Shirley love that neo Painted Lady x Georges Prince. See my photo 3, was just wondering if this is a real photo of Concentrica then i saw your which looks as nice and thought maybe it is then.
1. My big Vriesea White Bands and 2. my V. Dillings Black Beauty.
4. My seedlings badley needing re potting. Should i use a soil/small bark mix yet?
Hi Nev,thanks i will sure ask questions if i need to.Wow your Guz,is beautiful.The color of the flowers are awesome.It does look very full when all the pups stay together like that.I will keep all mine pups together.Nev what size pot do you have them in?Love all your pics!!!Take care!!!
Cody
Thanks Cody were ok. My daughter is over the chicken pox, still has scabs but not ichy at least. I still have a sort of flu. Ive had it 3 weeks now. No spots though. weird!
grrr - was part way through a post & moved slightly & Windows 8 in it's wisdom decided I wanted to go out of here & back to my desk top.
Hate how twitchy this OS is!!!
Anyway to retype what I was saying...
Nev - your Guz. Hilda looks like the plant offered at the Warehouse under the label "Bromeliad"
would Hilda be a popular variety or are there quite a few Guzmania with similar look to them?
And now I have seen what a clump looks like I am really keen to look out for next time they stock them & give it a try.
The Warehouse also had a red variety that looked very similar & I have seen those at the supermarket & florists being sold as an alternative to cut flowers.
We are predicted to drop to -3C tonight, am thinking that Guzmania would be an indoor plant in those conditions ;)
I still haven't got any further with putting in a bed of cold hardy broms under the eaves here, since the builders did the new chimney the garden is a mess there & it has been too wet to look at doing anything.
It was interesting to see that there are varieties that can take frost & temps below 0C.
I know Bil. nutans can - mine are living proof of that :)
Hi Everyone!
Still windy here today but no rain; I went for my usual walk during my lunch break with some work colleagues and my bucket hat kept blowing off my head which was really annoying LOL.
Hi Ian yeah fire places are great and we always make a point of booking a cabin at the Tablelands over winter just so we can kick back and enjoy sitting in front of one with a beer or a good glass of wine while reading a good book whilst listening to the wood crackling and feeling all cosy and warm. And I luv nothing better than going to an old pub with a fire place with the owners dog sitting by the fire place like when we used to go to the Erica Pub in VIC, thoughts were the days hey.
Hi Shirley great to hear from you, hope your day improved as there is nothing worse than a procession of things going wrong the whole day as it is very exhausting indeed. Shirley fantastic pic you posted of Neo’ ‘Painted Lady’ x ‘Georges Prince’, what a spectacular looking brom.
Hi Cody thanks pleased to see you like the seedlings I posted yesterday, all the credit goes to Nev who produced and grew all these beautiful seedlings from seed and was kind enough to send me one’s he was thinking of culling. I am very pleased with them all as they are growing and colouring up really well and I hope I do Nev proud in raising them well and to their full potential.
Hi Nev thanks I can’t wait to hear what Neo’ Marble types you have as to be honest I have not checked the BCR to see how many are out there I just know I really like them because they are that little bit different with all that marbling of colour going on.
Nev I am also looking at taking pups off my Neo’ ‘Cliff Siverd’ in September as the pups are really starting to take off now so as soon as I have done this I will let you know, hopefully this will get them a little more time to establish their root system to give them a good start for potting up.
Nev thanks for providing background and another pic of Neo’ ‘Lovely Lady’ from Thai Brom Show, wow talk about layer upon layer of leaves going on and what a perfect round shape it has. I wonder how old it would be to get to that stage. Nev how long have you had your brom for? I also luved the pic you posted of the Mobile Fernery, got to luv mother natures will to survive. Now if that was me I probably would have saved them and potted them up not that I am any good at growing Ferns, I have killed most of the ferns I have owned in my life, they always look lush and healthy for a couple of months and then they start to deteriorate and die after about a year, even with all the watering and light feeds I give them so if anyone knows the secret on growing them well please let me know?
Nev thanks pleased to hear you think the Neo’ Babies are looking great, by all means I will keep sending progress pics as I want you to see how they are doing and would appreciate your feedback on how you think I am travelling with them as I want to do you proud and raise them well.
Hi Bree pleased to hear you and your daughter are on the mend. Great pics you posted of you vrieseas and how great are you’re vriesea seedling doing. I have my vriesea seedlings potting up individually in a mixture of fine orchid mix / roughly crushed charcoal / small perlite and sometime I throw in a splash of peat moss in there too depending on what I have on hand at the time. The orchid mix does have charcoal in it but I find I like to add a bit more crushed into the mix. All the seedlings that Nev sent me are also potted up in this mix and they really like it.
Hi Theresa OMG -3C predicted for you tonight, best you keep all your broms indoors with you away from the blistering cold that’s coming he he. If we had the same weather conditions here I would stress about all my broms that live outside and Joe would stress about all his orchids in the nursery and I could see us both trolleying our entire collections inside to protect them from the cold. What a funny picture that would make don’t you think LOL?
Anyway time to head off to bed - Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Take Care and Happy Gardening!
Trish
Pic 1 – Neo' 'Crayola' (pup)
Pic 2 – Vr' 'Bianca' (pup), had to have another one of of the same as luv this one
Pic 3 – Vr' 'Guttata'
Pic 4 & 5 - Can anyone identify this one for me??? Thanks???
Hi everyone
Nev, I have to agree that neo Painted Lady x Georges Prince is a lovely cross. I hope some of yours turn out as well. Wish I could say I grew mine but I have to admit to buying it.
Nev, your Mobile Fernery makes for a very original pot plant container, though maybe a little on the large side. That neo Lovely Lady is gorgeous, I love how it spirals. Your Guz Hilda looks very nice too.
Bree, I’m not sure about the pic of Concentrica but I do think I have seen it before, is it from an eBay listing? I recently purchased a neo Concentrica X and I’ll post a pic. I love your Vr White Bands and it certainly looks like you’re going to have lots of Vr Splendens ... how old are the seedlings, please.
Bree, hope you are feeling better soon. I still have a scratchy throat and a very annoying cough and it’s been about four weeks now.
Therese, guzmanias make great indoor plants and an excellent alternative to cut flowers. Some of the blooms will last up to 12 months and still look good. I don’t think I could get out of bed if the temp here ever dropped to -3. I’m loathe to crawl out from under the covers if it gets down to around 15 degrees.
Trish, today has been a better day than yesterday, fortunately. And tomorrow is Friday so you get to have a couple of days off and hopefully some time to relax.
Hi to Ian, Cody, Jean, Sue, Tash, Jen, Wendy, Colleen and anyone else looking in.
My pics are 1 – neo Concentrica X, pic 2 – neo Meyendorffii x Marmorata, pics 3 and 4 are NOIDs.
Bye for now,
Shirley
Hi Bree,glad that you both are doing ok,but sorry that you are still under the weather.Hope you feel better real soon.Take care!!!
Hi Trish,wow that was very nice of Nev to give you all those pups.I think you are doing a great job with them.Love your pics.Take care!!!
Waving hi to all!!!!
