Bromeliads for novices & addicts, October 2012

Goodness me, you all have been having a good old gas-bag. I wish that we could all sit around the outside table under the big old Norfolk Island Pine and do that. I met up with one of the newbies in the tea room last week. She relieved me of lots of succulents and bits and pieces. She stayed over night with her two little dogs and we talked and talked. It was lovely. It has been a lovely day although it did get a bit warm this afternoon. The Bl--- wind has come up again. It's blowing things around outside. I can hear it and the wind chimes are going ten to the dozen. Sue your garden looks so lovely. A friend and I were having a chat today about how I've got bits of this shoved in here and a different coloured one of the same thing over there and I said that's how I like a garden. A different surprise around every turn. She likes all her plants of the same together. She has 7 acres of scrub and cleared land and has planted about 2 acres up with garden. She has natives all in the same area and Irises and Roses and trees dotted here and there. She has benches to sit on and bits of lawn here and there and it's great but I still like my little piece of Paradise. I have a pic of mini skirt and pheasant to show. They came from Sue, so hope I'm growing them well Sue. Have a great night all. Colleen

Hi all, just a quick visit tonight to show the developement of my hanging hooks.
I start with a piece of pipe,pvc is fine and bend a piece of wire around it like in the left sample. Then I bend the tail at 90degrees as in second of pic then bens a hook to desired length and trim the rest off. Simple really. Fencing wire is OK and so is aluminium wire. The tools I use are a pair of pliers and my hands.
Have a good one
Ian

Sue heres red river compaired to what i have tagged as pink river. There both young though.

Hi everyone.
well we had a lovely day at Ross Little's place and I got some special stuff for me as well as some things for us for stock. right at the end I caught sight of a couple of flowering plants in the front garden. they turned out to be guzvrisea with wittmackii as one of the parents. believe me the colour and shapes were spectacular. anyhow I was lucky enough that Ross had pups potted up so yes I got one of each. so excited about that. I also got a selection of tillandsias and lucky for me there are several that I don't have yet so they will go into my collection and the rest can be into stock. I took some pics but was so excited by the guzvriseas I forget to get a pic. go figure huh???? maybe Ross will take pics and email them to me. Oh and I got a small pup of ortho burle marxii. so glad he had a spare one but he says they seem to go as fast as they produce them so I was fortunate there was a pup still on mum waiting for me. we got some little grass pups of cross between 2 an alcantareas. can't remember what they are but I'll get the name tomorrow when we pot them up.

Ian I love your plant hangers. we have some similar ones here but the ones I like have 3 rings at different heights around the central hook. they are great for hanging seedlings and I think they take 4 or 5inch pots. when the plants get too big they encroach on each others space but for seedlings just perfect. I'm thinking I'll definately use them for my billbergia seedlings. unfortunately the guy who used to make them died and nobody can work out how to wind them. I'm sure if Johnny puts his mind to it he will work it out somehow. apparently Barry Kable has the man's jig but can't work it out. I'll take a pic tomorrow and somebody might be able to work something out.

Colleen I love those 2 minis you posted. I have both of them and love the shape and colour. Sue your gardens are looking spectacular as always. love the hilda grown in the garden.

hello to everyone else and Nev I have that neo you said you wanted. I'll scroll back through this thread and find the other one I promised to send you and will parcel them up soon. I also have to send some seed to Shirley. oh and I hope Shirley and Trish are felling better now.

I'm off to bed and I'll download and post some pics tomorrow night from our trip today.

Nght all
Wendy

Hi everyone - Just a very brief message today (from a different computer), just to say that I'm having a computer malfunction where I can't start the bloody thing. I switch it on and everything starts as normal, but then a blue screen with white writing comes up with various options on how to start it e.g. "start windows normally", "safe mode", "safe mode with prompt" and a couple of others I don't remember. When I select one of these, the cycle starts all over again and it's just like going around in circles. I've tried various things and finally had to turn it off at the power point to shut it down. I switched the power back on again and tried again, but still the same result. It looks like a trip to the computer doctors today so I'll be off the air for a while. Keep up the good work and I'll post again when I get my computer back.

A big get well soon to anyone on the sick list and to the rest of you,

All the best, Nev.

Morning all . I am going to put my phot descriptions first so they are alongside the photos when you look.
Photo one is my N. 'Running Red River'
Photo two is N. 'Jewellery Shop' which would have looked better if grown a little harder.
Photo three is where my Nidularium longiflorum flower is up to today
Photo four is one from Jen. Neo 'Ashanti' i wonder if it flushes?
Photo five is a NOID I got as a big green plant. The first one i gave alot of light to and it went yellow with red lightning strips, and this is the pup. It looks as though it might be starting to flush for flowering, and I'm sure it starts pink and fades to purple. I have tried for an ID in the past, from various sources, but no luck as yet. Someone suggested 'Gee Whizz' but, although similar to what i have as 'gee Whizz' I don't think it is.

Gee Nev, I can't believe you are having computer problems again! I hope it get sorted soon, as your last post was definitely not long enough!
Colleen, so good to hear from you. Was the newbie a local lady, or passing through. Its nice to meet someone in person that you met online, and they never fail to disappoint. I've met lots of awesome people through DG. Your N. 'Pheasant' looks great and N. 'Miniskirt' but one is a little greener than the other (miniskirt?) and could do with a tad more light. I'm sure you will be getting that as the season warms up! I know what you mean about the other garden. i have tried having an Aechmea garden, a neo garden and an Alcantarea garden, but other genus just sneak in. It easier to have plants that like the same conditions, rather than plants of the same type, and some things just compliment each other. I've also noticed i am a 'Row' planter, and seem to plant borders and rows of the same thing. Where did that come from? Anyway, as long as you are enjoying your garden, that's all that matters!
Ian, well done on the hangers. I have only attempted making 's' hooks to hang plants from, but have the odd wire hanger from different places. i will see if i remember to get a pic of a couple. When I looked at your photo with the original post, it almost looked like a pair of spectacles! So i had to take a closer look! heh heh
Bree, your two pups look very similar, but i can see a more pinkish tone in the second one. I guess you will just have to learn to love it with a name or not? Maybe when its older it will become clear?
Wendy, lucky you to get some nice things for yourself also. You have to look close at Ross's and you will always find something. He didn't have Tillandsias when we were there last. i wonder where they came from?Next time i'm up your way, I'd love to go visit Barry again. He had some great stuff at good prices. i think i have exhausted the selection of Tillandsias from Bunnings and (as far as i know) there isn't a grower in town I can get them from for a reasonable price.
Well, yesterday i discovered lots more burned broms, but hey, no point in crying over it. they are in the garden, and I don't usually put special ones there, and they have pups so will recover in one way or another.

