Bromeliads for the novice and addict. April 2013

Hi everyone – Just another quick visit today as we have to go and pick up “Mum” this morning.

Ian – I treat the Werauhia seed the same as Vriesea seed and sow them in the take away containers as outlined in my seed growing notes which I think I sent you, if not let me know and I'll email them to you – This goes for anyone else who would like them also.

Your Neo. 'White River' is called Neo. 'Ice White River'.

Shirley – Gee you sure have access to some great NOIDS up where you live, I love the colours in the one in Pic.2. is it a normal size plant or a mini?

Sorry, I have to go now, thanks to you all for your good wishes for Ailsa and I'll hopefully soon be back once more posting with some pic's.

All the best, Nev.

Morning, a quick one from me too as I have to dash.
2 hours listing on Ebay last night! I hope it will be worth it. I dread doing the packaging, as there goes a few more hours. (note to oneself-get more sticky tape)
Ian, it sounds as though you have the sellers worked out. There are only a couple of brom sellers here, and we have about 4-5 markets in the area, over the month, so they get around. Some have grown the stuff themselves, and do quite well, and others just get seconds from one of the local wholesale nurseries, which I think is cheating. I've also noticed the occasional brom from elsewhere, and I suspect the seller travels on occasion to somewhere near wholesale bromeliads of Australia. Anyway, there is not much there that lights my eyes up.
Trish, re your and Shirleys discussion on car and sleeping. I get so tired, but cannot drift off, even if I take the travel, neck pillow. If we take a wagon I can lay down in the back and snooze, but not sitting up. Same goes for the couch, I can only sleep laying down. I feel nauseous if I read while travelling, but maps are no problem, and I have a good sense of direction when in the country, but cities with tall buildings and no features usually stump me, like Sydney.
Hopefully everyones plants will arrive by the end of the week. I bought a couple of Cryptanthus off ebay last week, and they were marked as posted on monday and arrived yesterday. They only had to come from 2 hours south, but usually they go to Sydney first then back up, so maybe they have a localish mail system? Anyway, two gorgeous little crypts (which are not my favourites unless well coloured and marked).
Shirley, we got a storm yesterday afternoon, early evening so I was stoked I got the yard work done. The rain washed away a bit of the mud ffrom my bogged incident! Sorry you didn't have much luck with the weather. Maybe today?
My back is hereditary and postural, so am working on retraining my brain. good luck with that!
Nev, I would have been puffed after 3 flights of stairs, probably just going down! I hope all goes well today, and imagine the broms are taking a back seat! I hope they don't get on top of you while you are being nurse Nev! Wished I lived closer to give you a hand.
photo time
photo one is an island bed which I have dropped pots of Neos in amongst the mondo. I can de-pup them, or not, when the urge takes.
photo two is where the new igloo will go. The bonfire will be lit this weekend, weather prmitting, and you can see the compost pile to the right of the picture. I didn't do my three barrows yeterday, but might get some time this arvy?
Photo three is Neo. 'Moby Dick' still a baby, but doing well in almost full sun.
Photo four is Aechmea 'Bert' in flower
Photo five is a plant from leisa, labelled 'Ganesh Gold' It was a novar, but threw a few varegated pups, one of which went to Colleen also. I have some novars in the garden, but am keeping this one in the brom house to see if I can encourage the variegation when pups start. (removing novar pups)
thats all folks
Sue

Hi Everyone!

Hi Shirley oh bugger it rained, it sounded promising that you got some good weather until I read the rest of your paragraph, what a bummer.

Shirley I agree with you thank goodness for having a GPS in the car, I would be lost without one with the amount of traveling we both do. I too get sick if I am passenger in the front reading a map or magazine and god help me if I drop something on the floor, I have learnt to just leave it there until we have stopped the car somewhere. It saves a lot of arguments having a GPS, as you can’t really yell at a GPS if it’s wrong and if you do it won’t answer you back in an angry tone to “look at your own friggen map next time” he he. Shirley you and I sound nearly alike when it comes to falling asleep as passenger in a car (except I have been known to snore). I laughed my head off the way you described how you try your darndest to not fall asleep, to try and look awake and then fall asleep anyway – too funny Shirley. Michael sounds like he gets a good laugh out of the situation, so does Joe when I fall asleep, sometimes he tugs on the steering wheel on purpose so I hit my head on the window to wake me up, he is such a caring husband.

Shirley the Pic 2 variegated brom you asked about is Neo’ ‘First Prize’, pleased to hear you think it’s lovely, it’s colour is also getting better like all the others since the scorching sun has left us. Shirley not too sure what your Neo’ NOID is but it’s really nice, has a Neo’ ‘Charm’ look about it?

Hi Nev great to hear from you and pleased to hear Ailsa is home now resting and recovering. Take care and look forward to hearing from you when you can.

Hi Sue wow don’t you feel tired sitting up in a car on long trips when passenger, how do you manage to stay awake? The only way I can stay awake on long trips is by nibbling on chicken twisties, I always make sure I pack some in the car so I can stay awake as long as I can, or share the driving with Joe so he kick back and relax or sleep if he wants too. I too am not big on the big cities; I turn into a crazy person and tend to yell abuse with my window down at people who cut me off etc, I really blend in with the surroundings but you really have to have your wits about you the way people drive in the big cities.

Sue luved all the pics you posted, great to see the area you are preparing for the igloo, looks like a great area for more boms. The broms look great popping out of the Mondo Grass. Luved your Neo’ ‘Moby Dick’ growing in nearly full sun, it brings out a more orange tones. I have recently moved mine so will be curious to see what it colours up like. You’re Ae. ‘Bert’ in flower looks lovely with the other Ae’s on that beautiful log. Pic 5 Neo’ ‘Ganesh Gold’ is really nice; its hot centre really jumps out at you in your pic.

Anyway time to head off.

Hi to anyone else looking in or on the Sick List.

Take care and Happy Gardening!

Trish

Good morning, light reading for me today! Lucky you are posting mid week Trish, Or it would be echoing in here!
What is the variegated Neo in your last pic? Is it a "Jaws' or something like that? I like your Big Neo. 'De Rolph' too, it has alot of white in it,
Back to car travel, my hubby is old fashioned and 'No GPS' allowed. He would much rather study the map before we go. I often google map a place, especially if going to Brisbane or something, and print a copy to take with me. I don't mind pulling over to check my map from time to time.
We also take nibblies, like Nuts or muesli bars and apples, on long trips. Its more that I CANT fall asleep, rather than managing to stay awake. Its the worst feeling! A trip of 4-5 hours is tolerable, but over that and I am cranky, tired, snappy and sore!
I had an image of you Trish, hanging out a car window going, around a round-a-bout and screaming at all the cars giving way. In my imagination you had wild eyes and hair going everywhere! heh heh, even a bit of spittle!
Anyway, I feel like I am getting off easy as I can post some pics and head out the door.
I hope everyone is healthy and happy?
Sue
Photo one is my Neo. 'Gold medal' I saw one go on Ebay a couple of nights ago for $52! If any of my ebay sales reached that, I'd feel so embarrassed that I would throw in some extras.
Photo two is an orchid flowering. hmmmmm, I must clean the leaves off the roof.
Photo three is a guzmania wittmackii that has a purple flower. It also has some variegated leaves, so I will try to encourage pupping from these and hope for a fully variegated pup. The flower has coloured up more purple since this pic of three days ago.
Photo four is xCanmea 'Galaxy' in flower. I don't think the flower gets any better than this, but I think Jen has one that flowers differently?
Anyway, must go make a pot of coffee, feed the pooches and start my day.

ohhh that 2nd one is awsome Trish and i love Shirleys Oli Blush Novar.
Hi everyone!!! Not much happening here.
1. Garden shot and 2. Pitch Black

Sue were always posting together. hehe!
Wow $52.00, i got my Gold Medal off ebay also but not for that much. Mines small though.
Do you know what was on at the botanical gardens a few weekends ago? i pulled up there and couldnt get a car park anywhere near it so didnt go in, something must have been on. Is it still not open on weekends or is it? Ive got to come to Woopi on saturday. What are you up to on the weekend?

