Bromeliads for novices & addicts, October 2012

sorry im getting carried away with photos....hehe! Predator and heres my Red River Shirley.
I dont know about enhanced photos Nev, not saying its not done but i think them pics look real, looks like that 1st ones taken in the dark.
We did get abit of rain, just enough to water the lawn at least.
IAN that 3rd neo green with pink centre is Concentrica isnt it!



This message was edited Oct 11, 2012 4:17 PM

Hi all – We had a very “wild and woolly” night last night with thunder storms and very strong winds. There is a lot of thunder this morning as I start to write this at 6.00am and the forecast is for wide spread thunder storms, heavy rain and gale force winds, so there won't be much getting done out in the yard today. The rain will get a chance do a lot of good though, as the couple of days of light drizzle has softened up the soil so the predicted heavy rain will be able to soak in rather than just run off and be wasted.

Ian – Firstly, thank you for your pic of “Mushroom Scale”, it is the same as what we call “Soft Scale” down here and no doubt it's known by other names in other areas. The main thing is that we all know what it is when we are talking about ways of eradicating it. Your first pic of Ae 'Cherry Fizz' is an unusual looking plant with its attractive “spreading form” but I can't find any record of it being registered so I guess we won't know the parentage of it. The root system on your plant in pic two is very extensive, what do you contribute this to, is it the Condy's Crystals or do you have some secret magic root building formula you use?

I can't help you with a name for your NOID in pic three but I'd hazard a guess that one of its parents is Neo. Concentrica as I can just make out a few (very faint) "tell tale" concentric rings on the pup on the right. (the leaf closest to the centre)

I think your Bill seedling could have some promise as it has Bill. 'Poquito Blanco' in its past breeding as one of the parent of 'Carioca' and I think the name of the second parent could be Bill. 'Euphemie Waterman' as there isn't a 'Euphamie' registered. Russ Holzheimer bred a great looking Bill called Kolan 'Black Frost' using Bill. Domingus Martins x Euphemie Waterman so you may just be in with a chance of good looking seedling with that cross.

Wendy – I just looked up Neo 'Strawberry' on the BCR and although it's not a very good pic, there are certainly some similarities between that and Shirley's plant. Unfortunately it's of unknown parentage.

Wendy, when I take a pic of a tall plant, I just get back far enough until I can fit it all in the frame without turning the camera. I then crop the sides as required and that way when it's posted on here it is still the right way up.

Your Pic's 1 and 2 are of a seedling which came from a batch from American seed supposedly from Ae. emmerichiae which is a species and very similar in size and habit to blanchetiana. As I didn't collect the seed myself I can't guarantee its authenticity.

Congratulations! I think the plant in pic 3 is a real beaut and well worthy of registration; it's just as well you didn't sell it otherwise you wouldn't be able to swap me the first spare pup would you? Is the name of the other parent known or was it one that was pollinated by insects? It doesn't really matter how it was done anyhow as it's certainly a beautiful plant.

Like you say the plant in pic 4 is very different to the plant in pic 5 and I don't think they are the same plants because in my experience the pups from the original seedling are generally as good as or an improvement on the original plant which isn't the case here so maybe the name tags were mixed up somehow, however the plant in pic 5 is well worth keeping on its form alone.

Wendy, as for asking me to remember if there were any plants I had asked you to send and haven't yet received, that's a bit rich as I can't remember what happened yesterday, but I have checked the list of all my Neo's and I didn't get any plant from you called 'Narelle's Joy'. I will also have some more Neo seed which I'll send up in a week or two. By the way, sorry, but I can't help you with the ID of your Aechmea.

Shirley – Your Neo 'Hot Blooded' has certainly coloured up nicely. That's a great idea showing the three stages in that Neoregelia's growth and it does very clearly demonstrate how people can misjudge a plant from a pic especially if it's a pic that has been taken before the plant was mature and fully coloured up. As I've often told people, the only way you know for sure what you are getting is the correct plant is to get one when it is mature and fully coloured up. You should definitely only buy uncoloured pups from someone you know or a reputable dealer otherwise you run the risk of being “caught out”.

Sue - Bill. Allan Ladd isn't yours? What a "bummer" I thought you'd struck it rich. At least you got to see it in the flesh which is more than I have.

That's it for now, time for breakfast. Just a few random Neo. pic's today with Pic 5 being one of my own seedling crosses which is just starting to colour up.

All the best, Nev.

Hi Everyone

Another busy week of work over and done with, now looking forward to some time at home and as always in the garden.

My plans in the garden is to try out the Condys Crystals on some of my broms, I also have about 12 new broms to pot up as well as some new vegetable seedling to plant out into my veggie patch and I also need to take some cuttings of some of my herbs to give to a friend who wants to start a herb garden.

No rain happening here, the winds are keeping it well away which is a bit of a bugger.

Thanks everyone for the nice remarks regarding the orchids, I have passed feedback to my hubby who has been growing them successfully for a couple of years now, he gets a great deal of joy and feedback of the ones he has in our nursery. I am amazed at how quickly the flower spikes appear on some of them and how long the spikes are as well as how long the flowers last. I usually take one to work to pop of my desk and swap them with something else each week so they don’t miss out on any feeding etc. My hubbys a changed man since he started collecting them, it's like no matter how bad a day he has had at work they just relax him, likewise as my brommies do for me.

Hi Nev, luv all of your random Neo pics, they are all fantastic looking broms with amazing colors and I want them all, spoken like a try bromaholic lol. Thanks for the great info regarding the brom vases; I normally flush the centres out fortnightly when I see the vases getting too dirty which they do because none of my neo’s are under protective cover. Normally I try to only to flush out the one’s that really need it, in other words the one’s I can’t stand seeing so dirty, I know the dust, leaf matter etc. does not harm them but seeing them so dirty really annoys me because it takes away from seeing their beauty and makes me feel like I am not looking after them properly. I have always wanted a house keeper to clean my house once a fortnight but have never got one, maybe I need a housekeeper for my broms given I am so fussy hehehe.

Nev, sorry I tortured you with the Orchids, let us know if you ever get back into them and I will put you in touch with my hubby who is definitely an Orchidaholic lol. He’s collecting some really nice ones that totally blow me away when I see the flowers for the first time. He is doing a fantastic job looking after them and they are rewarding him with great growth and lots of flowers.

Hi Bree, just saw all the Neo pics you posted – wow they are amazing, great color in all of them, treasure chest is so very divine.

Hi Sue, thanks for nice comments regarding our orchid and broms, I missed seeing pics from you this time as I always luv seeing what you have posted.

Hi Wendy, hope the move goes well for your Son on Saturday. Rain has a tendency of appearing out of nowhere when your moving house, you wake up to beautiful blue skies, not a cloud in sight and then an hour down the road and the rain comes bucketing down, why is that lol.

Hi Shirley, great pics of Neo Hot Blooded, I have my hubby on the internet looking for one as I really luv the strong color that takes over the whole plant like how blood rushes to your checks when you get embarrassed, the name suits this Neo very well indeed.

Anyway better get going, catch up with you all next time.

Happy Gardening!

Pic 1: Vr. Elysian Kandy
Pic 2: Neo Fairy Paint x Chloriostica
Pic 3: Neo President Red
Pic 4 Ae. Correia Araujoi (did I get this one’s name right?)
Pic 5: Vr. Gulz x Red Chestnut

wow I do love seeing all those pics lately. we all seem to have something special that nobody else has. doesn't matter how extensive we think our own collection is there is always one we haven't got. I do love the variegated ones though.

Bree I love you variegated one in pic 2. lots of fine irregular variegation which will be perfect for collecting seed to get variegated seedlings. I live for the day when I find a nice variegated one in a tray of seedlings and now that I know what to look for in a parent plant I will get there one day.

Nev you seem to have some really lovely neos in your collection. love the perfect shape and colour of your first pic and the variegated one in the 2nd pic is superb. But I really love the variegation in that last one of your seedling. I look forward to seeing a pic when it is at it's splendid best at flowering.

I didn't get a chance to take many pics today as the wind was so bad it was dangerous to be out in the yard with all the branches and twigs flying around. I was on the phone this morning when Johnny went to the dump with all the palm fronds that came down in the wind, and I heard this almightly bang. I thought at first "that'd be right ... he's just gone to the dump and now there's another one down" but I couldn't see where it was. Then I noticed the umbrella tree next door in the old lady's. half came down over next doors garage last Sunday in the strong SE wind but this morning another section came down straight across the yard towards us in the W wind. It took some big branches off the tree beside our fence so I hope it didn't open up too much sun into the back section of our yard. Gee it was a loud bang too. Anyway she rang Johnny this afternoon and asked him if he could come over to remove it from the neighbours garage roof. He told her it was too big a job to do by himself but he would help her son if he came over to do it. She didn't want to disturb him she said. OK to disturb us though. Anyway they will do it next Monday. Anyway her grandson is now living under her house so he can help his father cart it all away. Johnny is happy to chop it up with his chainsaw.

Pic 1 is neo freddie which has lots of variegation and I hope will give me some variegated seedlings.
Pic 2 is neo lilac prince which I think will also give variegated seedlings.
Pic 3 is neo narelle's joy which will be registered as Freeman's joy

I'm off to bed soon so I'll wish everyone a good night and hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Wendy

Hi everyone – Well we've had 24 hours of rain and strong wind and every thing's had a really good watering; now it looks like the sun's going to come out so now I can just sit and watch everything grow.

Breeindy – Sorry I missed out answering you yesterday but we must have been typing at the same time because when I went to check what I had posted there was a message to say there was someone who had posted before me and to read it.

Anyway, your first four plants are looking well, however Neo. 'Break of Day' will give much better colour when grown in brighter light, but having said that, I guess colour is a matter of personal taste.

