BROMELIADS FOR NOVICES & ADDICTS JULY & AUGUST 2012

Hi everyone, I'm back at last and hopefully no more computer problems. Without going into too much detail, the hard drive in my computer was stuffed and as I couldn't afford a new computer or a new hard drive, the computer doctor installed a second hand one and gave me a full twelve months warranty (which is all I could get on a new one anyway) and at present everything is working great.

I've very much missed the friendly chat from this forum but I've just been able to flick through the pic's although I haven't had time to read all of the posts.

Sue – That Ae. nudicaulis seedling looks a bit different to some I have already flowered. When I mentioned on another forum that I was sowing seed from my Nudicaulis, all of the experts said that they would all be “selfings” as that particular nudicaulis always “selfed”, however some of the ones I have flowered so far have definitely taken on some of the traits of Gamosepala, so even the "experts" don't know everything!

Knowing just how fast Ae. Gamosepala grows and the fact that insects seems to pollinate it with anything that's going, I suspect that it may well have been the pollen parent in some of the cases with this nudicaulis cross as the flowers have a touch of gamosepala about them. Also the growth habit is different from a nudicaulis in as much they don't have the “thumb print” at the base of each leaf. As well a this, they seems to be very fast growing with three and four pups not being unusual, so perhaps I may have created some “monsters” that will take over the earth????? … Ain't hybridizing fun?

I really like the pic of the beautiful Bill 'Estrella' you posted and I must contact Jen to see if she has a spare pup she would like to sell/swap. Does anyone know how she is and if she's over the bug she had? I also communicated with Colleen and she is still having a lot of trouble with her back and still needs help around the house, but she says she has great neighbours and the two boys have also been a big help as well, so hopefully she'll be back on the forum soon.

I'm going to be visiting just briefly for the next couple of weeks as I have heaps of work to do preparing plants for our annual spring show, but I will have a lot of pic's to share with you all when it's over, but for now unfortunately it's still some old file pic's. 1 is Ae. 'Cylindrata', 2 is Ae. 'Ensign', 3 is Ae. Fasciata 'Rubra', 4 is Ae. 'Mirlo' and 5 is Ae. Recurvata 'Blushing Pineapple'

All the best, Nev.

Im here! Ive been looking at all of your wonderful broms but ive already posted most of mine, waiting on a few to come in the mail so photos to come.
Sue i think i have a Pimmento i could swap you for something if you'd like.

Hi all.
we've been busy setting up for a sale this weekend. we've had to put it off the last 2 weekends due to illness first in Johnny and Jen and then my tummy bug. The antibiotics worked a treat and I am fine and eating again. Turns out our son Chris had identical symptoms to mine so I think it was a bug we both got from Emily who brought it home from her daycare.

I was thinking I'll have to ask Jen for one of those billbergias you posted Sue but I might have to get in line behind Nev. hahaha.
I went to show Johnny my billbergia hallelujah F2 seedlings this morning to show him how they were growing. I had a tea in one hand and picked up the round tub of seedlings. Not sure what happened but I think the lid let go of the tray anyway I think I nearly caught it but somehow Johnny wore both the tea and the seedlings. He had seedling mix in his tea and his mouth. I think we found all the little babies and I had to pot them up even though they weren't quite ready for that step. So I have 7 nice hallelujah F2 seedlings potted up now.

Nev I also potted up some seedlings of carcharadon x concentrica x self. I think the seed came from you???? they really needed to be potted up as they were quite thick. It was one of my test trays that had 2 sections so I used spaghnum moss in one side and coirpeat in the other and sowed equal seed in each side. I think the coirpeat was the best result. they had very good roots and some had several inches of roots while the ones in spaghnum were nice sized plants but not a root in sight. I'll see how they grow now. Just thought I didn't keep the two groups separated so I won't know which one the came from??? why didn't I think of that???

Nev I 've posted pics of our hula girl. shirley's is a pup of ours. The plant also gets a lovely pink flush in the centre during flowering but I don't seem to have a pic of the flush. This is one of my favourite neos along with megan which shirley posted.

Shirley I'll see you on Friday morning for presales. LOL. although you will not be the first. We had a couple here today and they went away $400 poorer but they have to come back with a trailer to haul their purchases away. They got 6 lovely big alcantareas. Johnny had just brought them out onto the back lawn to clean up and hose before putting them out the front. They saw them and took the lot of them. I think we now have just 2 to put out. Johnny had to dig into his reserves. We'll have to go buy some more and pot them up and push along to grow quickly.

Jen is feeling a bit better now and even went back to work last Wednesday but by lunchtime she knew she had made a mistake as talking brings on coughing fits so she was off again for rest of week. So she has now taken 3 weeks long service leave to give her time to get over it properly. She was here today for a little while and had a cuppa with us but after talking for a while she was coughing a fare bit so still lingering. Johnny is the same. I think I had the best ....... no not realy. I wouldn't with that bug on anyone. On my worst night I actually thought about dying and all the lists I needed to get done to help Darren process our wills. Can't remember ever being that sick before. Good side is I can now take off my size 12 jeans without unzipping so have to wear a belt. I'm NOT buying a smaller size. I'll just have fun eating for awhile. LOL

I think bed will be calling soon. Pic 1 & 2 are hula girl and Pic 3 is our vr white windows from JK and a PT hybrid of ospinae v gruberi x Chesters clone of tiger tim.
Night all
Wendy

Hi everyone, glad to see some of the regulars posting again.

Sue, I think we will be spending part of next weekend picking up branches too. We had them all cleaned up yesterday and then the wind came up again today and the stick monster blew in and threw them all around the place again.

Colleen, Nev and Bree, good to have you back. Colleen, hope you are well on the road to recovery. Nev, good luck with your annual spring show. Bree, looking forward to seeing pics of your new broms. Nice pics everyone.

Wendy, sounds like your sale has got off to a good start. Good to hear that you, Jen and Johnny are feeling better now. I don’t think I have ever been sick enough to think I might croak. You will have to tell me how you push along your alcantareas to grow quickly. As to your weight loss, lucky you, I always seem to put on several kilos over winter and this year has been no different. Spring is coming, time to diet (again). Anyway, see you Friday morning.

Shirley

pic is neo Jaws

Hi everyone – It's a nice day here today and if this is a sample of what the spring weather is going to be like, bring it on!

Breeindy – They're great pic's of Pimmento, it's a beautiful plant which is always very much in short supply down here; it seems everyone is after it and very few actually have it.

Wendy – It seems like this bloody stomach bug is travelling around quite a bit as I had it and a lot of people in our area have it as well and like you, I can trace mine back to my grandson who we suspect, picked it up at Day Care so it looks like Day Care and schools are the breeding grounds for all of these “bugs” which are brought home by these little “buggers”! As you say, it does cause you to lose weight, I lost 1.5 kg in just two days, but I could think of better ways to do it.