Ok, time to get outside and do something while it is cool.
I hope everyone is well this thursday.
Sue

Hi all, sorry to hear that Trish and Shirley haven't been feeling flash. Hope you are on the mend. Trish, I like your new garden and your Amazing Grace and Canefire are 2 of my favourites. Photo 2 is my Amazing Grace dark form. It's a bit past its best but has good colours. Don't know what the pups will be like yet. As everyone says they're pretty variable. Photo 3 is my dog who's also a mad boogie board rider. Pool is gone now. It's now my shadehouse. Shirley, lovely photo of Nid Longiflorum. It's a real eyecatcher
Nev, that blue screen doesn't sound good so hopefully your computer doc will be able to set things right. I like your Neo hybrids. Are they your crosses? Colleen it's good to see you posting again. Good colours in your minis.
Wendy I can't wait to see photos of your new babies. Sounds like it was a top day. Am quite green with envy.
Sue, your Neo Ashanti has a lot of colouring up to do yet. As you can see from Photo 1 it goes quite purple. I like your noid no.5. It's got a really compact shape.
Bree you have some lovely Neos. Especially like your Shelldance. Could the Tiger noid be Pink Tiger?
Ian, your rings should work well. Wendy has a lot in their garden and they look great.
I was very excited on Tues. night to collect seed from my first planned Bill. cross, Moon Tiger x sanderiana. I got seed on both plants so it will be fun to see what happens. Have been out the last few nights twiddling cotton buds in my flowering Vrieseas. Hopefully in 12 months I should some some nice seeds but goodness knows what I'm going to do with them all. I'm off outside to do some more matchmaking.
Photo 4 is Neo Canefire and Photo 5 is my Neo Blast doing strange things. It has been getting whiter over the last 12 months but still looks healthy. Don't know how long it can stay white and still grow. Night all, Jen

Couldn't resist posting this photo from Kerry Tate showing a baby Frogmouth baffled about what Mum is doing looking like a branch. Gorgeous garden too. Jen

Hi all, another dry day here and the wind has reduced, still knocking plants over so I just might have to treat them like dogs and tie them up. Well put some supportive ties on them anyway. I planted some more seed yesterday and mounted a couple of plants on trees today. I also treid a multiple hanger today but it has room for improvement. i got the effect I wanted but it is untidy. I will keep trying til I get it reasonable. Then I have some forceps to make to remove leaves out of Aechmeas and any deep leaved plants.
Nev to answer your question about Midnight, no the plants each come from different growers in different towns. @ are 10" to 12" across and the third is a little smaller but is also younger. That is the one with a stripe that i posted a month or 2 ago.
Have a good one
ian
Pic 1 Ae bought as bracteata but seems different to fcbs piccie
Pic 2 Til capitata var domingoensis
Pic 3 Ae nudicaulis var in flower
pic 4 Til streptophylla
Pic 5 Ananas red star beside a 1kg pack of whiskas cat food for size comparison

That Ae bracteata is a tricolour, forgot the colour first time.
Ian

Hi Everyone

Quick post tonight, promise I will chat with you ALL properly over the weekend when I have a bit more time up my sleeve. Thanks for the get well soon wishes, feeling much better thanks and pleased the weekends just around the corner. Hope your feeling much better Shirley, I too suffer from Migranes so know exactly how you feel, best thing to do is rest and sleep it off in the darkest possible room, when I get them I pretty much loose my vision and have to stay home until it passes, when I get them bad I throw-up a lot and get very bad blood noses which releases some of the pressure in my head, but sometimes I need to go in for a jab to stop throwing up, sorry not a nice topic for conversation so hears a few brom pics to make things all better lol.

Speak soon and Happy Gardening!

Hope these Pics do not get mixed-up after I post thread, cross my fingers they dont'?

Pic 1 Neo. Green Apples (old pic, it has coloured up heaps since)
Pic 2 Vr. Hawaiian Rainforest x Emerald Meadows
Pic 3 Neo. Manoa Beauty - my one takes a fair bit of light and is doing well as has grown heaps since this photo
Pic 4 - Vr. Milky Way
Pic 5 - Vr. Maroon Shadow

Hi everyone, feeling lots better now, thanks. A bit cooler today and not as windy but what a mess to clean up, sticks, leaves, branches and bark everywhere.

Bree, my neo Pink River is in flower so should have pups shortly if you want me to keep one for you.

Sue, I get very few migraines these days, fortunately, and I have learned to manage them pretty well. Let me know if you would like a neo Pink River pup also. Here I am giving them away … counting my ‘pups’ before they hatch!! Can’t believe how many of my neos are in flower.

I also have a NOID which is quite similar to your pic 5, Sue, which someone suggested to me could be neo Gee Whizz. I do have a couple of gee whizzes, both quite different from this NOID and from each other as well. I’ll post a pic of the NOID. I like your neo Running Red River. Sorry to hear you have found more burned broms but you are very philosophical about it, I’d be quite devastated.

Colleen, I can just imagine our little group sitting around under your Norfolk Island pine and gas-bagging. Be pretty hard to get a word in I reckon … but it would be great, hey.

Wendy, glad to hear you got some special stuff for yourself from Ballina … not sure where you’re going to put them, but good on you. Looking forward to getting the seeds but no hurry, whenever you get around to it is fine.

Nev, so sorry to hear you are having computer problems again. Hopefully, you’ll be back in action again soon. I had something similar happen to mine once and it was a fairly simple fix … it had to be reset to an earlier date, before the problem occurred. Wouldn’t it be good if we could reset the old body to a time prior to when all the aches and pains set in.

Jen, nice pics, I especially like the white in your neo Blast, very pretty. And what a great photo of the Frogmouth Mum and bub.

Ian, I like your Ae Bracteata tricolour and your Ae Nudicaulis but looking at your pic 4, I thought my migraine had returned. Ananas Red Star is cute.

Trish, glad to hear you’re feeling better. Like you said, a quiet, dark room, a couple of pills and sleep off a migraine. Computer screens and colour televisions are definite no no’s along with light and noise. Anyway, all better now. You certainly have some lovely broms. Neo Manoa Beauty is probably my favourite, along with Old Love Letters. Vr Milky Way is still on my wish list along with quite a few others.

Pic 1 is my NOID for Sue, pics 2 and 3 are my favourite neos Manoa Beauty and Old Love Letters, pic 4 is my Ae Bracteata for Ian.