This message was edited Apr 17, 2013 5:57 PM

1. My gold medal looked like this when i got it, i thought it was awsome and i thought it would stay looking like but oviously not in sun, 2. then it turned like this, 3. now its like this. Im going to put one in the greenhouse(thanks for the tip Nev) in low light and see what colour it stays.

Hello everyone. I'm waiting for a couple of new broms I bought.
I thought you ,ay like to see what happened in my garden yesterday. I know you all like the bird life around us.
The maggies were making a terrible din and on investigation, we found this beautiful Collared Sparrowhawk having breakfast.
I was able to walk quietly to about 6'away . He was more concerned in getting his breakfast to lay still.

I took plenty of pics but we didnt interfere as I believe in letting nature take its own course.

Its wonderful to see Mother Natures natural happenings right in our own gardens.

Will post brom pics later if they arrive today.
Jean.

Just a quick question..
Does anyone have a pic of a neo. Paradise Point pup. The one I just bought looks nothing like the pic on the eBay listing.
I know pups are a lot different to the adults sometimes, but this one has long thin plain green leaves. I will get a pic tomorrow .
Jean.

Hi Everyone!

Yeah nearly the weekend!!!

Hi Shirley yeah looks like you had a quick get-away in the forum this morning with only my post to read, would have felt like a bit of light reading even though most of my posts can be a bit of a novel he he.

Shirley the large variegated brom in Pic 5 I posted yesterday is Neo’ ‘Gray Nurse’, she is really pretty and really stands out amongst the other broms. Yes one of my Neo’ ‘De Rolph’s’ is very white compared to the other but I luv them both.

Shirley nice healthy nibblies you take on your car trips (nut’s, muesli bars and apples) compared to my chicken twisties; mind you we always end up buying and eating fruit along the way so pretty much most of the time I am in the car I am eating. Luckily my career is not as a Truck Driver as I would be as big as a whale with all the food I would consume on long trips to stay awake. Too funny Shirley you described me pretty close on how you pictured me as an cheesed off driver driving in the big city with my window down yelling at crazy drivers that cut me off, with my wild eyes, with hair blowing everywhere, I will have to check next time for spittle though LOL. Today I got stuck behind a car doing 60km in a 100km zone and I mouthed and pointed to the left of me “Get off the road you are in a 100km zone, read to speed signs”. There was a huge queue of traffic that wanted to overtake but there was too much on-coming traffic to be able to do so safely so we all just had to do 60km for about 20 minutes, very annoying indeed and luckily it did not cause an accident.

Shirley adored the pic of your Neo’ ‘Gold Medal’, what a pretty brom, great size and colour. Your orchid in flower is beautiful; I will have to show Joe being he is the orchid collector in our family.

Hi Bree sounds like you liked Pic 2 of Neo’ ‘De Rolph’ that I posted a pic of yesterday, it is so much whiter than the larger one I have of the same plant but the smaller one is not a pup off the larger one, I brought them from different sellers.

Bree I adored your garden shot of your broms and great to see the vrieseas are doing well under what appears to be a mango tree? And your Neo’ ‘Pitch Black’ is lovely too.

Hi Jean wow great pic you took of mother-nature at work, they are such great hunters the Collard Sparrowhawks. You are too right it’s amazing what you see right in our own gardens. I have gotten into the habit of keeping my camera nearby when I am in the garden because we get to see so much wildlife in the wetlands and if I don’t have the camera nearby then by the time I have ran inside to get it the opportunities missed.

Jean I look forward to seeing pics of your new broms when they arrive. Unfortunately I don’t have a Neo’ ‘Paradise Point’ for your to compare with yours but look forward to seeing a pic of one.

Sue where are you??????????????? Trying to get back at you for the times I have not posted LOL. Miss not seeing your post and pics today.

Anyway time to head off.

Hi to anyone else looking in or on the Sick List.

Take care and Happy Gardening!

Trish

Hi everyone,

Nev, I hope Ailsa is settling in at home by now and enjoying the services of her loving nurse. The NOID I posted on 17 April is not a mini, it’s quite a large neo.

Sue, I received my beautiful plants today, I am so happy with them … they are lovely, thank you so much. We didn’t get to the post office until late so I haven’t had a chance to pot them up but will do it first thing in the morning.

Your neos amongst the mondo grass look good Sue. Your block looks similar to ours with the slope … makes it that much harder to build on. Love your neo Moby Dick.

Gosh, no GPS … I think they’re marriage savers. Mind you, they’re quite often wrong but like Trish said, no point in yelling at the GPS. Strangely, I prefer to have it set to a male voice giving the directions, I think our man is named Kev ... he has a fair bit of trouble pronunciating suburb and street names though, LOL.

Sue, it’s quite amazing what some of the broms go for on eBay, $52.00 for a neo Gold Medal. I would feel the same as you and worry that it’s not going to live up to expectations. Love your xCanmea Galaxy.

We had another storm yesterday afternoon and lots more rain. The forecast is for a couple of fine days, I hope they’re right.

I didn’t get to post on DG last night as my keyboard up and died. I turned off my computer when the storm started and when I switched back on, it wouldn’t work. It’s not very old but I think if it had been due to the storm my computer would be affected too. Anyway, I dug up an old one which I am finding hard to use as my usual one was an ergonomic keyboard and I touch type.

Trish, that is one gorgeous looking neo de Rolf in your pic 2 and the variegated one on the top right hand edge in pic 5, is it neo Jaws Too.

Bree, your garden looks fantastic. I prefer the neo Gold Medal in your last pic, it’s a lovely colour.

Jean, I have a neo Paradise Point somewhere. I’ll try to get a pic tomorrow … if I remember, that is. Your pup may have been over fertilized if it has long thin green leaves.

Trish, in your last post you have me mixed up with Sue. I can’t take the credit for describing you with your car window down, your hair blowing everywhere, eyes crazed, spittle flying, while yelling at other drivers, but it made me laugh. Not my neo Gold Medal or orchid either, unfortunately.

Great pics Trish, love the garden around the tree.