It's a pity someone didn't take a video of you and Johnny fertilizing your Hallelujah seedlings with tea the other morning Ha! Ha! You may have just discovered a new type of ferilizer, either that or a new taste sensation to go with you morning cup of tea.

The Neo. carcharadon x concentrica x self seed did come from me and I hope you have found (like I did) that they are very good growers. I'm really looking forward to seeing them when they eventually mature down the track, however yours will mature much quicker than mine so I hope you can post a few pic's when they do to help combat the anticipation of the “long wait”. That's interesting what you say about the sphagnum and Coir Peat as I would have thought the plants in sphag. would have a better root system than the ones in Coir Peat; oh well we live and learn don't we?

Hula Girl is certainly a nice looking plant and one I'll have to add to my ever increasing “Wish List” which seems to get longer by the day. It sounds like your brom customers who bought all of the Alcantareas must be doing a bit of Landscaping, either that or they have a very big yard. They are certainly nice plants but I only have a couple as I just don't have the space to grow them.

Shirley – Thanks for the “welcome back” and believe me I've really missed being here. That's a great looking plant you have posted a pic of, I wish I had a few of them as they would be great in our main display at our upcoming show. I don't show plants in the competition any more as I find my time is taken up cleaning up and preparing plants to put in the main display. I also put on a small “table top” display showing the “Life of a Neo” from seed to maturity. It's only a very basic little display, however it has surprisingly created a lot of interest from young children and they seem very interested and ask a lot of questions, so maybe they are the next generation of brom growers.

That's about it for today and I'll once again finish with a few file pic's. Firstly of a section of our main display at our 2009 show, the second pic is of Sharyn who along with David (top right in background) are the two people responsible for setting up our main display every year. Pic three is a great specimen of Deuterocohnia which won the Grand Champion that particular year and the last two pic's are of my little display showing the life cycle of a brom.

All the best, Nev.

Hi everyone. Just popping in to say hello to you all. Have been having blood pressure problems and having to take it very easy. The poor plants are not looking good with all the neglect they are getting, and I haven't taken any new pics lately. Nice to come in and try to catch up, and see all the beauties that have been posted while I've been being lazy.

Take care.
Karen

Good morning all. I had a slow internet connection this morning. Thanks Colleen, for the luck in the garden competition. A trailer load of potting mix would be awesome, but unlikely. I'm not in it to win it, but showing it off to interested people is always nice. I hope you get some relief from your back pain soon

Nev, I agree that the flower on the nudicaulis seedling, looks like its related to gamosepala. It has three pups already, so could well be the monster I need to take over in the back garden? I hope your computer continues to run well as I enjoy your contributions here.

Bree, I am happy to do a swap if you think I have anything you might like? Send me a Dmail and I can give you a list of any pups I have coming. I think alot of the neos are a bit small at present, but there might be something else ready. I will look today.

Wendy, glad to hear you are on the mend, also Jen. I hope your seedlings survive their dunk in the tea. Good luck with your sales. You seem to do very well with private appointments!


Shirley, I think the stick monster is due back in the next few days! Darn. I am into day three of a head cold today, so have to try and take it a bit slower today. So far so good as I'm not even out of bed yet! I made another paver yesterday and have about three more to do, then we will try and work out how to do the bridge.

Anyway, better start my day, maybe with a bit of watering? Then a neighbouring garden that needs tending while the owners are away
Photo is inside the bunker
Sue

Hi everyone, nice warm day here today too, and I couldn’t agree with you more, Nev, when you say Spring … bring it on. It’s good to hear that the kids show an interest in your Life of a Neo display.

Karen, hope you’re up and about soon.

Sue, sounds like your head cold hasn’t slowed you down at all. Good luck with your paver and bridge plans.

We are off to Wendy and Johnny’s tomorrow morning to see what goodies they have for sale. Always look forward to catching up with them and also to taking home my beautiful new acquisitions. I am sure I will have a few lovely new broms to show off on the forum.

While I was working around the garden yesterday I took some photos. Unfortunately I didn’t think to clean up the mess I had made before taking them so there’s a bit of stuff lying around that shouldn’t be there. Ah well, can’t think of everything.

Pics 1, 2 and 3 are various areas of the back garden. Pic 4 is a local resident.

That’s about it for me tonight, Shirley.

Hi everyone.
Shirley your yard pics are looking good. we'll have to get to your place for a look one day when we take emily home.

Jen and I were going to go to the BSQ meeting tonight but we both had to back out this afternoon. I had my girls here all day while mum worked at the dentist up the road from here. she got the job as receptionist / dental assistant. she now has to study. wonder how long she will handle the traffic to get from dayboro to Wello Pt each day for work. anyway she is going to try for daycare over here for Rylee but wants to leave Emily in daycare at dayboro for now. We'll see.

We are expecting one of those dreaded phone calls at any moment from the nursing home. Not good at the moment. Another stroke last night and she is under palliative care team now. They asked if we wanted her moved to the main hospital but we said no. Another place could not look after her any better than she is getting now. So Johnny is going there daily and says she is worse each day he goes. She is shutting down so not long to go now. Hope Jen and I can handle things if anything happens this weekend.

The pics are 1. a group shot of neos peggy bailey, jaws and jaws too
2. neo peggy bailey
3. neo jaws
4. neo jaws too
There has been some discussion about whether peggy bailey is in fact jaws but I think they are totally different plants. the peggy baileys seem to get a pink flush from when just a young pup and retain that pink flush throughout. Jaws seems to stay pure white/green until a mature plant then get a flush. jaws too is a variegated version of other two which are both albomarginated. Jaws too does get a pink flush though but not as vibrant a colour as peggy bailey. I took group pics for comparison at different stages ie newly potted pups, half grown and then fully grown.

Night again
Wendy

morning all, sniffle, snuffle.
Shirley, your garden looks lovely, and how lucky are you to have that look out into the bush, nd KOALAS? I have only ever seen one in the wild, but you lot up there in Brissie seem to have plenty? I looked for the mess, but I couldn't find it. I think your garden looks very tidy. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Wendy, sorry to hear you m-i-l is going downhill. Like you say, moving her to somewhere else will not do her any better. I hope Johnny can enjoy the time he has left with her.
I'm sure your daughter will cope with the travel, especially as she is gaining more skills, which make it easier to get future positions, and possibly, higher pay?
I hope your sale goes well, and one day, ONE DAY, I will get there! I like the look of your Neo. 'Peggy Bailey', and the name belongs to one of our local, long time residents that I used to tend a rose garden for. Do you know where its from?
I didn't do gardening yesterday, as my nose was streaming, so I did the tissue plug thing! heh heh. I washed a heap of pots instead, and potted up a few xanadus, aloes and marigolds. Eclectic mix eh? I have plans to dig up a heap of Cycad seedlings that I turfed out when I thought they wouldn't germinate. Now theres a whole bunch of them under the trees, so might as well pot them up. I definitely don't feel up to doing anything strenuous today, so I'll take it easy and get all the little jobs done.
Colleen, I hope you're not getting too much of the terrible weather? It'd be a bit cool down your way too, eh Nev? It got hot here yesterday, and supposed to be 27 in Brisbane. No fires near you Queenslanders?
No pics today, but I did spot a Billbergia flower from the loo window this morning, so will go check it out. I might try some hybridising with Bills. Does anyone have any tips? I've never even seen seed on Billbergias.
Have a good day everyone.
Sue