That’s it for me now, bye
Shirley

Hi everyone.
Sue Ross orders the tills from Chris at Collectors Corner, in large quantities..... I think he said 300 at a time so he gets them cheaper than we could for smaller number. anyway I gave him $100 and asked him to get me a mixture of tills for that. I got 25 which makes them $4 each. Out of that 25 there's about 6 or 7 that I haven't got and will keep myself. The only thing was I really wanted a number of ionantha and this time Chris only sent about 4 ionantha in the whole 300 so I couldn't get the number I need for the project I have been asked to create for a guy. I'm going to have to climb out tree and get some from our clumps. Isn't it awful to have a several large clumps and not be prepared to take any of them when someone wants some??? don't want to ruin the effect do we??? ah well should be able to peel off 6 or 8 in a way that nobody will notice.

Ian pic 1 is the hanger we bought with multiple rings. pic 3 is the same hanger with a couple of plants in it. as I said I use these for small seedlings. at present they have seedlings of vr splendens I think. I've also included pic 2 which is the totem rings that Johnny has been making. this is actually an area that Johnny scrapped this week and redid. the totem is gone now and he has made or modified new shelves and the area is now a guzmania and foliage vrisea area. he keeps takiing over my neo areas for his stuff. he has just decided he is going to build up his collection of guzmanias..... the bigger the better. He does like those big ones even if they don't have names. and the variegated ones he love also.

now lets see which pic loads first. from memory I chose the neomea fraka rosea that I got from Ross. discovered this in the garden on the way out so he dived into the clump and came out with a plant roots & dirt attached with a flower coming. the last pic I chose I just had to share with you. we were sitting on the back deck enjoying a cuppa and I was sitting sideways on the chair so I could look down the yard when I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned to the back of the chair and nearly died at this leg coming over the top. It turned out to be this big guy in the last pic. scared the hell out of me but Johnny just put his hand out and it climbed on board. he took it down the yard and put it in a fairly thick bushy tree. he didn't want our pet magpies having him for lunch. Oops made a mistake the pic 4 is a closeup of my first pitcairnia flower. it is pitcairnia rhubarb x brongniartianum (hope that spelling is correct.... sure that's the way is sounds) I'll have to do another post for the ross pics.

pic 1 is the neomea freka rosea plant I brought home. just goes to show that John Buchanan was way ahead and crossing genera way back in 1990s before any of us every heard of them. that's 3 of his xgenera that I got from Ross this time. Unfortunately his labels only said guzvrisea so I'll have to ask Ross for the names. the labels in front of the plants in the gardens had the names of the cross.

next 3 pics are of dykia naked lady firstly the flower spike and then the clump of naked ladys and finally a closeup of 1 spike. when Ross said to Johnny to come and have a look at his naked lady Johnny jumped up and followed quickly. think he was disappointed it was only a dykia. hahahaha.

had to share these 2 pics of this massive guzmania in Ross's garden. the pic of the plant has my foot in the pic to show just how large the plant is. he didn't have any pups though so I'll have to go back until I get one. it is gus testudinensis splendida x albo rosea.

just to finish off the group the next 3 are of Ross's flowering epi / cactus plants flowering. he had colour everywhere in these baskets but these were the best colours.

Anyway time for bed now. we've had a very big day potting all our bare pups we brought home. I think I potted up 8 trays today ... 20 aechmea chianti most of them in flower .... brilliant colours similar to ae rajah (or electra it used to be called), 20 imperialis rubra that came out of 1 inch tubes but good sized, another 12 small seedlings alc whyanbeel x glazouiana and the pups we took off the large extensas we brought home. tomorrow I have 3 bags of mini neos to pot up and a bag of vrisea pups. Oh and today I also potted up 10 Alan Ladd hybrids of a variegated mini called fallen. anyway I put all of them into a hanging basket to multiply for us. they look like they might be a smaller version of rosy fireball.

Shirley I will post your seeds I promise and Nev I will get you a pup of canefire and whatever the other one you said you wanted and will post you a parcel including a packet of stamps as you seem to spend more on postage of seeds than I do. I haven't had much success in crossing neos as I haven't worked out how to identify the ones crossed. will have t come up with a way of IDing them so I am grateful for any neo crosses you send me. Oh and it was good that you posted a pic of your neo carcharadon x concentrica as I had a tray of nice sized ones potted up and growing nicely till I found them yesterday all bitten off at the soil. I looked everywhere for a snail or something and only thing I found was a few of those little bugs that get in the seed trays so wondered if they also bite off the roots of potted up seedlings. I binned the 4 or 5 that were still attached to soil along with the potting mix. I think it may have been 1 block of seed raising mix that was infested with those little bugs. I will admit I have been slack and not zapping the trays in the microwave as I'm not sure how the perlite will go... will it explode if I zap it? my seed mix has perlite mixed in alreay in a bucket with a screw on lid. hopefully that will keep out any bugs.

anyway off to bed now. night all. hope you enjoyed the picks from Wardell. hi to everyone I didn't mention tonight.

