BROMELIADS FOR NOVICES & ADDICTS MARCH 2012

A busy day here in the forum. Where do I start?

Jen, so pleased you and Nev were able to spend some valuable brom time together. Sounds like a good trip.

Wendy, lovely tills there. So pretty. I have a Stricta coming into bloom atm. Cyanea is still blooming. But that's all.

Nev, Clyde looks so peaceful there. And the broms are amazing. I saw that last one on eBay (Bobby Gold). Nice one. How did you get hold of one?

Shirley, glad your shoulder cleared up quickly. I've had mine since September 2010, and have finally come out of the painful stage. Now is stage 2, where its still frozen but far less pain involved. Next stage is where it breaks free. Yeah, bring it on!!!

We had a lovely day today. Went bird watching at the Port of Brisbane, then over to Wynnum. Birds are another passion of mine, and today we saw plenty. Really need a darned good camera for a hobby like that though. Neither Barry's nor my camera is up to it.

Are we expecting more rain? The ants are bringing their eggs into weird places, like my microwave, and my daughter's telephone, among other places. Well, March is still supposed to be the wet season, so it is possible.

Hope everyone has had a lovely day.
Karen

Hi Karen,

It’s another fine day here today so now I can get back into the potting work that’s had an interruption over the weekend.

I didn’t mean to mislead you with that pic of Alc. ‘Bobby Gold’, it certainly isn’t mine plant, (I wish). I just posted it up to show the beautiful colours and just how much it sold for.

Just passing through quickly today and thought I’d give a change of pace with the pic’s and show a few examples of the variations that are available in the Ae recurvata forms. I’ve been collecting these for some time now as I find they are virtually “bullet proof” here where I live and can take anything you want to throw at them.

No. 1 is just the common Recurvata 'recurvata', No.2 is Recurvata 'Rising Sun', No 3. is Recurvata Benrathii, No. 4. is Recurvata 'Bushing Pineapple' and no. 5 is Recurvata 'Little Surprise'.

I have some others which I'll post tomorrow when I have more time

All the best, Nev.

Nice Recurvatas there, Nev. Oh well, when Alc. Bobby Gold becomes "common" and hundreds of new ones have taken its place, maybe we can afford one.

I have a beautiful Bill. Hallelujah here that urgently needs repotting, as the pot will no longer stand up. Before I start on it, should I divide the plant (I will still be putting them into the one pot) and will that help them all pup better for doing so, or is this one that should be left intact? I think there are about 5 plants on the one and all are now about adult size, but no new pups forming at all.

Karen

Hi all,

just a quick look in ... we have had a busy day and I feel really wiped out, so I am looking forward to an early night. It started out nice and sunny here early this morning but by about 10.00 am it was raining again, though we had only scattered showers.

Nev, Clyde looks like a very contented dog, does he have trouble getting up on to his rocking chair ... I would imagine he must suffer from arthritis, like most of us oldies.

When I saw the photo of that Alc Bobby Gold, I thought WOW, I'll have to get hold of one of those ... then I saw the $1500 price tag and I guess it is one I can live without after all. Much as I love broms, I couldn't justify spending that sort of money on one (even I if I had that sort of money to spare). I'm with Karen on that one, I'll wait till they're common !!! Nev, is the Imperialis seedling (No 3) one of yours ... it's lovely too.

Karen, apparently we are supposed to get more rain from now right thru to Easter. I am hoping we don't get too much as we were hoping to get away for a few days later in the week.

Tash, I hope you are feeling much better by now.

Anyway, that's it from me.

Good night, Shirley

Shirley, I suspected we were in for more rain as the ants are bringing in their eggs and setting up house in very bad places, like my daughter's telephone of all places. I'm finding them in the microwave and removed some from my computer keyboard today.

The rains are coming! The rains are coming! Everything else has gone mouldy, now I think I'll go mouldly too.

Good morning everyone,

We were lucky with another fine day again yesterday and I managed to get a lot of re-potting done, although it’s still just the “tip of the iceberg” and I have heaps more to do. When collections grow it seems to be an ever continuing job, and if you start dabbling with growing from seed as I have, there’s even more potting to do. Don’t get me wrong, I love re-potting and find it very relaxing work but the problem comes when I have to find somewhere to put the re-potted plants afterwards.

Karen – As for your Hallelujah, I can only tell you what I would do if it was my plant; the final decision is up to you. As I see it from what you’ve told us and what I see in the picture, your plant is now too big for the pot it's in and needs to be relocated. It’s a nice well grown plant and very healthy looking, but I think it lacks a bit of colour. Before I give you any advice I first have a couple of questions for you; firstly, have you been feeding it, and if so what with; secondly, is it growing in a well lit area?

In my opinion, you’re quite correct; it does need re-potting as it has outgrown the pot it’s in. Now depending on what you want, there are two ways you can go about this; you can “re-pot” or simply “pot-on”. For any newbies here who don’t know the difference:

Re-potting; is to remove the plant from the pot it’s in, remove as much of the old mix as possible along with trimming off any obvious dead leaves and roots. Select a pot that will accommodate it for about two years taking into account there will be future pups that need to be allowed for as well, and re-pot it using a well draining potting mix of your choice. The advantages in this are that the plant has new potting mix which will be good for at least another two years. The disadvantages are that the plant does have to be disturbed and will suffer a bit of stress from transplanting; this can be overcome by watering of Seasol.

Potting on; is a much quicker and simpler option where the plant it just removed from its present pot without disturbing the roots or the mix it’s growing in and placed into another pot of larger size and adding new potting mix around the sides of the root ball to fill the pot. The advantages in this are it’s quicker; there is no disturbance of the roots and consequently no transplant stress. The disadvantage is that you still have the major part of your plant growing in old mix which has probably lost all nutritional value at this stage. My preference is to always re-pot, that way you know exactly how much life is left in your mix and when the plant is due to be re-potted again.

As for your question on dividing the plant, again you have two choices, leave it as one big plant or separate it into several individual plants. The advantages of dividing are that you have more plants which will pup quicker now they are no longer attached to each other. The disadvantages are you lose the visual impact that you have with a nice large specimen plant.

Because you say that you want to maintain a large plant, there are two options here also. As you suggest, you can put all the separated plants in the one pot as a group so they still look like one plant in the same pot, or you can re-pot the total plant in its undivided condition. This will still produce pups but not as many as with single plants. To promote more pups on the one large plant, you can cut through the rhizome that attaches the plants to each other once the plant has been re-potted. This will give a similar effect to planting all the single plants together in the one pot, will produce more pups than it would if left intact, and is not as awkward to achieve when positioning several single plants in the one pot, plus the plant looks like it’s still the one plant and hasn’t been disturbed.