My pics – 1 – Ae Mirlo variegated pup, 2 – neo Bobs Pride pup

Bye for now, Shirley

Yeah your Neo’ ‘De Rolph’ is awsome, the leaves look very close together, overlapping. And because theres not much colour on it makes it look nicer.
Jean i dont have a paradise point but i say that everytime i get a pup "doesnt look anything like the mature plant". hehe!
sort of bird did the hawk get? a pigeon or dove was it?
Trish thats Sues Gold Medal and nice orchid. My broms are actually under a peach tree, it was a bonsai but i planted it and let it grow, it gets heaps of huge peaches but the peaches havent got much taste.
I love that varigated one you last posted Trish.
The weird thing is Gold Medal is on ebay for a buy it now price and its no where near $50.00, why would you bid it up when you can just buy it cheaper.
1. Medusa 2. Gladiator

Good morning
Bree, I do recall an event at the botanic gardens, probably a cultural thing, maybe global food fest or some such. They have quite a few festivals there as its such a nice place to spend time.
The hot house is ALWAYS closed on weekends. darn it! Wouldn't it be nice if they could install security cameras and then they could leave it open. But then, they would need someone to watch the security cameras!
I'll Dmail you about Saturday.The Gold medal in your first pic is similar to what the one on Ebay looked like. It must have been grown in shade, and the variegated portion was almost gold. I guess the bidders weren't very savvy, and got caught up in the moment. N. 'Gold medal' used to be called 'first Prize' variegata, so maybe the bidders thought 'Gold medal' was a new variety?Your finished product looks just like mine, so when mine pups, I might try one in different light too.
Your garden shot looks very busy, with so many broms to drool over at once.
Jean, I have N. 'Paradise point' but not sure if I have one coloured up at the moment. They are usually orange with a fine green margin on the leaf edge. They are plain green if fertilised (as Shirley says) and will colour up with more light, as it runs out of fertiliser.
Trish, for all intensive purposes, I'll change my name to Shirley to answer your post. heh heh
You must have had a big day at work?
I like your neo. 'Grey Nurse' I do have that one, but yours has alot more white/cream, I think. Its from the same parentage (Carolinae x carcharodon) hence having the sharky name
I feel your pain, with the 60km driver! We have roadworks on our stretch of the highway, that have been going for 2 years. its now 80km for quite a few kilometres, which is painful, but when you have to follow someone doing 60km for the whole stretch, its enough to make me tear my hair out! And it happens nearly every day. (I'm starting to go bald) We also get the roadwork machine and tractors, from time to time, and following them doing 20-40km should not be on! I think they should float them on a truck. Anyway, thats my moan....for now.
Your garden bed looks great, and the half dog in the background is a great ornament! I'd love a pup of your grey nurse if/and when it produces any, if no one else is one the list first. Keep me in mind.
Shirley, not tech problems again! You seem to cop more than your fair share. Sounds like you might be wearing it out? :-)
If I remember the pics of your block, you are situated a bit up the slope? We are at the bottom, so most of the house is on the flat, which only leaves the uphill slope to use. And its south facing, so can be quite shady in winter.
I hope you get your few fine days. We've had a couple, despite predicted rain, and they are telling us now its going to get cool. I am hoping for a dry day today, till at least this afternoon, so I can mow a little patch at the front of the house. Its been wet there for days.
I looked up your Neo. 'Bobs Pride' as it thought it might have been related to Neo. 'Maggies Pride' but it wasn't in the FCBS photo index. Nevermind. I like your Aechmea 'Mirlo' I've never seen one in the flesh, so to speak. Does it seem quite hardy?
photo one is two new Cryptanthus. C. fosteriana and C. 'It'
Photo two is Billbergia 'Pink Champagne' which I have just moved into a bit more sun.
Photo three is my Tillandsia area. I've just pulled out quite a bit of Sanseveria and given it a tidy up. It was also full of some neos that weren't achieving their best colour, so I took them out too.
Photo four is the Neo. zonata that I took out. There was also a huge clump of N. olens x chlorosticta, which goes an awesome colour, but they were all green
Photo five is the colour the N. zonata should be.
Sue

Hello everyone.
I asked the question about my new brom because I often feel that I am learning much about them, but not enough .
I will add 2 pics of my new neo Paradise Point.

Just to add to my ignorance about broms, I saw a bil Gerda on eBay today which does not resemble mine at all.
I decided to look up bil Gerda and found that I am not the only one who gets confused about broms. There are some interesting notes on bil Gerda and all its look alikes.
I am sorry if I have sent Gerda to anyone ( Sue & Nev I think) under a wrong name . Thats what it was labelled as . It would be a quite old lot of bils that I bought with my epis, and the lady had them for a long time.
I would say now , looking at all the info, it is most likely to be the renamed bil Royal Vase or bil Charles Webb.
I am leaving mine as Gerda for now with a note that it could be different.
It just goes to show that even the experts can be lost at times.

Shirley, as always, I love your variegated broms Mirlo especially.

Breeindy, the bird caught by the hawk was one of the pesky Wattle birds. They bully the little New Holland Honeyeaters all the time.

pics ...neo. Paradise Point

Jean.

Jean i found this photo or Paradise Point http://fcbs.org/cgi-bin/dbman/db.cgi?db=neophoto&uid=default&view_records=1&neophotono=*&nh=72
scroll down a few.

This message was edited Apr 19, 2013 3:01 AM

Hi Everyone!

Yeah it’s the weekend!!!

Hi Shirley I hope you don’t get too much rain so you can enjoy time out in the garden and with your broms.

Shirley I am not too sure which brom you are asking about in my Pic 5 posted yesterday (top right-hand edge) of the broms in a circle? If it is Pic 4 then the brom you are asking about is Neo’ ‘Gray Nurse’? Pleased to hear you liked the new brom garden under the avocado tree, not much grows under there grass wise but since I have cut a lot of the lower branches so I think the grass will be encouraged to grow back but I may need to give it a bit of a helping hand. The annoying part is when it rains heavy dirt and grit splashes up against the underside of the broms, coats the outside of the pots so does not look very nice and I have to wash it off, so the sooner I can get grass growing under there the better otherwise I might need to pebble the whole area maybe, undecided yet?

Shirley / Sue sincere apologies for getting you both mixed up yesterday with Sue’s thread that I thought was Shirley’s thread, here I was asking Sue where she was when I should have been asking where Shirley was – too funny – I must have been well and truly off with the fairies yesterday, I know I was really tired after having a HUGE day at work and my attention span was just not there clearly given my confusion.

Shirley nice pics of your Ae. ‘Mirlo’ and Neo’ ‘Bobs Pride’; does ‘Bobs Pride’ grow very big?

Hi Bree sorry I got your peach tree mixed up with a mango tree, gosh I was on a great roll yesterday getting everyone and everything mixed up LOL. What a shame your peaches are not that tasty as you say, I wonder why and if there is any remedy for that apart from adding sugar he he. My brother-in-law manages a fruit farm in VIC, I will have to ask him what his secret is to growing big, sweet and juicy peaches as I remember tasting some when we last visited and they were the best we have ever had. Bree I think the variegated brom you liked in my yesterday post was Neo’ ‘Gray Nurse’. Luved your pics too of Neo’ ‘Medusa’ and Neo’ ‘Gladiator’.

Hi Sue too funny – yes had a HUGE day at work yesterday and clearly lost the plot in getting your identity mixed up with Shirley. Here I was going “Where are you Sue” and you were here all along LOL.

Sue I think you were the one that identified my Neo’ ‘Gray Nurse’ because I remember purchasing it without a name and asked the question first on DG, so thanks ever so much for that. I checked it today and it is starting to flush much pinker in the centre since I took that photo. By all means I can put you down for a pup but I hope you don’t mind waiting as I have a few people waiting for a pup and I am still waiting too, it is a pretty well established plant so I am hoping to get pups off it this year (cross my fingers & toes).