Wendy

Good morning everyone.
It seems all quiet an calm this morning, although there is alot of smoke in the air. There must be a bushfire in the area?
pic one is Neoregelia. 'Inferno'
Pic two is a border of burnt N. 'Satsumas'
Pic three is Neo. 'Barbara' aka 'Barbie Doll'. she fell off the bench in some wind this year, hence the damage.
Pic four is an Epi in the tree
Pic five is for Trish, and shows a pup of N. 'Amazing Grace' dark form, with not many lines at all.
Jen, your N. 'Amazing Grace' dark form has quite nice markings compared to what I have. It will be interesting to see the pups. As for your N. 'Blast' I can see that it has plenty of green in the lower leaves to support the Albinism in the top leaves. I would imagine the only thing to watch out for would be marking from extreme heat or cold? It should still throw a normal pup too, as it will throw from the lower leaves where there is still some green. I have an N. 'Bossa Nova' that produced a half albino plant, which has gone on the produce a fully albino plan, and they are all still attached to the original, which has never flowered. Its been a few years now. I wonder how long it will go on for?
How funny does the little baby owl look in the second pic? Kerry is a very god photographer.
Good luck wth your Billbergia seed raising. If you run out of room, send the best ones down here. ;-)
It looks as though Bucky was a much younger dog in the photo. And who is the other pup? Your son looks much younger also!
Ian, the reason your Ananas 'Tricolor' looks different is because it is variegated and not albomarginated like most. I don't know how rare or common that is, but I imagine you'd be happy with it?
Your Aechmea nudicaulis looks very well, and it has made me realise I must send mine north, as it has never coped well with the cool weather in winter, and will not thrive here. Any takers?
I might keep one pup and put it in the mini hothouse over winter and see how it goes. I'd better go and look at what is there before I go making offers. It might not have survived the winter?
I am sure you will work out how to make a multiple pot hanger, and look forward to seeing the end result, and perhaps purchasing them in the future, if you go that way?
Trish, I'm glad you have recovered. Sounds like you get pretty serious migraines. I've only ever been sick from one once, and had to have the jab. I go blind too, and can't stand smells, good or bad. Dark room, cold flannel cloth, no noise and a good scalp massage doesn't go astray. I don't get a headache anymore (praise the lord) but still get the rest of the symptoms on the rare occasion I get one.
Anyway, I like all your plants, and of them all, I have V. 'Maroon Shadow' and straight V. 'Hawaiian Rainforest'
Shirley, Its good that you have recovered also. Thanks for the offer of an N.'Pink River'. I am happy to wait and see if you get enough pups. You just let me know if you get one spare, and I am sure you will see something here that we can swap. I think I have that same N. 'Gee Whizz' that you have shown. As for being philosophical, I'd be a blubbering mess if I cried every time something in the yard was damaged or died! Living with gum trees has taught me to shrug it off. I just make sure my favourites are well protected.
Wendy, thanks for clearing up my Tillandsia question. I thought maybe Ross had hidden them from me? heh heh. I understand you not wanting to break up your clumps of T. ionantha. It takes a long time to get a good clump, and they look so good.
The Guzmania at Ross's looks enormous! Where on earth will Johnny put a collection of large ones? Lots of lovely pics there, and the Epis sure are bright. I have some hanging in trees around the yard, that are all budded up and about to burst into flower.
Nev, I hope your computer gets well soon. It only took me half as long to read the posts this morning, and I can't answer everyone in as much depth as you. I hope all is well in your yard and with your knees.
Sue

Hi everyone. All this talk about wire hangers. I'll tell you what I did. I had heaps of wire coat hangers here so I soaked them all in vinegar for days and then cut them in halves and bent them into a ring and put a hook on each end and twisted them around. They don't look as professional as all of your's but they do the job so I'm happy. On the larger pots I just straightened 2 hangers out and put a hook either end and crossed them over to make a long hanger. Here's a pic of my Ae Burgundy with large pup and flower coming. Are the flowers cream. It will look so nice if it is in contrast to the plant. Must go. Colleen

thats awsome Colleen

hi everyone. this seems to be a regular introduction doesn't it?

Sue the 2nd photo last night of the area Johnny was making over has now become this (see pics). this used to be a neo area but now Johnny has taken it over for his vrisea pups and guzmania collection. see the large ones in the middle? this is his new passion....... we are getting quite a few large guzmania now from firedragon to a lot of NOID hybrids. whenever he sees a large one he has to have it. That 1 full sized totem in the before photo has bee cut in 2 and screwed to the open sections of the green shadehouse. Ian, see the new totem rings hubby is now making? they just wrap around the pipe and hold on. no more climbing up to slide another one over the top of the pipe and down.

Colleen I love ae burgundy. we have a couple of large clumps of them now. spectacular when you get multiple red/white berry spikes.

Sue I'm buttering Ross up to get into that locked tillandsia shed out the front of his place. I look through from outside each time I go there and have even said to him that one day I'm going to get an invite to look from the inside but so far he hasn't offered. There's some in there that I've never seen before so I'd love to get in and see the names.

NEWSFLASH: I have my first 2 pitcairnias flowering. they are p. rhubarb x bromniartiana (pic 1) and p. andreana (pc 2).

Night all
Wendy

Hi everyone, another warm day, another week over, another week without rain … bit of a dust bowl here at the moment.

Wendy, sounds like you had a fantastic brom haul. Do you plan to sell any of the 20 Ae chianti, if so, please keep one for me.

Sue, your neo Inferno is stunning and Barbara too and I think your Amazing Grace is nice, even without a lot of markings. And, if you are still looking for a taker for your Ae Nudicaulis, I am happy to offer it a nice new home.

I moved quite a few of my neos back up to the original shade house now that it is getting a bit of sunlight. During winter the tall gum trees in the park next door throw full shade over it all day long. I have added quite a few to my collection lately and they were getting a bit cramped in the new shade house so an extension will definitely be necessary before next winter.

I will try to find some pics I haven’t posted before …

Pic 1 is neo Wishful, very cute, pic 2 is neo Lamberts Pride, Pic 3 is neo Little Africa, also very cute, pic 4 is neo Bob & Grace

Anyway, that’s it for me, I hope everyone enjoys their weekend.

Shirley

Posting this for another Daves member who thought this was a orchid but i think brom. do you's think this is a brom? Them thin leaf ones? i cant think of there names now. A Guzmania?

This message was edited Oct 26, 2012 8:52 PM

just noticed 1. Lila looking very fluro (i just noticed the spider on the leaf), 2. Decora has nice colour also, 3. Shirley heres my Manoa Beauty and what i thought could also be one but its very red, 5. Nev this is the Camerlot you gave me, looking very red and getting a pup.

Hi Everyone!

Hope everyone is well and enjoying the weekend, it’s a gorgeous day her today beautiful and sunny with a nice breeze which kept us nice and cool in the garden. I was very excited to discover today but only with the help of me wearing my glasses and zooming in as close as I could with my camera to see all my vriesea seeds finally germinating (it’s been an exact month since I sowed all the seeds). Now the fun begins keeping them alive. Moved them all into the nursery on their own shelf and also moved my other vriesea seedlings onto the same shelf so that they all get better light and airflow etc. Now I am wondering how long before I take the lids off the takeaway containers where my germinating seedlings are growing, how big do they need to be before I take the lids off? I would appreciate some guidance from anyone who knows what next to do, at the moment I am waiting as it is definitely too early as not all of the seeds have germinated yet (they have only just started to) and I presume they need to be way more established to be able to survive natures everyday elements like sun, wind, rain, bugs etc…..

Spent the remainder of the day potting up recent purchases which I will post some pics of today and went around and gave all my broms a good drenching and a bit of a clean-up.

Joe spent the day re-potting some of his orchids and tending to his orchid seedlings which appear to be doing well as growing.