Shirley – I’ve had Clyde checked out at the vet’s for arthritis and the vet reckons he’s not troubled with it. He’s just a bit creaky in the bones due to old age, but not in any pain and subsequently not on any medication. He can still get up into his chair OK, eats like a horse and seems just a bit slower than he used to be.

About the Alcantarea pic’s, I should have made it clear, the Bobby Gold was from Ebay and owned by Peter Tristram (I think), and the others belong to Peter Coyle of New Zealand. Just for a change of pace, all of the Ae. Recurvatas in yesterday’s lot were my plants.

As for the rain, well the long range weather forecast for down here is for rain every day in March, so they’ve already got that wrong as we’ve just had two fine days and today is fine as well!

I’ll finish now with the last of Peter Coyle's pictures ....No.1 Neoregelia Yin, No.2 Neoregelia Yang, (both of these are from the crossing of Neo. carolinae x Neo. Carcharodon) No.3. Neoregelia Wild Tiger, No.4. Neoregelia Zonata x Carcharadon Tiger, No. 5 Neoregelia Lillie Marlene

All the best, Nev.

Nev, thank you for explaining all that. To answer your question, no I don't feed it at all, and because we've had a summer of cloud cover and lots of rain, I put the plant under cover so it wouldn't drown. This does mean less light. I thought it was better to lose some colour than to lose the plant to rot. I've had to do this with quite a few plants in the rain, and I've been lucky that none have rotted. However, they have lost colour. Apparently we can expect more cloudy and wet weather to come. So I can't see the plants regaining their colour now until Spring, as in Winter I get no sun here at all.

I'd like to see Hallelujah double in size next season, so may cut through the rizome, as you described. Even green, it is still a beautiful plant. I hope all my bills will grow so well.

Karen

I have a mystery plant here, about the size of a Fireball. I know its hard to get names for many hybrids, but someone may recognize it. It will eventually get a lot more pink through it like the mother plant shown in the second picture.

Karen your little mini could be fireball variegated. If it is this you have one with a very defined variegation. Ours is very faint and from a distance it just looks like fireball, but when you get close you can see the stripes in it.

As for your hallelujah, we have them growing out in the open in full sun. They are almost bullet proof and tough as old boots. if we leave them together in the one pot we always snip between them so they pup up more. It also helps when you go to divide as they are already individuals with possibly pups. Whenever we put them out for sale they always go first morning. Often we don't put them out but because they are out in the open in full view the colours attract the eye so we get asked for them whether they are out or not. I would repot them into a bigger pot then in a few weeks when it is settled in its new home I would snip between the individual plants to encourage pupping.

It seems I haven't been around since the weekend as there is no entry from me. I can only say I have had the girls again so busy as. I loved the time I had with them again and we had a birthday party last night for Rylee's first as it is on Thursday and we will not see her. She had a ball with her new toys and the yummy cream cake. They went home to Toowoomba this morning so my time is mine again. Although we spent all day today running after Johnny's mum. She had a fall early yesterday mornin and her head went through the glass TV cabinet .... all 3 layers of glass. The TV gracefully fell from one layer to the next and landed on its stand on the bare floor in amongst the shards of glass. Anyway we were sitting on the verandah with Emily having our early morning cuppa when we got the phone call that she was on the way to the hospital in an ambulance. Johnny waited till after 9am to go there to see how she was and she was still in emergency waiting to be seen. She was OK but very confused and rambling about what happened. He ended up leaving her there to doze and his sister turned up before lunch and stayed with her till she was seen. He went back mid afternoon but she was already on the way back to the home. He went to visit her this morning early and she was refusing to believe the staff that she had had a fall at all. She thought they were tricking her and wondered where her TV cabinet was. We spent all day today after the girls left finding another TV cabinet that had no glass in it. We even purchased those plastic corners from a baby shop to stick on the corners in case. She seemed much more coherant this afternoon when I took the cabinet over and set up the TV on the top of it instead of the floor. She has now been upgraded from low care red to low care blue where she is checked much more often and has to have a nurse for toilet or showers. She has been told she must not go without someone in attendance. Next step is upgraded to high care so it is in her interest to tow the line. Whether she remembers this or not is another ??????.

We've been getting showers each night with lovely warm days this week. I gave Jen's plants a bit of water today so of course we have already had a good shower tonight. Murphey's law that right? And I have discovered that the wet weather lately has been all my fault. Every time I open a new packet of Extra gum we get wet weather and they sweat and I have to dump them. I wait a week or so and the weather is fine so I open another packet and yep rain again, sweating gum and dumped another packet. Last weekend I opened another packet and yep more showers at night mainly. So far they haven't sweated enough to make them bin material but wait for it. LOL.

Anyhow I'm for an early night now. Might be off the radar end of this week as we are going to Hervey Bay early..... maybe Thursday.

Wendy

Evening everyone,

The rains are coming! The rains are coming! Oh Karen, I hope you are wrong, wrong, wrong …

Nev, good to hear you are having fine weather. Please send a week of nice fine days north.

We have made the decision … rain or shine, to head off to Moore Park (near Bundy) tomorrow morning for a week or so. We haven’t been there before but it’s on the coast and sounds very nice. We loaded up the caravan today with enough food and clothes to last a month, come autumn, winter or summer.

We were lucky enough to get a beachfront site in the caravan park on short notice and have friends joining us for a few days on Thursday or Friday so it should be good … the only negative likely to be bad weather.

We will be taking the laptop and modem so I can still access the forum and keep in touch, that’s assuming there is internet service available. If I don’t post for the next week, please don’t write me off … I will be back the week after.

Wendy, you posted while I was typing so I will add to my post before sending it ...

Just reading that your grand daughter, Rylee’s birthday is on Thursday. Our grand daughter, Raylee’s birthday is also on Thursday. We had a little bit of a party for her on Sunday because we were not sure whether we would be going away before her birthday. She was not well when they visited us on Sunday and the poor little darling is now in hospital with gastro, though is on the mend and should be home in time for her birthday on Thursday.

Sorry to hear that Johnny’s mum had an accident and hope she is well on the mend too.