BROMS I HAVE TO SWAP if anyones interested. Nev- you still want them ones you mentioned before?
Wild Gossip pup
Sun Valley pup
Ring Leader pup
This one is just tagged MS Hybrid

This message was edited Aug 17, 2012 3:34 AM

Stars and Bars pup
this is the Stars and Bars mother (most of the other mothers are pretty much had it now)
Concentrica x Hearts Music pup
Old Love Letters pup

Hi everyone – It was beautiful out in the yard this morning and I managed to get a bit more work done, but then the cold south westerly wind started up again and now it’s decidedly unpleasant so I’m back inside for the afternoon.

Karen – Nice to hear from you. I know just what a “pain in the bum” blood pressure can be when it decides to play up, anyway take it easy and remember all of the brom’s will still be there when it settles down again and you can get back out amongst them.

Sue – Talking about those Nudicaulis x seedlings, I have one that hasn’t flowered yet and it has seven pups on it. However when I looked at the history on the back of the label I see that it was one of the ones I was experimenting on with different fertilizers. What did I feed it I hear you ask? Just a double dose of good old Blood and Bone and I know this for sure by looking at the back of the label where I record the plant’s history. Usually I’m a bit light with fertilizers when I repot and just give 3” pots 1 gm., 4” pots 2.5 gm., 5.5” pots 5gm. This time I tried the 4” pot with a double dose (5gm.) and you can see the result in the first two pic’s, one from the front and one from the back of the plant. I’m just starting to catch up with my reading of posts while my computer was playing up and I notice you posted a pic of three Thunderbird seedlings on the 8th Aug. Were these from a cross you did or were they some you got from me when you visited? The reason I ask is there are a lot of similarities with some of the ones I now have which are about the same size. Yu “bunker” as you describe it is looking better with each pic you post, a good job well done.

Shirley – You say you didn’t clean up the mess before you took the pic’s; oh how I wish my yard was in a mess like yours, and how about your visitor? Does he/she visit very often? I think it’s just wonderful.

Wendy – I’m so sorry to hear that Johnny’s Mum isn’t too well and I really feel for the both of you as I know just what it’s like.

I really like the pic’s you have posted today, they’re great looking plants. I hadn’t heard of Neo ‘Peggy Bailey’ before now, but it’s easy to see how names get mixed up especially with variegated plants as they can look so different from year to year and from location to location, and it’s really hard to know what’s what.

Sue - About your question on Billbergia hybridization, I think Wendy would be the person to ask as she has had a bit of success getting seed from her plant. I have never yet been successful in obtaining seed and I sent in a question on this very topic to the Bromeliad Forum seeking some help. I’ll post the answers I got below as they might help you, especially the one from Lisa Vinzant who is a well-known hybridizer from Hawaii who has bred many Billbergia hybrids thirty eight of which are registered and can be seen on the BCR (http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/bcr/index.php).

WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?

Hi everyone,
Can someone please tell me what I am doing wrong in my attempts to pollinate Billbergias. Everything I read says they are one of the easiest plants to work with and yet I still can't get any of my attempts to take.
I have tried pollinating the flowers from 9.00am till 12 noon and everywhere in between, the reasons being I thought that any earlier and it may be too cold with present temperatures between 8-14 degrees C and any later the flowers may no longer be receptive, but not a single seed pod. There is heaps of pollen and I always wait until the stigma has the little drop of honey dew like fluid on it before I try. I have tried it with plants which are well known breeders with good track records but still no luck; so what am I doing wrong?
All of my attempts are done outside in a shade house, and I thought perhaps I should be bringing these plants inside to pollinate them but then I thought, pollination occurs outside naturally in nature so why shouldn't the same occur here. The flowers will start to die and the base starts to discolour and change shape but then it just shrivels up and dies off.
Thanks in advance
All the best, Nev.

Re: WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?

Hi Nev,
I've never tried pollinating Bills, but I've had plenty out in the garden for years and I've never noticed any berries. Strange?
Cheers, Paul


Re: WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?

Try earlier, before sun rise even. Bring the plant inside if you're worried about the temperature.

378

Re: WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?

Strange Nev. Maybe they're just shy? Kinda like when the Doc hands you the little jar and says "give me a sample". Can't go when the pressure's on. Give 'em some quality time alone.

Gonzer

Re: WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?

Sounds like you're doing everything right, Nev. You might try bringing them in the house, just in case they're getting wet or the cool temps are inhibiting them. Otherwise, I don't know what to suggest.
My earliest attempts at Bill pollination didn't produce anything either. At that point I wasn't emasculating them or going about it in any kind of a methodical way-- just brushing whatever was blooming against each other out of idle curiosity, the way newbies often do. In retrospect, it's a good thing none of them set up, although I'm not sure why they didn't. That experience led me to believe that they were difficult to hybridize, so I was a bit reluctant to try it again once I got more serious about the process. Once I did, however, I had much better results than the early experiments would have predicted. Of course it's never 100%, but based on what you've said, you should be seeing something.

Lisa

Re: WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?

Agree with Lisa, we have no trouble with Bills here, I pollinate around or between 10am and 12 but I don't know if that matters to much, after you have done your pollination Nev. go back to the flower about an hour later and re do it over, I did that on a plant I was having a problem with and got it, bit disappointing when you Nev are so into wanting to raise some seedlings and you miss out for a couple more years with those particular plants, good luck

Totarapete

Finally a few pic's to finish with, first and second, the front and back view of the Ae. Nudicaulis seedling I spoke of with the multiple pups, third Acanthostachys strobilacea flower, fourth Acanthostachys pitcainoides flower and finally Ae. Ornata flower.

All the best, Nev.

Saw a massive red brom in the nursery today and i can't remember what it was called but id know if i heard it. hehe! They wanted $150 and another nursery wanted 300 for the same plant. I want one but dont want to pay that much, im willing to get a smaller one and grow it, now to try looking it up so i can get one. Its the softer leaf broms, no spikes. It was like the ones in the photo i added. Can take full sun. Can anyone tell me the name? Found it...alcantarea imperialis rubra, anyone in Australia have any for sale?

This message was edited Aug 17, 2012 6:20 AM

My new broms....
Marmorata gold pup
what it should look like as an adult.
Pink River pup
Stout Fella pup
and adult.

