Bromeliads for novices and Addicts - Dec 2012

hello everyone. How good has this thread been for the last few months? Lets keep it going and keep posting all the wonderfull photos.
Welcome to anyone with an interest in bromeliads. Don't be shy. Join in, chat and ask as many questions as you like.
we came from here http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1286523/#top
Sue

Hi all, our brom group Xmas do is on tomorrow. I've been in the garden today filling holes with dirt and repositioning some of my plants. I also picked some more seed today. Ques quesneliana and N heart of fire which had some germinated seedlings in the pods. I guess it was time, mother at work again. I may have initiated that as I pulled a couple a week or two age to test for ripeness and put them back where they came from. I don't know whether that is a posibility or whether it is just 1 of those things. I also planted some Ae that may have been crossed with Gameosepala. Not much else happening except that my youngest son and his partner are moving back in for a while. She is due to have a baby very soon, like in the next few weeks so that could be fun. Sleepless nights again.
Have a good one
Ian

Sue is that youur Johannis de rolf? I love your Varigated Blanchy, ive always wanted one.
Got a few new ones i have yet to pot up and the pics are not very good taken inside.
Love the deep pink in this varigated one 1.Bobs Dream. 2. gotta love Lamberts Pride. 3. Finally got a Cane Fire. 4. Dark Veil, love the shape. Ever heard of this, its not on the register.

This message was edited Dec 1, 2012 4:42 AM

Hi all, another very hot day here today.

Nev, hope you enjoyed your Brom Society Christmas Party. Nice pics and thanks for offering to take care of my NOID aechmea or whatever, and speaking of Ae Rodco, does anyone have a pup for sale or future swap as I would really love to get hold of one.

Sue, thanks for the new thread, love the variegated blanchy and your neo de Rolf. Is that neo Blast in the top left of the pic … very nice, and what is the one on the right? Hope you get over your cold quickly. I reckon a cold at this time of the year is the worst.

Ian, hope you enjoy your brom group Xmas party. And sounds like you are going to be busy for a while.

Bree, those are very nice plants.

Hi Trish, where are you ... missing the pics of all your lovely broms.

I took lots of photos today. There is so much colour in the broms at the moment with so many in flower … just beautiful … love my broms.

I will add some group shots tonight from various angles in the new shade house ... bit of spillover there as well. I will attach some of the broms in the old shade house next week.

Bye for now,

Shirley

Hi everyone – Not a very nice day down here yesterday; and although the temperature was only 39, when combined with the high humidity it really became quite uncomfortable. Fortunately the hall where we had our society Christmas Party had good air conditioning, so for the most part of the day we were quite comfortable, but didn't we know it when we got away from the air conditioning when the party finished.

I spent some time talking to a couple of new members at our party, and it looks like I have a couple of converts to the hobby of brom seed growing, so the quest for the perfect brom goes on.

Sue – Sorry to hear you have a cold, especially at this time of the year. I don't think there's anything so common that can make you feel so miserable, especially during the warmer weather.

That's nice colour you have in the variegated “Blanchy”, unfortunately we don't see them down this way. Also, that's a really nice looking Neo. 'De Rolf ' and a great way to start the new thread with a “bang”.

Ian – You do occasionally get a few seeds that can't wait for the pod to be opened before they start growing (fortunately not very often). I have on a couple of occasions also had seed germinate in the water in the cups of Neoregelias where I have squeezed some seed just for the hell of it.

You say you think your Aechmea may have crossed with Gamosepala, I tend to agree as I have found Ae. Gamosepala to be the most promiscuous of any brom, and it seems to want to breed with anything it can. Unfortunately the majority of the resulting flowers all tend to look like Gamosepala albeit often in different colours.

Best of luck with the “mother to be” moving in, I hope you've brushed up on your "emergency childbirth" skills Ha! Ha!

Breeindy – I like the colours in your pup of Neo.“Bob's Dream”, I have one called Neo 'Bob's Baby' which is a Grace Goode hybrid from Neo 'Aussie Dream' x Neo. 'Aussie Dream' . Your plant is another of Grace Goode's and was made by crossing Neo 'Bob's Baby' F2 with Neo. 'Lovely Lady' (which is also one of the Aussie Dream grex).Neo. 'Bob's Dream' has superior colouring to Bob's Baby and is a beautiful plant and when mature, has a large spreading habit. See: http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/bcr/index.php?genus=NEOREGELIA&id=3276#3276

I have to agree with you, Lambert's Pride and Cane Fire are both great plants; I have a plant called Neo 'Red Veil' but unfortunately I've never heard of Neo 'Dark Veil' so I can't help you with any other info about it.

Shirley – I did have a great time at our Christmas Party. As for a pup from Ae. 'Rodco' I seem to remember Sue was growing it so maybe she can help you out with a pup.

I love all of your pic's; when you see all of the different colours mixed up like that, it really makes all the hard work worthwhile doesn't it?

Before I go I'd like to just say “good day” to all of our members who are AWOL for various reasons and wish anyone on the sick list a speedy recovery. Finally I'll finish with some random pic's I took around the back yard early yesterday morning.

All the best, Nev.


This message was edited Dec 1, 2012 1:10 PM

Hi All!

Wow it feels like it’s been about six months since I last posted except things appear to have gone a bit quiet, maybe everyone is busy running around getting Christmas shopping out of the way before the shops become bedlam to be around. We have not even started Christmas shopping other than the basics for the kitchen mainly (because I like to cook) and more decorations. We tend to leave things pretty much to the last minute because we only buy for a few family members as many years ago some wise family member decided we could do away with buying presents for one another and we all agreed it was a great idea, more important is a phone call to one another during the festive season whilst we are all on holidays and have a bit of extra time up our sleeves to get on the phone and catch-up properly or get together when we can.

Anyway, what have we been up to other than work, work, work? Well mainly temp shading more of the garden as we decided to prune some tree branches back that we kept hitting our head on which was the Avocado tree and now my broms aren’t as protected (go figure), so I built today a very semi sturdy sort of cover for them which should hopefully last until we can build something sturdy. I just felt way too lazy to go to Bunnings today which is not like me at all because I luv going to Bunnings (something must be wrong with me lol). Instead I just used what we had around the yard, off cuts of shade cloth, tomato stakes for support and bamboo poles placed at the front of the shade cloth ends, end result not that great but for now doing what I need it to do which is to protect my broms from the suns harsh rays so I can rest easy they will be ok for the week. I have attached a pic of work in progress and have started putting broms under this cover.

We also nearly finished putting broms in the spot I prepared in the pool area, they are all doing fine apart from a few I had to move because they were getting too much light and showing signs of loosing a bit of colour. So we mainly have sun hardy ones there now and they are going great and are colouring up nicely. Pic attached below. We have two more sails we want to put around the pool area which will mean I will be able to display more broms around the area probably in large pots planted in grouped or mixed up displays maybe.

Aside from the above the weekends nearly over already - sad face :(, I just have a few broms to pot up this arvo and want to give everything a good hand water later this arvo and that’s pretty much will be it for the day. We have a friend coming over late this arvo for a catch-up which will be nice.

The baby Kookaburra’s, 2 out of 3 have swan dived out of their nest luckily into a smaller tree below and appear to be doing well trying to fly / eat etc; which leaves 1 in the nest very unhappy indeed crying most of the day to be fed as not getting fed as often as before because mum and day are busy feeding them all but having to fly to them in all different directions. Anyway it is nice to hear and see nature so close to our back yard and I could easily watch them all day going about their business as I find it really relaxes me. Nev I really liked the picture you posted of your Kookaburra friend, how lucky are we that they grace us with their beautiful presence.

We have been going for heaps of swims during the day just to keep cool in between gardening and Lucy has a new boogie board and has also been joining us every swim, Lexi on the other hand has to be carried in like a big baby because she has a fear of the water which is a real shame, we are trying our best to train her not to be scarred but the only way she will get in is if we carry her and once she is in she relaxes as is content been held and is happy for us to let her go and swim to the edge by herself once we have given her time to settle down a bit first.

We are really looking forward to having some time off during Christmas, I have so much I want to do around the garden and I can’t wait to have time up my sleeve to get it all done, I will feel so content getting things in order around here and the nursery sorted for my broms.

I really enjoyed looking at everyone’s beautiful brom pics; so many more I have added to my want list. Hi Shirley and Sue you blew me away with your group shots of all your broms, how wonderful and healthy do they all look. Shirley you look like you could open up your own nursery with all the beautiful big healthy broms you have, how organised you are with them. Sue your newly constructed shade house is chock-a-block, I luv it. Do you have plans to build more of these around the garden, how great would it be to see an arial shot of your place, I am sure it would be amazing to see how you have it all set out. Sue would you happen to have a spare Blanchanata pup you could spare for a possible swap with the Neo Kismet you liked? This is one I have on my want list.

Sue thanks for starting new thread, I don’t know how to do this??? Hope you get rid of your Summer Flue as quick as it came, I agree with Shirley that Summer Flues are the worst.

Hi Bree really like all your new purchases, how are you going for room as some of these look like they need semi shade? Do you have any room in your Orchid Nursery for some of your broms? You will not be disappointed with Neo Cane Fire, I luv the one I have which is in flower but no signs of it pupping yet. I also want Neo Purple Cane Fire which is on my wish list. Bree the Orchid Pic I posted in November was of Temptation (part of the Roth’ family).

Hi Nev great pics of all your broms, what brom is your Pic 5 as I really like how intense the colouring is in this one, would definetly brighten up a dull corner. Glad to hear your Christmas Party went well and that you have some new people interested in growing from seed, how wonderful. What have you been up to in your garden and nursery, I would luv to see pics of both if you would not mind sharing? I can imagine your nursery would be so very organised and full of colour.

Ian you sound like you are going to have your hands full with mother to be moving in, I hope that it goes well for everyone and nice that you can all be together for Christmas.

Wendy glad to hear you and Johnny are spending quality time with Max and it’s great that Johnny took Max for a swim which he would have luved. Wendy I really liked your idea with the barbed wire in your nursery for hanging pots, it would be great in ours but I think the shade cloth is too low and we would probable injure ourselves on it lol.

Hi to everyone else who may be looking in or is on the Sick List. Until next time take care everyone, speak soon and Happy Gardening!