Speaking of personal taste, you seem to like the spotted types; do you have Neo 'Gold Fever', Neo 'Gold Fever Select', Neo 'Gold Fever Too' or Neo.'Gold Fantasy'? They are four of my favourite spotted types and I'll post pictures below.

Trish – You say you are going to plant some new vegetable seedlings out this weekend; have you ever tried (the original) Seasol on them? I always used it when I had a vegetable garden and always soaked new punnets of plants in it before planting, and watered them in with it after planting. I never had any transplant wilt and never lost a seedling, it's fantastic stuff and great for brom's as well.

I notice the gravel on the top of your pots of nice looking pups and just have to ask is this just a decorative topping, or do you use it as a growing medium as a lot of the growers I know up in far north Queensland do? As for Ae. Correia Araujoi, yes you did get the spelling right, but let's hear you pronounce it!

I see you live in Townsville and have to ask if you know Rob Smythe. He lives there also and is a very good brom grower who has hybridised many beautiful plants. I understand he has a wonderful collection which he likes to show to people. Although I correspond with him occasionally I've never had the chance to meet him in person or see his collection, but if you get a chance to do so, please say hello to him from me.

Wendy – That last pic of the variegated seedling is one I bred from the variegated Neo. 'Painted Lady' sport I have mentioned previously. I'm hopeful that as a plant showing all that fine lineage it may turn out to be a good transmitter of variegation; so when it flowers, out cones the fertilising equipment and we'll find out for sure.

What you say about the lady next door seems to have a lot of similarities with an old mate (94) of mine who always calls me instead of his son when he's crook. Although his son only lives a shorter distance away than me, he always has an excuse why he can't come. One time when my old mate had been crook all week and I had been ringing him daily to check on him, this particular evening there was no answer, so I left it for ten minutes and tried again still no answer so after another ten minutes I tried again with the same result, so I rang his son and told him I was concerned that the old fellow had had another fall. I was told in no uncertain terms that he was having his dinner and his wife was watching her favourite TV show, and it wasn't until after I “bored it up him” a bit and explained that we were talking about his father here and to get off his arse and go and check on him he agreed to go around and see if everything was alright. When he got there he found him on the bathroom floor where he had been for several hours after having a fall. The thing is that this old bloke now always rings me in preference to his son as he doesn't like to disturb him! Much the same as your situation wouldn't you say?

I know variegated plants are your favourites and I'll see if I can dig up a few more pic's to post tomorrow. Looking at the pic's you have posted today, my favourite would have to be Neo 'Lilac Prince, I think the subtle colours are fantastic and I would also suspect that it could be a variegation transmitter as well. Although the Neo 'Freeman's Joy' is a nice plant I don't think it would be a very good transmitter as it seems to be more albo-marginated than a straight variegated plant. It's a well know fact that albo-marginated plants usually just produce useless albino seedlings and not variegated ones, but as it seems to be a bit of a mixture of both albo-marginated and variegated markings, it might be interesting to try it just to see what it does produce, remember, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Well that's it from me today and now for a few pic's; Pic.1 is Neo. Break of Day showing the colouring when grown in strong light. In this case hanging right up just below the roof of 75% beige shade cloth. Pic.2 is Neo. 'Gold Fever', Pic.3 is Neo 'Golden Fantasy', Pic.4 is Neo.'Gold Fever Too' and Pic.5 is 'Gold Fever Select'.

All the best, Nev

Hi Everyone!

What a beautiful day it is today with the right amount of breeze blowing to keep cool in the garden.

I got all my broms potted as well as some variegated agave seedlings potted to sell down the track for some extra pocket money to use for my garden supplies. I do this also with all my gingers and heliconias also. A bit too hot yet to plant my vegetable seedlings into the veggie patch; missed the opportunity this morning as we took our dogs to the beach for a nice walk. Planning to get the vegetable seedlings into their bed later this arvo when the sun starts going down and want to give the veggie patch and herb garden a good water as well as the heliconia and ginger garden.

Hi Nev, thanks for the great advice regarding using the original Seasol for my vegetable seedlings; we are heading out to Bunnings tomorrow to grab some more supplies so I will buy some then. I normally give mine a soak in a very light mixture of seaweed solution, is this similar to Seasol???

Nev, I use the gravel mainly for support and also a little in the bottom for drainage, it seems to work great and and all my broms seem to thrive from this method whether they are pups or large plants. I hardly every need to prop my pups up with any other support but sometime I do have to use wooden skewers in my smaller pup vrieseas just to give them the extra stability as well as still use the gravel method. I wash the gravel well prior to using.

Nev, I have heard through another bromeliad collector in Townsville Rob Smythe's name in passing conversation that he has a wonderful collection but I have not met him in person but hopefully our paths will cross one day, which is very probable given we share the same interest. If I ever get to meet him I will definitely pass on your hello.

Nev, glad to hear I got the spelling right for Ae. Corriea Araujoi, I am not too sure if I say it right but when I do say it my French accent takes over and no one seems to correct me when I say it lol. Also luved all your neo pics, your neo's always look so full of health and great colour what’s your secret?

Hi Wendy, luved all your neo’s especially Lilac Prince like Nev this one was my favourite as my favourite colour are lilac and purple.

Anyway, I better get back to gardening as day one in the garden is nearly over and done with already, can’t believe how quickly the day has flown past, looks like I might be working in the garden with the spotlight on again, becoming a bit of a habit of late lol.

Also off to the market in the morning to see if anyone new is selling broms.

Oh before I forget, I nearly forgot to mention that I am pleased to discover this morning another pup on one of my vrieseas, so far two pups on the one plant that is yet to flower so I am very pleased to see this happening again - yeah. I must have about 70 / 80 different types of vrieseas now and I still want more, can’t get enough of them, my concern is now the pups that will be coming on each and every one of them and where am I going to put them all, I will have to rethink my theory of keeping 3 or 4 of everything, maybe a couple of pups of each will be sufficient.

Anyway better get going, catch up with you all next time.

Happy Gardening!

Pic 1: Till. About to flower in Mango Tree
Pic 2: Mixture of Broms out in the garden (photo a couple of months old) colors are more intense now. At some stage I will surround these puts possible with bark to hide the pots but for now I want to hold off to see what summer has in stall and whether they can stay in the same spot over summer.
Pic 3: Neo NOID - Any ideas ???
Pic 4: Neo Wee Willy (so cute)
Pic 5: Neo The Duke (it has grown heaps since this pic was taken)

Hi all. Rain threatened but all we got was more wind, the moisture eluded us once again. Ah well good job there is plenty in the hose. I collected some more seed and did not plant any today, meeting day tomorrow after the markets so they will wait for a while,

Bree the NOID could very well be a concentrica, it is smaller and more toothed andcoloured than the others that are labled. Light could also have an effect on colour as this 1 has been in better light than the others. The centre leaves seem to be distorting the shape of the flower to a hexagonal shape more than the normal round. It could be just an individual thing and I don't know the rules of ID as yet. It is a nice plant all the same.

Nev, The root ball on Sakura was from 1 years growth according to the name tag and I only bought it in May this year at a market. I thought it ready to break up then but didn't have time to do so. I have just done it now. I loosened those roots as with a Bonsai this root structure is desirable to restrict growth and promote miniturisation.
The indented spots on a concentricta tell me of its breeding, what do the rings you talked about tell us. I haven't heard about them. I think I can see what you are talking about in the pic.
I will ask about Cherry Fizz's parentage tomorrow when I check on Ammonia and vinegar mix recipe. I will also invite her to join our group.
Everyone is showing good looking plants.
Have a good one.
Ian
Pic 1 Bil Dangerous dan flowering
Pic 2 N NOID, usually just hangs around on the front of my bush house and gets full sun from 8.oo am to around 5.oopm
Pic 3 N mini Cayene
Pic 4 N mini dinkum
Pic 5 N burle marxi fantacy

hi everyone. we went to Olive Branch today on the way to Dayboro to pick up our sons furniture. and you wouldnt' believe who we bumped into but our own Shirley and her hubby Michael. so nice to see you again Shirley without having to chat on DG. LOL. we took home 2 boxes of broms and had to squeeze them into the 2 cars as they wouldn't fit into the truck.

While we were unpacking the truck tonight a really wierd and spooky thing happened. a photo frame fell out of a box and Johnny bent down to pick it up without knowing it was a pic of his mum with emily when Em was only a baby. anyway as Johnny was bending down to get it emily's bedside cabinet with a butterfly shaped nightlight on the side flashed on and off again. It's wierd because it has to be plugged into a wall socket and Chris said it hasn't been connected or turned on for a couple years. both of them saw it and looked at each other in amazement. they then raced inside to tell us what had happened. first thing we checked when we got home was answering machine to see if we had missed a call from the nursing home. how spookey is that? anyway no news yet sothat is good news .... wonder if it's an omen though??? If the phone rings tonight we'll get such a fright.

I think I might have an early night tonight. Rylee was awake before 5am this morning and wouldn't go back to sleep so I'm totally exhausted with that early start and loading furniture and babysitting to keep the girls out of the way. we got out to their house and Jess was still packing things. it should have been all packed up during the week. anyway lots of fighting and arguing later and we got it done but we have to go back on Monday with the ute to clear up the last few bits left behind. Gee I'm looking forward to a sleep in.

Oh and Max is not well. where they shaved his chest to monitor his heart during his teeth extractions last Friday... well that shaved area is now a hot spot and all red and infected. So we've now had another vet bill and now he has antibiotic cream and tablets. Oh and he's wearing a modified flannelette shirt so he can't access the spot to lick or scratch it.

Night all
Wendy

Hi Everyone!

Hi Wendy sounds like you have all had a very big day, hope you are getting some well-deserved rest. Hope Max gets well soon he has been through the wars the poor fella; there is nothing worse than seeing them in pain or discomfort.