Hi everyone.
Sue I am still have hit and miss with the billbergia crossing. Russ Holzheimer told me to always lick your finger and wet the (is it???) stamen then if possible just tickle 2 flowers together until your wet stamen is liberally covered with yellow pollen. It becomes clear when you have ripening pods as they become fat and green while others shrivel up and turn brown. Next thing is to identify when seed is ready to harvest. I was told to watch for when it changes colour and becomes squishy. Trial and error is the best way with this. It is obvious once you succeed the first time. I squeeze the seed onto a very fine sieve and run the tap over it then sit the whole lot in the sun to dry out. when dry they just scrape off the sieve and can be poured into envelope or straight onto potting medium. For bills I use a deep dish so I can allow them to grow bigger before potting. As I said I am still having hit and miss results and still trying to work out how to identify the crossed pods. Toothpicks tend to fall out so I have 1 plant with 3 sticks in pot showin what cross has been done but only 1 toothpick left. Will have to guess the cross for other pods.

Shirley good to see you here today. I am so sorry I wasn't able to sit and chat with you. I really wanted to and was looking forward to having a cuppa. I tried to get rid of other family first so we could sit and chat but they weren't intending to oblige us. It was about 1:30 when I got upstairs for a cuppa and bite to eat. anytime you want to come for a drive and a chat to get some of Johnny's vriseas give us call. better than waiting for sale and risk being interupted like today. Sorry Johnny couldn't hang around while you were here. They told us that the elderly often have one really good lucid day before giving up and when Johnny went there today with his brother and sister his mum was actually awake and able to talk. she still said a few strange things but they did have a good time with her. Wonder if this is the lucid day before the end??? She has been in a bit of a comatose state recently and getting worse. Ah well time will tell.

Olive wrote on the fb forum that peggy bailey came from peggy bailey in USA and Olive brought it back and called it PB after the hybridiser. She listed the cross but of course someone had to come back and state that BCR listed different parents and thought it was just a jaws. Olive said she could only state what her records said she brought back and named. anyway I believe they are different plants with different habits so I will not be changing labels any time soon. It took a long time to mature but now that it has it is spitting pups out. have a few now but still small. will establish them a bit more before thinking of selling. I think Shirley wanted one today so I'll have to put her name on one.

we better get an ealry night tonight and prepare for a big weekend.
Pic 1 is ae red ribbons which is flowering at the moment.
Pic 2 is one of our pendula aechmeas which are all flowering atm too.

Night all
Wendy

Good morning.
Bree, that some nice pups there. I have most of those, but I note you are after an Alc. imperialis rubra. They get that nice red/purple colour in the cold weather, and then green up a bit through summer. I have a few, from grass pups to quite large. i am happy to send you one, for a swap of something else in the future. Dmail me your Address and I'll get one off to you on Monday.
hey Nev, thanks for all the info on pollinating billbergias. I'm not sure that I will be able to bring them indoors, as some are in the ground, (not sure if they are still in their pots), but with the tips from you and Wendy, i might be lucky enough to have some success. I'll have a go at making labels that can be tied on, to avoid losing the details. I had the same problem with vrieseas, but tie the label around the stem, and have no probs now. neos are another that I have trouble keeping the labels in and finding the right pod. Any tips on that? The pups on that A. nudicaulis seedling are just amazing, Nev. i can't use any fertilisers that have blood and bone or manure in them, as my silly dogs would upend the pots to eat the stuff! I really miss scattering organic life pellets around the garden, as I used to get better health and vigour from it, than from the prill type fertilisers. I haven't flowered my Acanthostchys pitcairnioides yet, and yes, those were Thunderbird seedlings from you, in the pics. I like the Aechmea ornata flower. Its alot like A. pineliana?
Thanks for the Billbergia tips also wendy. I kinda figured they'd ripen along the lines of Aechmeas. Is there any such thing as a cross between an Aechmea and a billbergia? I am having trouble accessing the bromeliad database and photo index. I guess you will be busy with your sale again today, Wendy? good luck with that. Our Aechmeas are flowering too, and i was out taking pics of Fosters favourite yesterday. My Red ribbons only had three pups after its good flowering last year, so i've removed them and will repot in better soil. The basket was beginning to rot anyway. So no flower on them this year.
I've begun tidying up in leisas garden. Its not too bad up there, just removing the leaves and sticks and old, dead Mums. I'm also re-writing any faded labels, although some have gone entirely. I did write a list when I first took possession of them, so i will have to go back through it and try to identify what's there. Sigh! I'v e ordered a load of mulch, which will come in the next two weeks, so I should have it all tidied by then and ready to top up.
Todays job is to top up the gravel in the bunker. I've roped hubby in for this one, as shovelling gravel is beyond me! But I'm good at direction! heh heh
photo one is Aechmea 'Fosters favourite'
Photo two is an orchid flowering in leisas garden this morning. i think its a cattleya?
Photo three is the Billbergia flower i spotted from the window (no ID)
Photo four is neo. 'Sam Smith' in Leisas garden. Its a small grower.
Sue

Hi everyone,

I promise I won't stay long today as I probably over-stayed my welcome yesterday with all of the info about the Bill. hybridizing.

Breeindy - I think a price of $150-$300 is a very steep for Alcantarea imperialis rubra, it's not like it's a first release or anything as it's been around for a while now and I'm sure you'll do much, much better than that price if you shop around.

Although I don't know Mamorata Gold, I do know Pink River and it will grow into a beautiful brom which I'm sure you will be very pleased with. I don't know 'Stout Fella" either but judging by the last pic it's one of the much sort after yellow coloured brom's which looks good in any collection, so congratulations on a good selection.

Wendy - It looks like it's up to you and Sue in the Bill. hybridizing stakes and I will look forward to seeing pic's of the new babies.

The second pic of the pendula aechmea you posted looks very much like one of mine which is only a small plant (about 8" high) and is called Ae Racinae 'Jungle Jewel'. I find it a quite attractive plant but unfortunately a bit cold sensitive.

All the best, Nev.

Hi Sue - We must have both been typing at the same time that's why I didn't answer your questions in my previous post.

First question - Identifying pollinated flowers on Neoregelias - Most of the expert Neo hybridizers cut a small triangular section from a thin white name tag and write the name of the pollen parent in code (The full identity is kept in a note book or on the computer). Once the flower has been pollinated, the pointy end of this tag is pushed down into the flower. As the flower dies, it closes around the tag and holds it in place. (see pic)

Second question - As for crossing a Billbergia with an Aechmea, yes it can be done and each resulting bi-generic plant is called a X Billmea. There are only about half a dozen or so registered and most have Ae Recurvata as the pollen parent, although fasciata has been used on one occasion.

All the best, Nev.

Hi everyone, rather windy here today … good drying weather. Still a nice warm, sunny day though.

