to come into flower soon & was wondering why the flower was red & not yellow. I'd forgotten about Ginger which I was given last year..
Here's the Vr. saundersii I got last weekend. It was $15, which I thought was ok, as I'd seen exactly the same plant at the local garden shop for $30! I love it's thicker leaves & grey/green colour.

This message was edited Oct 3, 2009 3:00 AM

Hi Colleen, I cant see the mould too clearly to tell, but maybe start with washing it off. What is the plant, and how did it get in behind the wire? maybe pot it in pearlite for awhile to make sure that nothing continues to grow (as in mould) you could probably treat it with a fungicide, but unless you have other plants that need treating, it would be hard to make up a small ammount, and a waste of money purchasing the fungicide to begin with. Let me know how you go.
Leisa, you are missing an open day! Awwwww! we hardely get any open days to any garden/nurseries here! Obviously your addiction is satisfied at the moment! he he. Your V. saundersii looks really leathery! I have it on my list too. Its not all that common really. I've seen a few about, but my brom crazy friend has one, so I'm waiting for a pup of hers.
I love Vriesea platynema variegata. I have removed two pups about a fortnite ago, and so far they are looking good. I gave mum a dose of fert and hopefully she might throw another 1 or 2, or maybe just begin to flower. Shes a lovely plant.
I've been potting things up all week, not many broms, but upsizing the potted palms, ficus, and other plants for the growing season. I'm waiting on a delivery of supplies, and have run out of fertiliser, so I bought potting mix with fert and water chrystals in it. We'll see how it goes. Its a different brand to the usual, so i hope I haven't fixed what wasn't broken!
Anyway, its blowing a gale here, and I oiled the verandah today, so am hoping it dries quickly. Its been very hard having to come and go through the front door, and as predicted yesterday, after vacuuming and mopping, I've manged to cart enough vegetation in to fill a small green bin! he he. Best got the broom out I s'pose.
See you tomorrow.
Sue

Sue, could you have a look at my pic from yesterday at 9-15 and see if can give me some help with the black mold please? Your broms are all potted and very happy. Shade house has been started. Some pics to follow. Sorry Mike but John wanted to build it out of wood and paint it. 1st pic some very happy broms. Colleen

The clearing of the land. aHave left a very old Lilac in there as I wanted to try to save it but it might be in the way. We'll see how things go with it there. Colleen

The timber arrives. Colleen

The painting begins. Colleen

Last pic, Broms that John brought up for me. Colleen

Hi Colleen, check the post I wrote before your last lot as I mentioned your mould then. You must have missed it in all the excitement of the new shade house! he he. I can't wait to see it done!
Your broms all look great. Whew! That is a releif! Your new ones from John also look good, and is that Neo. Satsuma on the top left? (purple one in the last pic?)
We got up early and went to the markets today, but guess what? We got RAIN! 10mm through out the day! It ruined the markets, but we went an tique shopping instead, (got a rusty tricycle and a scooter) and then to Bunnings for some more compost to plant some seedlings into, and some rooster booster to sprinkle around in the rain.
After all that, we sat and watched Shrek 3 and ate tim tams! Its been a good day. Now I'm off down to the local for tea! Perfect weekend so far!
Sue

Sue , Yes I was pretty excited when I started posting the pics and is probably why i missed your post about the mold. I did wash it off. It's a little airplant behind the wire on a board.There's another one on there too but that isn't affected. John has that back left hand side plant marked as Little Prince,do you think that's right? I'll tell him what name you said, Neo Satuma and maybe google it. Some posts have gone in today and wall braces for the othe timber to come off. He goes home tomorrow morning so not much more will get done for 3 weeks when he comes back to look after the boys while I go for 5 days holiday travelling through Victoria . Well must go and see if he needs any help. Colleen

How excited you must be Colleen, I so love spending time in my shade house and I am sure that you will have all the same feelings. Sorry can not help with the mould - I think Sue is on the right track though. Come on Mike share your good news, what wonderful buys did you get on your road trip.... sigh so badly need a brom fix. Sounds like you had a lovely relaxing day Sue, movie watching and eating tim tams. Love the Vr. saundersii Leisa very pretty. Spent my weekend, digging out the dry creek bed I am doing, hard work and boy was it hot. Did manage to do some re-potting - my first lot of baby broms . Have a good week, talk soon. Glenda