Hi Shirley thanks for posting pic of Longiflorum, what beautiful colouring it has when it is in flower. I noticed the one I have its flower is starting to change from cream to soft pink so I am keeping an eye on it to see what it does so I can take a picture. Glad to hear you liked my Neo Ink Spots, I can’t wait for it to grow and produce some pups as it would be nice to have them scattered around the garden as they spots are very striking because they have a deep purple tone in them which I adore. I just realised today when walking through the garden that I have Neo Pink River, Red River and Ice White River, but that I am still chasing Running River lol. Are there any other Rivers out there that I should be chasing? Really liked your Pics of Neo Manoa Beauty and Old Love Letters, I will one day look out for Old Love Letters when they time is right and I am not spending all my money on vrieseas lol.

Hi Bree I am glad to hear you really liked Amazing Grace and Cane Fire, I wish mine would hurry up and pup so I could send you some but unfortunately I am still waiting patiently. Have you seen Purple Cane Fire it is really nice and one I want to add to my collection at some stage, plus the fact that purple is my favourite color. Regarding your question re Neo Midnight, it is a medium sized grower. Bree I also have Neo Shelldance and purchased a couple because I liked them that much, I suppose they do not hold as much water in the centre because of the way their leaves twist and turn which in turn reduces the centre area compared to other Neo’s, that’s my guess for the reason why as silly as it might sound lol.

Hi Nev sorry to hear about your dreaded computer problems, hope you get it working again soon as we miss hearing from you and seeing all the beautiful pics you post. Yeah Nev lol I think I did burn out me keyboard the other day typing that many threads in one day, it was nice though having the time to sit and type a thread and not rush getting it done before it gets too late like normally in the week as it does take a bit to type and post what you want but I suppose I am a bit of a chatterbox so I do not make it any easier for myself. Nev luved your idea regarding using a length of plastic guttering below my proposed hanging pup pots so the fertiliser does not drop onto the mature bromeliads below but instead run the fertiliser to the end of the garden and reuse it elsewhere, and to paint the guttering green so that it blends in with nature, you are so full of great ideas Nev and I appreciate you coming up with such a fantastic idea that I reckon we will probably end up doing. Thanks for the additional info on Neo Cliff Siverd too. Nev I will D-Mail you at some stage and send you through some cultural tips on Gingers.

Hi Sue thanks heaps for the tip regarding my proposed pup hanging area and re-using the fertiliser for my garden. Sorry to hear you found more sun damaged broms, at least you know you can still salvage pups from them if you keep them and eventually new leaves will replace the old and they will look beautiful again. I had a friend give me a bunch of broms what got burnt with fertiliser and they looked shocking at the time but over the last couple of months they have grown some now leaves and are starting to look better, in six months’ time they should hopefully be back to normal and producing pups by then. Thanks Sue, yes I am feeling much better thanks and back to work and busy as usual. Glad to hear you like Heliconas and Gingers and have them in your garden, they like a lot of water and chock poo and blood & bone. I have a lot of composted paper, leaf matter around mine and they really luv it. Thanks Sue for the offer of a Neo Amazing Grace Dark Form for when you get some pups, I would very much appreciate one then if you can spare one and hopefully by then I will have pups of my own to share. Sue thanks for posting pics of Neo Amazing Grace Dark Form, really luv that one.

Hi Colleen so great to hear from you , I liked your brom pics and hearing about your friends beautiful garden, your garden sounds like my garden, a bit of everything here and there, a different surprise around every turn. Colleen great idea with soaking the coat hangers and twisting them into hangers for pots I never thought of that.

Hi Ian thanks for posting pics of the hangers you make, they are great and we are going to look at making a batch of them in prep for hanging my pups on the fence. I am in the process of looking at stocking up on these hangers and getting enough smaller pots they I have them stored and ready for when I need them.

Does anyone know of a really good supplier to buy plastic pots in bulk?

Hi Jen feeling much better thanks, pleased to hear you like my new brom garden bed and Neo Amazing Grace and Cane Fire. Really like your Amazing Grace Dark Form, the bands are so much stronger than the usual. Thanks for sharing beautiful pic of your beautiful boogie board rider, how gifted are they when they just take up a hobby of their own without pressuring them into learning to do something they do not want to do. My Jack Russell Lucy learnt by herself and I was just there to check she does not drown, she also treadmills by herself or with me which is great because like me she needs the exercise lol. Jen I really liked your Pic 5 Neo Blast doing strange things, I really luv the white, something different. Jen that Frogmoth Pic is Amazing!

Hi Wendy thanks heaps for posting pics of the multi hangers; they would be very useful in our nursery. Really liked your pics of Dykia Naked Lady what gorgeous flowers they are. Wendy really liked pics of your nursery, the wonderful hangers and your NEWSFLASH broms flowering, how beautiful everything looks. You guys sound like you have been very busy indeed in the garden potting up broms, how quickly does’ the day go undertaking such a simple but enjoyable task.

Hi Karen, Tash, Chrissy – how are you guys, hope you are all well we miss hearing from you all :-)

Happy Gardening!

Trish

Pic 1 Vr. Seedings Germinating (you will need to look real close lol)
Pic 2 Vr. Snow of Mauna Kea
Pic 3 Vr. Dark Knight
Pic 4 Neo. McWilliamsii x Blood Streak
Pic 5 Neo Black Out

Hi all, another dry and windy day here. The wind did not blow any plants over so that is a bonus. I tried to cross my mauve centred toothy concentrica with fancy pants today both ways. It is now in the lap of the gods as to what happens. What I am looking for with this cross is a mauve centred dark outer leafed Neo. I went to Bunnings today and looked at the broms, 1 interested me a bit. It looks like a dark outer leaf form of Tangerine still misshapen from packing. It is still there. I bought a chainsaw instead and some bunching palms felt it's bite. They are getting too congested and dropping fronds where i want some of my broms. Thin out time.I did nothing with my hooks today but thought about them a bit. The ones I have seen don't look too hard to make.
I looked closely at Coleen's Ae burgundy and can see a lot of Ae Mirlo in it. The naturally shiny leaves and also the dimples in it as well. This could be coming from the breeding.
Bree, your plant does not look like an orchid to me but with the red stripes on the underneath it does have the characteristics of being a Guzmania. It also has soft bodied scale on it.Love lila, mine didn't colour up that well but that could have been because of the light.
Shirley Little Africa will darken up quite a lot in a lot of light, almost as dark as Mandella.
Sue, it looks like DG got hold of your piccies, thought they were a deck of cards and shuffled the pack. Ah well just gives me something to winge about.
Have a good one.
Ian
Pic 1 Ananas tricolour multi head and multi fruit
Pic 2 N mini fireball striata
Pic 3 N mini Queen of spots
Pic 4 N mini Gympie perfection

Hi Bree. Your mystery plant is definately a guzmania.