Cody
This message was edited Jul 11, 2013 9:15 AM
.good morning, I had a day off the compuer again yesterday, as I find myself getting quite ranky if it doesn't go as well as I would like. I'm not off to a good start today, with the laptop 'unable to display the page' and generally running slow again. I really need to have a good look at it and clean out some things i think, and get the updates on.
Anyway, yesterday started wet, but ended dry, so i was able to get a couple of trays repotted, and the rest of a stubborn Dietes out, so I have space for some more trays, and one more dietes to remove. I think i will cut back the leaves, but won't remove it until next week, as i have filled the bins already. it doesn't take long. I think the plants i have recently repotted are already looking better, and can only imagine how well they will respond once the weather warms up.
Trish, I haven't heard of freezing Avo slices, and will be interested to hear how that goes. I also hate it when the Avo season is over, as I love them on toast, or in salads, or on mexican mince e.t.c. yummm.
Your Tillandsia NOID is actually Billbergia nutans! So it obviously does well in the warmer climates too!
Shirley, sorry to hear that you have had 'one of those days' I seem to have several in a row! I hope it is all smooth sailing now. Your photos are looking great.
Theresa, i forgot to say hello in the last post (smacking the back of my hand) Guzmania 'Hilde' is quite common amongst department store plants, and although there might be other yellow varieties, it is the one most commonly sold as it is hardy, and the leaves don't mark as much as some in the cold, so it would be a good one for you to try as an indoor plant. It does well here, outdoors, but I have others that get brown spots at the first drop in temps under 20! Annoying.
Bree, glad to hear your daughter has improved, so now time to look after number one! Eat well and rest! Your photos are wonderful also.
Cody, are you still at your sisters? How are you coping with the heat? iceblocks and swimming?
Nev, thanks for the Emils. I thought the remedies one was very funny, and loved the thought of the day
Some People are like slinky's
not really good for anything
but they bring a smaile to your face when they're pushed down the stairs! Loved it.
i am interested to see your seedling with the Bucaneer x johannis label. i have no idea if i sent you any, but may possibly have? I wonder if yours was before or after the trays were upended.
Thank you for the offer of 'Orange Glow' and if the opportunity arrives, i would love one, but am in no hurry, so if you want to build some stock/spares first, I am happy to get a pup from the next batch.
I am looking forard to spring so I can start offering you some trades? I have spotted newly forming pups here and there, and on the neos, I imagine they will be mature and ready in early Autumn, which apparently, is the best time to remove them to reduce the chance of them flowering young.
Ian, I hope the weather and work get synchronised enough that you get your free days and nice weather at once. I am in the same boat, but work also requires good weather, so something has to suffer when it rains. Of course, i picked the wettest climate in NSW to live in! Am I wrong?
Anyway, no pics form me, as i simply have not taken any. If I can find something worthy of a photo, I will definitley share it with you all.
Have a great weekend, if i happen to go missing, its because the weather is nice and i am in the garden, motorcycle riding, or trail riding. Got to take any opportunity I can!
Ps, my daughter still hasn't got her puppy back, and no word on the burglary either. It seems trail bikes are the main target in her area, so the puppy was just an opportunity they took, along with the other items.
Sue
Hi everyone, I got a little bit done yesterday in between family chores. It seems like only yesterday that I dead leaved all of the Neo's and they needed doing again. However when I looked up my little book (which incidently I found once more) I see that it was the Vrieseas which I dead leaved five months ago and not the Neo's; so doesn't time fly when you're having fun?
Breeindy – You've posted two great pic's of some nice looking Vrieseas; the Neo is a beauty as well but it's not Neo Concentrica, it's a much nicer looking plant than Concentrica. As for your seedlings, they look nice and healthy and I don't know where I've seen more Vr Splendens seedlings before. You need to watch they don't escape or you will have to mow them to keep them under control. As for re-potting, I personally wouldn't think of potting them up (down here) until spring time when the weather is warming up and everything is starting to grow; but as you are in a warmer area you could possibly transplant them at any time and then just stand back and watch them take off!
Cody – That particular plant of Guzmania 'Hilda' is in an 8” pot and I won't re-pot it until spring time next year and then depending on the state of the plant, probably into a 10” pot.
Theresa – I would say Guz. 'Hilda' would possibly be the plant you speak about on sale at the Warehouse in your area, as I bought mine in Bunnings with a similar generic name tag (which told me it was a bromeliad).
According to the BCR (http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/bcr/index.php?genus=GUZMANIA&id=2524#2524) it was registered in 1997 by R. Deroose (Holland) after being grown from seed from unknown parents but thought to possibly be Guz. lingulata X wittmackii. According to the Deroose site http://www.derooseplants.com/en/select_plant_search_results.asp?searchtype=commercial it was originally grown by Van Schie. My plant was identified by Ross Little of “Pine Grove Bromeliad Nursery” at Wardell N.S.W. who saw it when it was first in flower and told me they had come into Australia as tissue cultured plants and Deroose had exported them to many other countries (possibly in their thousands).
I have found that most Guzmanias are quite cold tender and certainly don't tolerate our lower temperatures without protection as they mark very badly. With your predicted -3C temperature they would most certainly need to be brought into the home or a heated green house.
Most of the plants produced in Holland go to the European market where they are kept inside the homes and used like you say “as an alternative to cut flowers”. The flowers are short lived, but the coloured bracts can remain in colour for six to twelve months, after which (in Europe) they are tossed in the bin and replaced with a new plant.
Often they come into Australia as small tissue cultured plants still in the laboratory flasks. This way they don't have to go through the gassing treatment by the AQIS (Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service). They are usually imported by the larger nurseries who grow them on and then distribute them for resale to places like Bunnings, Big-W , K-Mart etc. for resale to the general public.
Trish - I don't have any idea how old the Neo.'Lovely Lady' in the pic from Thailand is but the fact that they heap on so many leaves does have its drawbacks as they are much slower to pup and rarely pup until after they flower as the plant is still producing leaves and not flowers (after which the growth of pups is usually triggered). Thai growers are envious of us being able to produce pups annually on most of our Neo's and we are envious of them being able to grow plants with so many leaves, so I guess the old saying of, “you can't please everyone all of the time” is very true. My plant in the picture was last year's pup and still has a bit more growing and colouring up to do yet.
The plant in your last two pic's looks like Billbergia Nutans to me and is the same plant that Theresa said she has and which can tolerate frost & temps below 0C. Bill. Nutans is a species originating from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and it has been grown as a garden plant in Australia for many years and can still be seen growing in very old gardens; what's more, they are virtually “bullet proof”.
As for the “marbled” types, there are many different ones from different hybridisers, if you go to: http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/bcr/index.php?genus=NEOREGELIA&id=5661#5661 you will see six different ones that have been registered by just one of the hybridisers, Vic Przetocki. There are others registered by different hybridisers and I expect many more that haven't been registered.
Shirley – Yes the 'Birds Nest Fern' in the "Mobile Fernery" became quite a talking point especially when it got to about 6” in length and everyone who walked past it wanted to pull it out. Unfortunately the old ute was due for a rego. check so it had to go, but I certainly got some laughs out of it while it was there just watching the reactions of people when they saw it for the first time.