Thought I would post a couple of pics my hubby Joe took late this arvo that really captured the true colour of these various broms. Maybe I should start getting him to take the photos as he does and better job but I will not tell him that or he will get a big head lol.

Finally got my vegetable seedlings planted on dark and hand watered the garden by spotlight :-)

I have so many neo's in flower at the moment and it takes me longer than usual to visit them because I stand and admire them for longer it seems, or we sit there with our cups of tea talking about them and the orchids, aint life grand.

Anyway time to put the kettle on again...

Happy gardening!

Hope you enjoy the following pictures taken by Joe:

More pics taken by Joe while he's on a roll lol:

Pic 1 & 2 taken by Joe today. Does anyone know what Pic 2 is Neo NOID?, I got this from an orchid show many months ago with no tag, it's colouring up well.
Pic 3 was taken a couple of months ago by me, I luv the colours in the flower, it lives in our nursery.

Sorry to do this to you Nev but a couple of more orchid pics - I could not help myself.

Trish

Hi everyone – Well it turned out to be a nice fine day yesterday and I was able to do the rounds of the yard and check for wind damage among my plants. Fortunately it was only minor with only just a few pots blown over which was much less than I expected as there were tree branches down all along the street, however once again my plants survived the wind.

Trish – Although a lot of people speak of the (original) Seasol as a fertiliser, this isn't really correct as it's function is as a “tonic” where it is used more to enhance the plant's own ability to ward off disease and other problems. It is made from Kelp seaweed which is a renewable resource and is really a product which I have had wonderful results with. I used it initially after a severe hail storm where the brom's in the garden just looked like so much “green confetti” and again later the next year after our famous New Years Day heatwave where everything in the garden was “cooked”, and the recovery of the plants in both cases was nothing less than amazing and it's a product I now use on a monthly basis on everything, even the smallest seedlings and delicate ferns.

It is now also manufactured in various forms including fertilisers, however the one I speak of and regularly use is the “original” Seasol tonic. To find out more about this great product look at http://www.seasol.com.au/

As for Robb Smythe, as well as being a well known brom hybridiser he is also a retired chemist who has made up various environmental and human friendly insecticides in his primary quest to control “Flyspeck Scale” and mosquitoes. He is a great “information sharer” and even prints a little free monthly newsletter called Bromwatch Townsville which I'm sure he would gladly email to you if he had your email address. Although he has bred and registered many beautiful Neo Hybrids, his main interest is in trying to sort out the confusion among the names of many Alcantareas, an interest he's spent countless hours on trying to sort out for the benefit of all Alcantarea growers.

You say your concern now is about all the pups coming on your vrieseas and where you're going to put them all. Take it from me this is only a small part of your problem "the tip of the iceberg" so to speak as you're forgetting all of the seed you planted and where you'll put all those resulting seedlings. Best buy a farm I think.

Once again you (and "hubby") have produced some great pic's; unfortunately I can't help you with a name for the NOID in pic 3 of your first lot of pic's, but maybe if you post it again when it's mature and fully coloured up, one of us may be able to identify it.

I see hubby's using Sue's idea of taking a pic of his foot along with the plant for size comparison, it's really a good idea and helps keep everything in perspective. As well as an orchid grower he's also a great photographer, and he really did capture the beautiful colours of your plants. What is the name of the plant in the second picture of the second last lot of pic's you posted and what's that in the centre where the flower should be? Also I like the NOID in pic 2 of the last lot you posted, it has the most unusual colour combination and is certainly very different to the usual run of Neo's. It's a pity we don't know the plants in the breeding of it. Also what's the name of the variegated plant in pic 3 of the last batch? The flower looks very Bill. Pyramidalis like.

Ian - You say you don't know the “rules of ID” yet, well let me say although there's no substitute for experience, you can help it along the way, if you go to http://fcbs.org/ Scroll down to “Bromeliad Information” and then open “Glossary by Derek Butcher”. When you have taken in all of this you will more than likely be an expert in the rules of ID!

There are many different indicators to be looked for when identifying any brom and I am certainly far from being very experienced in this area, but having bred seedlings using Neo Concentrica as a parent those “concentric rings” I speak of are just one of the indicators I have observed. These "rings" on the leaves of concentrica are where it gets its name from and there are differing views on how these rings are formed. They are usually apparent in one form or another in all genuine Concentrica plants, as well as in many (not all) of its hybrids. I find they are a reasonably reliable indicator of Concentrica being used in the breeding if plants are displaying these rings, I'll post some pic's to show what I'm talking about.

Wendy – There's many unexplained very puzzling things that occur for which we don't have an answer and one that comes to mind is my father-in-law's brother's watch. It was a very good quality watch which never gave any trouble but one night it stopped at three minutes past twelve. This was the exact time of my father-in-law's death in N.S.W when his brother was living in Qld. The strange thing is, that once his brother had picked it up and seen that it had stopped, it started going again, just like it was waiting to tell him something had happened at that time. I guess we all still have a lot to learn about how things in this life really work.

As for Max; well a “hot spot” isn't all that serious and they often appear when dogs are stressed or in ill health. I had an old blue cattle dog who often got them in the hot weather as he had trouble tolerating it in his old age and it used to stress him really badly. We got an ointment from the vet called “Ilium Neocort” it cost $8 a tube and was amazing stuff and cleared the hot spots up in a few days. I've recommended it to many friends who have similar problems with their dogs and they all have had the same good results from it. Fortunately, down here we can just buy it direct from the vet without any consultation charge.

Well that's it for today and I'll post a few pic's now of various plants with the concentric rings I was speaking about to Ian earlier. Pic 1 is a file film from the FCBS Photo Index and is of a true Concentrica species, Pic 2 is of a Concentrica x (Charm c Cracker Jack)
plant I bred myself and the rings are also evident in its foliage. Pic 3 is Neo. Phyllis (which I've posted before) but the rings are very evident in this as well and although we can't prove that it has Concentrica in the parentage, one of it's parents called Neo 'Two Tone' has the same tell tale rings, but unfortunately its parents are not known, but if I was a betting man I'd bet there is Concentrica in there in the (unknown) background somewhere, Pic 4 is Neo 'Beetroot' which is a hybrid which has Concentrica in both parents (hence the very prominent rings) and finally Neo. 'Alvin Purple' of which the seed parent is Concentrica with the pollen parent unknown.

I know all of this is boring to some of you, but it's interesting nevertheless and handy to know if you intend to do any hybridising.

All the best, Nev.

Wendy i dont know what my varigated one is.
Nev my break of day is in full sun and seems to be just starting to colour. I do seem to have alot of spotted ones dont i, i have a few NOID spotted broms that look like Gold Fever.
Ian no i dont think my NOID has concentrica in it as it doesnt have any rings, it is really plain and stays like that just gets more pink/red with age, can take full sun easy and is a fairly small brom when full grown.
Trish- beautiful brom pics, i dont know what 2 is but its awsome like your paphs.
Now there concentricas! nice Nev!

Hi all, nothing much happening here today. i went to the meeting and confirmed the recipe to control flyspec scale is 50/50 ammonia and metho, leave for 1/2 hour and wash off if you like. Leaving it there doesn't seem to hurt either. The metho dries out the scale and the ammonia chokes it.
For controlling mosquitoes from Rob Smythe is to put fresh coffee grinds into the vase and it does something to the water to stop the breeding or so another member tells me. I nnvited another member to join our group here and gave details as to how, she said that she is definitely interested. I only bought a few plants today, 1 is an Ae that i would like to identify. There is a picture included. Still no rain.
Have a good one.
Ian
Pic 1 N rags to riches
Pic 2 Ae NOID

Hi everyone, I haven’t checked in for a couple of days as we have been really busy. So much catching up to do, so many posts to read and such stunning pics.

The weather has been so unpredictable the last week or so, really hot, then very cold and windy. Unfortunately the wind has returned tonight. It blew a gale here on Friday … what a mess, leaves and sticks everywhere, pots blown over, large ones too. Could be worse though, down the road about 500 metres away, a huge gum tree snapped off at ground level, smashed through a fence and retaining wall, missing a house by only a few feet ... they were very lucky.

I got a few lovely new broms at the Olive Branch, Wendy, but no vrieseas. I am looking forward to coming over to collect the ones you are holding for me and see if I can talk Johnny to parting with a couple more of his babies … don’t like my chances but worth a try !!!

I got a few neos, a neophytum Galactic Warrior, a Quesnelia Tim Plowman and an Ae Aztec Gold, oh and a Bill Ballerina. I have taken pics of most of them and will post over the next few days … have to make them last.

Trish, I also have so many neos in flower and really looking forward to getting lots of pups so I can start swapping with others ... you certainly have some beauties, really lovely pics.

Anyway, I’ll post a couple of my new treasures and catch up tomorrow.

Bye for now, Shirley

ps ... I have just worked out how to add text to a photograph but of course, you can't read it without enlarging the pic. Pic 1 is neo Devil's Ruby, pic 2 is neo Oli Blush novar.