Sue I totally don’t blame you being annoyed with the road-works you have had to put up with for the past 2 years, plus excessively slow drivers. Today I had a bad experience with a crazy lady driver who had stopped in the middle of the Bruce Highway with no hazard lights on, to assist a friend whose car had broken down on the side of the road. I was coming from a double lane road that comes around a bend that merges onto the highway (so I had a green arrow) and did not see her car until I was nearly right up her ginger, I could not hop into the other lane because of the traffic so I just stopped behind her and had to put my hazard lights on and looked for an opportunity to get into the other lane when safe to do so, that opportunity was not there and then to my horror she decided to put her car into reverse, clearly did not see me behind her and started to reverse her car for a good 10 seconds, so I had to slam my car into reverse and toot my horn loudly whilst checking for cars coming up behind me, I had no choice to stop reversing eventually because I was boxed in when I could see a cars in my revision mirror coming up behind me. The crazy lady in front of me missed hitting the front of my car by the hair on my chinny chin chin, finally saw me and then parked her car beside the stranded car off the road but not before she blamed me with bad verbal abuse with window down for her mistakes, anyway by then I had well and truly had enough, parked my car ahead a little (off the road) and walked over and gave her a piece of my mind, by the time I was through with her she realised she had stuffed up and her friend gave her a serve also. Anyway that’s my whinge for the day out the road and hopefully I have saved someone’s life from that crazy lady ever thinking of pulling a stunt like that again – not on my watch. I must admit I felt a bit like I was in one of those car chase movies but doing it in reverse while honking my horn endlessly, eat your heart out OO7.

Sue the half dog in the pic is Lexi the half sausage (sausage dog x) we adopted from the RSPCA. She luvs hanging around that new brom bed, maybe because it’s nice and shady? She also likes eating avocados but they are highly toxic to dogs so we have to be mindful of that when it comes to wildlife knocking them out of the tree and pick them up each morning. Pleased to hear you liked the new garden bed too, it’s a work in progress still but never the less and extra area to put my less luved broms because of when the avocado’s start to fall.

Sue great pics you posted, luved Neo’ ‘Zonta’ could you please put my name down for a pup for one day when you have a spare thanks. Luved your Till’ area and the sign on your pool fence about Bathers Optional he he. Your new Crypts’ (is one ‘IT’?) are very nice and so is your Bill’ ‘Pink Champagne’.

Hi Jean WOW Neo’ ‘Paradise Point’ colours up to be a stunner of a brom looking at the link Bree kindly provided, nice deep rich burgundy all over with only a hint of green.

Anyway time to watch some TV, have apple pie baking in the oven and it smells absolutely divine.

Hi to anyone else looking in or on the Sick List.

Take care and Happy Gardening!

Trish

Pics of Pups Growing

Hello everyone,

Sue, I am going to buy a new keyboard in the morning as I’ll never get used to using this one, I keep putting my fingers on the wrong keys and typing stuff like dyigg ;olr yjod s;; yjr yo,r/.

Our house is on a hill and the area in front of and around the house is fairly flat but it slopes down both sides … which is good as far as drainage goes but it means a bit of terracing, retaining walls and cut and fill when building shade houses etc a bit further from the house.

Sue, I wonder if neo Bob’s Pride might be from the same hybridiser as Bob’s Dream and Bob’s Baby. As for Ae Mirlo variegated, it’s one I’ve only had for a short time and I certainly hope it’s not going to be fussy.

Jean, I love Ae Mirlo variegated, it’s one which I had on my wish list for quite a while. I have actually managed to cross off a few lately and will have to get out and take more photos to show off.

I will post two pics of my neo Paradise Point, the first when I bought it more than 12 months ago and a recent one.

Trish, we have had no rain for two days now … yeahhh. As for the brom I was asking about … I was in the right pic but on the wrong page, it was from your post of 17th not the 18th … but quite possibly the same lovely brom.

I have the same problem with the broms I have in pots sitting in the garden with the dirt splashing up on to the pot and looking grotty. I should get out and mulch the gardens then it wouldn’t happen.

No need to apologise for getting Sue’s thread mixed up with mine … I probably made a lot more sense when I was Sue than I normally do. I am not sure what to expect from neo Bob’s Pride as it’s quite new too but I really liked it when I saw it on eBay.

Trish, you were lucky not to have suffered damage to your car at the hands of the ‘crazy lady’ who almost backed into you. And I guess she’s lucky not to have suffered at the hands of the ‘crazy lady’ who gave her a piece of her mind on the roadside … just kidding, don’t blame you a bit.

WOW, love your pups Trish, and you have so many. What is the gorgeous pinky one in front in pic 1, the lovely coloured one on the right in pic 3 and the larger variegated one on the right in pic 5, please … yum.

We might even get down to the market tomorrow morning … but then again, it is supposed to be quite cool so I might just stay in bed.

Pics 1 and 2 are neo Paradise Point, pics 3 and 4 are two very different pups removed at the same time from the same unnamed neo in my Pic 5 which I purchased recently for half price in a rescue attempt.

Bye for now, Shirley

Hi everyone – Just a quick “blow in” again to say good day to you all and anyone on the sick list and to let you know the patent's doing well.

I've been trying to keep up with the posts and there's a few thing I could shed some light on but when I get a chance to write something I forget what they were.

Anyway one that comes to mind was a post from Shirley with a pic of a variegated Ae. Mirlo pup. Basically the brief history of this plant is that it is a variegated sport from Ae. Mirlo and it has been registered as Ae. 'Purple Heart'.

To see the history in full check out the two links below starting with this one for Ae. 'Mirlo' which is: http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/bcr/index.php?genus=AECHMEA&id=370#370

This is the link for Ae. 'Purple Heart':
http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/bcr/index.php?genus=AECHMEA&id=471#471

Jean – As well as the pic of Neo. 'Paradise Point' which Bree posted the link of, there is also another different pic on the BCR, see:
http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/bcr/index.php?genus=NEOREGELIA&id=6206#6206

What the pic's don't clearly show though is that the true Neo. 'Paradise Point' has thin green margins on the edge of the leaves which contrast with the red becoming more visible as the plant colours up.

Sorry but that's my “two bob's worth” for today as I haven't had time to read all of the posts thoroughly.

All the best to you all, Nev.

Good morning all, another dry day and night! I am so excited! We got the last bonfire lit last night
and thats the last of the storm rubbish gone! I also mowed the wet spot! heh heh. So now i can stroll around and enjoy it. I got stuck in and cleared a bit more from the area with the frangipani and callistemon. the frangipani is down to a small stump, and the callistemon has had most of its brnches removed, but I am still thinking of keeping it to tie broms to, and maybe try to train it to grow taller? Not sure yet.
Trish, that must have been scarey for you, with the lady so close to your car. I would have done the same, and given her a growling for being an idiot.I'm glad you have come out of it ok. I shouldn't have mentioned the tractors on the highway, because I jinxed myself, and got stuck behind one on the way home from town. luckily I was ducking into the shops on the way home, so didn't have to sit behind it for too long, but it had a line of traffic behind it, for as far as the eye could see.
Trish, I think you might be the only one who didn't get their parcel yet? It's so frustrating trying to get plants through the mail. I guess you will get them on monday, so let me know that they travelled ok. I have a few pups of N. zonata, so will keep one aside until there is something else to send. I see you have plenty of pups to carry on with! If I ID'd your plant as N. 'Grey Nurse' then I think I am wrong, and it could be a N. 'Jaws' or "Jaws Too'. I'll put a pic on of an immature N. 'Grey Nurse' so you can compare
Shirley, our PC went 'poof' ast night. Its been playing up for awhile and finally lost all power. We will have to get a bit of info off it and start again, if possible. luckily I have my tablet, and hubby has an older laptop that gets him onto Ebay, so its not too much of an incnvenience. My only problem is that I have Emails and invoice templates relating to work, so will need to get them back somehow. I think a trip to the local computer nerd is on the cards.
I think your NOID might be Neo. 'Predator' by the looks of those pups?
Nev, glad you can drop in and have a bit of time to still do a bit of research. Hows Ailsa, as a patient?
Well, the cooler weather is here. instead of 15 degrees in the morning, it was 10! brrrrrr. Might have to start thinking about firewood. I've finally got the long pants on, and even a cardy!
Sorry trish, I thought I took a pic of grey nurse yesteray, so I'll take one later
photo one is A. callichroma
Photo two is a NOID, probably Aechmea. Its a little more burgundy than the picture shows.
Photo three is an Agave garden, screaming out for some bromeliads
Photo four is a nice NOID, caould be Vriesea or Guz. Its coming into flower, so I'll find out soon
Photo five is a cute little Till. cyanea.
Sue

Thank you for the info on my neo. Paradise Point.
I will have to watch it to see if it colors up later. .
Shirley, interesting that Nev has said your lovely var. Mirlo is a sport. I can only hope, my Mirlo will be so kind later.
so far only normal pups from it.