I like your Neo. Concentrica x; it certainly is something a bit different. I have my doubts about the name on your second plant though, (Neo Meyendorffii x Marmorata) and this is just based on the colour alone. As a general rule it has been found that the seed parent influences shape and size and the pollen parent influences the colour and I'm quite surprised to see a plain colour without any leaf markings like the Marmorata; but then I guess there's exceptions to all rules and that's the surprises we sometimes get with hybrids.
Your NOIDS in pic's 4 and 5 are surprisingly similar to the two plants I used as parents for the cross depicted in my notes on growing bromeliad seed. (Did I ever send you a copy? If you would like one just say so and I'll email one to you) The Pollen Parent was almost an exact replica of the plant shown in your Pic.3 and is called Neo. 'Charm' x 'Cracker Jack' and I would say yours is either 'Charm', 'Cracker Jack' or a hybrid between the two. The plant in your Pic.4 is very much like one of the paler Neo concentrica x concentrica hybrids
Sue – I was able to find that plant of Neo 'Buccaneer' x 'Johannis' which I suspected was a seedling I got from you, and I now know for sure that it was one of yours as I always write the history on the back of the name tag and although it's not very clear in Pic.1, it definitely says:
P/ 3 /12 / 5 x OsEx/ S.Unsworth which “deciphered” means it was a pup “P” when I got it in March (3rd month) 2012. It was fed with 5grams of Osmocote Exact High K fertiliser when potted and it came from Sue Unsworth. So you see it is handy to always keep a record with the plant, as it goes everywhere the plant goes and what's more it saves going to the house looking for a note book or on a computer for the info. Pic.2 shows the actual plant.
.
Time to go again, Pic 1 was the name tag on the Neo 'Buccaneer' x 'Johannis' seedling I got from Sue and Pic2 was the seedling itself, Pic.3 is Neo. 'Bird Rock', Pic.4 is Neo.(Carolinae x McWilliamsii) x 'Perefecta Tricolour' and Pic.5 is Neo.'Purple Glaze'
All the best, Nev.
Hi again everyone - Just a quick visit to tell Trish something I forgot to tell her this morning about her Vr. Guttata. Be very careful when it's flowering as grass hoppers love to eat the flower spikes and there's nothing more disappointing than to look at a nice healthy spike today with the flowers almost ready to open and when you go to check it again tomorrow you find it's been chewed three quarters through and is hanging at an odd angle.
Here's another reason why we should constantly be checking our plants; this flower spike on Vr. Elata went unnoticed and hit the roof of the Vriesea Shade House and consequently we now have a flower spike with a right angled bend in it which doesn't make for a very good look.
It wasn't until I had moved it to a lower bench in another area that I remembered to take a pic of it and I must apologise for the bad positioning of the plant and the bad background., but I have told you all in the past that I'm no photographer.
All the best, Nev.
Hi Everyone!
Yeah finally the weekend and no plans other than going for a walk on the beach tomorrow morning, then back home to spend quality time with my broms, a bit of weeding of garden beds and washing windows.
Hi Shirley glad to hear you had a better day than the day before. Thanks yes I am thrilled to bits it’s the weekend and already have things mentioned above that I want to get done this weekend if all goes to plan and hopefully we experience no interruptions of any sort. Joe got the grocery shopping out the road today as he had an RDO so I am pleased about not having to worry about that.
Shirley pretty brom pics you posted, I especially liked Pic 4 NOID with the lilac centre. Can you please tell me does the colour get more intense than this?
Hi Cody I hope your well. Yes Nev was very kind sending such beautiful seedling to us and I am really enjoying caring for them and watching them grow and colour up. I am relatively new at growing broms from seed but Nev actually goes one step further and creates his own crosses etc as well as a lot of other people here on this forum. I have not tried this yet and anything that I have collected seed pods from has been self-pollinated by nature so I really do not know whether the brom is crossed with itself of some other brom in the garden, it’s like a lucky dip you just don’t know what you are going to get and only time will tell when the seedling matures and colours up, or it could turn out to be something you just can’t identify and then I will have to label as a NOID.
Hi Sue no worries I will let you know how my experiment with freezing avocado slices go, worth a try. Whilst at work today I finally remembered who told us about being able to freeze them and it was actually a local avocado farmer here in Townsville that sells their avo’s at our local market.
Sue thanks heaps for identifying my NOID Pic’s 4 & Pic 5 yesterday, I am thrilled to bits I get to write it a label tomorrow. It has such a cute flower which reminds me of coloured ribbon really. I have it growing under our lemon tree where it gets morning sun and have it in the same spot all year round.
Sue that horrible, sorry to hear your daughter still has not got her puppy back or other items that were taken. There are some really nasty people in this world.
Hi Nev thanks for answering my questions about your Neo’ ‘Lovely Lady’, now it makes total sense to me why they look different, I just thought the Thai one was a much older brom with the layers of leaves but it’s the different climate conditions that alter things so much. Learn something new every day on this forum which is great so thanks for explaining the reasons why.
Nev thanks very much for the history on Billbergia Nutans, I will have to send my Mum a pup as she lives in VIC and I know Mum would luv to see such a delicate flower coming from such a cut petite brom. I did not realise they were so bullet proof and have been handling mine with kid gloves.
Nev thanks for the “marbled’ types BCR link you provided, I will take a closer look at the link after finishing this tread as I am not up to speed on how many have been registered. Nev lovely brom pics you posted, especially liked Pic 5 Neo’ ‘Purple ‘Glaze”. What a great way you write on your labels, I will have to remember that as would make writing tags so much easier and a fantastic way to track all history. Nev thanks for the heads up on my Vriesea ‘Guttata’ and how grasshoppers luv devouring the flower, see another thing I have learnt today. I have never seen this one flower so something to look forward to and I will look at bringing it inside and keeping it in with my other vrieseas in our entertainment area where grasshoppers can get in.
Look forward to chatting with you all over the weekend!
Hi to anyone looking in or on the Sick List!
Take Care and Happy Gardening!
Trish
Pic 1 & 2 – My Vr’ seedlings
Pic 3 – Vr’ ‘Scarlet Rose’
Pic 4 – Joe’s Orchid flowering, I can find out name if anyone wants to know?
Pic 5 – Old pic ‘Night Shot’
Hi all,
Another day at work, short day today as it is Friday. We finish at lunch time now. I had a play in the bed of pricks and got a bit further with it. Something pricked me but what can I expect. I know that I took on a job and a half with it.
It is going to take quite some time before it is finished to my satisfaction, but bit by bit it will happen. I think I need to transplant some seedlings soon, the ones I have outside are powering on quite well. I hope to take some pics tomorrow. Sunday is our market day and our meeting day as well.
Tash your last Pic is Bil Nutans, it will quite happily grow in the ground, well it did in Dalby. It suffered temps of -7 to 46C so it is a tough little thing. Befor hybridising started with Bills this was the only plant in nature that had Navy blue on its flower, or so I was told. There are not a lot of flowers with Navy Blue in them even now.