Hi Trish. your vrisea seeds are definately shooting as you said. I can see the little green things. I'm sorry to say that we also bought what we thought was vr dark knight but have since found out that it was never imported into Australia so we have a dark form of hieroglyphica. we still have it labelled dark knight so we can keep an eye on how it matures though. Your Mcwilliamsii x bold streak has some lovely striations on it. It always looks amazing though.

Shirley I was going to tell you that litle africa will colour up a lot darker with the right light. we've grown it in full sun as well as shade but it colours best if it is right on the edge of the shade inthe bright light. we usually grow it right at the edge of the shadecloth roof so it is out in the open but not in full sun. when you get enough pups it is fun to put them all in different spots just to see where gives the best colour.(see pic 1 showing full sun and shade) funny how you forget all about plants you've had for ages. I hadn't even given a thought to little africa till the last week and had to go looking for some. I've now found a couple of pots of it but they need to be moved to get the best colour out of them. then we all know exactly where they are. there's a couple of plants like that, that I hadn't noticed for a while so went looking eg kubota fire. correct name may be kiluaeu fire, but I also have kilava fire. I'm sure they are all the same plant. (see pic 2). these are another of those plants that are just ordinary colour until you put them in the right place to bring out the best colour. they can take full sun but that may bleach a bit of colour so just on that very edge with a bit of pure and filtered sun is best.

Jen and I went to Gold Coast society meeting today but neither of us bought much. nothing new there this time. I grabbed a couple of billbergias but on the way out we passed the sales tables and I noticed 5 pups of hallelujah still sitting there with $8 each on them. I said to Jen if they were cheaper I'd grab them as we can't grow a big pot full of them as everyone always wants them. So after a quick pit stop we were walking out and the lady in front had the box of hallelujahs on the way out to her car. So of course I said to her how much would she want for me to take them all so she didn't have to take them home and pot them. So I got them for $20. tomorrow I'll pot them up and hide them till they really take off then put them in the sun to bring out the colour for sale. I'm please with that haul. pic 3 is some bill hallelujahs we already had.

Ian I love your ananas. I did also notice that Sue's pics were all jumbled up but I was able to work out which was which. I think dg played with your last post also as you listed 4 pics in text but there is 5 pics.

See I told you all last night that it was going to rain after we paid for 6000L of water to fill our tanks yesterday. it rained on the way back from the coast meeting today but was dry when we got home here. but shortly after it did start to spit rain and we did get a bit of a shower for a while. but according to the radar we are in for a bit more overnight and tomorrow. fingers crossed we do get some more just to top up the tanks. we have 3 tanks but only get 2 filled so we have 2000L to go for a full set.

off to bed again. it's that time. hello to everyone. I hope Nev's computer is up and running again soon. I think his motherboard might be gone though as mine was doing the same thing on my last computer. I got a new one and paid the guy to put the old hardrive into this one so I can access my documents and pics. I can't save to it but I can get things off. I now use an external backup drive with a USB connection so it can go on both big computer and laptop.

Night everyone.
wendy

Good morning all.
Ian, thanks for bringing that to my attention, about the photos. I hadn't checked after I posted it (and shouldn't need to) I hope DG can sort that out, as it can lead to a bit of confusion.
Good score on the Billbergia 'Hallelujah's Wendy. I have the same problem, as people see the two pots I have in the garden, on the way to the sales area, and everyone wants one! I don't want o break them up, but I have a pot with 4 plants colouring up, and each has a small pup, so I sawed through the stolons on the plants so they are each separate with one pup, and when they grow on a bit, I will repot them all individually, and sell two of them, and keep the other two for stock
Nice to hear you are well and back in the garden Trish. You have some lovely plants there, to be sure. Congratulations on your newest babies. In regards to how long before you lift the lid, it depends on where you have them. If they are in a protected, warm spot, you can leave the lid on until they grow to touch it, but if they are in a spot where it is getting quite hot, you can lift a corner to let the hot air out. Once you have the lid off, or partially off, you must remember to keep them moist and try not to let the growing media dry out. I generally start my seeds off indoors, for up to 12 months, then move them out to the shade house in spring. Currently I have Neos seedlings sprouted and even though they are little, I have the lids off already to stop them getting too hot, but I water them about every second day. When you leave the lid on, it keeps the moisture in, and creates humidity, which is a good thing, but you can also then get alot of algae, and in my case, Fungus Gnats, which can damage the seedlings. No doubt Nev will have a better and more in depth explanation of all this when he gets his jolly computer under control.
Shirley, I love Neo. 'Lamberts Pride' Isn't it a beauty? Heres you talking about a shade house extension! Didn't you just revamp your shade house? There is never enough room!
Colleen, you clever chick. I think your idea to use coat hangers is a good one. I only have plastic coat hangers, and just can't get the same results. heh heh.
Anyway, I'd better get up and about. I had a plant sale yesterday, so now I need to catch up on everything I didn't do, like the laundry and then water all the pots.
I haven't got any pics to show you today. sorry, but will get something to show tomorrow.
Sue

This message was edited Oct 28, 2012 7:31 AM

Hi Everyone!

Hi Wendy, thanks for the heads-up with Vr. Dark Knight, I am defiantly curious to see what it will grow up to be like? I purchased this from a reputable seller in QLD who said it is a True Dark Knight imported by the seller from Andrew Maloy in New Zealand. I have been purchasing from this seller for some time now and have always been very pleased with my purchases. The mother plant was large, stunning and it took my breath away which automatically made me want to have one of my own, it is the darkest vriesea I have in my collection and I can’t wait to see what it turns out like when it matures, time will tell and hopefully I will not be disappointed given what I paid for it.

Hi Sue thanks yes I am well and back in the garden, thanks so much for the great information regarding looking after my vriesea seedlings that are germinating. I am just so pleased to see that they are germinating as I thought the seed may have been too old. Hopefully they will keep growing as they appear to be much happier since I moved them from our entertainment area into the nursery on a shelf of their own so they get better light and air flow.

I spent half the day in the garden tending to my broms and the herb and veggie patch. The other half of the day was spent catching-up with a friend and taking her through the gardens and nursery to see what we have been up to, we had such a lovely afternoon together. She was totally blown away by how many more bromeliads I have now since the last time she visited and said I defiantly have a huge addiction in collecting them, she said everywhere she turned there were bromeliads and more bromeliads everywhere lol, but that the gardens looked lovely and so full of wonderful colour and even though she is not big into broms she could not help but stare at different ones and say wow that ones’ really nice. I will have her collecting bromeliads before she knows it lol.