Nev, lovely to hear your wife is coming along so well. I hope she continues to improve with your nursing helping.

Trish a beaut lot of very pretty pups.

I have my pups on trays ready for the Trash & Treasure next month. I am hoping to sell them to buy....yes, you guessed it....more broms.

Its only on twice a year so my only chance to make some pocket money for plants and plant stuff.

Shirley you would like this pretty brom as its variegated. I bought it as a cheap noid because I liked it.

Oops, nearly forget ....I planted the seeds from that seed pod I found on one of the broms a while back. I checked yesterday and there are little green plants coming up.
I had the container sitting out in the greenhouse , but now its inside where it may be a bit warmer.

Very chilly here this morning, I am going back to the heater.

Jean.

Hi all, I made a start on the new bush house today. I have a wash tub(bath) and 20 feet of benches so far. The wall is weldmesh 6 feet high so I ought to have plenty of space for plants. As time and material permits I will extend the house approx 20 more feet in length.Tomorrow I hope to put up the roof frame over the shelving. It will come out 10 feet and will angle up to 10 feet high. This is on the Eastern side of my back yard and until it gets shade cover it will get full afternoon sun.Lucky winter is coming along.
Trish, I cannot afford to give anyone a piece of my mind, I have lost enough of it already and need to keep it for myself.Yes i am selfish at times. Possibly the crazy lady has given 1 piece of her mind away and you saw the result.I feel for you though.
I went to the Nursery today to buy some sand,salt free and that was ok. I chatted with the owner about broms and she has invited me to sell her some of my spares. I am interested but have put her off for a time while I am rebuilding my bush house.I will consider it and maybe even invite her around to see what she could be interested in. There won't be many though because a lot of my plants are slow puppers. Seedlings might be a better alternative though, but even that I would have ayear or two wait to see what results I get.
Markets tomorrow maybe, I spent enough on sand today. I just might have to check the budget.
Have a good one
Ian
Pic 123 New Bush house East wall and shelving
Pic 4 Ae Chantini seedhead
Pic 5 Hohenbergia horsti-leopoldi seedhead.

Cos I can
Pic 1 NOID Nev was interested in, still more flower to open
Pic 2 Til NOID
Pic 3 Blc Taiwan Ruby
Pic 4 Bil NOID
Pic 5 Neo Red Bird

Hi everyone, another nice day here but a bit on the cool side tonight.

Nev, hope everything is going really well for both yourself and Ailsa and thanks for the info on Ae Purple Heart.

Sue, I thought my NOID might be Predator but then I have another which was ID’d as Predator and it is quite different. I see if I can find a pic of that earlier one which I think it must be something else. I have a recent pic of my Jaws Too which I’ll post as well.

Hope you’re getting by OK without your desktop computer.

Sue, whatever the brom is in your pic4, it’s very pretty, it will be interesting to see what it turns out to be.

Jean, good luck with your brom sales at the Trash & Treasure next month. Your variegated NOID looks like a Nidularium.

Ian, your bush house looks to be coming along well. That’s a lovely Ae Chantinii you have there.

My pics are 1 – neo NOID, 2 – neo Jaws Too, 3 – Nid Innocentii

Bye for now, Shirley

Shirley Is your NOID Hot Gossip or Wild Gossip?

Good morning all
Jean, I am with Shirley that your noid is a Nidularium, and probably the one Shirley posted a picture of, Nid. innocentii var linneatum? Its been getting cool here too, but not enough for a heater just yet....thank goodness.
Ian, that new area looks just the spot for a cuppa on a cold day! The bath would make an excellent potting area, or even a place to wash pots if thats your thing. Looking at the surrounds, its a very leafy place.
I loved your photo of the Orchid. What a beauty. Also, if you get any seeds on your Hohenbergia, I would love to try a few. I am in doubt as to wether the tiny pup on my dying H. leopoldo-horstii is going to grow to maturity before the old mum dies.
Shirley, it was a gorgeous day here yesterday, and hubby and I put up a new front gate, and then he helped me in the garden with shovelling and barrowing a load of cyprus chip for the renovation area. Yay! Its done! Well, nothings ever done, but it is a nice spot now. Too nice to fill with stock Nidulariums, heh heh, so now it has just helped space the existing broms out a bit, and hopefully the ones that need it, will get more light and colour.
I think your Neo. 'Jaws Too' looks more like Trishs than N. 'Grey nurse' I'll attach a pic of my N. 'Grey Nurse' for comparison. As for the N. 'Predator' ID, and then Bree, asking about 'Hot Gossip'apparently they are the same plant, but imported by different people and given different names. Who Knows?
Hello to anyone looking in.
Todays photos are
photo one is Neo. 'Grey nurse' for Trish
photo two to five are the garden reno shots. (Callistemon has survived to live another day)
Sue

Hi everyone - Just popped in to say everything is getting better day by day with my wife. Going for short ten minute walks from yesterday and her appetite is returning also, and like I say, if you can eat well, everything must be on the mend.

Great pic's everyone and progress on Ian's building site as well which I'll watch with interest.

Jean - I think your NOID is Nidularium Innocentii var. striatum

Shirley like Bree says, I too think your Neo NOID is Neo. 'Hot Gossip'; at least it looks very much like mine.

Also your Nidularium is Innocentii var. Lineatum

All the best, Nev.

Hi all, I went to the markets again today, ought to have known better but at the expense of the bush house I came home with more plants. I still have enough materials to keep me working for another week or so. Thursday as a group we are to go to Bowen for our meeting at another sellers home. I bet I will bring back some more plants but I will not regret it. I will also be on the lookout for more seeds. ! member has offered me some Alacantarea Vinicolour seeds and mine are almost ready also. There may be some spares. For me when the seeds are ready then it is time to plant them. I am hopefull that Chantini and Hohenbergia seeds mature soon.
Sue nice gardens. I am hopefull that Hohenbergia seeds will ripen, I got 3 seeds last week and planted them today. Where is your sense of adventure, what is wrong with an outdoor bath. In reality it is planned to hold water for pot washing and also for watering plants when I submerge them especially if they have a lot of leaf overhang and do not get watered properly from above. The leaves are in the neighbours yard. They will block out the morning sun, maybe that will be my seedling area.
Nev, It is good to hear that Ailsa is on the mend. The pic 1 on Apr 20 that I posted is looking more like a Vresia to me, but I will continue with update pics.
Have a good one,
Ian
Pic 1 Bilbergia Golden Joy
Pic 2 Bil Party girl
Pic 3 Neo Burnsies spiral
Pic 4 Neo Gold Dazzler
Pic 5 Neo NOID

Hi Everyone!