Wendy, it’s nice to hear that Johnny’s mum had a good day when he and his brother and sister went to visit. It’s a really stressful time and I hope you are both holding up OK.

We will have to arrange a time to come and visit when we can have a bit of a chat and I really like the idea of getting hold of some of Johnny’s vrieseas :o) Very happy with the broms we got on Friday. I hope your sale continues to go well. I must try to remember to take photos tomorrow of my neo Peggy Bailey, neo Jaws, neo Jaws Too and another which is just tagged neo Carolinae x Carcharadon. As I mentioned to you, my neo Peggy Bailey looks quite different but I really love it.

Nev, we get quite a lot of koalas here and wallabies too. The koalas get very noisy in Sept-Oct … mating season … and even if we don’t see them during the day, we can hear them at night. We know we are very privileged to have them visit and we love to see them.

Sue, we have the same problem with our dog. If he sniffs manure or fertilizer (even fish emulsion) he will attempt to eat it and too bad for any plant that happens to be in the way.

Anyway, we have to get up early in the morning as we want to go to the markets. It gets so crowded it’s almost like sideshow alley at the Ekka. There are always lots of lovely plants for sale and the early bird gets the brom !!!

Bye for now, Shirley

Tonights pics are both neo pups 1. Is neo Aztec 2. neo Gladiator


This message was edited Aug 19, 2012 10:05 PM

Hi again, hope everyone has had a nice weekend.

We went to the markets this morning but I only got one brom and I don’t know what it is … I will post a pic of it tomorrow in the hope that someone can ID it for me. Hope someone else is looking in by then :o)

Bye for now, Shirley

Attached pics are 1 Group shot, 2 Neo Peggy Bailey, 3 Neo Jaws, 4 Neo Jaws Too, 5 Neo Carolinae x Carcharadon

good morning all. I had a sick day yesterday, but nice to come in and see the photos. Shirley, where did you get your N. 'Barbarian'? Have you seen the mature plant? Supposed to be stunning! Lucky you. N. 'Aztec' is also a very bright one in the garden eh?
I went to a bromeliad sale, advertised in our local area. It was the garden of a lady who used to have a stall at the markets here, but like me, has had better success lately, doing them from home, without the hassle of packing and unpacking. Her garden was awesome. Huge big trees with broms all around and hanging/growing in them. It was a very mature garden, and alot of the broms were Aechmeas, and alot in flower. We had a great time walking around, getting the grand tour, and I saw a few broms I had never seen before. I bought one guzmania, but am waiting to get an ID on it. It was a very nice time and I was pleasantly surprised by it all. The sale plants were spread around and you kind of walked amongst it all which was lovely. There were quite alot of flowering guzmanias and the like, but unfortunately for us both, not much there that took my fancy. I hope she enjoyed giving us the tour and a chat, as much as we did, as I hate to take up someones time and not spend much, especially since she has spent plenty at past sales of mine.
Oh, and I forgot to take a camera, and only had my phone to use. The photos aren't too bad, but don't capture the atmosphere at all! I will get them onto the computer tonight.
Thanks for the tips on the labels, Nev. I have tried the pointy ones in Neos before, but they still come loose when trying to get the pods out. I'd better go check the Billbergias and see where they are up to with flowering.
Sue

Hi Sue, looks like you and me again. Hope you are feeling better now. You asked where I got my neo Barbarian … did you mean Gladiator. I do have neo Barbarian, which I bought at the market recently. My neo Gladiator I bought on eBay a while back. I have seen pictures of the mature plant and it looks very impressive.

Looking forward to seeing your photos from the brom garden you visited.

I purchased only one brom at Sundays’ market, a large and rather tatty looking one but I think it is very pretty and it also had a couple of large pups. I don’t know what it is but I think it’s most likely a nidularium. If anyone can ID it for me that would be great. I will attach a pic.

Hope everyone is keeping well. Bye for now, Shirley

Hi Shirley. your nidularium looks like longiflorum. that is one of our favourites as you get a good 5 or 6 months of colour out of it. it can grow to a good size when given a good sized pot to grow into. It is a good one for growing in a deeply shaded spot or in filtered sunlight. we've grown in both equally as well. they sell well. we had a couple of big ones out on the weekend and simply clipped a photo to one. that was enough to sell both.

Well I'm off to bed now. after our big weekend we took our money down to Wardell today and replenished our stock of alcantareas while we could. apparently Ross has almost sold them all. lucky he told us that someone came to buy them and was coming back for more so if we wanted more we better get down asap to get them. we got a ute full. we have to repot them tomorrow and remove grass pups in the process. then we'll let them grow on a bit before selling them. that's an amazing place to go to and we always find something special there. I got a tillandsia emilie today. wait till Emily comes and sees a plant with her name. I'll have to point out to her that it starts with E for Emilie as she has suddenly decided its M for Emily as that is the initial sound. Guess daycare mum is talking about initial sounds with them but she's mixed her up with that one.

Off to bed now. Night everyone.
Wendy

Good morning, sorry Shirley, I don't know why I thought you said barbarian. Maybe I had something else on my mind? My head has been a little out of sorts, so I'll blame that! I've not got N. 'Gladiator' either, and am now thoroughly confused and will have to look them both up.
Your Nidularium looks lovely, and if it has a heap of pups, will make a nice colony rather quickly, where ever you put it. I like the ones that send the pups out on a longer stolon, which gives them a bit of space to grow, as the ones that pup close in, seem to look very crowded as the pups grow.
Gee Wendy, I wish you would let us know when you go to Ross'. I'd love to come up and catch up with you, Johnny and Ross, while having a good look around. Maybe I'll have to do my own trip, with neighbour in tow.
Still didn't get the pics on from the garden I visited, but will try to remember tonight. I should never have put them on the other PC, as this is the one I use now days.
Its looks as though there was a tiny drop of rain last night. It might be enough to keep the dust down. I have hopes to get out and rake up more sticks from the brom gardens, to get them ready for mulching in the next week or two. No rush, luckily.
I hope everyone is feeling well today?
Sue

Wendy, thanks for the ID on my nidularium. Hope you got all your alcantareas repotted. Did you get a few different ones … what types ?? I have a few now but the nicest ones are alc Imperialis Rubra, alc Silver Plum and alc Extensa. I saw an alc Heloisae recently which I liked as well. I’m sure Emily will be thrilled to know there is a tillandsia named after her.

Sue, still no sign of rain here. I think it has been something like 28 days now without rain. The days have been really nice but it is starting to get a tad dusty.

I did a bit of repotting today and some watering. Still have lots to do in the gardens before it gets too hot … just never enough time (or energy).