Shirley, Pic 4 of yours appears to have concentrica in its breeding, see the rings. I suspect that the spots are indented as well, another tell tale sign of concentrica. In Pic 1 are the spots indented, by indenting I mean that the spots would below the normal surface on the top but the leaf is normal on the bottom, if so there could be concentrica in its breeding. I like the plant
Anyway that will do me for tonight.
No Pics
Have a good one
Ian
Hi Ian
Looks like we posted at the same time, thanks for the info on Bill Nutans, I adore its blue ribbon flower and am pleased to hear from you, Sue and Nev that it's a tough little brom and pleased to hear also it can grow in the ground happily as I will probably try this down the track when it has multiplied some more. I was blown away when I saw it's pretty blue flower and rushed it inside to show Joe and take those pics as I did not think the flower would last that long given how delicate it appeared.
Enjoy your market and meeting day.
Cheers
Trish
Hi to all!!!
Hi Trish,yes ma'am i am doing good thanks for asking.Hope you are doing good as well?Sounds like you are have a good time with your Broms.The best part for you is looking forwarded for them to flower.I love your pics,but i ready love the last one of those you have in the ground.Take Care!!!
Cody
This message was edited Jul 12, 2013 9:04 PM
Trish Joes orchid looks like some sort of Encyclia
Hi everyone – The weather's not looking too promising here today and is very overcast and looking like rain so I'll keep this brief so I can still get a bit done out in the yard. I have nothing new to report so I'll read through the posts and just comment if I have anything worthwhile to contribute.
Trish – Regarding seeds that are wild pollinated (pollinated by insects or person/s unknown); there are still many beautiful plants have come from crossings such as this and even though you don't know the name of the “Father” you usually know who the “Mother” is even if she's a NOID; so don't just do what many people who have registered plants on the BCR have done and just record “?” for Mother plant and “?” for Father plant; (This could mean “name unknown” or just “name not supplied”); always record everything you know!
If you don't know the name of the “Mother” or “Father” plants, record it as “Name Unknown” but in most cases the name of the “Mother” will be known and should be recorded on the name tag or anywhere else the plant is referred to. As for any records kept in a book or on your computer, a written description or even better, a pic. of the NOID Mother can be recorded.
This is all valuable information for anyone interested in hybridising because let's just surmise that a particular cross produces a large number of high quality offspring, knowing as much as you can about the parents (even just the Mother) is very important as you may want to use them in future crossings. Remember the basic hybridising rule; “As a general rule it has been found that the seed parent influences shape and size and the pollen parent influences the colour” This info combined with what is known about the Mother can be very useful for future breeding.
I just remembered another thing about Bill. Nutans also, and that is that the common everyday names are “Queens Tears” or “Friendship Plant”. (Another useless bit of info I know)
That's a great mixture of pic's today; (looks like the brom. seedlings are gradually taking over). What's the name of Joe's unusual little orchid? Judging by the labellum it could have a bit of Epidendrum in the breeding of it. I also like the nice plant of Neo.'Skotak's Tiger' standing guard over the rest of the brom's in the garden.
Ian – I guess if you hang around with “pricks” you'll eventually get “pricked” yourself! Ha! Ha!
By the way, I loved the “Darwin Awards” especially the one using a .22 bullet for a fuse, what a “Dum Dum”. I have to agree with your comments about Shirley's Pic 4 NOID it certainly does appear to have Concentrica in it somewhere along the track.
Hi Cody and Breeindy and anyone else who is looking in but is too shy to post, I hope everyone's well and keeping warm.
Pic today are: Pic.1 Bill. Hallelujah, Pic.2 looking down the back yard from our back deck, Pic.3 Ae.'Bert', Pic.4 Is a Neo. which was just called a Mulford Foster hybrid and is unregistered, Pic.5 Neo.'Correia-araujoi.
All the best, Nev
good old Bil. nutans...
I can also vouch for their toughness, mine have been under snow & still survived.
One pot was knocked over a while back & most the potting mix (I put them into one for cactus & succulents) fell out so the group in that pot are surviving harsh winter conditions & nearly naked roots.
I keep meaning to repot but get busy with the dogs & work...
next thing I know several more months have gone by & now I can hardly tell which clump is which.
I will probably bring them inside when I see signs of flowers, then I can enjoy the blooms before putting the plants back outside.
Hi Nev,i am doing good,thanks for asking.Hope you are doing good as well too.LOL!!! Nev,remember its hot here,so i am trying to stay cool.I love your pics.I ready love the pic of your back yard.I am sure you and your family really enjoys that beautiful view in the mornings and late in the evenings.Take care!!!
Cody
This message was edited Jul 12, 2013 9:57 PM
Hi all,
It looked like bad weather today but surprisingly it turned out a lot better than looked like it was going to be. I was surprised by what I was able to achieve today. I actually made some real progress then ran out of materials. This happens I suppose. I will just have to keep collecting mulch and edging materials. So I filled what was done with plants and to my surprise it doesn't look too bad and reasonably tidy. This afternoon , after a few showers, I fertilised most of the plants out back.
I went shopping to buy some hedging shears, can't find mine, and came away with a walk in mini hothouse. I will use it for seed raising. Now to find somewhere to put it, possibly in the pool area. I already have some shade cover there. And it is on pavers, so less weeds there than other places.
Nev a question about hybridising. If I pollinate a plant with itself it becomes a F2. What happens if that plant is a species. Do I get a hybrid or Species.
I like your pics today.
Have a good one.
Ian
Pics of todays work
Hi Everyone!
We managed to go for a walk on the beach with the dogs this morning for a couple of hours and then ended up coming home and went back out again to visit a lady that collects / sells orchids and Joe had a bit of fun buying a few more to add to his ever growing beautiful collection. We were in heaven on the car drive home as the car smelt divine with all the fragrance coming from the Cattalay’s.
It is still very windy today, enough to knock the odd brom pot over here and there. I managed to get a couple of garden beds weeded, one had broms in it with good signs of pups happening which I will look at removing August / September. Tomorrow will be washing windows and then spend the rest of the day with my broms.
Hi Cody pleased to hear your well, I am doing well thanks for asking, still trying to get rid of my chesty cough but other than that I am feeling a lot better. I did have to have a wee nap today because I felt very tired after coming back from our trip shopping for orchids so I listened to my body and snuck a 30min cat nap in and woke up feeling refreshed and ready to get stuck into weeding some of the garden beds.
Hi Bree / Nev the name of the orchid I posted a pic of yesterday is Epidendrum Stameordianum. I absolutely adore the flower on this one which has just finished flowering.
Hi Nev thanks to the insight about seeds wild pollinated, with the seed pods I have collected and their seeds I have sown to date I have just been writing the mothers name which I know crossed with a ? for the father so it will be interesting to see what they grow up to be like. I keep an electronic database of all my broms with pics and also have a hard copy printed which is handy when you go on brom shopping sprees so you don’t buy the same again by accident unless you really want to. The day I look at hybridising something of my own you will be the first to know, for now I am thankful of nature doing it for me and am really looking forward to what the end results will be as I have trayed up quite a few Neorgelia’s now like ‘Charm’, ‘Mr ‘Odean, ‘Hot Gossip’ and a pretty pink NOID that I absolutely luv and was thrilled to bits when I saw it had many plump seed pods. All my Neo seeds have germinated and I laughed at the ‘Mr ‘Odean’ one’s that have recently germinated as I was very liberal with the sprinkling of the seeds and now I have a lawn of them growing in each tray so I will have to look at thinning them out when they get bigger.