Hi Nev great to hear Ailsa is doing well, say a BIG HELLO from all of us!

Nev that’s interesting what you say and the links you kindly forwarded about “variegated” Ae’ ‘Mirlo’. I have Ae’ ‘Mirlo’ and it is now producing beautiful pups. The “variegated” one will have to go on my wish list for some time down the track.

Hi Shirley thanks what a great idea about mulching around broms pots that get splashed with dirt etc, I will do that for mine under the avocado tree, just a width of mulch to keep the dirt at bay from splashing up onto the pot and into broms until either to grass grows or I get pebbles in or something?

Shirley yeah that was Neo’ ‘Gray Nurse’ that you liked in pics 17/4 and 18/4. Shirley pleased to hear you liked all the pics I posted of my pups, the following brom pups you asked about are: 19/4 Pic 1 (pinkie Neo’ to the right) is Neo’ ‘Grace, she was coloured beautifully like that when I took pups off mum. 19/4 Pic 3 (coloured one f/r/h/s) is Neo’ ‘Midnight Madness’. 19/4 Pic 5 (larger variegated one on right) is Neo’ ‘Margaret’.

Shirley your Pic 2 of Neo’ ‘Paradise Point’ that you posted a pic of on 19/4 is lovely, such a nice peachy looking colour, looks good enough to eat. Shirley good to see your rescue broms like I do and great looking pups you got off her. It is pretty with its variegated leaves and the mother looks like it is trying to colour up in the centre. Shirley thanks for posting a Pic of your Neo’ ‘Jaws Too’, I think it looks different to my Neo’ ‘Grey Nurse’ though, what do you think?

Hi Sue pleased to hear you got the bonfire lit and the last of the storm rubbish gone. It is always a nice feeling to get something out the road that annoys you and now you don’t have to think about it anymore.

Sue that car incident was not too scary because I had to get straight into action mode with reversing of our car and tooting at the crazy lady, then I just got very angry and annoyed and hopefully shocked her back into the real world when I yelled at her, hopefully she learnt something from the experience in not being an idiot when on the road and endangering people’s lives.

Sue thanks no parcel yet so hopefully Monday? Thanks ever so much for going to all that trouble. I will let you know as soon as the parcel arrives. Sue thanks also for keeping me a pup of Neo’ ‘Zonata’ for down the track, whenever. Sue that’s no worries about Neo’ ‘Grey Nurse’, I was just pleased you had tried identifying it for me. The seller I had got it from had told me the name at the time but it did not have a label and by the time I had got home I had forgotten, then when I asked everyone on this forum you jogged my memory on what the lady had told me initially, that its name was ‘Grey Nurse’. I would be interested to see the Pic of the immature ‘Grey Nurse’ when you get a chance to post a pic, no hurry. I will also go in and have a closer look of what Neo’ ‘Jaws’ and Neo’ ‘Jaws Too’ look like for comparison?

Sue you made me shiver when you said how cold it is for you guys in the morning now (10deg), sounds like it’s time for the winter whollies to come out of storage LOL. Sounds like you have a fire place, there is nothing nicer than sitting in front of one with the sound of wood crackling, a cup of hot chocolate and a good book to read until you fall asleep – sheer bliss.

Sue nice pics you posted, looks like you have heaps of room for broms in your nice Agave garden to add a splash of colour.

Hi Jean thanks and pleased to hear you liked pics of my brom pups. Sounds like you are all ready and organised with your pups for the trash & treasure sale and I hope you sell them all to buy more beautiful broms. It is always a nice feeling shopping for something new to add to our ever growing collections. How you do fantastic at your sale.

Jean congratulations on your seeds germinating, isn’t it a great feeling. I spent all day today sowing trays of Neorgelia seeds and fertilising my tiny Vriesea seedlings. I also had a visit from a good friend of ours who collects Broms and we spent a good couple of hours this morning just talking broms. The rest of my day was spent watering them and yesterday I spent the whole day taking pups off broms and weeding garden beds so the weekend was a great one for me.

Hi Ian great start on your Bush House, by the looks of the pics you posted you accomplished a great deal, good on you. Look forward to seeing more pics as you go. Ian I too have had someone from a nursery ask if I want to sell some of my spare broms but I don’t think I am at that stage yet because a lot of my pups are the first from each of my plants, unless I have been fortunate enough to get more than one pup off a brom which happens on some but not on all. For now I am content keeping some for me and swapping when I can.

Sue thanks just saw the Pic of Neo’ ‘Grey Nurse’ (what a beauty) thanks, I am going to post a pic of mine when it is fully coloured and hopefully this will help identify it better and see what everyone thinks then? Sue luved the garden reno shots, they are awesome!

Anyway time to head, sorry I had to rush this thread so hope it makes sense to everyone?

Hi to anyone else looking in or on the Sick List.

Take care and Happy Gardening!

Trish

.... bugger

Hi everyone,

having lots of trouble posting tonight. First up I couldn’t add photos then when I refreshed the screen, I lost my post. I logged in again and I couldn’t post anything at all, though that was probably our crappy internet service.

Anyway, I’m back to try again …

Bree, that neo NOID doesn’t look like my other neo Hot Gossip but there are so many of them that do look similar, it’s hard to know.

Sue, I wonder how long it will be before all that extra space you have gained disappears under more and more broms … they do look good though. I love your neo Grey Nurse.

Nev, so glad to hear Ailsa is going so well. Thanks for your ID for my NOID and my Nid Innocentii.

Ian, love that NOID in your pic 5, it’s such a lovely shape and colour.

Trish, I agree that my neo Jaws Too and your Grey Nurse look a little different, and your Grey Nurse looks different to Sue’s, they’re all lovely broms. Thanks for the ID on the broms in your pics that I asked about … a few more to add to my wish list.

My pics are 1 – alc Silver Plum, 2 – alc Extensa, 3 – alc Imperialis Rubra, 4 – alc Heloisae

Anyway, gotta run now, catch up tomorrow,

Shirley

Hi everyone – I've got an early start this morning so I can have a bit of a chat and post a few pic's. I was flat out yesterday as the day was just a continual flow of visitors to see my wife and how we are managing and with offers of assistance from everyone. Friends of my wife from her Family History Group and friends of mine from our local Brom Society made the day go very quickly as we chatted and drank lots of cups of tea. It's great to be surrounded by good friends and loving family and all providing a degree of support.

Although I haven't had the time to respond to all of the recent posts, I have been trying to read them all and admire all of the beautiful pic's. My poor garden is just so terribly overgrown at the moment; I never thought brom's could grow so much in just a couple of weeks when unattended and they seem to have taken over. I walked into the top shade house yesterday to have a look at the Bill's, and they have grown so much I couldn't walk between the benches without brushing against them, so as soon as things get back to normal, I'll have to start dividing and re-potting them in preparation for a sale. In fact I propose to have a rather large “one off” sale now that I have my Neo. list completed and know what I can and can't sell. With the Bill's I can sort and list them as I divide them. I'll keep a couple of each for my collection and the others can be sold off. I'll try to get a few pic's today to show what I mean.

Ian – I like your idea of the bath tub. You will find it very valuable during the hot dry weather as it will help a bit with the humidity. A friend of mine has trays of water scattered throughout her collection which is situated on the flat concrete roof of her home. This gets very warm and dry during the hotter weather and she says the trays of water help her to grow better plants (and she grows some magnificent plants). She also says she adds just one or two drop of Kerosene to each tray of water to prevent the mossies from breeding, but you won't be able to do this if you plan to “dunk” your plants, but there are no doubt other products you can add to the water to stop the mossies from breeding.