Have a great week everyone!

Happy Gardening!

Trish

Pic 1 Vr. Bianca
Pic 2 Vr. Red Chestnut x Squiggles
Pic 3 Neo Shinning Example
Pic 4 Neo Groves Red Tiger
Pic 5 Nid Ruby Lee

Hi all, I caught a thief today, on camera anyway. No point in calling the police they would just laugh at me. It's a protected species. I guess it wants to build a nest for it's mate. I broke up some more plants today and mounted a couple on trees up the back. Too windy to use the chainsaw . So no more damage from trees falling in toe wrong place, I took out a branch with some minis yesterday. Now it is in the bush house in front of pots.
The piccie that I missed labeling last night is N mini Gympie speckles.
I played with a triple hanger today and I like it as no 2 plants line up under each other. I will work on the totems soon
Have a good one
Ian
Pic 1 The thief
Pic 2 N joy thompkins
Pic 3 Bil poquito blanco mini
Pic 4 Stoloniferous bil without a name as yet
Pic 5 New hangers

Hi all, it's much cooler today after some very welcome and much needed rain late yesterday. The wind is blowing again and it’s still quite overcast so maybe we will get some more rain over the next couple of days, hope so anyway.

Trish, glad to hear your vrieseas are germinating. I have some neos and vrieseas just showing thru and like you, not sure where to go from here ... I will be interested in reading any advice you get. My neo Old Love Letters is one of the many in flower at the moment, so maybe some pups not too far off.

Sue, thanks for sharing the info on seed raising. Like Trish, it is my first attempt of growing from seed. So far, so good, I have neo and vriesea seeds germinating and hopefully at least some of my new babies will grow to adulthood.

Ian, l had to look really hard to find the ‘thief’ in your pic but finally spotted him.

I have a neo, Chlorostricta F2 X from which I have removed 4 or 5 pups over the last six months or so, the last one only yesterday. Mum is still going strong and looking pretty good and still happily pupping away but one of the pups is already flowering even though still only about half grown. I’m guessing it won’t grow any bigger now and wonder why it should flower so soon and so small.

I also have some new neo pups and will attach pics.


Till tomorrow, bye,

Shirley




This message was edited Dec 21, 2012 8:25 PM

Oops, looks like DG has swapped around the photos. I did load them in the right order but they have been switched. As shown they are now ...

pic 1 neo Mad Max, pic 2 neo Lime & Lava and pic 3 neo Pink Hippo.

Ian I couldn't find your thief at first then I found the bird hanging on the door beside the sign. we see them taking our old mans beard too at nesting time. but then they bring their babies round to show us and beg for mince so all is forgiven again. can't resist those babies. I'm sure they post a sentry in the mornings and as soon as he sees us up and making that cuppa he starts begging "feed me, feed me" then suddenly birds come from every for breakfast.

Shirley I noticed that your pics had been switched around but you jumped in before me to tell us. I don't know why some posts I can scroll through the pics and keep going back to the first one then back to the post while others scroll through pics to the words only and I have to scroll backwards through them all back to original post. why does this happen on some and not all. DG does some peculiar things at times.

Ian I like the look of your triple hanger. how about a pic of it with pots in so we can see how they sit?. we'll have to set up a jig soon to make a heap like the ones we bought as we'll have lots of seedlings to pot out soon. with regards to seedlings when our are big enough to be touching the lids, we take the lids off and put the trays into mini hot houses. they hold 3 take away containers in each. this gives them a bit more time protected but as Sue said we have had those little bugs chewing off the roots in some trays. the little vriseas and tillandsias seem to keep growing without the roots but things like the neos and guzmanias are just falling over and curling up when this happens so as Sue said when you see the little bugs best to pot them out and keep them watered. with the wind we are having at the moment we find we are having to water the seedlings morning and night if they are looking dry. I am just trying at the moment, putting the seedling pots into trays that hold water and I'm now watering once a day but making sure there is a bit of water in the bottom of the tray so the seedlings can take up what they need in the day. Those seedlings seem to be really growing fast and leaving the other trays of same seedlngs behind. Boy the billbergia seedlings are powering on with that ready water supply. I'll take update pics tomorrow of some of the seedlings to update the pictorial diary and show the rapid growth.

no new pics today I'm afraid. we had Karen over visiting and we had a nice chat over a cuppa. I am now the proud owner of some more epis. I'll repot them tomorrow into hanging baskets and await flowring next year. but if I get any flowers out of them this year I will certainly be taking pics to share. thanks so much for the epis Karen. I enjoyed your visit and hope you enjoy your tillandsia cotton candy.

Well off to bed again. hi and good night to all - Ian, Nev, Colleen, Trish, Sue, Karen, Jen, Shirley, and anyone I may have missed.

Wendy

Hello, I am a bit late today, as i had no pics to add this morning, so I thought I would leave it until I do.
I have been watching some Vrieseas on Ebay, and was stunned to see the prices they went for. V. "Maroochy Smooch' which looked like a pink V. heiroglyphica, went for $925! Who has that kind of money for one plant? Another was V. 'Ruby Blush' which sold for $600, and then V. 'Cracker Jack' went for $170, which sounded like a bargain to me. Sheesh, I don't think I will be buying any of those hybrids for some time yet.
Ian, I had to look so hard for your thief! It was like 'Wheres Wally' I thought I might have been looking for a Bower Bird, but finally spotted the magpie. I have noisy minors that steal from the brom house, blue faced honey eaters that steal from the hanging baskets on the house, and magpies steal from the hanging plants in the trees. Theres no hope!
Shirley, I meant to tell you I have looked at the variegated nudicaulis and there are three pups, not looking fantastic, but ok. Can you Dmail me your mailing address. We've had a little bit of rain too. not enough to really soak the ground, but hopefully it put a bit in the tank. Lets keep our fingers crossed for a bit more. I am glad you are having a go at seed raising and having some success. Its not too hard, just very slow.
Trish, I had to laugh. I hear the same thing from my friends too, about how every where they look there is a brom! You are right, it doesn't take long before they, too, want to have them in their gardens. Even Non gardeners get into them. I usually start them off with an Alcantarea to put in the garden. They really don't need any care at all.
Wendy, like you, i had trouble with the trays drying out, but I put the chinese food container lids underneath, and they catch a bit of water which keeps the tray moist till the next watering. Also, with the fungus gnats, I sprayed a tray that has them, with a bit of that aerosol Rogor to see what effect it has. Hopefully it won't kill the seedlings. They aren't anything special, but I don't like to hurt them!
Today I worked on Leisas memory garden. I removed a couple of pups of special thing, then replanted the broms, minus the pots. (i am always running out) i also added fresh bark and soil and watered in with a bit of thrive afterwards. hopefully that will see them through summer. I only got through a very small section, so it will be an ongoing job, but its a good way to familiarise myself with her plants, as alot of them I haven't seen before. I have potted a few to put in my brom house, and added a few from my brom house to her garden.
Anyway, I will take photos of any nice things i come across for you all.
Now, if the photos dont get mixed up....first one will be A.nudicaulis on the tree fern
Second photo is the brom tree (dracaena)
third photo should be the clump of Billbergia 'Hallelujah' that turns everyone on
the forth photo is a clump of Neo. 'Lila'
The last photo should be Tillandsia usenoides (spanish moss) in flower
lets see how it goes.
Sue