And Wendy, please do me a favour and DO NOT open a new packet of Extra gum for at least a week. Since you will be visiting Hervey Bay, which is not too far away from where we will be staying, that should ensure fine weather for us both. LOL

Anyway, I too am planning an early night to get a reasonably early start in the morning.

Bye for now, Shirley

Good morning everyone,

Fine day again yesterday and I managed to get a bit more re-potting done, although I had a bit of running around to do also. As well as the usual errands, I went to see my old mate (93) who I visit regularly and took him a few containers of soup I had made, as his own bloody family don’t do anything for him. Just recently they started being nice to him for a change and helped clean up his garden before brow beating him into taking out a mortgage on his home to lend them money to help them with what they told him was a “financial crisis”. Three weeks later they were driving a brand new Toyota Land Cruiser and haven’t been back to visit since.....bast.....ds!

Sorry about that, I’ll get down off the soap box now and back onto the topic of brom’s

Karen – As far as an ID for your plant goes, it’s very difficult as a good many variegated plants are very unstable; by this I mean that the amount of variegations and width of the stripes vary from plant to plant and season to season as does the intensity of the colour. Take this into account combined with the fact that you have variations caused by the various growing conditions as well and it’s almost an impossible task to accurately identify these unstable plants. I personally have about ten different variegated miniatures from different sources with different names and they all look the same, although they were different when I first got them. I guess the bottom line is, if you like it, just enjoy it and accept that many NOIDS will forever remain NOIDS, but this still doesn’t detract from their appeal as there are many of these plants which are nicer than a lot of the registered named varieties.

Wendy – it’s great to see the “littlies” enjoying their birthdays isn’t it? Our little 2 year old grandson recently had his birthday party and we were all entertained just watching the antics of him and his little friends, I don’t know when I last laughed so much.

Sorry to hear about Johnny’s Mum having a fall, it seems to be a very common thing with us all as we get older and I’m sure everyone can now see how justified you were to move her into care when you did, as the result of the fall could have had much more serious consequences had it happened when she was still living alone in her home. It’s good to see her care level has been upgraded, but as you say, will she remember to let them know when she needs to shower or go to the toilet. I think apart the her health problems, all of these oldies have something in common; it's called "stubbornness", they are still fiercely independent and see that asking for help is a weakness, I’ve seen it so many times in our family as well as others.

Shirley – I’ve sent in the message for you and ordered fine weather for the next week so you should be OK during your little break, as long as Wendy stays away from the Extra Gums!

I’ve never been to Bunderburg, but I’m told there are some very good brom growers in that area and perhaps Wendy or someone else could tell you who they are so you could perhaps ring and arrange a visit and a chat.

Finally, good day to the other members of the gang who didn’t make it onto the net this morning and to any others who are still unwell, hurry up and get better soon, we’d all like to see you back.

That’s about it and I’ll just finish with a few more pic’s. This time No.1 Neo. Meyendorfii (Mini), No.2 Neo. Meyendorfii variegata (Mini), No.3 Neo. Mr. O'Dean, No.4. Neo. 'Orange Glow', No. 5. Neo. Painted Lady (sport) x Neo. Grace. (One of my own crosses)

All the best, Nev.

Hi anyone out there in D.G. Land?

I guess if there isn't, there's not much point in posting pic's of brom's

All the best, Nev.

Hello all. Can't post much, not well. Shoulder is sore and heart is playing up. Just resting and swallowing pills. Keep posting, I like to read, just can't sit here long.
Karen

Hi all. I'm up to my armpits with brom Mummas at the moment. John has brought up 2 large boxes full of them pups and all. Not fancy ones but still nice. No names though. Have been very busy while John's been here. The old tank is now off the stand and cut into a lizard home and maybe a vegie garden. The space is now clear for the new SH. Oh boy do I need a new SH. lol Nev the seedlings are coming along, still very small at this stage but alive and looking quite healthy. I'm so glad that they aren't growing too quickly as I have nowhere to pot them up to yet. Karen take care. Nev I love the Neo Mr O'Dean. Have you got one of them? The person who paid $1,500 for that brom must have very little to spend their money on, what do you think? All of that guy's broms were lovely but a bit pricey for me. Well must go and do some work. Colleen

Still here and learning. I've no photos to offer but am still oooohing and aaaaahing. My favorite was Nevs' Neo Lillie Marlene. Very charming.

$1500 for a brom makes me think our money is worth less and less.

Weather is hot and tempting but winter is not over yet, I am sure so I am resisting moving plants outdoors.

Karen ~ hope you get to perking better. Hoping Colleen gets a new shade house (and I want to see photos of it) and Nev gets over feeling all alone. lol

Occupied but between sets of winter snowbird visitors from the north. They do take up my spare time... Have a good day everyone. Kristi

Good morning everyone,

It’s good to see a few of you have come out of the woodwork since I last wrote. I’m able to report that it was a fine day here again yesterday and I managed to get a bit of plant sorting out done. My daughter and her sister-in-law are having a combined garage sale at the weekend and asked me if I could take some brom’s over so she had a bit more variety of saleable items. I thought I’d just have a bit of a look through the plantation and pick out a dozen or so plants and that would be that, but when I started going through the plants I thought, if I’ve got to take a few, why not fill the ute up and take a decent load over.

I got stuck in and selected sixty established Neo pups in 10cm pots which are all showing about half colour and sixty flowering Neo’s in 14cm. Pots. A few Aechmea Chianti var Jean (which are in flower at the moment), a J.C. Super Star also in flower, a selection of twenty Vrieseas in flower and two quite large plants; Vr Hieroglyphica with a two foot leaf spread and Vr. Phillippo Cobergii in flower which is four feet high. If I can sell a few of these I will make a bit more space and possibly consider doing it again.

The object of the exercise is to help my daughter with more variety of saleable items as well as downsizing my collection a bit. (I can’t even see where I’ve taken them from). I’ve kept the prices to what I think are pretty reasonable with the 10cm pot size plants $5 and the 14cm pot size $10 and the hieroglyphica and Phillippo Cobergii $20 each. So I guess I’ll just have to wait and see what happens and that the forecast rain stays away. They forecast rain for all week and so far we’ve had nothing but sunny days, so fingers crossed for it to continue.

Karen - Sorry to hear you’re not feeling well and it’s best you take it easy for a while and no more walking up that hill from the bus stop. Next time they won’t let you off at your stop, stay on the bus until it gets right back to the depot and then go and complain to the manager and demand a taxi home with a threat of going to the newspaper if your demands are not met. This will stir things up and really bring this thing to a head once and for all. (Gee I wish I were in your shoes, I love a good stir when it’s for a good cause).