I agree that your plant does look like a Vriesea, however we also shouldn't rule out the possibility of a Guzvriesea either as these have a very similar spike habit, anyway time will tell us what it is.

Your Bill 'Party Girl' looks good, you've done a nice job of growing that one and I think your Bill. 'Golden Joy' will give you more of the golden colours after which it is named if you grow it in more light.

Neo. 'Burnsie's Spiral' is always an interesting plant because as it matures it seems to grow on top of a stalk. Until then it will produce normal pups from the bottom but as the stalk grows you will get the occasional pup from the side of the stalk. When it gets too lanky, I just cut it off and leave an inch of stalk below the foliage and re-pot it and it will start growing all over again. Meanwhile the remaining stalk will produce more pups if you give it a boost with some Osmocote or similar type fertiliser.

Although different colours, the leaf patterns of your Neo. 'Gold Dazzler' remind me of Neo. 'Lime and Lava'. They both have that look that they were painted with a brush with insufficient paint on it to cover the surface properly, I think they should look good side by side.

Your NOID Neo is a nice looking plant, it has both nice colour and shape and I wouldn't be surprised if it has Neo 'Charm' in the parentage as that was my first thought, so perhaps a Neo. Charm hybrid?

Trish – It seems like the “Brom Seed Bug” has really bitten you. I suppose you now realise you have to prepare for an invasion of seedlings which will eventually threaten to invade your whole property if you don't religiously keep culling them. But when the work gets hard, just think of what may possibly be in amongst them as they mature, perhaps a champion or two?

What is the Neo in the front right of the first pic and front left of the second? It looks very much like one I have called Neo. 'Dark Rose Blush'.

Shirley – What a great looking group of Alcantareas you have there. All looking so neat and clean and looking so well grown as well. You can't help liking a well grown Alc. especially the Alc 'Silver Plum' with its dusting of silver grey on the leaves. The green ones have the same type of silvering but it's just more obvious on the ones with the coloured leaves. Oh how I wish I had more spare space to grow a few of these beauties.

Anyway, that'll do me for today and I'm sorry to say I only have old file pic's to finish with but I'll take some more when I get time. Pic.1 is Neo. Gee Whiz 'Rubra', Pic.2 is Neo.'Honour Bright', Pic.3 is Neo. 'Gold Fever Select', Pic.4 is Neo. 'Kay Jay' and Pic.5 is Neo 'Golden King'.

Al the best, Nev.

Hello all,

Nev, so good to see you posting and attaching photos again. And I’m so glad you did or I’d have been here on my own.

It’s great that your friends and Ailsa’s are rallying to offer support. I am sure that knowing people really care aids in recovery after illness or surgery.

Glad that you like my alcantareas Nev. They have grown very quickly and I have just repotted them all into really big pots. I think I used two 30 litre bags of orchid mix in each of the pots, hopefully I won’t need to do it again.

Nic pics Nev, I especially like neo Gold Fever Select and neo Kay Jay.

My pics are 1 – neo Chirripo, 2 – neo Crayola, 3 – neo Jaws, 4 – neo Rosy Morn, 5 – Vr Emerald Meadows

Bye for now, Shirley

Hi Everyone!

Hi Nev fantastic to hear all your loving family and friends are rallying around you guys with support, it is times like these that you truly discover who your friends are and it sounds like you are enjoying everyone’s company with those endless cups of tea.

Nev great to hear your broms are bursting out of their pots and that you will be able to separate them when you can and sell them off. It is mind blowing how quickly some grow from week to week and I have noticed that some of my pups grow heaps in a week, or if I take a pup off within another week or two more pups are popping up again. It is a feeling that I will never tire of because of how rewarding it is.

Nev the brom you asked about in my Pic 1 and Pic 2 on 21/4 is Neo’ ‘Purple Gray No.1’. It lost a fair bit of colour over summer but its colour is returning again slowly.

Nev I definitely have the brom seed bug but the word culling in not in my vocabulary yet because I am not at that stage just yet but am aware the day will come. I was thrilled to bits to find plump seed pods in one of my NOIDS that’s nicknamed ‘Pretty Pink Janice’ the other day, I got about 3 very plump seeds pods out of her that came away easily and potted them up over the weekend per your How to Raise Bromeliad Seedling instructions which I found ever so useful to have on hand as I was not at all sure of the best way to sow them in their green state, anyway all went well and hopefully these beautiful fresh seeds will germinate shortly. I have also found seed pods in my Neo’ ‘Moana Beauty’ which I will definitely want to try germinating as she is one of my favourites, so yes I am having heaps of fun trying my hand at growing Neo’s for the first time.

Nev fantastic brom pics you posted, who cares if they are oldish pics they are still broms and wonderful to look at.

Hi Sue thank you ever so much my parcel arrived in the mail today safe and well, the broms look very healthy indeed and no signs of any shock. I gave them a good soak never the less and will pot them up early this week. Thank you so much for going to all that trouble and surprising me with the other beautiful brom that I could not stop touching because I have wanted one for so long. I feel like I have been very spoilt today as aside from receiving your wonderful parcel I also got to work and found that a friend of mine had brought me a brom as a present, one that I did not have so I was over the moon. Anyway I will have to take a pic on the weekend for everyone to see.

Shirley sorry to hear you experienced internet issues and lost your thread and pics; I can appreciate just how annoyed you would have been.

Shirley thanks for your comments regarding Neo’ ‘Grey Nurse’ compared to your Neo’ ‘Jaws Too’, I will just have to remember to post a pic when it is fully in flower as hopefully this will make it easier to work out but at the moment it is just too hard to tell.

Shirley I will pop you down for pups of Neo’ ‘Midnight Moment’ and Neo’ ‘Grace’. I have a spare of Neo’ ‘Grace’ that is nearly ready to separate off mum that is colouring up nicely so will keep this one aside for you. I will have to put you on the wait list for Neo’ ‘Midnight Moment’ as I only took the first pup off her not long ago. Unfortunately I have a large list of people waiting for a pup from Neo’ ‘Margaret’ but if I am blessed with more than one pup at a time it may speed things up some, it just depends on how long you are willing to wait?

Shirley great pics of all your Alacantrias got to luv the frosted silver look they all have about them. If I had to pick a favourite it would be Alc. ‘Silver Plum’. I think I have Alc. ‘Imperialis Rubra’.

Hi to anyone else looking in or on the Sick List.

Take care and Happy Gardening!

Trish

Just some pics tonight. Ian
Pic 1 N Lime and lava (front left0 Lime fizz (back) Gold dazzler
Pic 2 N Kautskii
Pic 3 N Manoa beauty
Pic 4 N marble snow
Pic 5 N Purple rain
Except for Lime fizz and Lime and lava I got these at the markets on the weekend. Last nights pics also came from the markets. I now know what they ought to look like and cannot take credit for growing them. I will try to keep them at their current standard.

Hi everyone. I'm still around but time poor these days. we've had a pretty bad patch with Johnny health wise with lots of trips to hospital for appointments and tests and to GP as well. we now find he has gout to add to all the other things wrong with him. so now he is on the preventative medication hopefully he won't get another attack. The last 2 weeks we had 6 hospital visits with parking costing around $100. I could have had a really nice brom for that much $$$$. damn.

anyway the pictures on this forum have been great. haven't read all the words but have looked at pics and the names. I'll try to get onto this forum regularly again. however I have taken on a novel to edit so have to read it to do that. haven't read too many books in all the time I've been retired so will have to really put my head down to get it done in the week I was given to do it. So I better log off now and do some reading. Just as well it is a saucy romance so I should be able to keep my mind on the task at hand. LOL

Wendy

Hi everyone – Just another short one today to say I hope everyone's well. Good to see you posting again Wendy and a big “Cherrio Get Well Soon” call to Johnny.