Nev thanks for the additional info on Bill. Nutans, I ended up goggling it yesterday and read exactly the same about it also been known as ‘Queen of Tears’ or the ‘Friendship Plant’. I also read that its leaves can be quite sharp if your run you hand along it and that you should also wear gloves when handling its seeds bit it did not go into any further detail about that so I am wondering now if the seeds are sharp too LOL? Nev yes the seedlings are slowly taking over but manageable for now, I naturally will only keep what I can look after but for now it is still early days and I am finding my entire collection very easy to manage even with working a full time job, but mind you I am very dedicated to them and there is not many weekends that I do not spend time looking after them, and I look after them better than I look after myself (including our dogs). Yes Nev that Neo’ ‘'Skotak's Tiger’ definitely stands guard over the other broms in the garden and is a real talking piece when friends come to visit. Nev great pics you posted, loved the one of your garden looking so neat and tidy. My Bill. Hallelujah’s are also flowering and the first time I have ever seen them flower (not that I have had them that long) so I am thrilled to bits about that.
Hi Therese thanks for sharing info on Bill. Nutans; sounds like a tough little brom and like you I absolutely love the delicate pretty flower it produces. When mine is more established I will look at putting some in our trees as I think it will do well there also as well as we have irrigation rigged up to some of our trees so our Vanda Orchids get watered so at least the Bill. will get sprayed when they get sprayed.
Hi Ian great work on that garden bed; looks fantastic. Ian can you please tell me what the brom is in Pic 5 – front far right-hand side, the big aubergine looking one with the pink tips? I think I have something similar looking in my garden but do not have a name for it, I will have to remember to post a pic for you to see.
Take Care and Happy Gardening!
Trish
Pic 1 – Vr’ ‘Snows of Mauna Kea’
Pic 2 – Old pic of broms getting a sprinkle
Pic 3 – Old pic, shot of the Wetlands behind us
Pic 4 – Old pic of Guzmania in the nursery flowering
Pic 5 – Neo’ ‘Catlan’s Leopard’- one of my favourite Neo's
Hi Tash, that plant in pic 5 on right side is Neo Fosperior
Hi everyone,
Bree, I hope both you and your daughter are well again … back to school on Monday??
Sue, hope you get to have some time in the garden or to go motorcycle riding. Really sorry to hear that your daughter hasn’t got her pup back.
Nev, you did send notes on growing broms from seed, thanks … I found them very useful on my first few attempts. Thanks for the ID on my NOIDS. I like your pic of Neo Purple Glaze, it’s one of my favourites. I am pretty sure I am on Trish’s list for a pup whenever she gets a spare … it’s a stunning brom.
Nev, I think the bills in your pic of the bent vriesea spike make a perfect background.
Hi Cody, your guzmania looks very pretty. There are some lovely colours available.
Trish, I was thinking how good your plans for the weekend sounded until you got to the bit about washing windows. The centre of the lilac brom you asked about has only just gone that colour. In my catalogue I have it described as Neo NOID – large pink. I found an earlier pic that I will attach, but it’s also taken after it flowered and already fading from the lovely hot pink that it was. Gee, your vriesea seedlings are really powering on.
Cody, you probably already know, but just in case, the acronym NOID that Trish mentioned stands for no ID.
Ian, I hope you enjoyed your play in the bed of pricks. I can send you some really spikey agaves and cacti if you really want thorns. Thanks for the info on the tell tale signs of concentrica neos, I’ll have to check for indentations tomorrow.
Ian, I was disappointed that you had no pics to share but I am sure you will come home from your meeting and market day with heaps of new broms to show us … lucky you, we haven’t been to any markets for months.
Nev, with seedlings, if you know the name of the mother neo but haven’t a clue of the father, is it OK just to label it with the name of the mother followed by hybrid, ie neo Red Pride hybrid, or neo Red Pride X. Your back yard look great, nice gardens and great looking lawn too.
Ian, your gardens are looking very nice too … where are the pics of your new broms.
Trish, love that neo Catlans Leopard.
OK, it’s getting late, my pics are: Pic 1 – neo NOID large pink (for Trish), pic 2 - neo Chlorostricta F2 x Amazing Grace, pic 3 – neo Hanibal Lector, pic 4 – neo Strictly Princeps
Bye, Shirley
Hi to all!!!
Hi Ian,nice flower beds you have their.Take care!!!
Hi Trish thanks,and you are very welcome.I hope you get rid of that cough soon.I am also glad that you got a nap and you felt better afterwards.I love your pics!!Take care!!
Hi Shirley thanks.Yeah i knew that NOID stood for no id.Love your pics!!Take care!!!
Waving hi to everyone else!!!
Cody
Hello again everyone.
Its way too wet for me to be out taking pics here, but I will get to it as soon as the sun comes out again.
With the cloud yesterday and rain all day, it was one of the darkest days for a long time.
I did go down and water the broms in the roofed shadehouse and greenhouse.
All the broms seem to be holding up well in the very low temps. . It will show up later if there is any damage from the cold.
I see that another of my vrieseas is putting out a pup . Cant remember the name, I'll have to check later.
I have a few new broms and will get pics after lunch if the day improves.
Yes, I know I am supposed to be not buying any more, but hubby gave me some extra money to play with..
I have been trying to get vriesea Megan and have been outbid when the price goes way up, but finally I scored one . There was only one other bid so I got it for near starting price.
I am so pleased as I do like this one very much, having seen some on here.
I also have a few minis coming which I want to put into baskets.... neos.. Tar Baby, Night Spot , Puppy Love and Ripple.
I also bought a canistrum seidelianum.
I dont have any of these and thought I would try one.
It was listed as aechmea canistrum seidelianum but I looked it up and it is not an aecmea but a separate species .
I know I am getting carried away with broms, but I like them and simply MUST have just a few more....lol
One of the prettiest of the new ones already here is neo Kahala Midnight.
Does anyone know it ?
The seller said she bought it from , if I can remember, having deleted the mail... Zaghini....would that be the right name ?
Along with that one I bought neos.. Hot Gossip, Bobs Baby and Avilla Peppermint ( or is it just Peppermint ?)
I was lucky enough to get all these broms at starting price with no other bidders.
The Brom angel is watching out for me...
Better go and finish my cuppa.
I hope all who have been unwell are improving and that the weather turns out nicely for everyone.
Love seeing all the beautiful pics.
I will get pics of mine for sure, as soon as the sunlight improves.
Jean.
Hi Everyone – Another quick chat to-day as I have to work at the Light Rail Museum all day and time's a bit limited so I may have to finish this off this afternoon when I get home.
Theresa – Just to add a little more about the toughness of Bill Nutans; where I lived previously was mainly a dairy farming community, and years ago one of the farm houses had burnt down and was never re-built. Years later I found a quite large clump of Bill. Nutans which had once been part of the garden and since then had frequently been walked on by cows and was still surviving and flowering – now that's tough!