Good morning everyone.
Sorry i have been AWOL again. Without boring you all to tears, lets just say it was a weekend I'd rather forget.
We've had some nice rain here over the weekend, and its all fresh and green. There was supposed to be some bad weather, but it looks as though it passed over, as there is no sign of damage here.
Shirley, I like your idea of adding the text to the picture, and a good way to get lurkers to open the pics for a better look.
Ian, thanks for the tips on mossie control and the ingredients for the scale remedy. I had a look at photo two, (is that your noid) and thought I could see some resemblance to either Aechmea bromelifolia, or A. purpureorosea, but not enough to really be definite, because A. purpureorosea (here) has very dark green leaves, and bromelifolia (here) has plain green leaves, whereas I thought I could determine a few spots on the foliage of yours, and it looks to be bronzy-pink?
Nev, Neo. 'Phylis' is a standout in your pics. I notice the concentrica swirls in alot of Neos, so it must be a great one for hybridising with.
Trish, lots of lovely photos. Without opening the noid one (or I will lose my post) I think it looks a little like N. 'Lucky Break'?
Wendy, I do hope Max improves somewhat. I have yet to go through 'old dog' experiences, as mine are 6 and 8, and In the past, my dogs have either found new homes, or died prematurely (that sounds like I'm not a good dog owner, but fate plays funny games)
Anyway, I bought a new Aechmea on the weekend, and the french woman who sold it to me almost talked my ears off, and i almost walked away without it! I'll give her points for enthusiasm, but her sales technique was terrible. I didn't get a word in, to at least tell her i wasn't a complete novice, and instead got the whole speil about bromeliads, how many species there were, where to situate them and an individual breakdown of all the plants she had for sale (none of them labelled, and she didn't know names) It was tiring, and I was only interested in the one I was holding. Anyway, I will include a pic and am sure someone will know it, right away. Its photo one (in front of Neo. 'Skotaks tiger')
Photo two is a Catlans, A. blanchettiana hybrid called 'Alvin purple' (A. malva on the right)
Photo three is Tillandsia scheideana in flower (originally from you wendy)
And lastly is Dendrobium lindleyi (A LeisaD inheritance)
Sue

Trish, I opened your pic for a better view, and its nothing like N. 'Lucky break'. I am sure there used to be a different photo in the BSI photo index? Anyway, my mistake.
Is that Aechmea 'Alvarez' or 'Rodco' in your first lot of pics (second photo)?

This message was edited Oct 15, 2012 8:54 AM

Hi everyone – Well the rain's gone and so has the wind. The sun is shining, it's a really beautiful day and I wouldn't be dead for quids!

Breeindy – I have found down here that the spotted Neo's seem to be going out of favour, however I still like them and find they are good to break up the other colours. It seems to be a “fashion” thing which I imagine will eventually go the full circle just like the variegated ones did a few years back and are now popular once more.

Looking at your answer to Ian where you say, “I don't think my NOID has concentrica in it as it doesn't have any rings”, I hope I haven't misled you in my previous post, but what I meant was that if the concentric rings (or part of them) are present there is a good chance it has Neo. concentrica somewhere in the breeding, (it is merely one of many indicators). I didn't mean that all plants with Neo. concentrica in the breeding have to show these rings as they don't, e.g. many of the variegated and spotted types with concentrica in the breeding don't show these markings at all, but I suspect they are still carrying that particular gene which may well show up in a later crossing somewhere down the track.

Ian – Thanks for passing on the ammonia and metho recipe for the treatment of scale. It will certainly be one worth trying and I hope the friend you mentioned does eventually join our little group as we can all learn from each other.

I can't help you with the pic of your Aechmea I tend to go along with Sue to a certain degree with it possibly being Ae purpureorosea. I'm not familiar with this plant but looking at the pic's on the FCBS, none of them seem to have any leaf markings at all, and I know the same applies to Ae bromeliifolia, (albobracteata and the rubra form) as I have both and again without any leaf markings. The other possibility is that these marking may be from some sort of trauma e.g. spikes or scratches caused by another plant. It looks like the only sure way for an ID is to wait until it flowers Ian and then we can hopefully all be sure.

Shirley – That sounds like a pretty good haul of plants you scored. Galactic Warrior is a beautiful plant, but you need to just be a bit careful with the leaves as they are a bit brittle and easily broken. One of the elderly ladies in our society grows the best Galactic Warriors I've ever seen and she consistently wins prizes in shows with them every year. When asked what her secret is, she just says there is no secret, just plenty of 'light ' and plenty of “feeding”. (Incidently her food consists of dynamic lifter soaked in a bin of water with the resulting fluid diluted with water until its the colour of weak tea and used as foliar fertilizer every two weeks all through the year)

Ques. Tim Ploughman is another interesting plant with its curled leaf ends which look like they have been artificially curled. All this plus some good quality Neo's as well as a newly discovered computer skill; you've certainly had a busy weekend haven't you?. You really must share with us how you put the names on your pic's though, it will certainly be very handy when looking for a particular pic.

Sue – As I mentioned in a previous post there were two different plants of Neo Phyllis and I sent away for a pup thinking it was the one in the pic. of my last post only to find I finished up with a pup from a different one, and although it's OK, it's not as striking as the one in my picture. I've recently looked this second plant up on the BCR at http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/bcr/index.php?genus=NEOREGELIA&id=9858#9858 and find it is now called Neoregelia 'Phyllis OT'. Unfortunately I've still not been able to track down a plant like the one in the picture and it's just possible that it isn't even in Australia at all as that is an American picture.

The BCR also has this to say about it:
Qld, AU for a plant different to the other ‘Phyllis’ circulating in Australia. Plant 65 x 20 cm high, See detail under ‘Uncle Derek Says’

When I checked out the 'Uncle Derek Says' I found the following, written by Uncle Derek when he was registrar:

When we were setting up this data base we realised there were many duplicate names (over 100!) and decided to do something about them. In many cases we combined the name of the hybridist AND the Cultivar name. For example if you search on Neoregelia Tiger you will get many answers. In the answers you will see Baker's Tiger and Skotak's Tiger, which shows which Tiger you may be searching for. We hope to stop duplicate names in the future but it is possible it can still happen especially with hybrids that have been in circulation for some years without being registered.

Based on the above information it's possible that the “OT” after the name 'Phyllis' stands for Olive Trevor and it may be easy to find out if one of you lucky people who get to visit Olive regularly, simply ask her what she knows about this particular plant.

As for Neo. concentrica being a great parent, it is; and there are currently 500 plants registered as being products of concentrica as a parent.
See http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/bcr/index.php . As well as this there are very likely just as many (or more) that haven't been registered.

Sue your Aechmea NOID is either a species called Ae. triangularis or a hybrid called Ae 'Red Bands' which is a hybrid produced by crossing Ae maculata with Ae. triangularis.

I'm beginning to get orchid withdrawal symptoms once again when you post these pic's of beautiful Dendrobiums. Dendrobium lindleyi is another of the beautiful Indian Dendrobiums which like many from that country have those beautiful bright buttercup yellow flowers.

That's it for today, I'm starting to get RSI from too much typing so now for a few pic's. Let me say that I currently have a bit of a liking for the marbled type Neo's so I'll show you mine if you show me yours. Pic 1 is Neo. 'Running River', Pic 2 is Neo. 'Marble Snow', Pic 3 is Neo. 'Marble Pink', Pink 4 is Neo. (Marble Throat seedling) pic 5 is Neo. 'Pink Marble Delight'.

All the best, Nev.

Hi everyone,

Sue, sorry to hear your weekend was not a good one and I hope the week ahead improves for you.

Nev, thanks for the info on fertilizer and Galactic Warrior. I was wondering if I should fertilize my neophytums. I know neos should only be fertilized when potting up or if they are throwing pups and vrieseas and alcantareas need regular feeding but wasn’t too sure about aechmeas, bills and neophytums. And what about Quesnelias.

As for adding names or text to photos, it’s part of the photo program ADCSee software and I would imagine all the photo programs have something similar. It’s a bit time consuming but really pretty simple, I just never bothered to play around with it before.

I only have a couple of marbled neos and I posted them recently so I’ll attach pics of a couple more of my newbies.

Pic 1 is neophytum Galactic Warrior, pic 2 is quesnelia Tim Plowman
Bye for now, Shirley

Hi Everyone!

Hi Nev thanks for the additional information on Original Seasol Fertiliser, I purchased some on the weekend and have already started using on my vegetable seedlings.

Nev luved all your pics as always, especially Neo Running River, what a stunner.!

Nev the first thread that I posted back on 13/10 NOID Pic 3 is fully grown and coloured. Nev the second thread that I posted back on 13/10 Pic 2 is a Neo NOID that I purchased from the Townsville Orchid Show for $10 with no label (the seller did not know its’ name), at the time I thought it might have been Neo Cherry Jam or similar but to this day I still do not know what it is but I luv how big it has grown and how well it has coloured up. Nev you are very correct the third thread that I posted back on 13/10 Pic 3 is Billbergia Pyramidalis ‘Kyoto’, if you do not have Kyoto let me know and when I get a pup I will put one aside for you.

Nev thanks I will plan to get in touch with Robb Smythe via email as he sounds like a very interesting person that knows a lot about everything to do with brom’s, hopefully one day I can meet him in person.

Nev so true what you say ‘Best Buy a Farm’ lol given how addicted I am to collecting broms. We have fruit trees, vegetable / herb gardens, the only thing we are missing is the farm animals and more space for bromeliads lol.

Hi Bree, thanks glad to hear you liked my broms and thanks for trying with the NOID, I will keep trying to find out what it is? Did you get my D-Mail or did my attempt fail?

Hi Shirley, thanks glad to hear you liked my broms; I also really liked your Neo Devils Ruby and Neo Oli Blush Nova and Galactic Warrior. Yeah how exciting is it to see so many neo’s in flower. Yes by all means would be more than happy to swap with anyone when I get some pups happening, I just want to make sure I keep a small stock pile of each different one that I have in case I was too loose one as at the moment of have singulars of everything apart from the odd plant here and there that I luved that much I had to buy 2 of.

Hi Sue thanks for trying to identify my NOID. Luved all your pics and especially the Den. Orchid, I showed Joe and he really likes it especially because its’ such a bright and cheerful colour.

Sue yes your right that 2nd Pic was of Ae. Rodco – Inverta in flower, it is the first time I have seen it flower and I was de-leafing it the other day and realised the leaf I was pulling near the flower was in fact part of the flower lol, now I know for the next time it flower and have let Joe know so he does not try doing what I did, lucky the flower is still in one piece. The flower and leaves coming off the flower remind me of native flowers.

Anyway time to put the kettle on.