Anyway, that’s it for me tonight. Shirley


Pic is alc Extensa

Hi Shirley and Sue. Seems it is just you two mostly. most of the alcants we got are extensa. they are big ones for a very good price but someone from Sydney has got involved and Ross told me that the guy has been up with a huge trailer and taken one load back already and was to come back for the rest of them. seeing we sold so many over the weekend we thought we should get back to get some more before this guy gets back to take all the rest. so we beat him to it and got them all. No not really we did leave some behind (but not many) there will be no more for a long time. we just have to grow them on a bit now. We also got a bunch of the alc grace goode. which I think may be a clone of geniculata??? anyway the pots are full of grass pups around the big one so we have to take those off and pot them too. No we haven't done any of them yet. We are still getting the loose pups potted. and to day I visited Phyllis as she has had another fall but didn't break anything this time. she is getting around better now though and dying to get over for a brom fix very soon. We'll have to organise something soon.

For those of you who are not on the fb forums there was a bit of an altercation tonight. I thought it was a bit funny the way some chose to interpret comments as attack and attacked back. anyway I thought it was funny watching rand reading.

Sue we got up yesterday morning and suddenly decided to go. no planning involved just action. we love going down there though so we should organise another visit and catch up. don't know when we'll need some more though. there was seed flying everywhere down there yesterday but nothing I really wanted to grow. There were a lot of dykia coming into flower though so a lot of seed ripening soon.

Must be off to bed again. Night all
Wendy

Hi Everyone, how's the weather down south, it's a bit gloomy up here and has been rather cool and overcast all week, and is raining today, nice for a change.
Everything is growing nicely in the brom house at the moment and gee some of our new seedlings are really powering right along. I think we finally have our seedling mix right for our climate and they are just loving it. It's only taken 18 months and killing a lot of seeds to get it right, ha ha ha.
Love all the pics that everyone has been putting up, I do follow along, just often don't get enough time to comment, but I do generally read the forum each day.
I was only just reading a thing on Billbergia breeding the other day and someone else explained how it does seem quite difficult to get seed and that the success rate is quite low, so I think you are not alone Sue :) Hubby has tried a couple of Bills the other week, so see if he has any luck. Does anyone know how long they take to set seed if they are going too?
Wendy, glad you think it was so funny. It was supposed to be a nice friendly discussion but there is always someones who has to degrade it to something else. (It was a good discussion until that point.) I don't care what you or anyone else says, the comment I quoted back at the person, was uncalled for. I did have my facts right. And, I don't know why you even felt the need to mention it on here? Just for gossip?
Ohhh and Shirley I so wish we had koala's up here like that. Just a beautiful photo.
Well I had better get some bits and pieces done, hope you all have a good day with your broms :)

Hi everyone,

Sorry I haven't been pulling my weight here on the forum lately, it seems it's just been Wendy, Sue and Shirley keeping things going. However it’s almost show time down here and there's just so much to do to get ready for our important annual event. I have to clean up plants for the main display as well as getting all my sale plants ready for the sales table. I'm also going to do a small display on the life of a Neo (from seed to maturity) like I did previously. It's a bit of a pain getting it all sorted out but there was lot of interest shown by young children the first year I did it and even more last year, so I guess we have to keep the young ones interested, as they are the growers of the future. I might even put a couple of plants on the exhibition tables myself this year as two of our members who usually show won't be here and I expect we will be a bit down on table entries and someone needs to help fill the void.

Good to see you dropping in again Tash, but sorry to hear there was a bit of an argument on the Face Book site which is a pity as It’s a great little site and well run; and any troublesome people were always jumped on pretty quickly and kept in order. I really enjoyed it when I used to visit however I don’t visit it any more as I was told by three different “computer doctors” that all my computer problems were traced back to Face Book (I don’t know what part of Face Book) so I don’t visit any more. I still can’t close my account as the “gremlins” got in and changed my password also so I couldn’t open anything even if I wanted to, and now my daughter tells me I have three accounts so I don’t know how that happened either (maybe the Gremlins again) and I still get email messages to say that “so and so” has sent me a message or someone else has posted a new pic and I have no way of contacting these people to say I am no longer on the site. I don’t know what they will think of me for not answering them but after very expensive computer repairs I’m now very cautious about anything to do with Face Book. I find I can still sometimes spend a little time on here and the Brom Forums and they don’t seem to give me any problems so I think I’ll just stick with those ones.

Still no new pic’s to post, so I’ll just have to say that’s it for today, but I’ll try and contribute more when I have a bit more spare time.

All the best, Nev.

Hi everyone
Nice to catch up again. Tash I mentioned the issue on here just to show the ones not using fb any more that political issues are still arising and to show them that they are either best out of it or what they are missing depending on their outlook. I just find it funny how a simple matter can turn some into agro little demons I guess. Who would think a certain comment can push a button for someone while it means nothng ot others. that's all it was to me and i hope it didn't upset you too much. I try not to get involved in all that type of stuff but sometimes I do get a chuckle out of some comments. Guess it's the wierd humour coming out of me. Is that what I'm trying to say???? not sure if that's it exactly. anyhow hopefully it's all over and can be forgotten now. (at least till the next comment and I'm sure there will be a next one for someone as that is the nature of people) that's all I'm saying on this.

Lucky you getting some rain too Tash. wish we could get some down here. they are bleating about the longest dry spell in Brisbane for a while again. They'll be panicking again soon and talking about new dams. No that was Anna wasn't it and Campbell doesn't spend money at all. scrap that dam talk. Anyway we went out to Johnny's sisters place this afternoon and their house tanks are emply. I couldn't even flush the toilet until they turned the pump on to pump water up from the shed tank. Oh how we rely on that piped water. I forget that some people only have their tanks. ours are down to half full so we do need a shower to top them up again but we only use them to water the plants and we know we can use the house water if we run out in the tanks. Different to relying on it for everything.

I relented yesterday and bought a size smaller jeans as I was sick of wearing baggy ones with a belt. still haven't put all that weight back on after my sick week. I only got those strech ones so even if I put some back on they should still stretch to get them on. I swore I wouldn't do it but I did. so now the wardrobe has from 10s to 16s. hope you all don't get that tummy bug that Nev and I had. It is not a pleasant one. A lot of people are telling me they had it too so fingers crossed you all dip out on that one. I actually remember thinking how sick do you have to get to die so it was bad.

I must tell you Nev, I walked past our orlandiana rainbow last week and some very fat purple berries caught my eye so I just had to collect the 3 that were there. since then I think I've collected another 4 or 5. Do you think we will get anything worth while from that seed? I am still trying to get it cleaned and dried. The sticky stuff on aechmea seed is persistant and takes a lot of washing doesn't it? I'll try to get it planted tomorrow. Oh and our other 2 envelopes of seed arrived so Jen will also have some seed to sow. Eric G also sent an extra packet of alcant imperialis seed so I guess instead of going halves in that seed Jen and I will have a packet each. BUT after 5 weeks in transit we'll have to see how much actually grows. I'm still waiting for some of the last seed that went travelling with Aust Post, to shoot something out. Some have lots of seed growing but others are still just bare little tubs.