Cody – Yes I keep forgetting your seasons are the reverse to ours here. How I wish we had a bit of your warm weather now as the mornings seems to be getting colder each year or maybe it's because I'm getting older and feeling it more.
Ian – I was looking for an article I had somewhere on just exactly what you get when you cross this with that e.g. species to species, species to F1 etc. unfortunately I can't just put my hand on it this morning, but according to what I read, if you cross species to species, all the resulting seedlings will be the same species and it's not until you introduce a hybrid into the equation that things start to get a bit more complicated. I tested this theory once by selfing Neo. Kautskyi and also Neo. Ampullacea and all of the seedlings I kept were the same as the species parent.
Your garden's looking good mate, now if only I could get mine to look like that; unfortunately lately all of my “get up and go” has “got up and gone”, but I guess there's always tomorrow.
Trish – Your mention of Neo.‘Mr ‘Odean’ reminds me of a discussion I was part of with a couple of other growers at out last show when one of the “trainee judges” interrupted and seemed quite “put out” that someone had written on their name tag Neoregelia ‘Mr ‘Odean’. He was very quick to point out that this was incorrect and it should have been the name it was registered under which was Neoregelia 'Mister Odean'. I mention this to illustrate just how “picky” some of these judges can be and by the way I can't repeat here what I told him! Just remember if you ever show it, to write the name as it was registered because who knows, you may just get that same judge.
When you get to the stage of planting out all of your seedlings and you find you have too many; don't forget to offer the excess around to your friends before you bin them as you never know whether you're binning a champion or not; I've always found that if you do the right thing by our friends you can always get a pup back from anything worthwhile.
That's a beautiful Neo. in Pic.5 but I don't thinks it's 'Catlan's Leopard'. For a start, Catlan's Leopard doesn't have the “fingernails” on the leaf tips and it's more heavily marked than your plant and not near as well shaped and compact. Please put me down for a pup of yours and I can swap you a pup from mine if you like. See Pic's 1 and 2 for comparison.
Shirley – Re. Your question about what to put on the name tag of a seedling when you know the Mother's name and not the Father's; you are better off writing Neo 'Red Pride' x (Name Unknown).
If you just write Neo 'Red Pride' hybrid, people don't know whether the Neo. 'Red Pride' was the “Mother” or the “Father”.If you write Neo 'Red Pride' x (Name Unknown) you know the Neo 'Red Pride' was the Mother because when writing a formula name you always write the “Mother's”(seed Parent's) name first.
That's a nice looking NOID in your first shot especially with the darker subdued spotting.
Jean - I don't know of a Neo. Kahala 'Midnight' and it isn't listed on the BCR although there are three other Kahalas, 'Charm', 'Dawn' and 'Sunset' and all from different hybridisers none of which is bred by Zaghini. Although Shane Zaghini is a hybridiser with 68 registered hybrids, 'Kahala Midnight' isn't one of them at this stage.
As for Neo. 'Avilla Peppermint', I can't find a plant of that name either but I have found a Neo.'Avila' and a Neo. 'Peppermint' so take your pick.
It's now late afternoon and at last I can finally finish this post. The pic's today are Pic.1 Neo.'Catlan's Leopard' pre flowering and Pic.2 is Neo.'Catlan's Leopard' fully coloured and in flower (just for comparison with Trish's plant). Pic.3 is Neo. 'Happy Thoughts', Pic.4 is Neo.'Fairy Dust' and Pic.5 is Neo.'Golden Fantasy'.
All the best, Nev.
Hi Everyone!
Got a fair bit achieved today mainly cleaning dead leaves off broms, removing gum leaves from their centres and gave them all a good water. Also cleaned windows (one of the jobs I dislike very much) but it’s nice to sit back and look at them sparkling now kicking back here with a cup of tea, plus I can see my Vrieseas out in our entertainment area much better.
Hi Ian too funny its Trish here you keep mixing my name up with Tash LOL. Thanks for letting me know what the brom was in your pic 5 yesterday, not what I expected it to be so different to the one I thought it might have been that I don’t have a name for in my garden. I forgot to take a pic today.
Hi Shirley yes you are definitely on the list for a pup of Neo’ ‘Purple Glaze’, it has not pupped yet because the brom is still relatively young but I will let you know as soon as it has.
Shirley yeah he he the window washing was a pain in the butt but had to be done but it’s only a quarter of them done so far as we have many windows in this house, I mainly did the one in our living room and dining room area so far and then had to stop because I was getting tired and it was clocking on 2pm by then and I wanted to spend some time with my broms before the day faded away. Next time I am going to pay someone to do them at least a couple of times a year as I just do not have the time.
Shirley thanks for the info on your lilac brom NOID, what a pretty one it is, thanks for posting a pic of it in flower, luv the flecks of darker pink through the overall pink. Also luved all the other brom pics you shared. Yeah Shirley my Vriesea seedlings are really powering on and I have about 15 trays of smaller ones that are doing well and my Neo’ seedlings although small are germinating well from the one’s I have collected from the seed pods around our garden.
Hi Cody thanks feeling better each day, how are you going, what have you been getting up to? Big Hi to you and Alex.
Hi Jean you Bromaholic you, by the sounds of things you are having a ball buying lots of broms and you have good taste in the one’s you get so I can’t wait to see pics of them. Sorry to hear the weather is so shitty and hope there is no damage to any of your broms because of this.
Hi Nev thanks for the advice regarding Neo’ ‘Mr Odean’, that Judge sounded harsh and I can imagine you told him what you thought about him he he.
Nev thanks for the advice with my Neo’ seedlings, I will have to take a pic of the over crowed seeds that have germinated and see what you think I should do as the seeds were sprinkled very close together and they look like they have all germinated as the seed was very fresh. By all means more than happy to share seedlings around like you have with us but my dilemma at the moment is if the Neo’s can survive being that crowed even though they are still very little they will not be for long so advice from everyone would be appreciated?
Nev I purchased Neo’ ‘Catlan’s Leopard’ from Germaine and adored it that much I ended up buying two from her that day so now I am very confused but I appreciate you letting me know and posting beautiful pics of yours for comparison, I totally agree they look totally different. By all means I will write your name down for a pup and yes thanks that would be great if we could look at swapping down the track with your Neo’ ‘Catlan’s Leopard’. I also have Shirley down for a pup and she has been waiting a while and both of mine still have not produced pups so I hope you don’t mind waiting. I find it to be a slow grower, is you one slow and does it pup well?
Hi to anyone else looking in or on the sick list.
Anyway time to head as early start tomorrow.
Take Care and Happy Gardening!
Trish
Pic 1 – Vr’ ‘Hastings’
Pic 2 – Vr’ ‘Speakles’
Pic 3 – Vr’ ‘Phoa Beauty’ x ‘Kuulie’
Pic 4 – Vr’ ‘Dad’s Favourite’
Pic 5 – Vr’ ‘Jack’s Angel’ (Grex)
Hi all,
It was a good day with some showers but even they couldn't dampen my efforts. I cleaned out the pool area, went to the market took some pics, went to our meeting and when I got home I assembled the walk in seed raising house. It will get it's cover on tomorrow, maybe.