Happy gardening!

Pic 1 Neo NOID - any idea's?
Pic 2 Vr. You Beaut F2
Pic 3 Vr. The Daintree x Illusion
Pic 4 Neo Concentrica Johannis
Pic 5 Vr. Kiwi Sunset

HI. Ian I think your aechmea looks like one I have called tochintina. It is tall and thin with that nice dark throat.

Nev I love your neo Phyllis. the colour is devine. I didn't know about those concentric rings showing concentrica in parentage. I always looked for the concentric pattern of the leaves but now I'm sitting here thinking of all the neos with the concentric ring markings.

Shirley I notice that your tim plowman has 2 tubes. a word of warning ... they don't like to be alone so always leave 2 tubes joined together but when you get 4 tubes joined together always cut between them to leave 2 groups of 2 joined. this way both groups are pupping for you. When we got our first tim plowman I was a very good friend and gave Jen the first pup. a few years later when I went to Jen's place I saw her tim plowman that was a pot full of tubes and ours was still sitting alone and sulking. It sulked for years before pupping again. we had about 6 or 7 tubes in th pot until recently when Johnny took a couple out and sold hem to someone. I'm not happy with that now. they look so lonely. I've told him not to sell anymore. I love galactic warrior. Johnny asked Olive how she got them to grow so big and she said to leave the pups on till they are big, then they grow bigger. if you take them off small they mature before they get the size. We've had galactic warrior for a while now but Johnny thought Olive's were so big and well coloured he just had to have another one.

Nev info about neo Phyllis. The story we got from Phyllis Hobbs is that at one of the meeting she and Olive swapped plants. as they were both unnamed Phyllis called her plant from Olive "neo Olive" this one is now named as neo morrissiana. Of course Olive called her neo Phyllis. this has now been registered as Phyllis OT for Olive Trevor as she registered it. I would say that Phyllis got the plant from Alan Freeman as it obviously has concentreca and he used it in most f his hybrids.

Sue we had one of those weekends too where you just want to forget it. the week has started out the same. we just want to have some time to ourselves to do what we need to do... no requests for help from anyone... just peace and quiet. Today the old lady next door asked Johnny to help her son get the fallen tree off the roof next door. we knew we had to help Chris move the last ute full of stuff from Dayboro so Johnny and I went over first thing this morning with the ladder and chainsaw. Of course no sign of her son to help. It turned out to be not only her olf umbrella tree (half went west in the SE winds last weekend and last Friday in those very strong W winds half of what was left came straight towards us. The peach tree and half another tree along our fence in her yard also came down but luickily straight into her yard not towards our yard. so Johnny simply used the chainsaw to cut the branches into manageable sized pieces which I dragged out of his way. we didn't make piles or anything but left it all spread out all over her yard thinking her son would turn up today to cart it all to the dump. He came late this afternoon after we got home but simply looked at it all and left it. we are not doing anything else or her now as once we had finished cutting it all up and lugged the ladder and tools home again we were on the back deck having a well deserved cuppa when her grandson came out of the flat under her house with his girlfriend and walked around to front yard, hopped in his car and left. If we'd known he was in bed we would have called him out to help. that's it. no more. we are sick of being used when they do nothing. we are so busy doing for everyone else all the time we don't get time to do our own stuff. anyone ever feel like that????

tomorrow we have to go out to Johnny's sisters to have brakes changed on our car. we'll probably get nothing done tomorrow now either. I can't keep my eyes open now so I'm off to bed. I'll have a quick look for a pic of ae tockintina. no success. will have to get a pic tomorrow. too tired to even dowload pics from camera tonight. will do it tomrrow.
pic 1 is our ae red ribbons for Sue.

Night
Wendy

Thanks for the ID on the Aechmea. I'm pretty sure its 'Red Bands' a it has nowhere near the colour in A. triangularis, and the blooms are a murky brown/purple colour, so I figure that what you get from crossing the yellow in the maculatas flowers.
nev, i am glad you weather is playing nice. I was on the central coast over the weekend and it was miserable and cold on friday, but nice on Saturday. It rained here a bit, but the sun is shining today and it looks like its going to be gorgeous! i already took the dogs for a power walk, and am ready to get into all my jobs today, starting with a bit of weed spraying, before any breeze picks up.
I have just recently put the last of my dynamic lifter ina bucket with water, and am scooping the liquid off the top to water with, with the idea that it will stop the dogs from eating it. I might give everything else a splash with it too, just for a bit of variety in their diet! heh heh.
Wendy, I don't get caught up in other peoples work as often as you, but in the past I used to offer mine and hubbys services, and it just got too much when we have our own big property to look after, but yes, we often feel used because people tend to sit back and let us do the lot, and sometimes, not even a thank you! We are a bit like hermits now, and stick to ourselves, but we would always step in if we saw one of our neighbours in need.
Trish, i love yellow flowers of any kind, and that dendrobium is a first time flowerer for me, so very exciting. I still have orchids that haven't flowered for me yet, so still surprises to come. I am looking after them properly, with good morning sun and fortnightly fertiliser, and they are rewarding me accordingly. I love them.
Shirley, thanks for your kind words. its good to be home and everything is just lovely now. The weekend is forgotten now, and behind me, so onwards and upwards! I put some seeds down from a Tim Plowman, and they are all up, growing like weeds, so it will be interesting to see how they develop.
Hi to Colleen, Jen, Tash and any lurkers looking in.
I have only got a few orchid pics on file, so as a couple of you enjoy orchids, i'll add them today and try to get some new brom photos during the day.
Sue
The first photo is A Vanda orchid from leisaD
The second photo is A Zygopetalum
third is another Dendrobium
forth is another Dendrobium (I think i have the names, just to lazy to go look)

You know theres a orchid forum on here dont you? I love it!
We should put a orchid thread under the Australian gardening section so at least we can swap orchids within Australia. Most members on the orchid forum are in America.

This message was edited Oct 15, 2012 5:10 PM

Hi everyone – It's a strange overcast sort of day today with a forecast of 34 decrees. Because of the forecast, I thought I'd go and give everything a good damping down and just as I started, it started to “spit” rain. However it soon stopped and now it's decidedly humid.

Shirley – I can't give you any advice about Ques. Tim Ploughman as I've only just acquired my first pup of this plant six months ago so I'm still learning about this one as well. I have read and been told by people who grow it though that it should be left to clump up before taking any pups which agrees with what Wendy says. As for fertilising, I just don't know, but as it looks a bit similar in habit to Billbergias, I'm going to treat mine in the same way as Bill's and see what happens. Is there anyone else on here growing it that can give a bit more cultural advice?

What Wendy says that Olive told Johnny about not taking pups off 'Galactic Warrior' until they get some size is very true and can also be applied to any other brom's, especially Neoregelias. I have noticed during the last five years, that plants of Neo 'Lovely Lady' grown down here and belonging to a fellow grower seem to be getting smaller and smaller when compared to the size of my plants of the same name. Mine are as tall as the mother and with a good root system of their own before I take them off the mother plant, but the other grower says that he takes his pups off when they are just a quarter the size of the mother so he can get a larger quantity of plants, so I guess that has to support what Olive says about the size of pups before removal. Just for the record I was told the very same thing that Olive suggests, a few years ago by a very knowledgeable lady who is a well known and very respected grower in brom circles as well as being an internationally accredited judge. So it looks like to “top growers” are well aware of the benefits of leaving pups on a bit longer.

Trish – It's interesting you commented on Neo 'Running River'; all I can tell you about this plant is that Running River was the name on the tag when I bought it two years ago. I have since found that it is unregistered, (which I should have put after the name when I posted the pic) but there is a “Red River' which looks very similar and which is registered and was bred by Shane Zaghini. I have also since seen a Neo. 'Running Red River' (again unregistered) and which is very similar in both size and colour. All I can think is that they were all seedlings from the same batch of seed and the others were unregistered and just given”pet names” by their owners. Once again I must agree with Derek Butcher when he says, “never trust the info on a name tag”.

Although it's a nice plant, I have to decline your kind offer of the pup from Bill. 'Kyoto' as I have tried to grow it down here before and it just doesn't like the cold winters and marks terribly.

Trish – Swaps are a great way to get a good brom collection without breaking the bank. I know of many growers like myself who have built up extensive collections primarily from just swapping. I've been swapping for years now and still continue to do so, the only thing you have to be careful of is that you don't swap your last plant with someone. I find it a good policy to always keep one plant plus a “backup”; anything above this is available for swapping without the risk of over doing it and swapping your only plant.

It seems that removing dead leaves (de-leafing) from brom's is a never ending job done by all growers. Surprisingly not all growers are aware of the correct “no risk” way to de-leaf plants thus avoiding causing any damage to any “eyes” (new pups forming) behind the dead leaves. The safest way to do it is to cut across the leaf you want to remove and just leave the remaining couple of inches at the bottom. Next step is to cut down the centre of the remaining leaf stub and then tear away each half of the leaf in a direction away from the centre cut. This greatly minimises the chance of any damage to the “eyes” or any emerging new pups.

Trish they're nice plants in your pictures as usual but the plant pictured in pic 4 and named Neo Concentrica Johannis is probably Concentrica x Johannis, what ever it is it really caught my eye; it's a beautiful plant and please put my name on your list for a pup when you have one available.

Wendy -Unfortunately as I said, that pic of Neo Phyllis I posted isn't my plant; it's the one I wanted to get but finished up with the other one (Phyllis OT) instead.

It seems that the story you are telling about the lady next door and her son is identical to what's happening with me and an old friend and his son. Have these people's sons not got any conscience about the way they treat their parents? It seems to me they just want to pretend the “oldies” are not even there, but I'll bet when they eventually pass away these same son's who seem so unwilling to help now will first in line to see what they can get, as I've seen it all before.