Colleen – Glad to hear things are still moving forward with your “make over”; are the boys into collecting lizards now? And how do you make a lizard home from an old water tank? I know they make good veg. gardens as my old mate has one and we made it about two feet high to save him having to bend down to weed it and he thinks it’s great.

As for the plants with the high prices, I think we must consider that these, especially the variegated Alcantarea are pretty unique and probably the only one for sale anywhere at this stage. I think he probably just puts them on an Ebay auction to get an idea of just what collectors are prepared to pay; then he knows how much to charge for others as they become available . Because it’s so rare, possibly the buyer will have it mass produced by tissue culture and then sell them in their thousands all over the country for a much reduced rate. This then makes him/her a handsome profit and brings it within the price range of the average brom fancier.

There are of course risks involved for the person who wants to do this as the plant could die or the tissue cultured plants may not grow properly and could turn out deformed as they sometimes do, or any number of things could happen to the little plants on their way to a saleable size so it is still a bit of a gamble, just like buying a lottery ticket but with perhaps better odds.

Kristi – Good to hear you’re still looking in and enjoying our discussions and pic’s and it’s interesting that you’re just starting to come out of winter over there and we’re just going into autumn. What sort of birds are your winter snowbird visitors from the north? Do they just migrate there to breed in the warmer climate?

The little mini Neo Lillie Marlene wasn’t my plant but was one from that group of NZ pictures that I have been posting. I must chase around and find out if it’s in Australia yet as I also think it’s a great little plant and it does have such a great compact shape, and I’d really like to have one in my collection.

Well I guess that’s it again for today and I’ll finish off with a few more pictures: No. 1 Neoregelia 'Lady Luck', No. 2. Neoregelia Marmorata, No. 3. Guzmania Crimson Wonder, No. 4. Guzmania 'Cherry Ripe', No.5 Vriesea 'Splendriet'

All the best, Nev.

Nev, love that Lady Luck neo. with its pink and gold leaves. I like the flowers on guz's, but I've never been drawn to the plant, so I've never added one to my brom collection.

Am feeling so much better today. I get a thing called Arterial Fibrillation from time to time and it is the most awful feeling, I can tell you. I have medication for it, and luckily, this time it worked. Last time I had to have it in huge doses via IV. And if that doesn't work, they put you under and give you electric shocks to try to stabilize the heartbeat. I really never want to go that far. So far, all attacks have lasted 48 hours, then cleared up, and this was no exception.

My garden is a bit neglected at the moment. Though I did water yesterday (then it poured rain). I shouldn't need to water today as everything looks wet enough, and more rain is expected this afternoon. Though my broms have faded some in colour due to the weird weather, I still get such pleasure looking through my window and seeing the colour still there.

Hope everyone has a fab. day. Wendy, did you say you were going away this weekend?

Karen

My Alcantarea Extensa pup has had a pup of its own. Seems too young for this, but here it is...

Also a noid that has coloured up now I've put it in a frangipanni tree...

Hi everyone. Karen I'm glad that you're feeling better. I think both Shirley and Wendy were going away. Did Wendy have her sale last weekend or did she put it off? Nev my Neo mamorata isn't dark pink like that. I'll take a pic later and let you see. Will also get pics of the lizard tank. We've had some more rain and by the way the ants have been acting this year I think we might be in for a wet one. It can rain at night and let me get outside to do things in the daytime if it likes. Kristi, yes, I would like to know what snowbirds are too please. Haven't taken any new pics for a few days so will put up some old ones. Colleen

I'm sorry, snowbirds is a term used here in the south for folks (usually kinfolk) that live in the northern climates that have harsh winters. They tend to take their vacations in winter and travel to the sunny south and when one has family that lives in the south, the trip is financially more feasible. We get even in summer and vacation in the north.

Sorry for not being more clear... I'd far rather have my feathered friends at the feeder.

Not a pretty plant photo but to illustrate how unusually warm we are for March... this is a nonpoisonous spreading adder found on our sidewalk when we came home from work last night. They are not common but like to play possum. When bothered, they spread the neck and hiss. Then will roll upside down and play dead. When I scooped him up and moved him to the woods, he flopped upside down every time I tried to right him. Very neat to see...

Good morning everyone,

Well here we are, Saturday already and the day of my daughter’s garage sale and where I could hopefully have sold a few brom’s, but it looks like it’s not to happen as the rain’s returned and it’s raining now and has been pouring all night, hardy the weather for people to go to garage sales!....bugger.

Karen – Yes Lady Luck is a nice plant and something just a little bit different from the usual Neoregelias. It was one I got from Sue in a swap last year and I’m quite pleased with the way it’s coloured up, not as good as it does further north, but not bad for down here

I know what you mean by Arterial Fibrillation, as I have a similar problem but fortunately it only occurred occasionally and hasn’t occurred at all since I’ve been taking Warfarin to keep my blood thin, so fingers crossed. I agree with you, it’s the most horrible feeling and hard to explain except to say it makes you feel really “rotten”.

That’s a good size pup from your Alcantarea, I only ever seem to get spindly little grass pups on mine, and there just seems to be a never ending supply of them. I was waiting for them to get a bit of size before I removed them, but a friend from Queensland says I should remove them while they are small and showed me pic’s of ones he had removed and were growing in a community pot. They weren’t very big at all and he said when he first took them they weren’t much larger than a “matchstick”. I think it may have something to do with the warmer climate up in Queensland as I’m sure if I took them that small they would surely all die down here.

Colleen – Yes that little brom I posted with the name “Marmorata” was one I bought as I liked it because of the colour and the fact that it was quite small and compact. I wondered about the name at the time, but then I know that Marmorata can come in different forms and not having much knowledge of this plant I just accepted that the name was correct. My other Marmorata is a much different colour and a very large plant which leads me to believe that the small one could either be incorrectly named or possibly be a Marmorata hybrid. It does seem like a lot of growers who have NOID’s will just call them Marmorata as long as they are spotted, however until I can find a definite ID I’m afraid it stays with the name I bought it under.