Hi Colleen, Neo. 'Little Prince' does sound right! I have that one too. It grows to a much larger brom than you'd think, at least mine did. Neo. Satsuma ia a little guy, and slightly darker purple than Little Prince. I guess I was looking at the size, which drew me to think satsuma. You'll love that one! I'm glad you've made a start on your shade house. It will be hard to see it sit, half done, for 3 weeks! So when you get back from holidays, it will be a nice thing to come home too eh?
I've been looking up grey mould (botrytis) as the suspect mould on your Till. It apparently occurs when temps are cool, and you have rain/humiity. If it is botrytis, you should isolate/quarantine that plant away from your others and keep it dry for a few days. If you glue it to a stick, (using PVA) then attach a wire to hang it from, you can move it into shelter during cold wet weather, and back out when it warms up. Tills need really good air circulation and quite bright light. Heres a little bit of reading on the matter.
http://www.greenfingers.com.au/services/digging_deeper/tillandsias.htm

Hi Glenda, I too am looking forward to Mikes news, as my brom buying weekend was a wash out. Still, I can't complain about the rain. We really did need it.
Digging out a creekbed sounds like hot, thirsty work! I did a small one last year to address the drainage around the fernery, and have since done another (for drainage again) but haven't got around to putting the rocks in. I would love to see some pictures if you are able? Isn't it nice when you get your first babies? I have trouble letting the old Mums go, so they live out the remainder of their lives in the front garden, which is nice and shady and protected. Sometimes they thank me with a final pup before they go to that great garden in the sky! He he.

Well, I'm going out to make a bed for some rock melons and water melons. I don't know how they will go, as apparently they don't like the humidity, but I'll give it a go once. I'm also going to put in some pumpkins and onions, and I got a curry leaf tree to put in a pot.

See, not just into bromeliads!
Sue

Meant to leave you with a pic. This is a mature Neo. 'Lamberts Pride'

Hi Colleen - great to see your pics of the shadehouse in progress! I am sooooo jealous! In the pic of the plants your son brought you, there's a red with green spots Neo. towards the front in a blue pot. Do you have a name for that? I looks very much like one my mother-in-law gave me. She doesn't bother with names, so I'm always chasing mystery. I'd love to know if it's got a name.
The weather here has been horrible - Sat was really dry & hot & yet we're still having cool nights. No real rain in sight though sadly! the dust has abated a bit, but I've still got to clean up the mess inside & out :-(
The grasshopper are doing their worst with my broms at the moment - gee they can be destructive!
Sue did your eBay broms arrive? Your Lambert's Pride is great. I keep moving mine around - I can't decide if I want lots of full orange colour or a varietgated orange/yellow effect. I'll post a pic of mine when I get a chance.
I was having trouble sleeping the other night & ended up buying some plants on eBay from Bromagic - they were 30% off. The plants arrived this morning but the seller didn't send one of the plants I'd bought as it had accidently gotten sunburnt, so they'd sent 2 others instead. The 2 plants I was really after arrived ok, so I'm pretty satisfied.
Yes Mike, show us what you found on your road trip - you're probably too busy potting them all up eh!
I'm at work, so I'd better run!

Hi everyone. John has the Brom that you asked about Leisa as Black Knight. The Black Knights that I have seen have been really deep purple so dont know. He said he bought it named as that. I have a list of jobs that i have to try to do before he comes back in three weeks and one of them I noticed is, Collect lots of broms to put in shadehouse. That shouldn't be too hard. What do you think? Colleen