As for a pic of Ae. Tocantina, go to the FCBS Photo Index at http://fcbs.org/pictures.htm and look under Aechmea species and there are several pic's there showing flowers as well, so Ian will have something to compare with when his plant flowers, but looking at the pic's I think you're pretty well on the money with your ID Wendy.

Wendy, I think you must have been really tired like you said, because the pic you posted isn't of Ae 'Red Ribbon' it looks more like Sue's plant as Red Ribbon has striping running lengthways on the leaves, just like the plant you sent me.

Sue – When you say you like yellow as an orchid colour I think you're on the right track with the Indian Dendrobiums. A few that come to mind are Fimbriatum, Gibsonii, Chrysotoxum, Densiflorum, Aggregatum, Sulcatum, Flaviflorum and although it's not all yellow, the ever popular Thrysiflorum. I probably shouldn't have said that as this is a brom forum but I just couldn't resist as I got a lot of pleasure from growing these in the past.

Breeindy – That's a good idea of starting a Forum for Australian orchid growers as long as it's not at the expense of our Brom Forum.

That's it for today and although it's tempting, I'm not putting up any orchid pic's, just a few brom pic's off some old files. 1 is Guzmania Lingulata, 2 is Guz. 'Cherry Ripe', 3 is Guz. 'Fire Cracker' (unfortunately not my plant) 4 is Guz. Sanguinea and 5 is Guz 'Scarlet Wonder'

All the best, Nev.

Nev did I say red ribbons? must have been tired as I posted red bands. so just to clear it up pic 1 s red ribbons and pc 2 is red bands. hope I didn't confuse anyone.

I'm proud to say I have done something that I was told by a well known grower was not possibly. Ross Little said he has never known ae macroclamys to self set seed but I had noticed 2 black pods on mine and duly collected the and squeezed 1 seed from each pod which I planted on 29 Sept (see pic 3) showing 1 small seedlings and over to the side of the pot is another little bit of green but too small to pick up in pic I think. Today I found another black pod so this time took a pic of the pod in front of the infloresence. (see pic 5 but the camera didn't show how black the pod really was). Maybe it was crossed with something in that garden where everything seems to have set seed but time will tell us if it is self set or crossed by insects or birds. I certainly did not cross it with anything though. The pod today only produced another single seed so I planted it in another small round yoghurt pot and put gladwrap and rubber band round it same as the one I did last month. I am checking for more black pods each day now.

pic 4 is the vareigated guzmanias Johnny picked at Olive's sale on Saturday. unfortunately he took the pics and didn't record the names so I'll have to redo them with names this time. but a group shot will show you his haul. Sorry about the confusing order of pics but some load quicker than others.

Shirley are you still coming to my place tomorrow or Thursday? we'll be home potting our pups and waiting for you. give me a call on home number if you are coming tomorrow otherwise I'll see your message tomorrow night that you are coming on Thursday. Looking forward to a nice chat and Johnny said he will have a group of vriseas picked out for you to choose from.
Wendy

Hi everyone, just a very quick look in tonight, I was hoping for an early night as I am wiped out but already it’s after 11:00 pm.

Wendy, we’ll be over on Thursday but I’ll call you tomorrow to confirm. Nice lot of variegated guzmanias Johnny got from Olive’s sale. Looking forward to raiding his vrieseas !!!

Pic is neo Groucho

Bye for now

good morning.
I had a big day yesterday, but got lots achieved! weed sprayed, mowed, grocery shopped and washed SOME windows. Don't worry, I haven't run out of things to do!
I didn't even notice Wendys blunder with the names. I knew what she meant. your 'Red Ribbons' looks like a good clone Wendy!
Shirley, lucky you getting into Johnnys vrieseas! I hope we get to see pics of what you get.
Bree, an orchid thread sounds great, but I don't think I have enough time or patience to respond to two threads. I'm not all that knowledgeable on Orchids, and also am not ready to breakup any of the plants I have, as I enjoy seeing multiple flower spikes, so that rules me out for trading at this stage.
Nev, did you get the hot temps? It feels a little as though today might be a bit warm, so I've already splashed some water around a bit. i have to take it easy now, as we are on tank water and the predictions are for a dry summer.
Hello to Ian, Trish, Karen, Jen, Tash and Colleen, and to Jean and Chrissy if they are lurking!
gosh, better get a quick pic to post.
BRB
Just a quick picture of the brom tree at the back door.
Sue

Hi everyone – Well the hot day forecast yesterday didn't eventuate as we had plenty of cloud cover all day. Had a bit of bad news though as my trip to the knee surgeon was all in vain. He said he wasn't keen to operate because of my various circulatory problems which would greatly extend the recovery period and increase all of the other risks that go with an operation at my age. So all in all, a bit of a “bummer”.

Wendy – First of all let me say that even the “experts” get it wrong sometimes but Ross is probably one of the most knowledgeable growers I know when it come to species and in this case given what you have just said, I think he's got it right. With your plant of Ae. Macrochlamys even though you didn't have anything to do with the pollination, in my opinion it doesn't have to have been selfed to produce seed. Just the fact that you didn't pollinate the flowers doesn't rule out that insects did, and even if you had nothing else in flower at the time, they can carry pollen for considerable distances to do the job. Only time will tell, so lets wait and see what the flowers are like. At least you are fortunate enough to have got some seed to germinate and in my opinion, this is one of the most interesting aspects of seed growing; i.e. when you don't know for sure who the parents are and have to wait for flowering to get an answer.

You did very well at Olive's sale, the variegated Guzmanias are beautiful eye catching plants which hopefully will multiply quickly and prove to be good sellers. The only variegated Guz. I have any luck with is Guz lingulata variegata minor. This is a small plant only growing to about 6” or so in height but having bright scarlet flowers and also being a prolific “pupper”. Even this though does sometimes suffer a bit of cold damage but nothing as bad as it's big sister, Guz lingulata variegata major. I think Guzmanias are beautiful plants and with their very long lasting flowers (in some cases six months plus) can also be brought into the home when flowering thus saving the expense of buying cut flowers.

Shirley - That's a nice plant of Neo. 'Groucho' you have there and another example of Chester Skotak's fabulous creations. In this case he used the unlikely combination of Neo. (Carolinae variegated x Hannibal Lector) as the seed parent and Neo 'Tiger Cub' as the pollen parent. This bloke's amazing, and always turning out something different and I've just been privileged to see some pic's of his latest miniature Guzmania creations.

Sue – The hot day forecast for yesterday didn't eventuate fortunately and today is considerably cooler so as soon as I've finished this it's off out into the back yard for a bit more work on the brom's in the garden.

I hope everyone who isn't here today are all well and their absence isn't due to illness, anyway a big cheerio to you all.

That's it for today, I've run out of pic's of my plants so the pic's I'm showing today are file pic's from various other growers.1 is Ae Cylindrata, 2 is Ques. 'Tim Ploughman' variegated, 3 is the biggest colony of Neo Compacta I have ever seen. It is growing on a tree near the entrance to Paronella Park in North Queensland (too bad it wasn't in flower at the time). Pic 4 is Neo 'Marble Throat' which has been used as a parent for many of the beautiful marble throated types including the one in Pic 5 which is a colourful new hybrid from a New Zealand breeder.

See many more of these Marble Throated types at:
http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/bcr/index.php?fields=Parents&id=5659&search=marble%20throat

All the best, Nev.

Hi all. Another dry day, work as usual and a bit of time to look around my plants. Spring has sprung and everything seems to be growing. I have been watching a few flowers developing and questioning myself which ones do I really want to collect seed from. If it is not common then it is a definate. I returned the visit of a member and collected a couple more plants, the old swap-a-roo. She and a friend of hers have done a bit of hybridising. I hope to learn more from her so that I too can pass on further information.
I downloaded information from the glossary of terms for brom identification, now all I have to do is learn what they mean. There have been some fantastic piccies shown and I sure can relate to Trish, i think, I want them all.
Have a good one.
ian
pic 1 Ae Pectinata flower just rising
Pic 2 N zulu x marble throat
Pic 3 N Caroline x perfection
Pic 4 Grace USA x conchardon
Pic 5Ae NOID had red flowers and seed pods are black

Hi everyone.
Interested that you mentioned guz lingulata variegated minor Nev as I have an envelope full of seed that I collected recently. The whole top of the dead flower was one big ball of fluff so I had to wrap it up and break it off. I put it all into a plastic cup until I had time to pick all the seed out of all the bits of pods and stems. If anyone wants to try some lingulata seedlings I'll happily share this seed as I'm not planning on putting down any more guz seed atm.

Seems we've had a visitor in our yard helping themselves again. I am dreading telling Shirley that when we went to get her vr megan today to put with the other vriseas we promised her the 2 pups of this that Johnny had growing in the front yard have BOTH disappeared. Just empty spots where they should be. one day last week we came home to find the fridge downstairs wide open. there were packets of seed on the floor but we just thought they had fallen off the door when it came open. we didn't think any more about it and haven't even gone through the seed to see if we can id any missing (highly unlikely as we wouldn't know what is in there), Now adding that to the missing Megans and we had a good look around. we found several other blank spots in the front yeard where we think there should have been a pot of something but we can't be 100% sure. Anyway we have a couple of Megans with pups on them so we might be able to offer a bare rooted pup straight off the mother plant. Johnny will have a selection for Shirley to choose from tomorrow.

Nev I realise that the ants or birds have probably pollinated the macroclamys but I am keen to see what we get out of it. pity the pods are only producing a single seed. it will take me a while to get a good supply of little plants. Sue I wish I had time and energy to wash windows but I'm flat out finding time to sweep and mop the floors and hang the washing up. I always go down and put it on as early as possible to get it done before the panels start exporting power but I often then don't remember to hang it out until lunch time or later. Once I get into the potting I forget time.