Kristi – Well I was way off the track when I though snowbirds were birds that had migrated to the warmer climate wasn’t I? I was recently reading a post on another forum about Alcantareas and read a post from a woman who came from Canada and who was holidaying in Florida during the winter (I suppose she could be called a “Snowbird”) but it was unbelievable what she claims to have done and then posts it for the entire world to see. If you want a bit of a laugh check out the entry by diane_V toward the end of the following thread: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/bromeliad/msg0907541722202.html?22

That’s certainly a weird sort of snake you speak of Kristi, how large do they get? I wish the Australian snakes were more like that instead of being some of the most aggressive and venomous in the world and then people wouldn’t be so inclined to kill them as soon as they see them.

I’ll finish with a few pic’s, firstly the Alcantarea grass pups I spoke about in Karen’s post (above). No. 2 is Neo. Amazing Grace (Dark form), No. 3. Neo. Apricot Nectar, No. 4. Guzmania Sanguinea, No. 5. Aechmea Mend (Inverta).

All the best, Nev.

Nev ~ I had read the earlier posts on that thread. Loved the gorgeous bromeliad photos shown there.

Anyway, I was horrified to read as that woman posted that she blatantly helped herself to others' property. I must say thank you for dressing her down about her wayward behavior.

Not all 'snowbirds' are like that, thankfully. I can only imagine how angered she would be if she were to return to Florida next fall to find her own plants had been harvested by thieves. That would serve her right but she would never understand.

On the snake, this is only the second spreading adder I've seen and it was about 18" long. I think it was quite large for that type of snake. We do have four types of poisonous snakes here. I've learned to identify them and realize their place in nature. On the other hand, if there is a threat to us or our pets and a poisonous one can't be relocated, I will indeed terminate them.

Hope everyone has a good day, Kristi

Snakes alive! Glad I don't get snakes here. I've had one, a poisonous brown, but it had been driven out of its habitat by a sand mining company who set up shop locally. Fortunately, they are gone now, but lords alone knows what damage they did to to the swamp and its wild life.

Nev, I am curious about those grass pups. I got a very badly damaged, very baby Alcantarea Vinicolour at one of Wendy's sales, and it had a grass pup attached but no leaves of its own. The pup quickly withered and died, and I was sure I'd lost the lot, but the little plant struggled on, and is now showing off the odd new, healthy looking leaf. Another green spot is forming at the base and though I can't be sure yet, another grass pup may be forming. I am interested in trying to save it (if it is one) this time.

The Vinicolour pups for sale were from a friend of Wendy's, and she only had that one left, so I thought I'd give it a chance. She did have a fully coloured, mature plant on display, and it was really lovely, so I do hope mine will do well here.

Karen

Hi everyone.
Yes I did go away for the weekend but I'm home again now. I thank heavens that I decided we should go up on Thursday instead of waiting as I was able to see dad while he was still at home and able to talk although he was in his wheelchair being fed by my niece. We had a bit of a visit till he wanted to go back to bed. Later that afternoon he went downhill rapidly and my sister called an ambulance. After we had tea I went to the hospital and joined my sister waiting for him to be assessed in emergency. We held a hand each and kept him from being too restless during his many examinations and tests. We stayed with him till after midnight when we knew what was happening and left when he went to sleep. He was still able to acknowledge that we were there. The next morning he was relocated by ambulance to the palliative care hospital in Maryborough. I went with my sister to see him admitted there and again examined and assessed. We were told that he had full renal failure and a mass in his stomach. Anyway we completed a DNR order and they put in a morphein infuser in his stomach . When we left at lunchtime we were still able to wake him to say we were leaving. He acknowledged and kissed me when I said goodbye. I told him I would call in on our way back to Brisbane this morning but when I went with 2 of my sons early this morning he was in a coma and very crackly breathing. They said probably 24 to 48 hours would see him gone. It was so cruel to see him gasping and making so much noise. If we kept an animal like that we would be locked up and heavily fined but it's OK to do that to an elderly person. My oldest son wished he didn't see him like that, but we didn't think he would deteriorate so quickly. Anyhow I rang my brother and other sister and told them it was probably too late to be able to say goodbye and be acknowledged and left it to them whether to make the journey from Brisbane to just stand beside his bed and see him like that. Now it is just a wait for that final breath. My younger sister will sit with him tomorrow onwards till the end. I don't know how she can do it but she did with mum also. I can't watch that struggle for breath. So now we are looking at another trip to Hervey Bay towards the end of the week.

We haven't had a sale yet but at the moment we're planning for 31st and 1st. If Shirley is getting the weather we had in Hervey Bay today she may not get home for a while as the rain was bucketing down so heavy up there you could hardly see the road in front of you. WE saw 3 cars hit puddles of water and lose control, ending up on their side or roof.... and that was between Hervey Bay and Gympie. Neer seen such heavy rain.

Anyway I'll check in again later. Must see what is in the fridge for tea now.

Pic is aechmea machroclamys which is in flower at the moment but no longer looking as nice as this.
Wendy

Wendy, I'm so sorry to hear about your Dad. I always think that they may still be able to hear you even if they can't acknowledge you.On a brighter note the weather has been absolutely beautiful here today. Quite cool first thing this morning though, I had to put a jacket on . Kristi I don't care whether that snake is venomous or not, it would still scare the living daylights out of me. Ugh give me a red backed spider any day. Not much new going on but I do have 4 yes 4 lovely coloured pups on Predator. I have 7 spindley pups on Ralph Davies and lots of other pups on plants that seem to be growing daily now. Hurry up with the new SH please John. I hope everyone is feeling okay and not too much rain up your way. Take care. I'll be back tomorrow. Colleen

Hi everyone,

Well the rain finally stopped at about half past twelve yesterday, thirty minutes after the end of our garage sale which only went from 7.00 til 12.00. It poured rain pretty solidly the whole time and would you believe there were still people coming to see what we had, even in the pouring rain. One bloke was sticking his head over the gate at six in the morning (with a torch) wanting to know could he come in and have a look then. I know from past experience that these people only come to buy stuff that they can take to the Dapto Markets the next day and re-sell and I said to him that we had advertised a seven o’clock start and that’s when the gates would open otherwise it wasn’t fair to people who came at the right time. He accepted this but still wasn’t very happy about it.

Everything that was on tables and we had planned to position around the yard had to be pushed into a gazebo and one corner of the garage out of the rain which was less than useless as access wasn’t easy; I had the brom’s on a couple of large tables beneath a large shade cloth roof and fortunately the rain didn’t hurt them, in fact it made them look even better, but there weren’t many people and I only sold less than a hundred dollars worth and my daughter sold about three hundred dollars worth of her stuff. So better than nothing I suppose but not much when you think of how it could have been without the rain.