Shirley – I was a bit disappointed in the Neo. 'Gold Fever Select', I think the straight Neo. 'Gold Fever” is much nicer. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but where ever I grow it I can't get as much gold in the colour as the straight Gold Fever. Neo Kay Jay is a nice medium/small Neo with near perfect shape. It's very slow at the moment as I only got it from Queensland late last year and it usually takes about a year for them to acclimatise down here.

You've again posted a nice collection of plants but the three variegated Neo's are my favourites.

Trish – I'm sure you'll get a lot of enjoyment from growing the brom seed and as for the “culling”, well I still find it very painful. Nice pic's once again, what is the plant in the last pic. is it one of your gingers? (excuse my ignorance but I'm not familiar with many plants other than brom's).

Ian -The three plants in the first pic all have that similar look I spoke of yesterday and when you put them side by side it's easier to see. The pic's a bit blurry though; I used to have the same problem and overcame it by using a tripod. It doesn't have to be an expensive one, the one I got was only about $15 from K-Mart, but it was worth every penny (sorry I meant cent)

I'm still a great admirer of the plant in the second pic. I think Neo. Kautskyi is one of the best yellow coloured brom's around, and what's more it “selfs” readily and the seed is very fertile and very easy to grow.

That's it for today, I'm off to put the washing on now so it will be finished when I have eaten breakfast and then I can hang it out and that's part of my housework done already. Gee it makes me appreciate more what you girls do when I have to do it myself along with my other “male jobs”.

Pic's for today are Pic.1 Neo. 'Meyendorffii minor', Pic.2 Neo. 'Little Ocker', Pic.3 Neo. Medusa, Pic.4 Neo. 'French's Cruenta', Pic.5 Neo. 'Wine and Gold'.

All the best, Nev.

good morning
Not much going on here to tell. Did a little bit of potting because there were a few pups and things still floating around from the last sale.
The weather is getting cooler in the mornings, although it got to 34 on the back veranda yesterday arvy. Nice!
Nev, did you just have a birthday? Devo sent you a message on Facebook. Happy belated birthday. As for house chores, I have two loads of washing out already, but then, I am a seasoned pro.
Nice to see you back Wendy. Sorry to hear you are so busy, but at least it keeps you off the streets. I hope Johnny can get some relief from his gout. I might pop around and see you this friday, if I get a chance.(and if you are home)
Ian, lots of lovlies from the markets. Lucky you, and they look good photographed on that mesh.
Shirley, loved your Alcantarea photos. I can't believe you used 60 litres a pot! I have my huge ones growing in a standard 10 litre bucket! I then put them in a ceramic pot, and shove mulch down the side to keep them firm. They have been growing that way for 3-4 years. You should NEVER have to pot yours again! heh heh. Heloisae will get beautiful red tips in winter.
Trish, I am glad your parcel arrived. Luckily they are tough plants and can survive that time in transit. I hope they do well for you.
Lovely photos from everyone. Sorry I can't return the favour, as I haven't taken any new shots for a couple of days.
Must go, dogs to feed, gardens to tend.
Sue

Hello everyone. I have been admiring all the pics and am certainly learning a lot more about broms.
We had a nice bit of rain here yesterday and the broms all look nice and fresh now.

I have potted my new ones and am slowly filling the new bench space.
I had to move some of the vrieseas as they are growing well and pushing each other .
My little seedlings are looking strong. I will hopefully have a nice lot of colorful neos to plant out.
I am waiting now to see if anything grows from the seed pod I found on the aech. recurvata.
I have no idea of what the pollen parent is as they all seem to do their own thing among themselves.
There are plenty of insects and little frogs in the greenhouse to carry pollen.

I asked a wjile ago if anyone knew about vr. Bobbie. The plant I bought didnt look like any of the pics I found.
They all seem to be plain green even when flowering.
Mine is coloring up very nicely but definitely does not look like what it should be.
I even checked on the register for any other other Bobbies. There is a neo Bobby , which again is nothing like mine being red.
I will have to contact the seller and see if anything else is known about mine.

Nev, great to hear of the wonderful progress your wife is making. Due in part to her own determination but helped along by caring family and friends.

I am off to see how the plants are all looking after their rain bath.

pic 1 ...vr. Bobbie ? coloring nicely since I put him out on the bench

pic 2... neo. concentrica, which looks really great now hes in a basket in plenty of light

pic 3 ..my newest vriesea Gultz. ..beautiful.

Jean.

Hi Everyone!

Hi Wendy really nice to hear from you but sorry to hear that Johnny has not been feeling very well. Hope the preventative medication helps so he does not get another attack and that Johnny gets well soon.

Wendy the novel you have taken on to edit sounds interesting, have you edited many novels? I hope you like romance novels; if you don’t maybe you will get a chuckle out of it when reading it. I am not at all into romance novels but read one once many, many moons ago and it had me in stitches the way the author wrote the juicy bits.

Hi Nev Happy Belated Birthday after reading Sue’s thread. Hope you had a lovely day!

Nev I am definitely getting real enjoyment from growing brom seeds but know deep down there is only so much I can look after when working a full time job as well so happy to dabble in a bit of this and that just so I can say I have at least tried, once I have more time up my sleeve though I would like to try crossing my own but that’s for much later on down the track.

Nev pleased to hear you liked my brom pics; the last pic you asked about that I posted yesterday (Pic 5) is of my “dwarf” Red Ginger. Nev did the Pink Ginger seedlings survive? If you want more please let me know (Shirley you too).

Nev lovely brom pics you posted, I especially liked Pic 5 of Neo’ ‘Wine & Gold” because of its intense colours.

If anyone wants seedlings of my “dwarf” Red Ginger or Pink Ginger please let me know as I am more than happy to post you out some?

Hi Sue sounds like you had a busy day. Thanks heaps for the pups you sent me which are doing very well and appreciated the good soaking I gave them even though they did not look like they needed it.

Hi Jean sounds like you are having a great time with your broms, seedlings etc. I too wonder what some of the seed pods I have collected and sowed will turn out like as it has happened naturally, pretty exciting really when you think about it. Luved all your brom pics; especially Vr. Gultz.

Hi Shirley looks like you and I posted at the same time yesterday, nice pics you posted.

Anyway time to head.
.
Hi to anyone else looking in or on the Sick List.

Take care and Happy Gardening!

Trish

Hi all,
Another hot day here and it was too nice to work but I did anyway.
Nev, I heard your comment on the 3 plants and just tried to prove you right, as usual you were. I have N Kautskii seed growing and plan on planting some more soon. It is a very popular plant .
Of the other seed you sent me the only ones I am waiting to germinate is Werauhia gigantea. Maybe i am expecting them to germinate quickly. Maybe they will be more like Alacantarea than Neos in germination times.
The lighting may not have helped with the pic of the trio as I took it at night without a flash. I may also have had the skakes. I will try again.
I think that I will have to do a stock take on my seedlings, I am keeping records of germination, time rate of growth and % of strike. So far so good.
Have a good one
Ian
Pic 1 Neo Red star
Pic 2 Neo Still Waters both from the markets .