Time to go and pot up some of my broms, I will have to stop for a cuppa later when frend drops in.

Trish

Pic 1 Brom Garden in Pool Area (Pic taken at night)
Pic 2 Vr. Kiwi Sunset (BIG PLANT)
Pic 3 Neo NOID – Any ideas anyone????????????????????????? Its Pet Name is Neo Bubble Gum lol
Pic 4 Temp Shaded Area (looks crap but should do the job for now :)
Pic 5 Neo Aussie Dream (Tag just said Aussie D Seedling) I hope D stands for Dream?

Hi all, We had our lunch for Xmas at a club and then went to a members house for our last meeting for the year, just a quick meeting and then a bit of socialising.I gave a presentation on collecting seed from a Quesnelia quesneliana flower. They actually hide under the laminations of the flower spike. The ones on this spike were a sort of reddish and of a decent size. Photo 2 shows seed pod and some seed.
Nev I have brushed up on childberth emergency skills. it is called triple0.
Have a good one
ian
Pic 1 N Queens tears
Pic 2 Ques quesneliana seed and pod
Pic 3 Vr Kiwi dusk X sunset
Pic 4 Ae Bracteata showing teeth

Hi everyone. Did you miss me yesterday??? I went to the theatre for the first time since about 1990 when I was at uni. we often went then as a group of fellow students. I forgot how much fun it was to see a live performance. This one was so funny. It was called "A kick in the Baubles" and was about a couples Christmas day and family and friends who come to visit. It was adults only so a bit of language and double entendre involved but that just made it all the more funny. The quote that stuck in my mind was one from the main male character called Frank talking about his wife's niece who was a typical dumb blonde. He said "If I ate a can of alphabet soup I could shit a more intelligent conversation than you could have with her."

Nev we have one of those Ae Bromeliifolia Albobracteata. I also loved the shape of it and when the infloresence was rising we expected something a bit more in proportion to the size of the plant. when it opened to this tiny little thing on top it was a bit disappointing. It is nice to now have a name for it though. thanks to you for naming it for me. (see pics please as now I'm not sure) Nev I'm happy to send you the stamps as I'm sure you've sent me more parcels than I've sent you so I must owe you postage and if a packet of stamps helps I'm happy to oblige now and then. I have been sowing more of your seed this week as I've been cleaning out the fridge before Christmas. Had lots of containers with just a bit of seed in so they've been emptied into little packets and trays used for sowing seeds instead. now to just wash out the inside now that all the containers are gone.

Shirley your shadehouse pics were lovely with lots of colour but those pipes in the middle look like they need some totem rings to give you another layer for your broms.

Ian I wish we could work out how to collect seed from the quesnelias. I recently tried crossing q. lieboniana with a billbergia. I don't know if this will work or not. I did get some seed on the billbergia and have about 5 or 6 seedlings starting to grow. Like the Ae Bromeliifolia Albobracteata I also love the shape and teeth of the bracteata. We never seem to have any problem selling these seedlings especially when they turn red growing in full sun. Sue gave me a batch of her seedlings that she couldn't get rid of and I think we are down to about 5 or 6 of them left now. we'll have to reort to just pups for a while till we get another batch of seedlings coming on. they are still only in little seedling tubes at present.

Ian your pic 1 doesn't look like queens tears to me. either DG as swapped around your pics or dropped one out completely.

Nev I meant to take an update pic today of ae caudata variegata flower but just ran out of time. I want to take pics of all the vriseas that Johnny has already put out the front for the sale. I've promised a friend in NQ a list of vrisea pups available as I have a Vr Dillings black beauty to send her and she wants something else in the parcel to make postage worth while. Shirley you are always welcome to come over on the Friday before our sales for first dibs. Johnny always stresses out that we are not going to be ready in time for a sale but today we filled our 7th table with some lovely full grown plants. we only have 3 more tables to fill and we have to keep one for Jen's plants. Shirley we have that ae you were wanting but I don't think Johnny has any out for sale yet. we do have a few round the yard though so he should have one to spare. we are trying to build up numbers again after almost running out last year. Jen restocked us from her supply and we have a few pups from those. we are going to put out a heap of freshly removed pups this time and sell them bare rooted to save potting. let someone else do that partinstead. we certainly have lots of pups we can take off and I even started today. cut down some foam boxes with no holes in bottom to leave only about 4 inch sides. I put empty pots inside this and stand pups up in them. All pups will have names in felt on side and a label in middle. we use laminated pics attached to the pups to show how pup will end up and this seems to sell them for us.

Pic 1 is the caudata infloresence developing for Nev. Today I noticed lovely yellow flowers peeping out of that big orange infl. meant to get a pic for you Nev but I promise I will tomorrow.
Pic 2 is ae freckles also flowering in the front yard.
Pic 3 & 4 is the plant we had labelled as triangularis that I thought was your Ae Bromeliifolia Albobracteata Nev but I think the shape of the infl may be different. can you confirm if it is one or the other of those names??? (sorry DG mixed the order up... now 3 & 5)
Pic 5 is our alcant extensa flower spike now sticking up over the top of the shadehouse. we can see it from the front verandah now when we are having our cups of tea. last couple days have been just too damn hot to enjoy too many cuppas through the day though so we've just been sitting downstairs and have a cold drink instead unless it is just too hot to sit down there. This usually means there is no cooling breeze to keep it cool under the tin roof. but usually we do get a breeze in there and that is where my potting table is set up. Johnny will insist that I move everything away this week though so it is nice and clean and tidy for sale. which annoys me as I only have to retrieve all my pots and bits and pieces again to set up next week fo continue potting.

ah well time for bed again. thanks Sue for the new thread. I was wracking my brain trying t remember how so was glad when you did it. Sorry if I missed anyone. Trish an Bree lovely pics again.
Night all
Wendy

Hi everyone, we had a fairly quiet weekend, didn’t do much at all. It was too hot to go brom searching at any of the local markets. I did manage to plant a few things in the garden very late this afternoon, when it cooled off a bit.

I noticed quite a few pups on my neos this morning, coming along nicely. I was especially pleased to see I have two on my neo Manoa Beauty which is great as it’s still very close to the top of my favourites list.

Nev, do you have the names of the neos in the pics attached to your last post.

Trish, great to hear from you, it does seem like a long time since you last posted. Lovely pics.

Wendy, you’re right, some totem rings would certainly make the pipes in the shade house look a whole lot better. You seem to be organised for your sale well in advance. We’ll see you around mid morning on Friday, looking forward to catching up with you and Johnny (and Max).

Pics of a few more of my favourite neos - 1 Jewellery Shop, 2 Painted Delight, 3 Camelot, 4 Hula Girl, 5 Purple Star

Bye for now,

Shirley

Shirley i love all them broms to. I have Jewellery Shop and Camelot but not the others.
I have this one called Purple Surprise? (got abit damaged when my bf cut some palm fronds down on it).
Nev what were your pics, love them also.

Hi everyone – We had more nice light rain overnight and everything in the garden's looking great.
I hope everyone's in good health, and those on the sick list are recovering well and also the “sick computers”; I hope they're getting better and their owners will once again soon be posting.

Trish – Nice to see you putting up your weekend post once again, it's great to hear all of your news.

Christmas shopping, what's that? My daughter loves shopping, so she takes my wife with her and I am left behind to just keep company with my brom's; this really upsets me (I don't think) as there's nothing I used to hate more than trying to wade through the Christmas crowds of shoppers and coming home feeling like you had done a hard day's work.

I like your temporary shade area; I must say it looks most professional even though you say it looks “crap”. I have an area I'm replanting down the back but unfortunately I've left it too late for the plants to become gradually acclimatised to the hot weather so it looks like I'll have to erect something similar as sun protection.

You're very lucky to see the young Kookaburras at such close quarters. The ones that come in here all come from “Blackbutt Reserve” which is about one kilometre from here and most of the other wild birds that visit seem to come from there also.

I pleased to see the Spotted Honey Eaters nesting once again in my Vriesea Shade House, this make the third year in a row now they have nested there. They are now getting quite tame and trusting and when I am set up in the garage potting plants, they will now often fly in one door and hop around the shelves and watch what I'm doing for a while before flying out through the back door and into the shade house. Like you say, we are very fortunate to be able to enjoy this wildlife at such close quarters. It's also great to see you including your dogs into your swimming, they're great mates and really do become an integral part of the family. It's very interesting, but I've found over the years that people who grow brom's are usually also interested in anything to do with pets and “Mother Nature”, I guess we must all be nice, kind people!

Trish, my pic 5 is Neo 'Pink Sensation', it's a beautiful brom but unfortunately I'm not sufficiently skilled at capturing the true colour on my camera. It's not as dark as that picture shows, and is more of a “lolly pink” with a sort of iridescence about it. As for pic's of my garden, well I don't really have a garden as such. I just have a few shade structures around the yard made mainly from re-cycled materials with brom's planted in the ground in the areas in between. As I tell people, it isn't something I built, it just “grew”. Anyway, when the rain stops I'll try and get a few pic's to better describe what I have.

As usual you've posted pic's of some very nice plants and the one in the last pic looks more like Neo. 'Nobel Descent' or Neo. 'Nobel Descent Too' to me, are you sure of the label? You know what they say, “you should never trust the name on a label”!

Ian – It's great to hear you are sharing your knowledge with fellow brom growers. You certainly chose a good subject, and I say this because, all the years I have been attending brom meetings, I have never heard a presentation on Quesnelias, especially gathering seed from them. Perhaps you'd like to write a bit about it here for us all to learn from.

It's also good to see you know what to do if the baby comes at home. Tripple “0” is is the way to go, but what if the ambulance is held up in traffic? Then it's Ian to the rescue, Ha! Ha!

I'm amazed at the “teeth” on you Ae Bracteata, really a savage looking beast isn't it? It seems like before you start handling that one, you would need some of those stainless steel mesh gloves like the meat boners wear.

Wendy – I grew those Ae. Bromeliifolia albobracteata plants from seed I bought off Ebay. I had never heard of the plant before, and at that time I was growing all the seed I could get my hands on (you know how it is), so I sent away for it. They grew very easily and quickly and I too was anxiously awaiting the flower as it emerged and boy oh boy what an anti-climax. Although I hate the teeth on the plant, there is something about the sculptural shape of the plant that is attractive and I did give one to a Cactus growing friend who planted it in the middle of a Cactus Garden as a feature and it looks great, so I guess there is a place for everything after all.