seems like it worked!
nev, I hope you come back soon!

Hi all, another overcast day here but no rain.

Wendy, I find the same thing with scrolling thru the pics, some go back to the first pic and back to post while others go to script … like you said, DG does some peculiar things at times, like the photo switch.

I am pleased to hear you had Karen over to visit, Wendy. I was wondering whether she might be crook as she hasn’t posted for a long time … glad she’s getting out and about.

Sue, wow $925.00 for one plant, even $170.00 seems over the top. Mind you, I would love to have the sort of budget that would allow me to spend that sort of money without taking out a mortgage but I still don’t think I would spend it on a brom, much as I love them. Thank you so much for the variegated nudicaulis pup … I will D-mail my address.

I took photos today of a number of my neos that are flowering and should throw pups soon. I will add pics of a few of them tonight and maybe a few more over the next couple of days. I am hoping I might be able to organise a few swaps down the track a bit.

Nev, hope you are back with us soon. Hi to everyone else looking in.

Shirley

and a few more ... 'cos I can!!!

Shirley

Hi all, just a few sopts of rain today ad now it has started again. Hopefully we will get a reasonable amount tonight.
The wind dropped this afternoon so that I could prune some more trees and move the trimmings to the front of the house. It is a mess there but that is where I have access to load up for the greenwaste dump.
When I pot up my seedlings I use trays with 12 individual pockets and put 1 plant in each, place them on trays that hold water in a mini hot house and bottom water when the top of the mix dries out. I spray them with Miltons as I pot up each they and then bottom water. Every now and then I foliar fertilise them with Potassium or Manutec African Voilet food or Manutec Bloom Booster. and it seems to work for me. I roughly followed Nevs seed raising guide and added Miltons as an anti-bacterial agent. It controls white mould on the seeds. I have no drainage in my take away dishes so I really have to watch the moisture levels. When I am preparing the mix for planting seeds I use Miltons and spray the seeds into contact with Miltons. Any follow up watering during the first month I use Miltons, I have not as yet had dieback or any bugs in the soil. This is the only sterilising I use.
Have a good one, it is still raining here.
Ian.
Pic 1 3" pot hanger
Pic 2 Bil Catherine Wilson
Pic 3 Seedling trays
Pic 4 Ae Prieto or Ae Black Panther

Hi Everyone!

Just a quick post tonight and no pic's at the ready to post.

Shirley really like all your beautiful pics of all your broms in flower, how beautiful and full of colour they look, you can see how well you are looking after them. It was also great to see what some of my pups will turn out like seeing your ones mature and flowering.

Sue we also watched that vriesea on EBay go for $925 and just looked at each other and said how crazy it was to spend that much money on a bromeliad and it was only a small pup. Sue your random shots around the garden are beautiful and the one of your spanish moss flowering is going the same as the one in our nursery and around my vanda orchid growing under the mango tree.

Have a great week everyone, I hope my week at work goes quick as I want to continue working on the new brom garden bed on the weekend as I have more broms that need a nice shady spot to sit under.

Take care and happy gardening!

Trish

Are those green with pink centers Lila sue, i didnt think Lila had all that green. 1. Is a pic of what i have tagged as Lila?, its all green then goes this pink colour with hardley any green.
Shirley alot of beautiful broms there. I dont think that black ones Nelson but what do i know, looks like Zulu or pitch black...time will tell.
2. & 3. Look what my partner did to my Gruberi while cutting the palm nuts down and dropping them on my broms.
Was seeing if brom seeds grow better in coco peat or moss and i find the same but peat is cleaner and doesnt out grow the seeds like the moss or get algae on it either. I know what i'll be using next time.

good morning all. Wow, Shirley, nice photos. I liked them all! The little marble one you have labelled as 'Hatsumi' is very cute. You seem to have them in just the right lighting to have the colours so good.
Ian, your hanger seems to do the trick nicely. The back ground shows alot of broms too! I, too, have used Miltons sterilising solution in my misting bottle, but seem to have stopped adding it at some stage, not on purpose, just forgot I guess. it could be the solutiong to preventing those gnats, as it would restrict the growth of fungus, which is what the bugs feed on. Thanks for reminding me about it, and I might start to add it once again.
Hi Trish, look at you dropping in on a weekday! It gets addictive doesn't it? And so much happens in one day, it becomes easier to comment daily. Thank you for your compliments on my photos. the spanish moss flowering never ceases to amaze me. Its so tiny! I only spottd two or three flowers amongst quite a few clumps, but I imagine I will see alot more from now on. I wonder if I cold cross pollinate them with another tillandsia, and what would result?
Hi Bree, yes N. 'Lila' they are fully shade grown nd won't see any sun for another month yet. They get big and strappy and dark green. I have some others growing in a slightly lighter area, but still no sun, and thy get the pink spreading a bit further, and mottling on the green parts, indicative of 'Lila'. Oh your poor V. ospinae gruberi! If anything, it might force it to throw more pups. At least it won't kill it! I find if you zap the sphagnum moss in the microwave for a few minutes, it won't grow anymore. I've just gone back to using it after having so much trouble with fungus gnats in the peat, but have started laying a paper towel over the top of the sphagnum moss before I add the seed. Why? I'm not sure, but they have germinated and are doing well.
Photo one is a plant that was sold to me,mounted on a stick and called a variegated Tillandsia. While shopping, I acidentally knocked one off and had to buy it also. It never recovered and this one went backwards so quickly that i potted it, and wah-lah, it is an orthophytum triolour!
Photo two is a Tillandsia gardnerii seedling on a peice of tree fern trunk, with my finger for size comparison.