Did everyone hear about the death of Harry Luther today in Singapore? it has been confirmed by Cathcarts as true. he had a brain hemorrhage (sorry if spelled wrong) and died (I think in hospital as first report was that he was in hospital after hemorrhage)

Pic 1 is an Alan Freeman hybrid called Burgundy night but I think it is another of his unregistered neos.
Pic 2 is along the shelf of neos in front yard showing the brilliant colour
Pic3 is another Alan Freeman hybrid simply named AFRN5

Wendy

Hi everyone,

Lots of great pics as usual, so much colour and so much beauty. I get so much enjoyment from my broms and often wonder how come it took me so long to discover them. I wish I had started collecting them years ago.

Sue, wish I had your energy … do you ever stop?

Wow Nev, love the Ques Tim Plowman variegated, wouldn’t I love one of those.

Wendy, we’ll see you tomorrow.

Pics are …

Most of you will probably know straight off, if not, you’ll have to enlarge the pics to find out.

Bye for now, Shirley

Hi Wendy, we obviously posted at the same time.

WHAT ... SOMEONE STOLE MY VR MEGAN !!! What a low life, I've been waiting months for that one and was so looking forward to picking it up.

Oh well, what can you do ... perhaps you should get a meaner dog, Max is too friendly, guess he must be feeling better or he might have gotten agro.

Anyway, see you tomorrow, I'm off to bed now (and sobbing). Shirley

This message was edited Oct 18, 2012 6:32 AM

Hi everyone – Just for a change I spent a day over at the Illawarra Light Railway Museum helping to get the MSDS files up to date. Not as good as being in the garden, but a job that had to be done and no one else who knew what was required.

Ian – Have you flowered the Ae Pectinata before? I have and really thought it was a bit of a disappointment flower wise as I much rather preferred the coloured leaves. Unless I intend to hybridise with it, I usually just cut off the flower spike now before it's mature and that way I can get a few more pups more quickly.

It looks like the 'Zulu' genes are stronger than those of 'Marble Throat' as there doesn't appear to be any marbling in the plant pictured. As for the NOID in your last pic, I can't help you with a name but judging by the number of seed pods it could well be a selfer and possibly worth trying a few just to see what turns up.

Wendy – I've grown Guz lingulata variegated Minor from seed in the past. They had a good germination rate but oh so slow to grow down here. Should grow much quicker up in your warmer climate and certainly well worth having in any collection. So come on all of you brom seed growers, take Wendy up on her offer and let's see how you go.

It always leaves a bad taste in your mouth when some “low life” pinches plants out of your garden doesn't it? I had quite a few taken over a period of a couple of years so now I only have the prickly Ae. Recurvata right out the front as a deterrent and they even pinched a couple of them as well, so maybe I'll just go back to growing grass out there.

Wendy do you know if its usual for Ae. Macrochlamys to just produce one or two seeds per pod, it certainly seems different to other Aechmeas and the just may well turn out to be something special, so worth a try anyway.

That's very sad news about Harry Luther's passing, and for anyone who didn't know of Harry's work, he spent countless years investigating and identifying bromeliads at the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens Research Centre at Saratosa Florida. This work was Harry's life and he continually fielded questions from all over the world but unfortunately, like so many others before and since, he recently fell victim to restructuring and the “bean counters” in their quest to save more and more dollars. In the end his position was no more and he left there and took up a position in Singapore doing a similar type of work. My personal belief is that Harry's separation from his beloved Selby Gardens was very much a traumatic experience and when he left I think it affected Harry much more than people think as that place was really his life. He does leave a magnificent legacy though and one that all brom growers should be grateful for, but the question is, now that Harry's gone, who is knowledgeable enough to fill his shoes.

Great pic's Wendy but you're twisting my neck again with Pic 2. Pic's 1 and 3 clearly show just what great plants Allan Freeman has given us; great shape and great colour. Just for the record, he used concentrica quite a lot in his breeding programme as well. Please drop me a line when you get a spare pup of AFRN5 I'd really like to add it to my collection.

Shirley – I too often wonder why I didn't start growing brom's earlier instead of growing orchids and breeding birds, although I did enjoy both hobbies at the time. Sorry to hear you got your 'Megan' “nicked”, what a bummer. Don't blame Max though as we mustn't forget he's still convalescing after his operation.

Great pic's also; Lovely Lady is a winner in anyone's collection as are so many of her brothers and sisters from the 'Aussie Dream' stable of Bob Larnach. I'm not familiar with 'Goldilocks' but it's an attractive plant as well and should be real show piece when fully mature.

Well that's about it for today, sorry but no pic's today, I'll have to get the old camera working again.

All the best, Nev.

Hi everyone. Nearly back to old self now, just have to watch how I do things and don't lift anything too heavy. Have a new lot of broms to show compliments of Nev. Beautiful plants and always look great. Have heaps of pups of my own to deal with shortly and the brugs are getting bigger every week and have had to pot up seedlings from them. The baby broms still are very small so probably wont have many of them to pot up. Do you think that it will be too hot to leave the broms on the reo up near the roof during summer? I thought that maybe I'd take the top two rows down. What do you think? I have a pic of the new broms to put up so will say good night. Colleen

Hi all, just a quick one tonight, not feeling really tops. Just a bit of vertigo and I don't know why.
Nev, I have not tried to flower Ae Pectinata before. I will let it flower this time just to see what happens and also for my files showing me the developement of certain plants, stage by stage. This could also help me in identifing individual plants at different stages. I know there are other considerations like light, fertiliser and water as well as climate and the enviroment. I am going to try seeds from that Ae last nights piccie, I have been watching it for a couple of weeks.
Have a good one
Ian
Pic 1 N conchardon x absolute perfection
Pic 2 Ae Noid looks like a narrow leaf JCSuperstar.

Hi Colleen and Ian – where have all the others gone? I expect they are all making the most of the good weather and tending their brom's. A big “Get Well Soon” to anyone on the sick list and I hope you're soon feeling better and up to posting again soon.

Colleen – It looks like the last lot of plants I sent travelled well and they're all looking very comfortable in their new home. Regarding your plants hanging near the top of the mesh; all I can say is that any plants I have hanging just below the roof, stay there all the year around without any problems as I usually position them in their hanging position during the short days of winter so they are acclimatised by the time the hot weather arrives. After that initial year, they just stay there all the time. I don't know how your summer temp's compare with ours, but if you are concerned you could also do what our members in Far North Queensland do and put another layer of shade cloth over that section (in your case just a narrow strip should do the trick) and take it down again once the summer heat has finished, or as you say, just drop them down a bit lower.

Ian – Just a bit of vertigo? You should find out what's causing this and don't just dismiss it. It can have very serious consequences if it comes on you whilst driving or while you are up a ladder or using some sort of dangerous portable tool such as a circular saw. Two of the most common causes are a sudden drop in blood pressure or unstable or low blood sugar levels such as people with diabetes experience. Both can be checked with simple tests at you GP's and treated accordingly.

It will be interesting to see what those seeds turn up when they eventually mature. Did you see that plant when it was in flower or is it one you bought post flowering? A pic of the flowers could certainly point the finger at what you may get from the seedlings and it seems to me it may just have a bit of Ae gamosepala in it as the inflorescence is similar and this seems to cross breed with pretty well anything. As it's very commonly grown, it's pollen is very easily transmitted by insects and small birds such as Sun Birds and Honey Eaters.

As for the plant in your last pic, I have to agree, it does look very much like 'J C Super Star' which needs good light to maintain the nice colours in the banding.

Well, that's it from me for today and I'll finish with a few more old file pic's I dug up.
1 is Ae Fasciata variegata, 2 is Neo. 'George's Prince', 3 is Nid. 'Madonna', 4 is Neo 'Powder Puff' and 5 is Vr. Hieroglyphica.

All the best, Nev.

It looks like we posted at the same time, nev.
Good morning. I think I missed a day! It was a scorcher on Wednesday, and yesterday was overcast and a lovely temperature. It looks like we had one drop of rain overnight, but every bit counts in the tank.....even condensation!
I had a look around big W yesterday. there were three Neos. (N. 'Dantes Peak', N. 'Purple Star' and N. 'Sand grouper'), from the Olive Branch. They had $12 written on the tags, and $15 written on the pots! Pity they weren't more appealing to me, or I could have got them for the twelve dollars. Other than that, there was an assortment of undersized guzmanias and some seedling Vriesea splenreits for $11! I went home with a Phaleonopsis orchid instead, which has about 20 open flowers and about 50 buds yet to open. It has two flower spikes that are branched. Its the most flowers i have ever seen on one, and they were only $19.95 compared to $26 at bunnings. I think the orchids might soon take over?
Wendy, thats just awful that someone has come into your yard and knicked stuff. I know its happened in the past too. A bit of razor wire along the top of the fence might slow them down a bit, and a few Bromelia plants along the outside might stop them even approaching. I hope you can find a way of keeping the 'so and so's' out.
Nev, I love the pic of Quesnelia 'Tim Plowman' variegata. Does it have a registered Name? I also like the marble throat hybrid. They make for interesting and tough plants. I am glad you got the cooler weather instead, much nicer when playing in the garden. So whats the next step for your knee? Or is it a case of 'Get used to it,Buddy'? I hope there is good answer, or failing that, some very good medication to keep you pain free.
Ian, I am glad you are keeping your Aechmea pectinata flower. I haven't flowered mine yet, but it is going little pink on the leaves. I made the mistake of moving it about two years ago, just as it as starting to colour, and it went back to green and sulked. I'm not game to move it at all now, and a couple of Phildendron leaves have created quite a bit of shade for it. I am tempted to cut them back so i can get a better view, but wonder if he extra light will be enough to make it sulk again? I look forward to seeing your photos as it progresses.
Colleen, I am pleased you are feeling on the mend, although with all the things that need potting,how will you avoid the heavy lifting?Your new babies look very nice, and as for your question regarding moving the pots from the Reo bar, it might be a good idea, or if you can manage/afford it, another piece of shade cloth through summer is also an option. I am of the opinion that a plant losing its colour is much better than a plant with burned leaves!
Shirley, don't cry! It will be okay. Johnny and Wendy will make sure you go home with something special. (patting you on the back) there there! The nasty bromeliad burglar will get bad karma and get him/herself spiked on an Aechmea bracteata or something similar. The two plants you posted are gorgeous, by the way.
Trish, i forgot to comment on your Noid in the previous post. I wondered if it could be Neo. 'Midnight'? also know as 'Voodoo' I believe? If it is,just play around with positioning until you get the colour right, as it goes a deep black in the right light, or greenish in the wrong. It is a prolific pupper, in my opinion, so you should have plenty of pups to try in different positions.
I will leave you with a pic of my new orchid, as I am still in my PJs, and won't risk being seen outside in them, taking photos. What would the neighbours say? I have pods coming on the Billbergias, and also a few more flowers, so will take some snaps today.
Sue

This message was edited Oct 19, 2012 7:04 AM

Hi everyone, another hot day and still no rain.