I'm having a bit more success now with billbergia seed and have a few ripening pods. It is fairly obvious rather quickly if any are going to grow nice and plump. Just compare size and colour of empty ones against ripening ones. Note the colour and when you see the fat ones change colour and also get soft and squishy the seed is ready to harvest. If you feel the pod while fat and green it will be rather solid. when colour changes it does get soft and squishy.

That time again so I better be off to bed now.
Night to you all.
Wendy

Morning all, had a day off dg yesterday. I had things to do in the morning and decided to get out of bed early! heh heh. Should be doing that today also, but here I am.
Shirley, I have Alc. heloisae. I love it. It is getting really red tips in the winter sun. I will snap a picture today. Its dusty here too, which, if anyone has been to my place, is quite unusual. The swamp is still too soft to mow though. I actually watered a few broms in the garden yesterday evening, mostly guzmanias and Vrieseas. It was so warm here yesterday, I wore shorts! And no fire last night, so Spring is on its way. The comp is in about 4 weeks, but all the flowers in my garden will be gone then, Azaleas, Kalanchoes and Arctotis all look good now. Luckily there are enough Cordylines and crotons to add a bit of colour, not to mention the broms.
Tash, I'm glad you finally got the seedlings up and away. It must have been annoying to lose so many in the beginning! I had a go at pollinating some Billbergias yesterday, just selfing them, as most are hybrids anyway, and should throw a variety of seedlings I'm guessing they will be quite quick to mature (seed) as the flower is so short lived. I've never seen seed on billbergia, but assumed they'dform much the same as Aechmeas. I am watching A. chantinii for seed, as it haslots of fat pods, but none have changed colour yet. I also have A. 'Dark Goddess' that has fat pods, but no colour. Fingers crossed.
Nev, good luck with your show entries and the sale. I am sure your 'life of a bromeliad' display will go down a treat. At least children are welcome in your neck of the woods. I hear tell that a particular society up north isn't so tolerant. Silly eh? Best to stay off FB for you, by the sound of it. I've never had trouble, touch wood, but find I don't have the same experience on the brom forums there, that I can get here. This is where it all started for me, and I've made great mates from here, so I'm hanging in.
Well, I'd better make an effort to get up and do stuff.
first, a couple of pics.
pic one is B. Catherine Wilson with lots of pollen
pic two is Arctotis amongst some N. Hannibal Lector' and N. 'Break Of Day'

what a busy day on DG. one entry. quick read tonight. That b. catherine wilson has some lovely colour Sue and the garden shot is full of lovely colour too. you should do well in the gardening comp. I hope you get some ripe seed from your crossings. I picked some purple pods from Jen's chantinii today but there was no seed in them when I squeezed them. maybe not ripe enough. I also showed Jen when the seed on her vinicolor was ready to pick. We got a couple to bring home and Jen got a couple with lots more almost ready to split into 3 parts. Hope we get some nice striped vinicolor like Glynn got.

We also got our seed brom Netherlands finally. Only took 5 weeks. hope we get some to grow. Both Jen and I picked some billbergia seeds and I chose lots of tillandsia seed. we also got an extra packet of imperialis lansedt blue so instead of Jen and I sharing a packet we have one each. we'll have lots of those in a couple years.

I'm sick of the computer these days so i might just log off and watch a bit of TV only there's crap on. maybe I'll pick a movie to get into. otherwise I'll do another jigsaw and waste a few hours. maybe an iceblock too. won't be long and I will not fit into those size 10 jeans. hahaha

Night to all my friends
Wendy

Hi everyone, still no rain here in Brissie … I think it’s something like 34 days now without rain, something of a record apparently.

Tash, glad to hear you have your seedling mix right and everything’s powering along. I am tempted to try growing from seed but I really don’t think I have the patience … no, I absolutely KNOW I don’t have the patience.

Nev, good luck with your entries in the Annual Spring Show. Can’t wait to see the pics.

Wendy, what a skite you are :o) size 10 jeans … lucky you. I have gained about 5 kg over winter and am finding my clothes getting rather tight, just so unfair. And totally agree with you that there is utter crap on TV lately. Can’t stand watching those reality shows and there is very little else on.

We are fortunate to have a bore supplying good water to supplement our rain water, though I like to use the rain water on the broms and potted plants. I use bore water on the gardens if they need a drink.

Sue, I had a day off DG yesterday too. Just as well Nev, Wendy and Tash called in. Lovely pic of your garden … don’t forget to post a pic of your Alc Heloisae, I will definitely have to get myself one.

I did myself an injury today trying to move a very large dragon tree (dracaena draco) in a very large terracotta pot. It was way too heavy to lift so I attempted to drag it and am suffering considerable lower back pain as a result. Hopefully the wheat pack I have been using tonight will help.

Well, that’s it for me, might have an early night, Shirley

Pic is my new vriesea Galaxy

Morning everyone. What a beautiful day we had yesterday, 27 degrees and sunshine! Yes, it is getting dusty, but so nice not to wear the gumboots nd be on the look out for leeches!Thanks for the compliments on the garden. A lot of work has gone in there over the years, i can tell you!
Wendy, sounds like you had a good score with the Alc seed of both types. Is Jen still not well enough to drop in? I'd love to see a pic of her vinicolour, and wonder did she get one of it in flower? Did I miss that somewhere?
Shirley, I'm pretty sure I've gained a couple of kilos this winter too! The loose jeans are now a good fit! I'm not game to get on the scales. Now that the weather is warmer and drier, I might start doing the walk around the block a bit more. Its only when I walk outside, I get side tracked in the garden.
I forgot the pic of A.heloisae, as I had some visitors arrive yesterday afternoon, so I was busy doing a potato bake and salads, and running around picking up and putting stuff away. Sometimes i need visitors for a bit of motivation. I will get one later today, when the sun is on it, as thats when it looks its best.
I hope your back has eased up somewhat. I am a long time sufferer of a weak back, and have to constantly think about what I am doing, and how I am doing it. I have a pair of movers trolleys, so there is always one handy when ever I need to move something. I've had to give up gardening for work because of it, and only garden for myself now. It also makes it hard to consider other types of work, as alot of what I am interested in, requires lifting of some sort. Anyway, i hope your injury is nothing serious and make sure you take care of it properly. Your Vriesea 'Galaxy' is only a baby and I'm sure will grow to look absolutely stunning. Lucky you!I attempted to get some photos off my computer last night, but had no luck. I think I need a different connection. The photos really aren't that good, so I'm not going to bother, but I am sure I will visit the brom ladies garden again in the future, so I'll get more then.
meanwhile
photo one is azaleas, Alcs, kalanchoes and my laundry tub
photo two is the laundry tub. I got the idea from a photo in facebook. Do you think I should paint the outside of the tub?