Gee Leisa, sorry to hear about the grasshopper problem. Its a nuisance when the leaves are damaged! I thought you might have got some of the rain we had here, over the weekend. It was only drizzly stuff, but was a nice cool change.
Yes my Ebay broms arrived on friday! Whew! They were in good shape, but there was some sign of scale, although i wasn't sure if it was old dead stuff! They're in quarantine for another week or so before I put them with the others.
I always thought Lamberts pride was an orangey plant with yellow bands, and now I realise its the juvenile versus the adult foliage. Theres alot of that about. You buy a young plant with great patterns, but as it gets older it grows out. Break of day is like that!
Colleen, I wish I had a list like yours! he he. I have no plans to buy any at the moment, but am getting a little craving for orchids at present.....uh-oh! Theres an orchid show on saturday, so I might have a look...touch.....open wallet.....he he.
Xmas is just around the corner, so maybe I'd better shut my wallet for awhile!
Sue
this is Neo. 'Little (not) Prince'

Hi everyone Road trip was an eye opener as well as a wallet emptier didn't get a lot but some of it was interesting,a couple of the carcharadons, giges,Macho and a spotted jaws,Hohenbergia leopold hoistii,and some vriesea's {kiwi's} as well as a mixed bag of stuff I thought would be nice I now have an aechmea Sphaerocephala its suppose to get 1.8 metre's in height and have a large flower a bit like a ball on a stick!!! Sue I would hold off on carcharadon tiger for a little while the price is falling and there's to many bad clones out there I've seen some real dogs, $75 is toooo much,Leisa I seen that Alcantarea Glazouiana Var from greenstock its now in Gladstone (no not at my place) photo is of plants from trip Cheers mike Lesia have a look at your D-mail

This message was edited Oct 7, 2009 7:23 AM

Wow, you certainly got a good selection there. They look lovely. Colleen

Mike, you have some nice buys there! The Neo. carcharadon looks good - I love the big spikes. And the white marble at the front is a nice plant!
But I notice everyone seems to acquire those bread crates = but where from? I got one from the side of the road in a hard rubbish collection, but any hints on how to get them - can you buy them somewhere?
Here's my Neo. Lambert's Pride. It's gone from a high light spot to less so, hence the colour changes (I thought), but maybe Sue's theory re maturity is the reason.

This message was edited Oct 7, 2009 10:34 PM

And thanks Colleen for that id ie Neo. Black Knight. Here's my unknown plant.

Hi All still trying to catch up with re potting pups!!!! I have included a pic of a mate's bromhouse made from poly and tophats,Leisa it's not hard to pick up bread crates you could try the recycle shop at the tip, but the best place to get them is from the bread company in your case Goodman & Fielders would be a good starting point when they are passed there use by date (they might have a slight bit of damage or are the wrong colour because they have taken over other bread makers) they send the crates to the recyclers I was able to pick up 100 Crates for $28.all legal (your not suppose to have a branded plastic crates) I like your lamberts pride nice plant Cheers mike

This message was edited Oct 8, 2009 5:04 AM

and another shot with cane field in back ground

Asking for your help again. I am pretty sure this one is Billbergia, but would appreciate confirmation. Thank you...

A closer view of the bloom.

Hi themoolhowl, I think this Bill. pyramidalis - the flowers are lovely aren't they! It's a common (here anyway) & ordinary enough plant, but really pays off with the flowers!
Mike, nice shadehouse pics - a dream setup! Thanks for the tips re the crates - I'll have to check it out!
Here's my Neo. Debbie flowering. I love the way the flowers stick up above the water, so they can get pollinated. It reminds me of baby birds with their mouths open waiting for mum to feed them!

Thanks so much LeisaD. It is a pretty thing.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1046468/
New thread to go to.
Hi Jean/moon, how are you. Nice plant.
Leisa, your Lamberts pride doesn't look too much differrent to mine, and I like your Debbi. Is your unknown one of the babies you sent to me?
Mike, you are so lucky to have so many friends with great brom houses to go look at! One word of warning. When using polypipe as a structure, use the heavy duty one, because in the summer heat, they can 'wilt' a bit! (learned that the hard way) he he. Very useful stuff, the old PVC and poly. I'm going to make hoops to cover the fig tree this year.
Anyway, new thread is there and waiting for you guys to add to it. see you there.
Sue