I did the same as you when selling freshly cut pups at our last show. I put pic's of the adult flowering plant on each one so people could see what they were getting and I sold the lot. I have always preferred to buy bare root pups myself , because I always pot new acquisitions in my own mix anyway, and besides you can tell a lot more about the condition of the plant if they are bare rooted or freshly cut with no roots when you buy them.

I like your variegated Caudata, and after you posted it previously I went and had a look at mine and my variegated one is putting up a flower spike as well. However still nothing from the albo-marginated one, so it looks like it will be getting moved to a new location.

Your pic's 3 and 5 certainly look like Ae bromeliifolia albobracteata to me and not Ae. Triangularis. I can only assume the flowers were pale green and short lived as well? (see Pic 1).

Shirley – Gee I really slipped up didn't I? Fancy forgetting to put names on the plants in the pic's. Anyway here goes, Pic 1 was Neo. 'Narelle' (One I got from Wendy I think, and I also think it's an Alan Freeman hybrid) , Pic.2 was Neo. 'Lamberts's Pride' x ['Charm' x 'Cracker Jack'], Pic.3 was Neo. 'Lovely Lady', Pic.4 was one of my own hybrids made from Neo 'Painted Lady' (variegated sport) x Neo. 'Ferny Grove'and Pic. 5 was Neo.'Pink Sensation'.

You've posted pic's of five top quality plants yet again Shirley. I really like the plant named as Neo.'Camelot' in your third pic. It's a magnificent looking plant and the white colouring is really a “stand-out” and very “eye catching”. Is this the true colour or is it a trick of the camera? If this is the true colour, I think you really have managed to get a special “sport” of Camelot. If the colour is as the picture depicts, could you please put my name down for a pup when you get one spare?

Breeindy – Gee your boyfriend certainly took the smile of the face of that brom. What happened to him after you “decked him” and he picked himself up of the ground? Did you issue him with a penalty of six months gardening and brom shopping with you?

Time for breakfast now, so some pic's to finish with; firstly Pic.1 which is Ae. Bromeliifolia albobracteata flower (for Wendy), Pic 2 is Neo 'Ashanti' which I got from Sue, however I can't get the colour as good as Sue can. Pic.3 is Neo. 'Ice White River', Pic 4 is Neo. 'Hot Gossip' and Pic 5 is Neo. 'Pink Star'

All the best, Nev.

Hi all, I just had to plant up some more seeds again, this time to make room to play with my Quesnelia flower. i bought this plant flowering on 22-07-12 and have been watching for any sign of change in where i hoped seeds might be. Gently I have been peeling back the crepe like layers and viewing inside.. I think it was on Thursday that i saw the first seed pod plump and pink in colour. There were a lot of brown ones but they were empty. The pink one actually had seeds within. I just hope that they are ripe, too late now as I have cut the flower off. I have a few piccies of how to find the seed pods. I think the piccies will explain how to find them more than my words. I have no idea how to fertilise the flowers so that Mother makes the seeds form. That is something that I need to look into. I am still experimenting and if anyone tells me it can't be done, then I see it as a challenge.If there is a will there is a way (and a relative). It is now time to feed the inner man, Will be back later.
Pic 1 Quesnelia mature flower with seed pods hidden under crepe like covers.
Pic 2 Pink/red seed pods with covers taken off.

Back again, had to resize my pics.
Pic 1 Ae bracteata with flower spike. It has been resting against a fence until yesterday and then I potted it.
pic 2 Ae Little Harve
Pic 3 Ques seed pods at end of skewer full sun pic
Pic 4 same pic in shade
Pic 5 Mumma flower on 12-07-12
Wendy The neo had a label of Queens tears, but I cannot find it on fcbs. I will ask the seller next time I see them. I think you could be correct.
Nev If I have to call triple0 I will be talked through whatever is necessary, besides that Ros has done her training in maternity/ midwifery but would she remember it, that is the question.
I just love all the pics.
Have a good one
ian

Hi Everyone!

Super quick look in tonight as I have book work to do, hope I can stay awake to get some of it done.

Fantastic pics everyone, Shirley I agree totally with Nev, WOW your Neo Camelot is very different to any that I have seen, I like yours so much better than mine, that white banding is amazing, what a prize plant you have there.

Nev, that brom of mine you mentioned might be Neo Nobel Descent or Nobel Descent Two, was labled by who ever Germaine purchased from as Aussie D Seedling? Nev do you have any pics you can post so I can compare thanks?

Nev that temp shade area you liked is very easy to construct, I just put the tomato stake structure up first then tackle the shade cloth in sections so that if any get damaged one panel can be removed and replaced, I will eventually change the bamboo ends that make it look so out of shape with more of the tomato stakes to achieve a more even line. I constructed a smaller version else where in the garden and it's still standing like when I first put it up a year ago and has really served it's purpose protecting my broms from falling mangos and avocados that just roll off as well as helps keep the leaf litter away. I attach the shade cloth to the fence with zip ties.

Nev your Neo Ashanti reminds me so much of my Neo Cliff Siverd, are they at all related??? Thanks for letting me know that your Pic 5 was Pink Sensation - what a beautiful brom.

Good news the last of the Kookaburra's has left the nest and we heard them all singing to one another when I got home from work and I was so pleased that he or she finally got the courage to take a flying leap out of the nest so to speak lol. If I had been there at the time I would have probably had to cover my eyes praying they would have a safe landing, but it must have because no baby Kookaburra anywhere in site.

Anyway I better get started on that dreaded bookwork :(

Just one pic tonight of Ae Ensign that I only paid a couple of dollars for because it had a great deal of bottom leaf damage that I have cut away:

Night All!

Hi all, was it hot today or what !!! We didn’t get the storm that was predicted this arvo so I am hoping it won’t be as hot tomorrow as forecast, up in the high thirties.

Bree, shame about the damage to your neo purple surprise, it looks like a nice brom. I remember seeing a pic of one of your vrieseas (I think it was vr gigantea) a while back that was damaged by falling palm fronds your partner cut down … hopefully just the one incident caused the damaged to both plants.

Nev, cameras are tricky aren’t they. My neo Camelot is not white but a pale yellow-green colour but still a very eye catching plant. It is certainly paler in colour than another neo Camelot I have but the markings are similar. It is still quite young, my daughter gave it to me in June as a large pup. I will make a note that you would like a pup and post more pics as it grows and you can let me know if you are still interested.

Nev, I really like your neos, especially neo Narelle, I will have to see if Wendy has another one and also your neos Ashanti and Ice White River. I have a neo Pink Star which looks similar to yours but the BCR shows it as a variegated plant (albo marginated).

Trish, as I mentioned to Nev, my neo Camelot is actually pale yellowish green but getting paler as it matures. Lots of white on your ae Ensign, I like the colouring.

Sue, hope you are recovering from your cold, guess it has slowed you down a bit hey!!

Hi to Ian and Wendy

Tonight’s pic is my Nid Innocenti coming into bloom.

Till tomorrow, Shirley

Shirley yes same incident, it was my V. Gruberi.
Love Neo 'Ashanti' Nev.

Hi All!

BIG thread today – my apologies in advance but I need to seize the opportunity when it presents itself lol.

Took a day’s annual leave today as had to drop car in for a service and it would cost way too much for me to taxi into work and back so normally I take day off and drop car in really early so I can pick it up late arvo so I am not without a vehicle for the next day.

Spending the rest of the day in the garden as have heaps of brom splitting to do as some of the broms I purchased recently had two or more broms in the one pot that are fighting for room to breathe; this will hopefully promote them to pup as some of them are in flower, I normally do not separate them until after they flower but I really have no choice as they are that squashed up together there would be no room for them to pup anyway, aside from the fact that the pots keep falling over all the time from being too top heavy and some of the pots are perishing.

Shaded another part of our entertainment area early this morning before it got too hot so I could shelter some more of my Vrieseas . I am chasing as much shade possible at the moment, especially for my Vrieseas; I also like to keep them in our entertainment area because aside from this protecting them from the sun it also protects them from wind and debris damage given how long some of their leaves can grow, so they tend to receive more damage than my neo’s if I have them outside. I do have a few duplicate Vrieseas outside tucked in between and under shrubs and they appear to be doing fine.

Hi Shirley pleased to hear you liked my Ae. Ensign, yeah it does have a lot of white which I am very pleased about as I really want to inject more white amongst all my other broms as I seem to collect the darker types with deep colouring for some reason? Joe recently purchased Ae. Orlandiana “Pinky” that I had my eye on from EBay and am really looking forward to receiving it in the mail, as soon as I have received and potted up I will upload a pic to everyone.

Shirley thanks for clarifying the colour of your Neo Camelot is Pale Yellowish Green, it still looks absolutely divine and so very different to mine. I really like your Pic of Nid Innocenti; it is a very striking plant with those beautiful variegated leaves.

Hi Bree I think the NOID Pup I thought was Neo Stormy Weather but is not is nearly ready to separated and send off to you, I will have to look and see if I have anything else ready that I can pop in a parcel for you, so can you please D-Mail me with your postal details etc. when you get a chance. Hey those squashed broms you posted pics of sadden me he he, but hey at least they will recover down the track when they grow some new foliage. A few of mine got SMASHED with Avocado’s right in the centre and they are still alive and growing new foliage, I just tend to put them further back in the queue rather than right up in front because they look a bit neglected lol. Anyway they are protected now by the temp shade cloth structure I recently constructed.

Bree I just found a pup I separated that you might like of Neo ‘Scandal’ – Seed Parent (carolinae x sapiatibensis), Hybridizer Skotak, C. It is a very nice variegated pup that I think gets very pink in the centre; the half dead mother that I took it off appears to be a medium sized grower, I have placed her in my retirement village as she may just produce a few more pups now that I have cut pups off her (you just never know). Anyway please let me know if you are interested or not as I have a spare I can also post to you? Bree I have posted Pic 1 so you can see well established pup, I think it needs a semi shady spot even though it’s leaves are thick and leathery to touch?