One plant that I got this morning has a pup list attached already..
Sorry Trish my fingers and brain are not always connected correctly. I can think Trish and write Tash. Maybe it is because I have a daughter Tash(sons Wife) I also see Tash on another site.
I have a green Fosperior with red tips and a much redder Fosperior, maybe it is a light thing. The 1 in the front garden has been there for 3 months. the 1 that is a lot more red has been under 70% shadecloth getting midday and afternoon sun. The green 1 I have had only for a couple of weeks. Nice pics.
Nev, I still have room to muck up my front garden at the moment I am trying to find out how much sun each of the plants there can take. Most will be ok where they sit but not all. I have a Vresia (Orange sundae) flowering type under the Mango tree It will get morning sun now and good light all day. It has been sitting on front porch for a few months now and it is taking more sun than I would have expected of it.
Shirley when you posted I had not even gone in search of more plants. I have included some here tonight. I love Strictly princeps. Yes I am partial to purple. I got married in a purple suit.
Cody, I got a job for you. Put your left hand on your right shoulder and your right hand on your left shoulder, give a gentle squeeze and give yourself a hug from Australia.
Have a good one.
ian
Pic 1 N Cachardon Rubra. already has a pup list.
Pic 2 N Kilauea fire
Pic 3 Crypthansus NOID
Pic 4 N Bravado
Pic 5 N Beauty to behold.
all from the markets today.
Hello everyone
We had a nice sunny day here today but we saw on the news tonight that we are in for at least 8 … yes, bloody hell … 8 days of rain. Whatever happened to the nice sunny winter days we are all used to here.
Hi to Cody … saw you waving !!!
Jean, so pleased to hear that you managed to get Vr Megan, it’s a lovely vriesea. Mine isn’t much more than a pup but I love it.
I haven’t heard of Kahala Midnight before … I have Kahala Dawn and Kahala Sunset and both are very nice neos. I can’t wait to see a pic of your Kahala Midnight. You have been doing very well Jean, for someone without an addiction … good on you.
Nev, hope you enjoyed your day at the Light Rail Museum. Thanks for the info on the naming of hybrids. I am pretty sure I have asked before Nev, but could you please put me down for a pup from neo Fairy Dust, if I haven’t … such a gorgeous looking brom. I do keep a list of requests from others for pups, I’ll have to start a list of those I ask for as well.
Trish, thanks so much for adding me to your list for pups from neos Purple Glaze and Catlan’s Leopard. WOW, what lovely vrieseas, I especially love Dads Favourite.
Ian, you snuck in your post just as I was about to send mine. Gee I wish I could visit your market, you get such great looking broms there. I love Carcharadon Rubra and that Crypt is HUGE. How about a pic of you in your purple suit.
Gosh, the weekend went by quickly, I didn’t get much done in the garden, maybe tomorrow.
Anyway, my pics are – pic 1 – neo Princess Grace x Grace, pic 2 – neo Chunky, pic 3 – neo Pink Mosaic, pic 4 – Ae Aztec Gold
Bye, Shirley
Hi to all!!!
Hi nev,yeah its summer time here,thats for sure.Today is a nice day though,its cloudy a nice for a change.Love the pics!!Take care!!!
Hi Trish that is great that you are feeling better as each day pasts.I am doing good thanks for asking.I have been taking care of my dads horses while they are out of town.Its funny i am 35 years old and my dad has been calling everyday to check to make sure that the horses hasn't knocked me out.I have been dealing with horses for 5 years now.Thanks for the big hi to me and alex.Same to you and your hubby.Love your plants!!!Take care!!!!
Cody
good monday morning all.
It was lovely weather here all weekend, so we did a little bit of riding on Saturday and spent yesterday putting up a shade igloo for some friends. Just a small one, 2x3 metres to house their Cymbidium orchids and ferns. We got a baked dinner out of it, so well worth it!
Nev, that seedling certainly looks like the parent plant , Neo. 'Bucaneer x johannis. I reckon I got the label right on that one!
Ian, in your prick garden, I think you will get it done, bite by bite! heh heh
Trish, if the freezer advice came from the Avo grower, I am guessing it has some merit. I may even try it with mine, as they seem to ripen quite fast lately.
Joes orchid is lovely, and I wish I had tagged along to see the Cattleya lady! there was some flowering ones for sale at the markets on sunday, up around the $25 price tag, which is not bad when you consider the plain and boring orchids at Bunnings, for $27-$46! I resisted and didn't buy one, as I am happy with what I have got at present.
Shirley, not only has my daughter not seen/heard anything about her pup, but our boy, Leo, disappeared yesterday. I am hoping someone has picked him up and we will hear from the pound or vet today. I rang around the neighbourhood, and rode around the estate trying to find him, but he didn't come home overnight. It is very unusual for him to go walk-a-bout, but his mum has been suffering from a sore foot, so we havn't walked him last week, and maybe he decided to walk himself? Anyway, fingers crossed he turns up.
Jean, you are so addicted! Slow down, or you will run out of room, money and things to collect! Its ok to want all of them, but gets very hard to decide who has to go when a better plant comes along, and you haven't got room for it.
I bet you're enjoying receiving parcels. I am sure that is part of the addiction too! heh heh
Cody, I thought Ians job for you was a very nice gesture. I hope it was a big warm hug! or maybe a cool one would be better in your climate?
Theresa, sounds like a good idea to enjoy the flowers on your Queens tears first. I put a clump into the fork of a two headed tree fern, some years back, and although they have survived, they haven't done as well as those planted in soil, so, in my opinion, they are not as suited to growing epiphytically as some bromeliads. I have them in a few spots in the yard, and can see that they would appreciate some better soil and a bit of feed. They do ok, but I have seen very healthy specimens grown in much nicer conditions than mine. I feel so guilty! heh heh.
Hi to Bree and the family. Hope all are on the mend. No doubt it is a pupil free day today, so back to school tomorrow? Or is there now another day off for some obscure reason? It happens.....often....
Sorry I have bo photos again. I took my camera to take photos of the shadehouse we put up yesterday, and it never made it out of my bag! Doh.
I might....MIGHT get some today if the weather holds. I am going to be busy this morning, but hopefully will get a chance this afternoon.
Hi to Jen, Wendy, Colleen, Tash, Kristi and any lurkers (we know you're out there)
Talk again tomorrow
Sue
Yes your right Sue, no school till tuesday. Funny thing if the dancing teacher is doing the same thing which is a little rude i think. Brees double class is mondays so shes missing this one and they dont mind charging you enough for the term either.
Just came back from a shopping trip up the coast (coolangatta, surfers, tweed) i didnt realise is was only 2 hours from me. Went with my sister and stayed with my mum and dad in a high rise resort. Was fun but to busy for me. Glad to be home. Yes im pretty much better now. I pick bree up today from her nans.
1. Kahala Dawn 2. Stars and Bars. 3. Wild Gossip.
blahhhhh it's monday! LOL. Hello to everyone who contributes and those who just like to read along, I hope you are all having a nice start to the week.