Kristi – Yes I think that woman must have got the message even though she did seem a “bit thick” to have dobbed herself in like that, but she didn’t reply and another bloke had a go at her after me as well, so hopefully she will think twice before she does it again.

Thanks for explaining about the snake, it seems like they would be a very good, interesting non-venomous pet for someone to keep who was that way inclined; however, I’m not one of them. I treat all dangerous animals and reptiles the same and don’t try to interfere with them as I’ve found that the dangerous ones only seems to want to bite you if you are seen as a threat. Pretty well all snake and spider bites are caused when someone either steps on them, is trying to catch them or trying to kill them and I’ve found if you leave them alone they will leave you alone, obviously like Kristi says, if they are threatening you, your children or pets, that’s a different thing and you have to kill them; even though in Australia it is illegal.

Karen – I don’t know a lot about grass pups, but I have learned that if you leave them for too long they just seem to whither up and die and that’s why they are usually taken off early. I have some info. about them somewhere and I’ll try and find it and email it to you (and anyone else who would like it as well). I would personally leave them until they are at least 2” high, but then being in Brisbane, your temperatures would be warmer than ours and you could probably get away with removing them smaller. I have also found that their roots seem to go around the mother plant rather than down into the mix so you need to be careful not do break them when removing the pups.

Wendy – Sorry to hear about your Dad, but you can take some comfort from the fact that he will know when you are there talking to him and he can still hear you. A doctor once told me that a person’s sense of hearing is the last sense to stop working; that’s why when I worked in the ambulance we were always taught not to discuss an unconscious patient’s condition within earshot of them as they could still hear you and it could aggravate their condition even more.

Colleen – Good to hear you at least are getting nice weather to make your brom’s grow. Four pups on your Predator uh!, been bumping up the fertilizer a bit, have you? I know that if you increase the fertilizer to your old Mother plants they will often produce multiple pups; this is an old nurseryman’s trick. I tried it once on an old Neo Nobel Descent Mother plant and she produced eight pups all at the same time; I have also done it on Aechmeas and Vriesea ospinae with similar results, so it does work.

That’s about it for today’s news, and now a few pic’s No. 1. Aechmea Nudicaulis Flava- marginata, No. 2. Neoregelia ‘Knockout’, No. 3, Neoregelia ‘Cheery day’, No. 4. Neoregelia Painted Lady (sport) x Ferny Grove (seedling) and No. 5. Neoregelia Noble Descent Too.

All the best, Nev.

Hello everyone. I know I dont post much, but always enjoy reading and learning from you all.
I am not quite as into the broms as my other plants . I dont have the room anyway. I need to have most in the greenhouse because of the wet cold winters.
I would like to put some back outside in the open shadehouse. When I say open, it has 2 complete sides & 2 half sides of shadecloth. The 2 half sides are left open for access to get around as the shadehouse is built onto the veranda at the back of the house.
I have some broms already in there that never went into the greenhouse.
A few hardy bils and a couple of other tough ones similar to a. Mary Brett and Lucky Stripes. They have survived outside for a few years now and are getting quite large.
I have a few in the greenhouse that are getting way too big, so I thought I would move all the mummas down the back and put out the bigger plants in the shadehouse. I have a alcanterea imperialis Rubra which is getting to be too large to get around and also very large blanchetiana.
I am not sure of what else I could move so was wondering if I put up a list of the bigger ones, hopefully someone could tell me what will live outside best.
I have not fertilised the broms and after reading about what you all do, I would like advice on that too, please.

I also have a few tillandsias which I like, but which are all slowly dying off one by one. I would like to give them a better home as I dont want them to all die. If anyone wants to swap them all for maybe a hardy brom or something, I will be happy to send them anywhere.

I will get a few pics and names and post later.
Jean.

Hi everyone on this beautiful morning. Just had to come in and let you know Nev, I don't fertise my broms at all so what's happening out there in the SH is all due to the watering and good luck. Lovely pics as usual. I'll go and take some pics now. Colleen

Good morning everyone. What a wet, grey day.

Wendy, I am so sorry about your Dad. It is such a hard time for the family, the waiting. I hope he passes over peacefully with no distress.

Not sure what to do today. Wanted to get some old fabrics boxed and over to Colleen's sister, but the weather may put a stop to that idea. See how we go though. Have some large potting jobs to do that I've been putting off simply because of the size of the pots. But I should do them while Barry is here to help.

Nev, thank you re info on the grass pups. Will wait and see if that little spot of green becomes one.

Hope everyone's day is a good one and that the weather is kind to you all. I feel for Tash up north, and everyone who lives at the top end. I know torrential rain is seasonal there but I've been up there during it and its no fun.

Karen

Back again with tillandsia pics. ..I hope I have the names right.
harrisii, juncea, butzii, tricolor, an unknown.

These I want to swap to anyone who can give them a warmer home.

Jean

What do you want to swap for Jean? Anything in particular? Colleen

The rest of the tills.. .. velickiana and velutiana
There is also a bulbosa, which I ddint get a pic of because it was hiding behind a prickly brom.
The last pic is the brom house.
..

As I mentioned in previous post , these are the larger broms I need to move , so would they stand up to living out in the shadehouse permanently ?
aechmeas... Orlandiana, Burgundy, Bert, ...
neos.... Beefsteak, Macwilliamsii, Royal Robe, Debbie, Gamosepala.

I also have quite a few unnamed large broms which I will put out and they will just have to survive as they are getting quite big.
I am putting the mothers that have had pups and are looking old, down in the back with the epis where they will be under cover and maybe will put out more pups.
Many of the neos have flowered this year , but I see no sign of pups. Do they usually pup after flowering as most have never had a pup even before flowering.?

Thanks for any help with these .
Jean.

Colleen, I do love the tills but as the poor things look like they hate my cold I want them to be warm somewhere.
I would swap for another type of plant instead of broms. . Dmail me and we can work something out.
Jean.

Hi everyone,

Jean – As far as cultural advice goes in your case, it would help a lot if you could give us a better idea about your climate such as your coldest and hottest temperatures for example. Do you get snow where you live and how much shade does your garden get? Some pic’s of the area would be a great help as well. I’m not a Tilly grower and only understand a few basics, but I know they do like bright light and warmth, very good air circulation and to be kept a bit on the dry side. The best indication of watering is the foliage colour, if it is a greenish colour they are getting too much water, as a healthy plant with the right light and watering conditions should be a silvery grey colour.