I can’t wait to have some time off over Xmas as I have a few more projects in mind for the garden, we have a huge clumping palm tree of some sort NOID in the front yard that would be great for shading broms under, I am planning to dig a large circle around the palm tree and reinforce the circle with either rocks, bricks or something else and then top the area up with nice large pebbles for all my broms to sit on. Anyway hopefully I will get some of this done over my Xmas break? I have pruned a lot of the inner part of the palm tree back to let more light and air in. I also want to continue extending the back brom garden bed, I have the shade cloth part already done as this area gets slammed by direct sun from about 12noon onwards and the irrigation line we ran along the top if the fence is in place and operational; we would only uncover this area for parts of the day like on weekends. It is not ideal but at least it gives me more room to house some of my Neo’s and the ones that are under there at present appear very happy.

Anyway time to go and get my hands dirty as these broms need to be split and potted up – ah how relaxing a task it is.

Hi to everyone else who may be looking in or is on the Sick List. Until next time take care everyone, speak soon and Happy Gardening!

Trish

I will post this thread later this arvo once I have taken some pics to attach.
Pic 1 Neo Scandal
Pic 2 Friend Wallaby that came to visit us today while I had the camera around my neck walking around the garden.
Pic 3 Nev I thought you might appreciate this photo taken today also of the Sunbird that very often visits me when I am in the garden, a bit like the ones that visit you in your nursery. How beautiful are they.
Pic 4 Neo Rose Blush
Pic 5 My Woolworths purchase the other day of Ae. Fasciata ‘Pink Vase’

Hi everyone - Well we're back into the second day of another week and, is it me or are the days going faster and faster? It's a bit hot here today with a warm westerly wind blowing to make it even more uncomfortable.

I'm a bit limited in what I can do today as I can't bend too far because I scalded the right side of my chest and abdomen with boiling water last Friday morning and now the blisters are starting to break and the raw area is aggravated every time I try to bend down. They reckon there's no fool like an old fool and this all happened when I picked up the kettle with wet hands and it slipped out of my grasp. Instead of just letting the kettle fall on the floor and jumping clear, my natural instinct was to try and hold it which meant I copped the boiling water instead. I'll tell you something though, I'll bet no body's ever taken off a tee shirt as quickly as I did.

Ian – Thanks for the info on harvesting seed from a Quesnelia. I can honestly say I haven't done this before as I try to stay clear of all the teeth on the leaves. However I have a plant of Quesnelia Quesneliana 'Rubra' which has recently finished flowering and to satisfy my curiosity, I went looking for seed capsules on that particular plant, and I followed your instructions and low and behold I found them. These ones were white in colour however there was no seed in the two I picked out so maybe a bit early yet as they didn't come out too easily.

As for pollinating them Ian, the process is exactly the same for any flower, you just have to take the pollen which is on the anther (male part of the flower) and found on the top part of the stamen and then transfer it to the stigma which is the female part of the flower. However I'm probably over simplifying things a bit here, as different brom's have these male and female parts in different locations within the flower. For example a Neoregelia has the stigma concealed beneath the stamens whereas with a Billbergia the stigma is sticking out clear of the stamens. So I guess it's probably a case of a bit of botany homework to find where these parts are located on Quesnelias before you can start any pollinating process.

I really admire your Ae Bracteata with its nice sculptural shape not that much unlike an Ae Bromeliifolia. The nice large red inflorescence is really nicely set off by the brilliant scarlet bracts, and makes it a real “show stopper”; however it's all the teeth on the leaves that stops me from ever owning one.

Trish – I think I'm pretty safe in saying with your Neo. Aussie D seedling the “D” probably stands for “Dream” as in Aussie “Dream” seedling but which of the plants in the Aussie Dream grex is it, that's the question as there are many of them, both named and unnamed, see a list of just the registered ones at:
http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/bcr/index.php?genus=NEOREGELIA&id=2992#2992

It could be from the “original”Aussie Dream grex or it may even be a seedling from another later cross using one of the many Aussie Dreams as one of the parents and as you know, once you start crossing hybrid to hybrid anything's likely to turn up.

I'm posting two Neo. Noble Descent pictures (Pic's 1 and 2) from different sources and as you know these plants vary greatly depending on the amount of light they are grown under. I've seen them grown in very high light where they all are almost yellow and also in shade where they can be green. Pic 3 is Neo. 'Noble Descent Too' which can also be grown in good light to get the same yellowish foliage as the others. If your Aussie D seedling is only a smallish plant it's probably worth comparing it to the pic of Neo 'Fanfare' (Pic. 4) as that also sometimes can have similar colouring albeit a much smaller plant.

Unfortunately I can't check if there's any link between Neo 'Ashanti' and Neo Cliff Siverd as Neo 'Ashanti' is unregistered, but now that you mention it they do look a bit similar. Having said that though, the plant in my pic has a bit more growing to do before it's fully mature and the colour could change as it's quite different to Jen's Neo 'Ashanti' which she posted a pic of some while back. (see Pic.5)

You got a bit of a bargain with your Ae. Ensign, but let's just hope that any pups from it don't have too much more white otherwise they may start throwing albinos. As for the dead leaves around the base, well that's pretty common with all of the Ae. Orlandiana group and I suspect is just a part of the normal life cycle.

Shirley – I suspected it may have been a trick of the camera that gave the white colouring with your Camelot, however we never know if we don't ask. The fact that it is a bit different to your other Camelot suggests it may be a different clone and worth collecting anyway.

As for Neo. 'Pink Star', I never previously checked that against the BCR as I swappedt two plants from a very reliable friend of mine who had previously bought them from a reputable bromeliad nursery in N.S.W. The two plants were Neo. 'Purple Star' and Neo. 'Pink Star' and I just assumed they were grex mates from the same crossing, however we all know what happens when we “assume” don't we? (says he with egg all over his face)

I think the nice Nidularium in your pic is Nid. Innocentii lineatum not just straight Innocentii.

That's it for now and I'll finish now with some pic's for Trish. Pic's 1 and 2 are of different Neo 'Noble Descent' plants showing the various colours. Pic 3 is Neo Noble Descent Too which I've also seen the same colour as the Noble Descents, Pic.4 is Neo 'Fanfare and 'Pic' 5 is a pic of Jen's Neo 'Ashanti' which she has posted here previously. How do I know? Well it had her name on the Copyright but I'm sure she won't mind me posting it again for her.

All the best, Nev.

Hi everyone, what a shocker of a day … soooo HOT. It’s quite windy at the moment, so hoping it’s a bit cooler tomorrow.

Trish, good to hear from you mid week. Sounds like you are going to be busy for the rest of the year.

Nev, sorry to hear you burned yourself, hope it’s not too painful. Take care not to get an infection and get some rest. Put the feet up for a few days, take it easy, it’s too hot to work anyway.

Hi to Wendy, Sue, Ian, Bree.

Pics are mini neos 1 Rosy Fireball, 2 Wild Tiger … sorry Bree

Catch up tomorrow,

Shirley

Hi everyone. missed you all last night. I got caught up on a fb group with old school photos from Redlands schools. I found several with my oldest son Darren and even some with my husband in them but none with me. It was great to look through a try to id people I know. there were also lots of pics from around the redlands and I enjoyed trying to id those too. sddenly it was so late I turned computer off and went to bed. enjoyed the journey down memory lane though.

Ian I went looking for a quesnelia spent flower to pull apart today and discovered that hubby had cut off most already but did find 2 quesnelia quesnelia. I pulled them apart but I think they were too far gone.I'll have to try again next flower season. I'm hoping the billbergia I crossed with ques lieboniana will produce something different. at worst I'll have a billbergia seedling that will look nice. if anyone does get lucky and has lots of quesnelia seeds I'm happy to swap some seed to try growing some quesnelia seedlings.

Boy did we feel the heat today. by about 9am it was so hot and steamy downstairs that Johnny took Max for a swim and I stayed home to play with broms. I picked out a couple trays of plants to put out on tables then filled their spots with newly potted pups so I could clean out the potting area on back patio area by the pond. We have set up a couple tables there with foliage vriseas for sale. When Johnny came back he decided it was too hot to work so we went for a drive in the air conditioned car and ended up out at his sisters place. Johnny decided to start up the motorhome to see if the battery needed to come home to be charged up. Would you believe it actually started up after a short while. Anyway when we came home again it was so hot we just had to suck it up and work but there was a cooling breeze. However between 3 and 4pm the breeze got so hot it was more uncomfortable than refreshing. shirley we didn't get any of that storm yesterday either except for about 2ml of rain but Johnny's sister out back of Redland Bay said they had over an hour of really really heavy rain. so heavy they couldn't hear TV over the sound of rain on tin roof. we needed some of that.

We love our wildlife as the rest of you seem to do. we have our 2 baby magpies which we've christened heckle and jeckle. if I'm potting downstairs and I don't come when they call from upstairs one actually walks down the stairs to come to me now. the other one usually just hops in from the lawn area but they both now come to tell me they want to be fed. I still can't get them to take food from my hand yet but they are getting closer. Mum always takes food right out of our hands. the butcher birds also take food from our hands or they catch if if we throw it to them. I saw a butcher bird capture a small snake this morning down near the beach. he was sitting on a wire fence looking down to the footpath and as we drove past he flew down and grabbed the snake about 40cm long and thick as a finger. he belted it against the fence a couple times then went into the bush and we couldn't see where he went.

I'm off to bed now as we still have so much to do to get ready for this weekend. Shirley see you Friday morning. oh and I love that camelot plant of yours too so when you get lots of pups please put me on the list for one too. I think I have camelot but nothing like that pic of yours.