Hi everyone.

Sue I love the plates in the tub. looks amazing. not sure about painting it..... maybe a white??? nah go the colourful maybe.

Shirley, glad you like that vr galaxy. it is one from Jen. lucky she brought her plants around on the Wednesday instead of leaving it till last day. I've been potting up some minis this week. never thought about doing it before but last weekend minis were the things that were going. It's lucky Jen brought a lot around. I then went looking for any I had to put out on Sunday as not many left. So next time there will be a lot ready to go.

Jen and I are off to the Gold Coast Brom Society meeting tomorrow morning. Jen is OK now as long as she doesn't talk too much. the tickle still happens after lots of talking. it was probably hard for her last weekend with all the people to talk to but she made it. not sure why she isn't coming on here. I'll check tomorrow to see if she still reads DG or not.

We looked at a Honda CRV 4x4 as Johnny is having problems with his knees and it is hard to climb up out of the small car. anyhow one of his reasons for not taking it was that we had to sell our car privately. Anyhow we could have sold it 3 times over yesterday. So now instead of finding the full price for the CRV we only have to find the difference after we swap our car plus cash difference. We'll be able to do that out of our cash in the bank. so we'll have to plan a brom trip to make use of the room we'll have next week when we pick it up. till then Jen will have to drive us. LOL

I'm off to bed soon so I can get up for our GC excursion. Peter Tristram is one of the speakers so it should be interesting.

Night all
Wendy

good morning. Just you and I Wendy? I think I will paint that tub, but only have the house colours to choose from, unless I buy paint specifically for it. Maybe just tidy it up with a cream?
Not sure really. My other choices would be brunswick green or manor red.
The days are just beautiful, although the temps were pretty hot yesterday, but this morning is a bit cooler. We've decided to give the cars a clean, which is a waste of time really, with all the roadworks around here, but its a good opportunity to check them over. We used to do it every weekend when we lived in suburbia. Wash the cars and mow the lawns and still have half a day to play! Around here the yard can take all week....all year!
My mulch arrived yesterday, so its sitting in the driveway composting for the next week or so, and I've bought a sack of dynamic lifter to spread before I mulch. I'm also going to apply dolomite to try and keep the acidity down. I'll have to water it well before and after, to try and keep the smell down, as the dogs will be rooting around in the mulch trying to eat the fertiliser! Anyway, thats a week away at least. Hubby and I will try and tackle the bridge this weekend , or next. I only have a few more pavers to make and then we are up to the hard bit.
Shirley, I took a pic of Alc. heloisae on my phone, so I will work out how to get it here and put it on, or, i could just take another this afternoon on my usual camera.
Hubby has just bought me breakfast in bed, so I am off!
Bree, will email you tonight.
Sue
photo one is Alc. extensa with V. tuerkheimii behind
photo two is a succulent in flower

Hi everyone – Well while you all wait for a drop of rain up north, we are in the same situation down here; just a few spots just to torment us and then just more wind.

I’d just like to add my “two bobs worth” to the comments about the Face Book Brom forums, like any of the other brom forums, the problem is not the forum, but with a very small minority of "stirrers" on them. Someone just makes a comment and then someone comes back with a “smart arsed” answer and it just seems to escalate from there. Unfortunately these people seem to get their kicks from spoiling it for others; it’s always been the case and I don’t imagine it will ever be any different. The best way to stop these people is to just ignore what they say and don’t respond, because if you answer them someone else will then come in with their bit and the whole thing gets out of hand and we finish up with a slanging match which has nothing to do with brom’s anyway!

Wendy – It’s interesting to hear what you have to say about the Ae.Orlandiana Rainbow; if you didn’t pollinate it who did, and with what? What other Aechmeas did you have in flower at the same time or maybe insects just crossed it with itself. It will be interesting to see what the seed produces, and if you have a couple of spare capsules, you could send them down south so I can see as well.

What I do with seed like this that is hard to clean, I just squeeze it onto a sheet of photo copy paper, fold it up and let it dry for a few days, after that they are easily scraped off, but I still reckon the best way is to squeeze it straight from the pod onto the growing medium, I know it’s messy and awkward but there’s less chance of contamination because while ever the seed is in the capsule it’s clean and non-contaminated by external fungi etc.

Sue - I like the pic’s of your garden, you just seems to have that “magic touch” something I very much lack. I especially like what you’ve done with the old laundry tub and the hand pump (that certainly brings back boyhood memories). I personally wouldn’t paint it, leave it as it is and maintain that little bit of what things were like in the past.

It’s interesting to hear what you say about the Ae. Chantinii pods; if they do eventually ripen, I’d really appreciate a little seed if you can spare some as we have a very hard time growing Ae Chantinii down here with the cold, and I’d like to see if growing them from seed makes them more cold tolerant like it does with some of the other types. I’ve also given a few Billbergias another go again this year in the hope of getting a bit of seed, so far so good with a couple, as they haven’t withered up and died like previous ones did (yet)

Shirley – You should know better than to try and move heavy things like large pots, it’s far better to wait until someone else comes along to help as it’s not going to go anywhere.
I like the pic of your vriesea, it has very interesting markings and I’ll be interested in seeing them again when it matures. There are three very interesting and different pictures of it on the BCR http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/bcr/index.php?genus=VRIESEA&id=8611#8611 just to give you an idea of what you will be getting.

Well that’s about it from me this morning as I have a “Brom Workshop” to go to today. We are using this one to show a lot of the newer members how to clean up plants in preparation for exhibiting at the show and pointing out the things that judges’ look for. We have been having a very good showing at our monthly point score from the novice growers and we are hopeful of persuading them to continue it on and exhibit in our annual show as well. They are all very keen but some just need a “little push” to get them to enter in the show. I always tell them it’s not really about winning prizes but more about showing these beautiful plants for everyone to enjoy.

I’ll just finish with a few pic’s; No.1 is a very old Neo hybrid of Neo ‘Sarmentosa’ x ‘Chloristicha’ No. 2 is an interesting plant of Neo ‘Orange Flush’ - Every year it produces two pups one is plain and one is variegated (the old mother was in the centre but is now long gone), 3, 4 and 5 show three different clones of Nidularium ‘Procerum’ (orange) each one a little different.

All the best, Nev.

V. Galaxy looks great when mature and love your Alc. extensa Sue. I just got this Alc. called Silver Plum(1st two pics)...
and i got Neo. Rosella, Red River and Martin.

Hi Breeindy,

I just couldn't help myself, I had to comment on the fact that you got yourself a Neo 'Rosella'. It's a beautiful little plant and a firm favourite of mine ever since I was lucky enough to pick up a prize in the show with it a few years back.

All the best, Nev.

Thats very nice Nev, congratulations.
I really wanted the Red River and thought i may as well get the other two as well. You know how you cant just buy i brom. hehe!