Although Alcantarea Imperialis and Aechmea Blanchetiana can withstand very strong light, they will both suffer cold damage from freezing conditions if not given shelter. Generally any plants with a leaf colour of burgundy or bi-coloured (green on top and burgundy beneath) will also suffer cold damage if not protected from the elements. As a general rule plants with thick, stiff leaves will stand up to harsher weather conditions than will the softer leaved varieties. As far as toughness goes, Aechmeas Orlandiana and Bert are very tough and could probably withstand conditions without much protection, as would Ae. Gamosepala, and Neo’s Beefsteak and McWilliamsii. I think Neo Royal Robe and Debbie would probably suffer from the cold as would Ae Burgundy.

Feeding is not an absolute necessity as the plants will grow without it: but they will definitely grow better with it. If you choose to feed; brom’s really need low Nitrogen and High Potassium fertilizers. This will keep the colour in the coloured leaf varieties and promote flowering in the types that are grown for their flowers such as Guzmanias, vrieseas and some Aechmeas. High Nitrogen fertilizers will give you plenty of growth at the expense of colour. Personally I feed according to the instructions on the fertilizer I’m using.

However, feeding “little and often” seems to be the generally accepted rule for the best results. e.g. If the directions say 5gm per 4 litres of water given monthly, it’s better to give 2.5gm per 4 litres of water each two weeks or if you want to go lighter even still, 1.25 gm per 4 litres of water each week. This is fine if you have lots of time to do it, but we don’t all have this time available. I find this system very good for the smaller seedlings.

Although it’s not classed as a fertilizer, I find that a monthly dose of (the original) Seasol is a great boost to all plants. See ..... http://www.seasol.com.au/ It is made from Kelp Seaweed and is a renewable natural resource which is safe for all plants. It is for want of a better word a “tonic” which helps plants to overcome disease and stress and also increases their ability to withstand higher and lower than normal temperatures up to an extra four degrees.

As for producing pups on Mother Plants that have already flowered, Neo’s sometimes pup before flowering but for the most part they will pup after flowering. To encourage this I usually give them a double dose of fertilizer after flowering which usually pushes them to pup more frequently and in greater numbers.

Hopefully some of the other growers on this site will share their knowledge with you as well, especially those who grow Tillandsias.

Colleen – For plants that aren’t fertilised, your plants look exceptionally happy and healthy. What’s your secret, do you talk or sing to them? Come on “spill the beans” and let us all in on your little secrets!

Karen – Glad you found the info on grass pups helpful and hopefully it will answer a lot of your questions.

Wendy – I’m sure we are all thinking of you during this very hard time and if you need to talk, feel free to email me at any time as talking with someone “outside the square” often helps you feel a bit better.

That’s it from me and here’s a few pic’s to finish off with, the first three are some pic’s of a friend's Tillandsia which I hadn’t seen before but is a really attractive plant, it's Tillandsia Multicaulis (Multi meaning many and caulis meaning stems) Pic. No.4 is Aechmea leptantha and No. 5. is Aechmea spectabilis. These pictures are not of my plants but of a friend's plants who I got the seed from to grow my seedlings. I now have about twenty of each about half grown and available for sale or swap.

All the best, Nev.

Thanks for all that info, Nev. I am in southwest Vic , which doesnt see snow but we do get the odd frost. Usually not too bad. All the broms I have in the shadehouse seem to handle the conditions well. I must have known something when i left these ones out of the green house as they are mostly strong green ones plus the bils, Gerda and Queens Tears. Nothing bothers them
I will put out all the larger ones from the greenhouse and they should be okay as this shadehouse is away from the side that does get any frost coming in.
It is also under the high canopy of a eucalypt which should help. Plenty of light though.
I will try a bit of Seasol on the broms , but they do seem to do okay without any help. The red ones can all stay in the greenhouse .

My tils are a nice grey green color but seem to just up and die one by one. I think it may be the lack of enough air circulation. They will do better when they are in a new home where its warmer . They are shut in the greenhouse in cold weather which is not good for them.

Always help to be found here, so thank you
Jean.

Good morning everyone.

Wendy, just want to add my condolences and deepest sympathy on the loss of your father. You must be so relieved that you got to see him in time. If there is anything I can do let me know.

Nev, it is interesting about the grass pups. I've never had a plant with those before, and so lost my one and only out of sheer ignorance. What amazes me is how a tiny pup can have pups. Ah well, I'm armed with information now if it has more. Thank you for the links you sent.

More rains expected, getting heavier as the days pass. Even my brain feels soggy, just from the humidity in the air. The rain hasn't really started yet. Oh, says she as it just starts pitter-pattering outside now. Winds are forecast as well, though it is quite still at the moment, just very cool.

Looks like northern Qld. is thoroughly drenched and getting more. So glad I don't live up there anymore.

Hope everyone has a lovely day, despite the weathers you all are having.

Karen
A bit OT, but this little fellow was taking a nap in my backyard yesterday. I keep a heap of dirt, grass clippings and sticks down there which the Blue Tongue lizards use to burrow into and breed. Hadn't seen one for a while, but obviously they are still around.

Hi everyone. Nev I don't do anything special for my broms I water and tell them they are beautiful and gee you've grown and oh you're a Mumma now. lol If anyone was listening they would think there is a mad woman living here. I did have Predator living in a palm tree stump. I don't know if that's why. I also had Blushing Tiger in one too and got 2 Mummas, and 5 pups with another little one coming. I have put the pup with the little node back in there and potted the rest. Predator is now in a big pot and the 4 pups are potted too. Will have to find something else to go in the palm stump. Maybe one of your seedlings that I have here. Will let you know what I decide. That Thunderbird X might look good. Well everyone must get moving. Another beautiful day here slight breeze but not at all cold. Colleen

Hi everyone. Sorry I didn't make it onto the computer last night as I had the girls here overnight and Rylee's cot goes into the office so no computer while the baby sleeps. She is 1 now and today she was trying to walk everywhere and called me "gamma" several times. She also started saying 'catch' and holding out a ball for me to take then 'catch' for me to pass it backi. Emily and I were playing catch in the loungeroom and Rylee copied. She copies everything from taking Pa's hat and putting it on her head to slapping her hands on the table and saying "go Max" as that makes him run from front verandah to back verandah and back again. Anyway we loved having them again. Oh and Emily made another "Brian" which I was going to do for my sister to say thank you for caring for our dad for so long. However now I think it will b a gift from Emily to someone else. She can't decide if it is for her nanna or if it is for Uncle Paul (our son in Hervey Bay). Today she gave Uncle Terry (my brother) a present she made and decorated for him. He really did love it and I didn't get a pic of it.