Pic 1 is neo burle marxii which looks lovely at this time of year when it gets the purple spotted flush.
Pic 2 is purple concentrica. I put about 2 or 3 of these out on tables today.
Pic 3 is neo fury. a couple of these on sales tables too.
Pic 4 is neo strawberry x little africa. finally got a really nice colour on a couple of these by putting them where they get strong morning sunlight with shelter from overhead trees. too much sun bleaches colour like in pic5 but just enough sunlight and I have a lovely specimen out for sale (pic 4) and one for me which nice chocolate colour. I just had to go downstairs to take a pic immediately to show you.

anyway night all.
Wendy.

oh and Nev, take care of your burns. you should remember kettles don't make good juggling tools. I bet you moved faster ripping that shirt off and it's a bit hard getting that part of the body in under the tap in the sink to cool it quickly.. not as easy as a splash on the hand from the kettle. do take good care of it and as Shirley said fingers crossed you don't get any infection from it.
that is the sort of thing Johnny would do I'm afraid. his hands just let go at the most inappropriate times like that.

night

Good moning all. Sorry I have been AWOL again. I actually just got home from 5 nights in Fiji, with a cold, so now I can see you will all feel very sorry or me! Heh heh. I had my computer, but was just too busy enjoying the sights and people of Fiji, as well as my family, to spend much time catching up, although I did read everyones posts.
I got back o a rather warm day, 1 foot tall grass and gum tree bark everywhere! Hubby and I aleady took care of most of the lawns yesterday afternoon, while it was cool, and I also got the bunker watered, and will water the brom house this morning, and the brom igloo this afternoon. Its good to be home, even though there is work waiting for me. I'd go stir crazy if there wasn't something to be done! The first load of washing is almost done and its only just turned 6am. Its a lovely fifteen degrees this morning!
So, in the pic at the top of this thread, on the top left is Neo. 'Inferno' and top centre is Neo. 'Rosey Morn', centre is Neo. 'De Rolf' which is flowering, so pups will follow.
Everyone has had such lovely things to show, and it sounds as though you have all been busy with either garden make overs, or the usual bromeliad chores of potting up and de-pupping. Its a busy time of year in the brom garden.
Sorry I haven't got any pics yet, but I will take some later in the day and post them tomorrow. I will leave you with a photo of what I had to endure in Fiji.
Sue
ps, Nev, I cringed when I read how you burned yourself. I do hope you have some pain killers to take away the worst of it? Silly duffer! I'm guessing you have been banned from the kitchen?

Hi everyone – I hope everyone's well, especially those who have been on the sick list like Colleen (I hope your back is well and truly on the mend) and Sue (I hope you've shaken that summer bug off and are on the mend also)

It looks like this computer is getting ready to “spit the dummy” once again as yesterday when I sent off my post, the last one posted was from Bree, but this morning I see there was also one after that posted by Trish. So, sorry I didn't respond to you Trish, but the last time I looked your post wasn't there. I'll never understand this computer, sometimes I think it's human and has changes of moods from time to time.

Trish – At this stage I'll just mention an observation that may be of interest to all you “budding hybridisers”; it's in relation to your first picture, Neo 'Scandal'. As you say the parentage is given as (carolinae x sapiatibensis) but also, the seed parent is Neo. Sapiatibensis (a species).

It's interesting to see that Chester Skotak has used a species (sapiatibensis) as the pollen parent and it is also one of the parents of the seed parent, so there is a “double dose” of species genes in that particular cross. From what I have picked up over the short time I have been studying breeding patterns with the “top hybridisers” it seems to me that all of the good hybridisers such as Chester Skotak and Grace Goode to mention just two, often introduce a species into the breeding pedigree every so often to put some strength and vigor back into the breeding line, so probably a good lesson to be learned here.

Trish you're quite right, I love pic's 2 and 3 but I hope that little Wallaby is on the other side of the fence to the brom's otherwise he might start eating them for lunch. I never cease to be amazed at the brilliant colours of the little Sunbirds and their close relations the Hummingbirds the majority of which come from Central and South America; and no matter what colour the bib around their neck is, it always seems to take on that glistening metallic type of shine.

Shirley – I love your little mini Neo's, especially the variegated one. I was like Bree once and didn't like them either but they have gradually grown on me (not really but you know what I mean) and I have now accumulated quite a good little collection although they're mostly all only pups at this stage. They do have some advantages in that they aren't heavy to move around and most importantly, they don't take up a lot of space, although there are some that are a bit larger than most see (Pic 1).

Wendy – School days, what memories they bring back, I loved primary school as we had wonderful teachers but high school was a different story altogether. We had one teacher there who was a real “mongrel” and unfortunately I managed to get on his wrong side the first time we ever had him and he made high school life a real misery for myself and a couple of other close friends and I couldn't leave soon enough.

What you say about hand feeding the Magpies and Butcher Birds reminds me of what happened here this morning when one of our daily visiting Kookaburras finally took some food from my hand. He had been getting closer each day but always seemed to hesitate at the last minute. He brought one of the “kids” with him this morning as well and he looked like the feathers top of his head were all soft and sticking up like a “crew cut”, but boy could eat, I though his Dad would be exhausted flying back and forth to get food for him.

Your Pic 2 puzzles me a bit with the name of Neo. 'Purple Concentrica', I've never seen it before nor is it on the BCR or the FCBS registers, but the main thing that doesn't ring true is the absence of any of the semi-concentric markings on the foliage which all genuine Neo. Concentricas should have, after all that's where the name comes from. Even the pic of your Neo 'Fury' still shows faint traces of these semi-concentric markings if you study it closely and that is after Neo. Concentrica was used in its breeding line two generations back. I think 'Purple Concentrica' is just a “pet name” someone has given it, and although a nice plant, it's hardly purple and more into the pink tones if the picture colour is accurate.

Your pic's 4 and 5 of Neo. 'Strawberry' x 'Little Africa' show how this plant has inherited the nice wide leaves of Mandela which was a parent of 'Africa' and 'Little Africa' however it seems the Neo. 'Strawberry' influence has diluted the colour to that unusual chocolaty colour in the centre. This plant too displays faint semi-concentric markings which tend to indicate that Neo. Concentrica was used somewhere back in its past breeding as well, but unfortunately a few of the past parents have nothing recorded of their ancestors to support this theory.

Sue – What can I say, here I was feeling sorry for you and you were in Fiji living it up all the time. At least you're now back and all refreshed to tackle all the work that's mounted up while you were away. Incidently, there was one good thing came out of my scald; it was so bloody sore I couldn't feel all the other aches and pains!

Time to go and a few pic's to finish with Pic.1 (not my plant unfortunately) but is a mini Neo. 'Mimi Skirt' (just to show what is possible with this plant), Pic 2 is Neo. 'Serendipity Girl' x 'Concentrica', Pic 3 is Neo 'Royal Cordovan', Pic 4 Neo 'Rosatina' x 'Concentrica' (about 3 feet across) and Pic 5 is a “Sunbird Hybrid”; and by this I mean it's from seed I got from that same lady that Trish bought her plants from in Far North Queensland. The seed parent was Neo. 'Blue Nude' and the pollen parent's name is only known to the Sunbirds who pollinated it. I think it has some possibilities though as it has nice wide, fat leaves and it hopefully will mature into something half decent.

All the best, Nev.

Hi All!

Hi Shirley cute pics of the mini’s you posted, I have Wild Tiger also but boy is it slow to grow and pup, no sign of any pups yet. Yeah Shirley we are definitely going to be busy the rest of the year and I am looking forward to having some good time off to get things done around the garden without being in a rush all the time.

Hi Nev thanks for posting various pics of Nobel Descent and Nobel Descent Too, I think you have identified my brom that was labelled Aussie D Seedling as it looks very much like your Pic 1 of Nobel Descent. I am going to have another closer look over the weekend just to be sure to be sure. Thanks Nev yeah I read that about the Neo Scandal pic I posted the other day that the Seed Parent is Sapiatibensis (a species) I found it very interesting the additional information you kindly provided regarding introducing a species into a breeding pedigree to put some strength and vigor back into the breeding line, definitely a good lesson to be learnt here.

Yeah lucky for my broms Nev that that Wallaby is on the other side of the fence aside from the time spent by our pooches chasing them up and down the yard every day when they come to visit them, the Wallabies are so interested in them almost like they are looking for some company and often Lucy and the Wallaby just sit across the fence looking at each other for hours it seems which always makes me smile. I was really lucky taking the pic of the Sunbird I posted as the battery went flat on my camera as soon as I had taken that photo and I ran inside to put a new battery in to see if the picture had turned out and when I saw it had I was so very pleased.

Nev I really liked the Pic 2 you posted of ‘Serendipity Girl’ x Concentrica, what a standout brom this one is.

Hi Wendy I liked reading your story about the baby magpies that come and visit you for a feed, I have one that visits me every day at work and taps on my window in my office to let me know it wants to be fed, I enjoy seeing it every day and have a water bowl out for all the birds to drink and swim from and they luv it, some don’t realize how deep the bowl is and when they come in for a landing they get just a little bit more than they bargained for in the dunking department which really makes me laugh.

Hi Sue we were wondering where you disappeared to, most people stay at home to get over a summer cold but you really can’t sit still can you lol, not that I blame you escaping to Fiji for the week. The pool pic you posted reminded me so much of the main pool I used to do laps in every morning when we lived on Hamilton Island for 8years, it was such a beautiful pool right by the sea with palm trees, restaurants and shops nearby. Anyway welcome back to reality lol, I am sure you missed your broms and garden heaps.

Hi to everyone else who may be looking in or is on the Sick List. Until next time take care everyone, speak soon and Happy Gardening!

Trish

Pic 1 Neo Pink Fairy Floss
Pic 2 Neo Maona Beauty Pup
Pic 3 Pink Ginger Flower to show Nev
Pic 4 Bunch of Pink Ginger Shoots coming out of old Ginger Flower. Nev let me know if you want me to post you some of these to try and grow as I would just cut the bunch off and post to you? If anyone else would like some let me know by all means and I will save you some.
Pic 5 More Temp Shading

Hi everyone, another sizzler today, not as bad as yesterday but still uncomfortably hot. I noticed a few scorched plants in the garden too. There is rain predicted for next week so I am hoping we will get some this time.

Wendy, after seeing the pics in your post from last night I have added a couple more to the list of plants I would like. Looking forward to Friday.

Sue, and there I was, like Nev, feeling sorry for you (poor Sue, she must be really suffering, she hasn’t posted in days) and there you were, living it up in Fiji :o) Good for you, hope you had a great time and pleased to know that you’re not really crook. You know, I think I can feel a cold coming on ... hmmm …

Nev, love the neo Mini Skirt in your pic 1 and neo Serendipity Girl x Concentrica in pic 2. Hope your burns are healing well.