Nothing much brom wise going on here, seems a bit quiet on the brom front actually at our place. We are just watching our Vriecantarea's spike grow each day and hoping the kids or wind don't break it off. Hubby put a brace around it on the weekend, but I might get him to do it a little differently as I'm still not sure it's 'safe' with all the wind we are having. We haven't brought anything new for a little while, but then we had quite a spend up a couple of months back, so I am just saving up any money we get from the odd sale here and there to put towards the next spend up.
We have noticed in our brom house that we aren't getting as good colour as we normally get in winter, I'm not sure if the cloth is a bit dirty and needs a clean, or if I fertilised a few things I forgot about.... or as hubby thinks, we are having a lot of overcast weather and showers this winter which is quite odd. Our wet season is usually Summer and Winter is very dry. Usually we have barely any grass in winter, so maybe it's just this dreary weather that has reduced the usual colour.
I love everyone's pics, Sue I hope Leo shows up soon. Sorry for not addressing everyone, just a bit limited on time at the moment.
Only one pic well two of the same brom though. This was one we got quite some time ago and it was very nicely striated and had the makings of a good variegate transmitter.... but for some reason, it is loosing it's green! The top leaves are nearly fully white and the new ones coming look to be the same. Not sure what will happen, I know they need green for photosynthesis. Also... even if it does flower... I wonder if seeds produced would now just be albino? I am keeping an eye on this one, and may consider stabbing it as it should produce some nice pups from the lower nodes. But I was really hoping it would of flowered. Bugger.
Ok that's it from me for today, chat soon :)
Hi everyone – Not a very inspiring day here today, it's drizzling rain and has been all night so it looks like any outside work will have to be put on hold today.
Trish – I think we all seem to make the same mistake when we first start out growing brom seed by sowing them too thickly and for some reason it always seems to be that seed that has a particularly high germination rate which leaves us with hundreds of tiny plants all cramped together and growing like a “bed of moss”.
If they are left in that state, after a while they just seem to stop growing (down here anyway) as they don't have any room to spread. This presents a bit of a problem as they are usually too small to transplant individually so what I've done in the past is take out small clumps and transplant them into another container. I have found by doing this the plants on the outside start to get bigger as they have somewhere to spread but the ones in the middle of the clump still don't seem to do anything.
Depending on how many plants you want, after a while you can divide these little clumps into even smaller clumps and as they grow, prick out the largest plants and transplant them into another container. I know it's fiddly, but it's the only way to get these little overcrowded plants to continue growing down here. It may be very different for you in a warmer climate, but one lesson that I have learned from all this is not to sow the seed so thickly next time.
As for the 'Catlan's Leopard', I have no doubt that Germaine probably bought the plant under that name as well and I'm sure she wouldn't have sold you a wrongly named plant had she known what the real one was like. Personally I think your plant is a superior plant in shape, colour and the fact that it so nice and compact; all we have to do now is find out its true name.
My 'Catlan's Leopard' hasn't pupped yet as I only got it as a pup last year as a very much appreciated gift from a friend. It does seem to be quite a robust grower though and I expect it will soon have pups poking their heads up through the basal leaves.
Ian – You say that your Vr. 'Orange Sundae' can handle more sun than you expected it could. I made the same mistake when I got my first Vrieseas, as the bloke I got them from had them growing in a low light area with his Guzmanias. That plus the fact that they have reasonably thin leaves led me to believe that they would be easily sun damaged if the copped too much sun so I grew them with my Guzzies in a shady area as well, except for a couple of spares which I planted in the front garden with some Neo seedling culls. I found my suspicions of them being direct sun intolerant to be disproved during our recent January heatwave days as these couple of Vrieseas in the front garden with the Neo's were all fully exposed to the wrath of the midday sun. The Neo's were badly burnt but the vrieseas only suffered a few small patches of sunburn, so once again my suspicions are proved wrong as they are much tougher than I expected them to be.
That's a massive looking Cryptanthus you've scored there on your market jaunt, how do you manage it?
I have a list of brom's which among other things are suitable for growing in full sun areas and as I can't attach it to this post or a D-Mail, I'm Emailing it to you. It was written for NZ conditions so it's probably still a case of “trial and error”. Also anyone else wanting the list, just D-Mail me your email address and I'll send it to you.
Shirley – The good news is that you are down for a pup of 'Fairy Dust', however the bad news is that there are three other names there as well, but there is a bit of light at the end of the tunnel because your name is at the top of the list. Unfortunately, no one's told 'Fairy Dust', and it still hasn't pupped!
I like your 'Pink Mosiac'; it was bred by Hatsumi Maertz of Hawaii from the same seed batch as the pup you swapped me of Neo. 'Hatsumi' named and registered by David Shiigi no doubt in recognition of Hatsumi Maertz who bred that, and many other nice hybrids. The name of the seed parent is recorded as Neo.'Marble Throat' and the pollen parent is simply shown as “?”. To see pic's of this plant grown under different light conditions, go to: http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/bcr/index.php?genus=NEOREGELIA&id=9864#9864
I also like the other plant you have named as Neo.'Chunky' and would like to swap a pup of that and Pink Mosiac with you when you have pups available. The Neo 'Chunky' you have is very different to the one shown on the BCR which is an albo-marginated plant bred by Chester Skotak and named by Peter Tristram. There are possible two explanations for this; 1. Your plant is a NOVAR pup from the Skotak plant; or 2, it was a NOID and because of it's chunky natue, the grower has given it this “pet name” of 'Chunky'. Either way, it's a nice brom and I would certainly like to have it in my collection. See: http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/bcr/index.php?genus=NEOREGELIA&id=3624#3624
Cody – Gee it's nice to have someone like you with a friendly “bubbly” personality popping in to brighten up our day. I hope you and your son are both well and I look forward to you keeping in touch with us and becoming a convert to bromeliad growing; who knows, maybe your young son might get the brom bug as well?
Sue – With that 'Bucaneer' x 'johannis' seedling, I meant to mention that it's about eight inches high and the same in width.
I'll bet you wished you had bought a Cattleya now; $25 for a flowering plant is a pretty good price. They were always my favourites when I grew orchids, in fact a friend and myself grew quite a lot from seed. We selected cold growing Catt's and crossed them with the more tropical types and developed plants that would grow and flower down here in just a shade house. Unfortunately we had trouble selling them and trying to persuade other growers that they would grow easily as at that time most of the Catt's coming into the country were hot house grown and the “hot house stigma” seemed to make everyone think all Catt's needed a heated glass house to grow successfully, so we weren't ably to sell any but we did give heaps away just to prove they would grow “cold”. I'm now kicking myself as some of the ones we gave away turned out to be “quite special” but then isn't that always what happens with all types of hybrids, the ones you give away always turn out to be the best.
I'm so sorry to hear that Leo has possibly gone “Walkabout”; Hopefully when he gets tired and hungry he'll come home, either that or someone will find him and return him to you, anyway, fingers crossed that all turns out well.
Hi to anyone else who I haven't mentioned today and I apologise for no pic's but I've run out and it's too wet to go outside and take some new ones.
That's it from me today,
All the best, Nev.