Nev, as you say, it is a shame when you can’t leave things around your home and garden without someone nicking it. Wendy and Johnny lost several plants and not the first time either. And I wasn’t really blaming Max, he’s a lovely old fella but these crooks deserve to be confronted by a ‘savage’. By the way, your Ae Fasciata variegate is a beautiful plant.

Colleen, so good to hear you’re getting back to your old self and good to see you back on the forum.

Ian, hope you are feeling better now.

Sue, thanks for consoling me and you were right, I certainly did go home with something special from Wendy and Johnny’s. Some really beautiful vrieseas, a gorgeous Vr Forrest (which was very high on my wish list), a Dillings Black Beauty, a Fosteriana Red Dragon, a Snows of Mauna Kea, an Eva Charlotte, a Fosteriana x Platynema and even a Megan which Johnny removed from its’ mum so I could have one. Oh, and a neo Golden Chalice too. I did very well indeed and am so pleased with my haul. I will post a couple of pics tonight and for the next couple of nights too.

Wendy and Johnny, thanks again for a lovely morning. We enjoyed the cuppa and the chat and love the vrieseas. Thanks too for the apron, the seeds and ‘how to grow’ advice … all very much appreciated. And maybe you should try Sue’s suggestion of a bit of razor wire to stop 'would be' brom thieves in their tracks.

Anyway, I’m posting early tonight for a change but must go now and organise a few things. Have a good weekend everyone.

Shirley


pic 1 is Vr Forrest pic 2 is Vr Dillings Black Beauty

Hi all, I came home from work and looked around my plants, took a few piccies and watered my seedlings. I also collected seed from Bil Catherine Wilson and Hallejuh as well as a til sounds like chardeona, i know that is incorrect name but it tells a story. I see a couple of comments as to why we took so long to get into growing broms.
I came from Dalby to Mackay to grow broms and get a drug and alcohol rehab going. The d&a rehab got first preference due to finances and when it was established I got sidetracked into fish, still got a couple but i have not the time or interest in them. I am not replacing them as they keel over. i may use some of the tanks for seed raising though.In 2011 I started collecting brom reasonably seriously, I think July i joined a local brom group and started to learn, i still call myself a beginner. This is to be my retirement activity, I just hope I can still fund it then

Nev that jc superstar look a like is being posted again tonight with another that I have been told is JC Superstar. The one on the right is supposedly the real deal. I do have a lot of gameosepala here and Sun birds. I think I bought it post flowering but it still has the spike on dried up.Thats about it for me tonight.
Have a good one
Ian
Pic 1 Aussie dream" rosie"
Pic 2 JC Superstar on right.
Pic 3 N The duke. a pup in July
Pic 4 Ae Prieto
Pic 5 Ae tornado

Hi Everyone!

Hope you are all well and have been hanging out for the weekend to catch-up with you all to see what you guys have been up to and by the looks of things everyone is keeping very busy as usual.

Yeah, another week of work over and done with and now time to enjoy the weekend. I have another six vrieseas to pot up tomorrow and I want to start my new landscaping project, nothing major just want to take over some lawn area (hubby ok with this less to mow lol) to make new beds for broms so I thought if I do bit on the weekends then sooner or later I will get one area done and have a nice place for some of my broms to live. Landscaping will not be too exciting just some landscaping brick and gravel the area in to bury my brom puts in. I wanted bark but Joe is worried about termites and pests? Gravel gets harsh on my hands so I will have to invest in a sturdy pair of gardening gloves and a better shovel to shovel all of the gavel into the beds.

During the week I think I may have identified one of the NOID broms I posted a thread back on the 13 October (Pic No. 2). I think it is Neo Muscat as I come across a very similar picture on www.bromeliad.org.au under Neo Cultivars (listing 157 – last photo) unknown parentage. Anyway I have re-attached my pic to see what everyone else thinks? The other photos listed on this website did not look like this brom only the very last photo.

Hi Sue, your orchids look amazing, so beautiful and healthy. I make sure I open up all your pics for Joe to see as he really enjoys seeing what everyone else is growing and the different types out there. Thanks so very much for sharing such beautiful pics for us all to enjoy.

Sue thanks for trying to identify my Neo NOID that you think maybe Midnight or Voodoo. I did write Voodoo on its label with a question mark as I was not 100% sure, but if I see it pupping heaps thanks yes I will definitely try placing in different light situations to see the difference outcomes with its colour. I was pleased when I purchase it because I thought it might have been Voodoo and only paid $5 for it at a yard sale.

Sue luved the pic of your brom tree, I only have a couple of broms hanging in baskets in some of our fruit trees, I will have to think of handing some in our big shady palm out in the front garden for some of the climbing broms just to colour up and contrast with all that green, but first I will have to remove some of the palm fronds just to let a bit more light into the centre of the palm tree and then I will have an area I can work with and the broms will be able to get better airflow, light etc.

H Nev, thanks for info regarding Running River, I have Red River and Pink River which I like very much because of how much colour is going on all at the same time, it is like a kaleidoscope of colour which really captures my interest because the more colour I see in a brom the more I fall in luv with it.

Nev, absolutely as soon as I have a spare pup of Neo Concentrica x Johannis I will put one aside for you, or if I come across another plant in my travels by all means I will send one to you. I am really looking forward to when all my Neo’s really start pupping then look out It is going to be very interesting me running around the yard like a chook with its head cut off separating and potting up the pups lol. My husband Joe thinks the pups will come mostly all at the same time and I tend to agree with him and I am pretty excited about what’s just around the corner. Joe is going to rig up an irrigation system into our back fence line so that I can hang my pups in their pots in staggered rows, this fence fine is a great area because it is shaded by all the paperbark gum trees and at least will free up other areas of our yard for more established broms.

Nev, when I was talking about de-leafing I was actually talking about removing gum leaves from my broms, sorry for confusing matters lol, but thanks for the helpful advice when actually removing old leaves off broms. Yeah, one of the broms I was removing gum leaves from the centre near the flower and realised that the gum leaf I was tugging on trying to remove from the centre of the brom was actually part of the brom flower that has leaf like petals coming off the flower, it was the first time I had seen this brom flower lol.

Nev great pic of Vr. Hieroglyphica, this vriesea I have at home and it still takes my breath away whenever I walk past it in the garden but it has a lot of growing to do still as I purchased it from Bunning’s about a year ago for $25 and it was very sunburnt and needed rescuing so I got it home and put it in a nice shady spot, trimmed damaged leaves and it has been doing great ever since. I liked it that much I purchased a small pup for $5 six months ago and it has doubled in size and lives in our entertainment area happily amongst the larger vrieseas. Glad also to see what my George’s Prince is going to turn out like seeing your recent picture.

Hi Wendy, amazing those two little seeds that have germinated from those pods, how great you must feel that they self-set seed – amazing what nature can do. Wendy your variegated guzmanias are all very beautiful, so much nicer than the stock standard type.

Hi Shirley, great pic of Neo Groucho what a great plant, I too have one and adore its beautiful markings and how tough it is. Shirley, Neo Goldilocks is cute, I wonder what she is going to colour up like when she is all grown up lol? Shirley also luved your Vr. Forrest and Vr. Dillings Black Beauty, I will have to get me one of the Vr. Dillings Black Beauty – markings are magnificent.

Hi Colleen, glad to hear you are feeling much better. I luv all your brom pics. Sounds like you are keeping yourself very busy with your new broms and all the pups you are going to pot up. How are the seeds you potted going, mine have not germinated yet? I am trying to be patient and am hoping that the seeds I purchase were not too old; patience is a virtue as they say, lucky for me I consider myself a very patient person except for when people jump ahead of you when you are waiting in a line to buy something, that’s one of my pet hates lol.

Hi Ian, great pics of Neo Aussie Dream “rosie” which appear to be going into flower and JC Superstar is beautiful. I too have Neo Duke and it has grown heaps since I got it as a pup around July also, it is a really nice tough Neo and I plan to get more of these to put around the yard because they are so hardy and have such touch leaves. Every time I visit this one in the garden I think of John Wayne and it brings back childhood memories of when I wanted to marry him and watched all his movies over and over again lol.

Hi Bree, Karen, Jen, Tash, Chrissy – how are you guys, hope you are all well we miss hearing from you all 

Anyway time to put the kettle on as I am really hanging out for one.

Take care and speak to you all soon I hope. Have a great weekend and Happy Gardening!

Pic 1 Neo NOID – possibly Neo Muscat per info mentioned above?
Pic 2 Neo Gaspacho (gift from Bree)
Pic 3 Neo Meyendorffii Minor
Pic 4 Neo Kings Ransom
Pic 5 Vr. Angela F2