We are hoping to get a bit of work done in the garden tomorrow if it’s not too hot. Snow in Victoria today, can you believe it.

Anyway, till tomorrow, Shirley

Pic is neo Macho


Trish, when I previewed my post there was a message there saying someone posted while I was typing so I thought I would read it before I sent mine off. 8 years on Hamilton Island … gee, some of you guys have done it tough … just kidding :o)

Love your neo Pink Fairy Floss and the ginger flower in your pic. Trish, if you have any spare ginger shoots, I would like to have a go at growing them.

Thanks, Shirley

Hi all. Nothing much happening here. Too hot to work outside but did some watering and tried to fertilise Til Velientina. I also collected some pollen from same and froze it following instructions from Garden web. I collected and screened my Ques seed, there are a few there so now I am drying them to make handling easier This is my usual proceedure. I looked at my Ae blanchettiatas and some are almost flowering. 3 spikes that I saw today and a few pups all in full sun.I just planted a few seeds to see if they will germinate. It is a funny thing with Ques that information is scarce. A lot of times here I am in way over my head, I have only been collecting broms for 2 years this coming March, but I have gone at it boots and all .
Wendy I love Neo burle marxii, it is a species and I have been told it is good for hybridising with. Seed parents influence shape and size. Pollen parents influence the colour" Jacob Koning" I need to keep learning and it appears that if I throw enough pollen around i might get a good result accidentally, but if I plan it then I possibly use less pollen. I also like that purple concentrica, wouldn't mind 1 if you ever get a spare, buy or swap I don't care.
Sue, You poor devil having to suffer the sights of Figi and not a brom in sight in that pic. Are you suffering from Brom withdrawls.
Nev I love the cluster of N mini mini skirt, mine has only 2 plants as yet,but that pic shows me what posibles there are. I guess accidents happen. I feel for you.
Have a good one
Ian
Pic 1 Ananas bracteata in a friends garden.
Pic 2 Ae that i have not searched for name as yet.
Pic 3 Til velietina that I tried to fertilise today.

wow Sue.. lucky you recouperating in Fiji. I saw your pics on fb last few nights and it never occurred to me you were over there. I just thought you were finally uploading some pics from a previous trip.
I'm happy to report that Olive thinks they recently took a pup off an ensign andpotted it up so she will check and get backto me. If she has one she will bring it to the xmas party tomorrow night for Michelle to bring home for me. so my customer will be happy if I do get her dad's christmas presents for her.

Shirley, I have a couple pots of neo mini skirt. I love the colours you can get out of it with good light. I also discovered a few pink fairy floss today when finding plants for sales tables. and I took 2 pups and potted them this week also.

Nev I was looking at the purple concentricas today and actually put quite a few on the sales tables as I thought those long thin leaves do not make a nice plant. it is only the lovely colour that is a redeeming feature. so we have some splashes of colour on the sales tables. I never thought about the lack of concentric rings in this plant. I did think the shape was not like other concentrica hybrids so you are probably correct saying it was someone's pet name.

Trish I like your temporary shading. that's ingenious. we realised today that the tree loppers actually took quite a few branches off the big trees down back of next door. we realised that our mothers area is now getting quite a bit of sun. some of the pups are bleaching and many of the mothers are burned but quite a few pups are thriving in the pure sun. I took a heap off to sell as bare rooted pups. there will be some very good bargains. anyway perhaps we should copy your temporary shading. Johnny was thinking he might have to put a shade structure up and be done with it. gee my arms are so painful tonight after cleaning broms all day. and it was so hot down the back under the shadecloth working.

I'm going to turn off now and relax a bit with a magazine and do some puzzles.

Night to you all. hope everyone is fit and healthy and enjoying the weather. hope it doesn't get any hotter.

Wendy

Ian you posted while I was typing mine. I saw Jack's comment about pollen parent to give colour and seed parent to pass on shape and size. I'm happy to pull a few purple concentricas off the sales tables to share. they do have some amazing colour even if they have thin leaves. the pollen would be good to pass on that colour to a good shaped plant. When cleaning up plants today I can't believe how many I came across with seed pods ready to harvest. I put them in a single area to make a decision next week on whether they are worth doing an F2 of them.

I've been meaning to do something with my spreadsheet for a while to record which of our plants are species and which are hybrids. It would only require adding another column to record s or h. then for h ones I could add parents so another 2 collumns. hmmmm.

anyway Ian if you dmail me your address I'd be happy to send you a purple concentrica and if there are any others you want to make the parcel worth sending let me know. I'll go back through your pics to see if there is anything I want to swap. I'll get back to you on that.

Night
Wendy

Ian I just went back through last couple months andyou have some nice plants but most of them we have. I did find a till capitata var ???? that I don't have and would love a pup if and when you have one to spare. I can't remember the name but it was a darkish plant. I can't find it again to write it down. It like this yard. you find something by accident and when you go back to get it another day you just can't find the damn thing. thats how it is when someone asks for a certain plant. I know it is here in the yard somewhere but I just can't find it. if it was up to me I'd have all the same plant in same spot or perhaps 2 spots in the yard and show them on mass but Johnny likes a mix of colours so we have them mixed up. I do have one side where I keep all the variegated together or as close to it as I can get. a lot of others have crept in again now so I'm going to take next week to sort them out again while the shelved are relatively emptier than usual.

night again.
Wendy

Good morning everyone – Once again it seems like it's going to be a beautiful day and a chance to get out in the yard and finish a few more overdue jobs in the garden.

Trish – Everybody who sees Neo. 'Serendipity Girl' x 'Concentrica' comments on it and wants a bit but unfortunately it's a very slow grower and a bit reluctant to produce much in the way of pups (just enough to make sure I have a spare plant).

I like the colour of your 'Pink Fairy Floss' and I especially like the very pale variegations, most unusual. Do you know that plant is a hybrid from a cross using Neo. 'Pink Sensation' (the same as the one I posted a pic of on Dec 1st.) crossed with a Neo 'Pink Sensation' sibling. It was imported into Australia by Olive Trevor and is possibly the same plant as a Groves hybrid called Neo 'Cotton Candy' in America. http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/bcr/index.php?genus=NEOREGELIA&id=10286#10286

Oh and congratulations on your temporary shade set up; so neat and tidy, just like the rest of your garden. Also, thanks for the offer of a bit of your Pink Ginger plant, I would love to try growing it down here and now that I have all the cultural information it doesn't seems such a daunting task

Shirley – I love you beautiful Neo 'Macho', it's a great looking plant, but look at those “teeth” they certainly draw blood very easily, that's why I got rid of my plant.

I found on the BCR that the original plant was identified as “a form of pascoaliana/ carcharodon found in 1983 at a dump site North of Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro. Selected because of colour, large size and compactness! And is part of the Carcharodon Group.”
If you would like to see some other pictures of it go to:
http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/bcr/index.php?genus=NEOREGELIA&id=5569#5569

Ian – You say you've gone into growing brom's “boots and all” and that's exactly the same as the approach I took when I first started. However as things gathered momentum I found I had to pull in the reins a bit as I was running out of places to accommodate the plants. So I thinned things out a bit and gave away a lot of plants only to then become interested in the seed growing aspect of brom's and then I was right back to “square one” again and running out of space once more. It looks to me you may also be heading down that same path and will soon run out of places to put all of your plants.

Ian you mention Jakob Koning; he's a hybridizer with many "runs on the board" and to see some examples of his wonderful work, go to: http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/bcr/index.php

When I used to visit the “old” bromeliad section of the Garden Web Forums, Jack Koning along with Lisa Vinzant and many other well respected hybridisers and growers freely gave advice to growers like myself who were new to this hobby. Those forums were and still are, a “wealth of information” and to the best of my knowledge, it's all still contained within their archives.

The plant in your second pic I think is one of the Porteas; possibly Portea Petropolitania var. Extensa as all of mine are in spike now also.

Wendy – As I look more closely at the pic of your Neo.'Pink Concentrica', I think it looks a lot like a hybrid bred from Neo. 'Princeps' which a friend of mine once grew. I'll contact him and see if he still has it and if so try to get a pic I can post. There also seems to be some similarities between it and a “so called” Neo Princeps 'Rainbow' [Special Form] unreg. which I grow, see Pic.1.

I know exactly what you're saying about finding a plant one day and then not being able to find it later. I have often spotted a plant in flower with no name tag (possibly because its identity was unknown) and once identified, I go to get a name tag and pen only to find it seems to have vanished when I return? I guess that's just another of the joys of getting old.

Well that's it for today and Pic 1 is for Wendy, Neo. Princeps 'Rainbow' [Special Form] for comparison with her "Purple Concentrica". The other four pic's are just random shots taken from around the back yard for Trish as she asked to see some of my (so called) garden the other day. Pic 2 is looking from the back deck toward the back of the yard and the old "half dead" Peppercorn Tree, Pic.3 are some Ae Chianti 'Jean' plants hanging on the southern side of the house in the Vriesea shade house. Pic 4 is part of the eastern side of my Neoregelia shade house and Pic 5 is looking toward the northern side fence from the back deck

All the best, Nev.

Hi Everyone!

Another very muggy day experienced when out and about on the job site today, had to change my shirt when I got back into my office because my shirt was that yuck with sweat, must have been all those stairs I kept going up and down, what a work out, no wonder I really have to push myself to exercise when I get home from work, when I already feel like I have already done enough exercise for the day and feel utterly exhausted, but I do it for the dogs because otherwise they miss out on the exercise and that would not be fair on them. Anyway it was nice once I got back into the air-conditioning, shirt changed and rehydrated.

Hi Wendy pleased to hear you liked the other temp shade area I constructed, it’s great because I really only need it to last the summer and then come winter I will remove all the panels and store away in our shed for the following year. It is so easy to put up, I just zip tie a long panel to the fence, cut the long panel into smaller panels with a good pair of garden scissors and use a wooden tomato stake as a ruler, once all my panels are cut I staple the wooden tomato stakes to the ends and hold them in place with tent pegs. The panels overlap nicely which is great so no harsh sunlight gets in. Usually on a Friday when I get home from work I unlatch each panel and throw each panel over the fence and they just hang there, I then give all my broms a good sprinkle and don’t cover them up until about 11am on the Saturday, and then we do the same thing all over again on Sunday so at least we get to see the broms and work amongst them for a couple of days before we go back to work and have to cover them up for the week. We also have the irrigation line we put in place recently that makes life so much easier during the week where we don’t have to hand water till the weekend as time is very limited for us during the week as much as I do find hand watering very relaxing.