Thanks for kind words of support for the loss of my father yesterday morning. I'm glad it is all over for him so quickly as a lingering death with cancer is not something I would wish on anyone.

just had a long phone call from family re funeral arrangements and now it is too late for any more chatter so I'm off to bed after a busy few days. This week will be hectic with an early morning trip to Hervey Bay and back on Thursday as we have a funeral to attend on Friday also for one of Johnny's closest friends.

Night all
Wendy

Hi everyone,

Not a very nice day here today, cloudy and overcast again and looks like the rain is on the way back again.

Jean – Thanks for filling in the bits about where you live and your climatic conditions. It’s very important especially when trying to give advice as I sometimes forget to differentiate between people living in Queensland in the warmth and those in the colder southern states. As I see it now we have you in Victoria, Colleen in South Australia, Sue and I in NSW and everybody else in Queensland so quite a varied spread or climatic conditions.

Karen – It looks like you’re about to be washed away soon if the wet doesn’t stop. But it doesn’t seem to have stopped the old “bluey”. I have a couple in our yard as well and dozens of skinks from a few inches long to three big fat ones about a foot long who live beneath the back steps. It’s good to see these native creatures in the yard and they say it’s a good sign of a healthy environment, which is a reason I choose not to spray toxic chemicals on and around my plants.

Colleen – See I did have you pegged correctly after all; I suspected you were one of the growers who talk and sing to their plants, you had to be doing something to make them look so good. We have a lady in our brom society who grows beautiful Tillies. When asked what her secret was she just said, “Oh I just go out each day and say good morning to them and tell them how nice they look, and I give then a drink of weak tea every Friday”. The weak tea is a brew she makes up from chook poop steeped in water for a couple of weeks and then diluted to look like very weak tea which she sprays all over them; as I said previously about fertilizing “little and often” I’ll attach a pic of one of her Tillies to show you the results.

Wendy – What can I say except to add my condolences on the loss of your Dad? You’re certainly having a bad time lately and it just seems to be one thing after the other. But just think, Dad’s pain free and in a far better place now. As for you and Johnny, well there’s always light at the end of the tunnel things can only get better from here so “chin up” we’re all here thinking of you both.

To help cheer you up a bit I have obtained permission from a good Thai “Brom Friend” of mine called Chanin Thorut to post some of his great pictures of the Noon Nook Tropical Gardens in Thailand. His reply to me asking for permission was ...... “With my very pleasure, Neville (^_^)" ........So over the next few days expect some "mouth watering" pic’s of brom’s in a massive shade house.

But today I’ll first of all start with a pic of my friend Rena’s beautiful Tillandsia which she has been tending for thirty years and which I spoke of in my answer to Colleen. Pic No. 2. is a very large "heart shape" made from compressed coco-peat. Pic. No.3 shows the coco peat covered with a layer plastic netting through which Cryptanthus plants are painstakingly woven. Pic. No. 4. Shows the workers constructing these particular displays and Pic. No. 5. Shows the finished product. I thought Wendy and Johnny would especially like this as they have done similar things albeit on a slightly smaller scale.....enjoy!

All the best, Nev

Wow Nev, that's a lot of crypts on that heart. Isn't it effective though.

Wendy, glad the kids were there with you. Life goes on, and kids keep us going with it. So sorry to hear Johnny has lost a friend too. It's been such a bad time for you both.

No local flooding here but we've had a good downpour of overnight rain. But they say the worst won't be until about Thursday when we can expect heavy rains.

I got two of my biggest broms repotted yesterday with help from Barry. One was the Blanche. and the other was Vr. Kiwi cream which has gotten huge.

Karen

Pics today are Tillandsia Stricta in flower. Its just a single plant now, so looking forward to it growing into a clump. Will be so pretty.

Till. Tricolor with its long feather like bract and simple flower. A cynea is blooming in the background.

Vr. Kiwi Cream now able to spread better in its bigger pot.

Billy NOID. Looks great among the other bills which are mostly reds and pinks. A nice contrast.

A Neo. NOID that I've had for a long time sits happily in an old chair.

Evening (Morning) everyone...

Wendy, I'm sorry for your loss and glad that you are dealing with the realistic side of it. Watching a loved one suffer is hard to endure.

Nev, I love the Cryptanthus heart. It appears to be huge. When being assembled it appears the crypts are Cascade but looking at the completed heart the crypts have a more red/pink color. Are they two different ones possibly?
Seeing your friends' beautiful Tillandsia makes me think I need to start issuing sweet nothings to my plants too. lol

Karen ~ I like the Neo NOID seated in your chair. That is charming... pretty plant too.

Expecting floods and high winds today. I have been fighting white flies in the greenhouse this winter. Yesterday I moved a huge tomato plant that was a whitefly attractor outside. When I walked back in, I was startled to see this bloom. It had been hiding behind the tomato.

Although I've had this plant for a few years, this is the first bloom on my Dyckia fragrans. I'd add a photo of the plant but can't turn the photo and don't want Nev to grumble.

Take care all... Kristi

Wow Nev I love that heart shape full of crypts. that is truly stunning. Wish I could make something like that but I wouldn't try for that size ...... for starters I wouldn't know where to find that many crypts. Maybe a much smaller version one day. Who knows.

Thanks for all the comments and kind thoughts. I need all your prayers to make the rain stop so we can drive back to Hervey Bay for the funeral on Thursday and back home again for Friday. If this rain continues they've already told us the burial will have to be postponed till the cemetary dries out. They can't put a body in a hole full of water. The funeral can still go ahead but ...... Anyway we have to get there first and Hervey Bay etc are already waterlogged so water is just sitting and building up now.

Pic 1: I just had to share a pic of our black bat plant. it has 4 flowers this year and we love it.
Pic 2: Emily's latest craft. The one on right was the one we created weeks ago. I was able to keep her under control and ended with a slightly blinged up version. This time I got waylaid by Rylee and Pa stepped in to help. He is as bad a Em and this one turned out to be a girl one with earings and lots of decoration. She hasn't decided if it will be for Nanna or for Uncle Paul in Hervey Bay.

Regards
Wendy