Hi Shirley yeah it was a hard life living on Hamilton Island for 8 years lol, we really miss the fishing, boating and snorkeling big time but at the end of the day we were very restricted with space in the unit we rented even though the view was magnificent I really missed having a proper garden and we really disliked not being able to have pets other than goldfish (most of the goldfish I adopted were deformed), one day I will have to tell you all a funny story about what happened to one of the deformed goldfish called “Beaker” that I had lol. So after 8 years we were chomping at the bit to buy another home aside from the investment properties we had in Townsville already. We have sold one of the investment properties to take a bit of pressure off as they are very exhausting to keep especially given how Real Estate Agent are now days; they just don’t care and we feel like we are the one’s running around doing what we pay them for given the hefty commission they charge. Sometimes we talk about getting rid of the investment property but the timing is not right as we just would not get what we want for it right now so we will wait a couple of more years and see. It’s nice where we live now as we are only a few minutes’ walk from the beach which is great.

Hi Nev thanks for the wonder insight to Neo Pink Fairy Floss, I will jump into that link as soon as I send this thread.


Nev my sincere apologies for not saying get well soon with the burn marks you sustained with that bloody kettle of yours, anyway I hope you are healing and are not too uncomfortable, I can imagine it would have hurt like hell and very lucky it did not get you in the face – very ouchy-mumma all the same.

Nev thanks for the kind complements regarding the other temp shade structure I put up, it works wonders.

Nev / Shirley, really pleased to hear you guys would like some of the Pink Ginger plant, Nev I have all your postal details now thanks because today we received the parcel you sent and want to thank you very, very much for going to all that trouble, HUGE thanks also from Joe for the beautiful Orchids, he will cherish them and we will post a pic as soon as they flower. Shirley can you please D-Mail me also with your postal details when you get a chance. I should be able to get the Pink Ginger plants posted to you both before Xmas and Shirley I will also include the same Cultural Notes that I sent to Nev on growing Gingers and Heliconias as you may find the information useful. What I plan to do is cut the bunch off of gingers you would of seen in the pic I posted the other day and send the whole bundle in the mail to you both, when you receive these you can split them up if you wish by gently prying them apart from one another (no need to use a knife or cutters) as they come away from one another very easily and can be potted up either in groups or individually or just plant straight out into the garden in a semi-shaded spot, but not in full shade or full sun. I have never posted these before but they should hopefully travel ok if I wrap them right with nice moist newspaper. Anyway I hope that they grow for you both and if they die for some reason just let me know and we can try again as many times as it takes as I always have spare little plants of these and they do not take long to grow if give the right environment and care.

Oh and Nev before I forget those pics you kindly posted of around your garden and nurseries are AMAZING, so organized, clean and full of color, I only wish I could have blown them up even more like 100% to take a closer sticky-beak lol. I can really see how much time you spend tending to everything as everything looks perfect and you should be very proud of yourself for doing such a great job even though when it’s a hobby it’s always a labor of love and we get such great personal reward from the time we all spend in our gardens. I know everyone would agree. I know where I would prefer to be in my garden rather than sweating it out at work, funny that I never complain when I sweat it out in the garden as it’s my happy place.

Apologies, no pics tonight as I need to take some more on the weekend.

Time to take the girls for a walk.

Take care, speak to you all soon and hi to all who may be looking in or could be posting while I am sending this?

Happy Gardening!

Trish

Hi all, we didn’t get much done today in the yard as it was another very hot day. I did some watering this morning and we had to take our Rebel to the vet this arvo for his annual Heartworm injection.

Trish, sounds like you felt the heat at work today, bet you are pleased the week is almost over. You are very lucky to live so handy to the beach. I will Dmail you my postal details and I look forward to receiving the ginger plants, thanks heaps.

I am looking forward to getting amongst Wendy and Johnny’s broms tomorrow, before their sale officially begins on the weekend.

Nothing much else happening so I will see what pics I can find to post and call it a night.

Hope anyone who is crook or injured is on the mend.

Bye for now, Shirley


Pic 1 is neo Spot On Pic 2 is neophytum Gallactic Warrior

Hi everyone.
Just a quick one tonight as we didn't come inside till about 7pm then had to cook, eat and clean so late getting on and then Johnny decided he wanted to see all the old pics from around Redlands. that's the fb group I got stuck looking at the other night. I was in trouble for not showing him the pics so .......

Nev your princeps pic 1 certainly does look like my purple concentrica. maybe a few more teeth (or more pronounced spines) than mine but same colour and shape. anyway it should make a good pollen parent to pass on that amazing colour which is what Ian wants it for I imagine. I looked at my garden through new eyes today with that pollen parent = colour and seed parent = size & shape. I was looking at plants thinking "good pollen parent" or "good seed parent" but no time to do anything about it. my arms are so painful after 2 days dead leafing for our sale. A bit 'ouchy' to get in the bath shortly I think. So glad this will be the last sale for this year. We must thin out our collection I think (yeah as if I hear you all say). anyway we have some amazing specials for Christmas so Shirley will probably take home a car full tomorrow. This time next year she'll be thinking "I must thin out my collection. It's just too big now" LOL

So tired tonight. I'm just waiting for Johnny to finish in the bathroom and I'm off for a good soak for a while before bed. He's out so I'll say goodnight now.

Wendy

Good morning once again – It looks like it's back to just three of us once again; gee I wish the others would hurry up and finish their Christmas shopping. I'm being dragged off shopping today myself, not because I want to but because our fridge blew up yesterday and we have to try and find the best deal on a new one. My wife (like my daughter) just won't accept that “price haggling” is now the “norm” in Australia and they'll just accept whatever is on the price ticket, they are a salesman's dream, but not this “old rooster” I'll wring every last drop out of those “blood suckers”, anyway wish me luck.

Trish – You say you were out on the building site, are you really the true “Bob the Builder” incognito?

Trish I'll look forward to the Ginger arriving and as far as the be way to send it, I think if you send it the same way as I send brom's would work OK, I'll send you some notes. I have been using this method for a few years now and never a problem.

You say you liked my garden; well let me say I went to a lot of trouble taking pic's that don't clearly show all the weeds. Unfortunately I'm not as mobile as I once was and a lot of the gardening jobs are not getting done as well as they should be, but I try and muddle on, and I do still enjoy gardening very much and the best part is that there's always something new to see each day.

Also, I can't wait to hear the story of the deformed goldfish called “Beaker”.

Shirley – You've managed to post pic's of two of my favourite plants.

Even though they're not as popular as they once were, I still like all of the spotted types of Neo's and still have quite a collection of them and I'm still breeding a few as well as I think like all things, plants go in and out of fashion, and sooner or later the fashion will have gone the full circle and finished back where it started.

Galactic Warrior is another of my firm favourites, I have a couple which I manage to grow reasonably well but nowhere near as good as the bloke in America who wrote an article about them in one of the Brom. Journals. His plants were magnificent basket specimens and were almost two feet across (enormous plants). His secret (or so he said) requires dedication to stick rigidly to a feeding programme, but he never said what type of fertiliser he used. His method was to use it at half strength every single time he watered all through the year. His theory was that we have to eat regularly and so should bromeliads. He just used the same commercial Cymbidium potting mix that he used for his Neo's and Aechmeas and was adamant that it was the feeing programme that gave him these great results. I keep promising myself to try this method but never seem to get around to it, so maybe one of you on this forum would like to give it a go and let's know how good it is.

Wendy – It will be interesting to see what sort of babies the “Purple Concentrica” produces with Ian's breeding. Hybridising is such an interesting hobby and although you do everything by the book, it's never possible to predict the outcome with any certainty as Mother Nature is the “unknown quantity” and has a habit of stepping in to change things. Not only that, but as I've always said, you never know if an ant has beat you to the punch and pollinated the flower with some foreign pollen before you do your bit; and that's what makes it so interesting.

A good example of this is the little Neo seedling I posted on 4th Dec (Pic.5), it came from seed where the mother plant was all that was known (Neo. 'Blue Nude') the pollinating had been done by Sun Birds who had a pick of many great brom's to use as pollen parents. When I was offered the seed (several different batches) I knew it was a gamble, but given the quality if this grower's other plants I didn't hesitate as I reckoned I had pretty good odds of getting a good'un. That plant is just the first from all of these resulting plants (about two hundred in total) so there could still be some nice surprises to come yet.

A big “Cheerio” to all those not posting and get well wishes to anyone who's still on the “sick list”.

Today I'll finish with a few more pic's which I took around the back yard yesterday; Pic.1 is on the eastern side of a shade house that contains a mixture of Neoregelias. Billbergias, Nidulariums, Vrieseas, Patterned Foliage Vrieseas, Orthophytums as well as some Neoregelia seedlings. Pic 2 is looking under some green shade cloth where there is a frog pond and various other bromeliad genera. Pic.3 is on the lower part of the yard looking back toward our house and the brom's around what's left of the old Peppercorn Tree with a large clump of Neo 'Sheeba” on the left. Pic 4 is the right side of the Frog Pond showing a few sun hardened plants with Neo 'Skotak's Tiger' in the centre, Ae. 'Bert' on the left and Neo. 'Cruenta' on the right. Finally Pic 5 shows a few Neoregelias hanging in front of a bench containing various Aechmeas.

All the best, Nev.

Good Morning everyone, I am hoping I can get around to replying to all the things I've read lately.
Ok, Trish, I have quite a few Aechmea blanchettiana pups, both the green form and the orange form. Most are quite large, but I think I can manage to package one for you ok. A swap with N. 'Kismet' would be great.
Wow, I agree living on hamilton Island must have been beautiful. I didn't realise people actually lived there, as I thought it was a resort island.
I love your pink Gingers. I bought a few of those little off shoots home in May, after a trip to Townsville, but it must have been the wrong time of year to strike them,as they didn't survive very long at all. I saw them growing in Fiji, just out in the middle of the bush!
I can relate to how you feel when you get home on the weekend, and get to spend time in the garden. I am fortunate enough to be semi retired now, and can tell you its a dream to be able to paly with my plants and garden every day.
Shirley, I have Aechmea 'Rodco' inverta, but I sold the first few pups, then left the last two on, which are now a bit big to be called pups, but a little ways off being mature. If you stil haven't sourced one by the time mine are pupping, I am only too happy to send one up to you. I find them quite tricky to get started rom a pup, so usually leave them on the parent and let them take over the pot. Has anyone else found them tricky?
Wendy, have a good sale day tomorrow, and I hope you get enough time to chat to friends and customers without feeling rushed. I am going to do another sale next week, but am going to advertise in the paper this week, with my phone number and see if I cant get some pre-sale appointments, as its much nicer having people around individually, then they can have a really good look at the plants, and around the garden, if they wish.
Nev, how are your burns? Are you having them dressed or just drying them out?
I too, think your garden pictures are a credit to you. Haing seen your place in person, I can attest to how tidy it is, and just a pleasure to walk through and have a look around. My favourite part was the back right corner, in the shed with the box in the centre, where you dropped down the sides. Do you have names for each part? I have 'the brom House', 'the bunker' and now, 'The new one' It will get a better name eventually, especially if I build another (when I build another)
Ian, I have never really looked at the Quesnelias for seed either, and liked the way you posted the photos for us to take a look. I have scored a huge pot of some sort of Quesnelia, with old dried flowers, but will need welders gloves to get in and break it up. Your place must be filling up very quickly, and I wonder how your housemates/family are coping? I guess, like the family and housemtes of the rest of us, they just have to!
Bree, my variegated A. blanchettiana is coming into flower. It has had one pup, which went to Tash, and now it has another, which I intend to pot up, but when it gets another, I will keep you in mind if you are interested. I must take the pup off soon, as one it is flowering, it will get top heavy and the combined weight of the flower and pup will see it tipping over, and me, forever standing it back up.
Hello to anyone looking in, and anyone not feling well. My cold is a good one! Got everything going for it, runny nose, tickling cough and everything! I always get one when I travel by plane. Breathing recirculated air for 4 hours, at very low temperatures, shared with a couple of hundred passenegers, some with hacking coughs and the sneezes is a sure way to get sick!
Anyway, at least I don't have to go to work!
Photo one is an unknown Tillandsia coming into flower
Photo two is Tillandsia duratii var saxatilis, which I've managed to keep alive for quite some time now.
Photo three is Aechmea 'Freckles' in the morning sun
Photo four is Aechmea 'JC Superstar', which has coloured up nicely
Photo five is an unknown Guzmania in the garden.
Sue

Wow, thats never happened before! No one been on all night?
Hi Nev, you posted just before me yesterday. I potted up some of the large seedlings from you, yesterday, and took some photos. I think i will be planting them out in the garden, as they will be quite large I think.
On thursday, I repotted all my Cryptanthus in African violet mix. I only have four varietes, C. bivattatus, C. 'Ruby' (thanks Jen), C. 'Lime Frost' (yawn) and C. Osyrus, which is a beauty. It will be interesting to see how they do.
I also potted a heap of pups that I removed when transporting all the plants home.There are still several left to pot, as well as about 20-30 Aechmea blanchettiana pups. My concern is.....where to put them?
Have fun at your sale today, Wendie.
Trish, enjoy your weeken at home.
Shirley, I hope the weather is kind to you, and you find a bargain while out brom shopping.
Ian, I'm still checking that seed, and it is almost ripe!
Happy gardening all, and hello to Karen, Jen, Tash, Jean and any lurkers looking in.
Sue
Photo one is Xportmea 'Luis Ariza Julia'
Photo two is Portea leptantha x A. blanchettiana
Photo three is A. eurycorymbus
all seedlings from Nev, an getting good colour
Photo four is labelled Guzmania whittmackii purple x sanguinea, and it has a few white lines in the leaves
photo five is the Cryptanthus collection, with old mother C 'Ruby' on the left, C. 'Lime frost' at the rear, C. 'Osyrus' at the front (with size 9 Jandal for comparison) and a pot of C. bivattatus to the right
Sue

Good morning one and all; here we are another day closer to Christmas as the “Silly Season” gathers momentum. The weather continues to be good down here although they have forecast a “wet one” next week.

Cheerio to anyone who's still on the “sick list” and get well soon. To all of those who have stopped posting, drop in and at least say “g'day” even if you don't have any brom news or pictures.

Well I guess it's just you and me today Sue, gee we are getting “thin on the ground” aren't we?

Seeing you mention Ae. Blanchetianas, I have to tell you the bad news that I took a load of large Aechmea seedlings to the tip yesterday simply because the were taking up too much space and these types don't do particularly well down here anyway.

They were all of the larger types (about 30” high) and consisted of Aechmeas Blanchetiana (Red foliage), Blanchetiana (yellowish foliage), Emmevichiae, Forest Fire, xPortmea 'Luis Ariza Julia' and Eurycorymbus. They were from American seed which had came from a well known grower and while they were all nice plants albeit with a bit of winter “cold spotting” on the foliage, they were just too large to fit into my garden or gardens of any of my friends. I couldn't sell them as everyone wants “instant flowers” and besides, everyone's money is used up buying Christmas presents anyway. As much as I would have liked to, it wasn't even worthwhile offering them to anyone here as the postage costs would have been astronomical.

Probably a good lesson for “seed growers” to be learned here, don't plant too much seed, as they will all grow into adult plants eventually and the bigger they get, the harder it is to “toss” them. I did though keep a couple of each type with better coloured foliage and even then found it hard to find space for these also.

You say you find Ae. Rodco inverta a bit slow to grow from pup, I too have found the same with an Aechmea 'Mend' inverta; even the pup of Rodco inverta I got from you (even though it was a good size) just seemed to sulk for the first year just the same as my plant of Ae 'Mend' did, although it's put on a bit of a “spurt” now and I'll push a bit of feed into it to keep it moving along. This seems to be a common trait with all of the Ae leuddemannia c.v.'s although Ae 'Pinkie' seems to be a better grower although it's nowhere near as good colour-wise as the other c.v.'s.

From the main batch of cultivated varieties produced by Ae. leuddemannia, the best for colour are 'Alvarez', 'Mend', 'Mend' inverta, 'Rodco' and 'Rodco' inverta. In my opinion, the real “stand-out” from this group would have to be 'Alvarez', the colouring is magnificent and it's a real “eye catcher”, unfortunately after several attempts I haven't had any success with it down here as it obviously very much resents the colder winters.

Thank's for asking about the scald; it's a bit sore now that it's healing. I've always been a fast healer, although it does have it's drawbacks inasmuch as the new skin as it grows, sticks to the dressing which has to be soaked off each day to stop it bleeding, however I'm sure I'll live; after all it was only about 1% body area(about the same area as my hand) that was scalded, but not real pleasant just the same.

Things have changed a bit since you and Bill were down here last, (when are you coming down again?) but I still have the same Neo shade house with the seedling area in the middle with the “lift up” sides. It's nothing special and was built mainly just as a way to best use the available space, but it is hard to describe and I'll have to try and get some pic's so our other “brom mates” understand what we are talking about. As for area names, I've only named the various seedling areas and they start at the “Maternity Ward” and progress through the “Pre-school”, “Kindergarten”, “Primary School” before finishing at the “High School”.

I took the liberty of asking a friend who is a Tillandsia grower, if he could identify the Till you showed in your first picture yesterday. He said: “Hi Nev, Looks like Till. velutina – see attachments.” (Pic 1 and 2)

I was just getting ready to post and see that you've beaten me to it yet again Sue. It's good to see at least two of us are "pulling our weight" .................. Ha! Ha! (just joking).

That's a nice coloured Portea leptantha x A. blanchettiana on the right of your pic.2. Good to see they are growing well for you. I sent a few others (when they were smaller) to "brom mates" around the country also and it will be interesting to see how they turn out too. (Ain't seed growing interesting?)

I'll finish now with some pic's once again. Pic's 1 and 2 are Till. Velutina (from my friend), and Pic. 3 is Sue's pic of her Till for comparison. Pic's 4 and 5 are of different colour forms of Ae. Alvarez just to show how nice they really are. They're taken from the internet and are not my pictures or plants, but I can still dream can't I? .

All the best, Nev.

Hi all, very quickly ... we have no internet service again.

Bye for now, Shirley

Hi all just popping in to say I,m still here.Brrn cleaning up yard and hoping to do some more building soon. I need some more shade areas for my plants. I have also cleaned up some garbage on my computer. Hopefully this willl speed it up.
I potted up some Bil pink patches andBil fantasia seedlings yesterday.Now for the hard work, keeping them alive so that they will grow. First attempt with so many different seedlings. I will find out what i can handle with time and adjust to it.
Have a good one.
Ian
Pic 1 Bil fantasia
Pic 2 Bil Noid
Pic3 Bil NOid
Pic 4 Bil Delicoso
Pic 5 Bil Bil Harland

Well ~ I will bore everyone as the posts have gotten slow. For the most part, I've hung with everyone and enjoyed the photos and hearing about the different areas everyone lives in and most of all, learning a lot about these lovely bloomers. Thanks to all for their contributions.

I do miss Karen posting and hope she is doing all right.

Nev ~ on your burn, I am glad it is on the mend. I found (the hard way) that compresses of vinegar ease the pain when it is a fresh scald. Worth remembering as it is hard to run cold water on some locations.

We are in the shorter, cooler days of winter. I've moved what few plants I have in the greenhouse under shadecloth and am making some interesting observations.

It appears to me that these plants have a clearly defined growing season not related to the warmth or sun. I have an assortment of Aechmea, one Neo, dyckia, orthophytum, cryptbergia and billbergias as well as a selection of cryptanthus.

They have visibly perked up, colored up and begin to grow. I am also seeing a couple of blooms and pups. I had wrongly assumed that they would grow as a normal plant during our normal growing season. As I've been following these posts, I have the notion that is incorrect and the plants are growing according to their own rhythms. Any thoughts? Kristi

A few Cryptanthus photos... Pink Zebra, Pixie, Pink Starlite, Volcano and Hawaiian Sunset