Bromeliads For Novices and Addicts - October 2014

Brian - Sugar had jumped beautifully but didn't stop & come back to heel...
she just kept running, headed out of the ring & was grabbed & marched back to me.
I made the mistake of leaving the ring to grab her & lost all my points - learned something, I thought the points were gone when Sugar left the ring but apparently not.

Hello everyone.
Its a beautiful morning here. Looks like a touch of heavy dew or light frost on the grass.
Yesterday started out quite cool but ended up very warm. Makes it hard when one dresses in the morning and is not home all day to change as the weather does...lol
I have taken a couple of pics of my little garden areas but it is still early days for things to look really great.
The front area had a couple of broms out in the open for a bit of color until the roses etc grow but it was much too warm for them as they were starting to burn. They are now back at the back of the unit to recover.
I may swap them over with a few from the house on the weekend. No more going right out in the open.
I have been watching the sun as it moves and where I first thought it would be okay, I see that the sun is on that part until after lunch , so too much sun. All the rest seem to be doing well , even those at the back along the wall are not burning. They get sun from mid afternoon until early evening. Morning sun must be more damaging.
Its great to find all this out before the real heat of long summer days finally arrives.
Now being down in a valley, I also have to watch out for frost which was never much of a bother at the old place.

I now have a few dianthus in place of the broms out front.
Next job is to remove a line of lawn to make room for my roses along with some small lavenders.

Brian, it seems you are fast becoming another mad brom addict...lol
Lovely tills. Your bill starting to flower is very much like one I left behind at the old place. Love the spotty ones.

Hello Shirley, thats a savage looking brom there. Hope all is well for you up there.

Nev, the flower spike on my vr. Angela is growing very quickly now. I am so pleased with it as this plant is a pup from my original buy. Angela does seem to pup well as the mum has more pups .
I will have to check on all the broms back at the house to see if any are starting to think about flowering.
I have neo Catlans Leopard and may bring it over here to see if it will color more than it has.

Teresa, maybe you should have called Sugar Weasel from the start. She has certainly been very naughty at times, but so cute with it.
I remember when she was finding her blankets very tasty.
Bad luck about the points in the competition.
Its a learning curve for the owners as well as the dogs.

Dianne, you will find that the info you get from here and any other sites is so handy. I have jotted down bits and pieces over the years I have been on here.
Better move as I am expecting a visitor later and also the Foxtel tech to finally instal my dish. No more having to watch the drivel on the few free to air channels I had been getting.
I dont watch much at all during the day but do like to relax in front of the TV at night.

Take care and stay safe .
My pics are of the back and front areas here. I will have to get more individual pics later.
Jean.

Hi everyone – Nice day here again yesterday but today’s not looking as promising as it’s pretty overcast following overnight showers, however it’s no good whingeing about the weather as there’s no way we can change it so best to just plan our jobs and work with it.

Brian – I have to agree, Teresa’s idea of keeping a “Wish List” is a good idea and something I think we all have. I get most of my plants now via swaps and they’re usually from growers who have posted pic’s on the various forums. I know my list just seems to grow and grow and it isn’t too bad when we know the names of the plant we are seeking but when it’s a NOID that’s a different thing altogether. What I do in cases like this is to copy a picture to add to the list along with the name of the person who posted the picture, that way there’s no drama in tracking it down. Also it’s much better buying from a picture that was posted by someone you know on a forum rather than some blurry obscure picture on old records which often looks nothing like the plant you’re chasing. The ideal thing of course is to see the plant “in the flesh” so to speak, but if that’s not possible, then a good quality picture is next best.

Is that Bill. ‘Curly Top’ in your first pic? It looks similar shape and red bracts but mine has lighter green coloured leaves. That’s brilliant colour in the first Tilly and what is the name of that and your second one?

Shirley – That’s a nice looking plant, but I’m afraid it’s too “toothy” for me.

Teresa – Your story about “Sugar” aka “Weasel” reminds me of an incident when I was a kid. Our next door neighbour had greyhounds one of which was a large dog who raced under the name of “Country John”. I don’t know about now, but in those days, at the end of the race, a bit past the finish line, a large canvas curtain blocked the track so the dogs couldn’t keep chasing the artificial hare.

Anyway Country John was in his first trial, and the hare took off and they opened the boxes and Country John bounded off down the track in hot pursuit, he passed every other dog on the track and was way out in front when he passed the finish line, but he didn’t stop, he jumped the canvas curtain and ripped the artificial hare to shreds and he was disqualified. It was something they couldn’t train out of him and at the next few trials he ran, the same thing happened (even with his owner behind the curtain to catch him) . In the end they wouldn’t let him race and he became the house pet.

He was a wonderful dog and would accompany us for miles as we walked through the bush “bird nesting”, setting rabbit traps and fishing in the river. He liked nothing more than to have a swim with us as well and he was really just another one of “the kids” and despite the reputation greyhound had at that time, I’ve never seen a gentler dog. I’ve even seen him lying on the floor while a little kitten climbed all over him and played with his tail and never once did he do anything to it. He eventually died at the ripe old age (for a dog) of seventeen……Memories.

Sorry to get off topic but there’s not much to tell this morning and it’s always good to hear of something good instead of all the bad news in the paper every day. I’ll finish today some pictures taken by Peter Coyle of the Brisbane Brom Show Pic.1 and 2 show both sides of the main display, Pic.3 is a display by "M & M" (I guess if you are from Queensland you would now who they are), Pic four is a display by Nigel Thompson and Pic 5 is a pic of the whole hall showing the plants sales at the rear.

All the best, Nev.

Hi again everyone – It wasn’t until I’d posted and went to check my post that I saw that Jean had posted before me. Previously there used to be a red warning sign come up to say someone had posted but it didn’t show today, perhaps another DG glitch.

Jean – Moving plants to a stronger light position now that the weather is starting to warm up isn’t without its risks, because if they were previously in lower light they run the chance of burning. It’s better to move them in the cooler months so they can acclimatise gradually.

You say about the morning sun causing more burns than the afternoon sun; I think the damage would have probably been done closer to the middle of the day because generally speaking, morning sun is less harmful than afternoon sun, unless of course it was being reflected off a light coloured surface or brickwork in which case the plants are copping a “double dose”. I think whenever we move to a new location, it’s a real juggling act with the plants until we get used to where the sun’s the strongest and which areas are affected by nearby buildings or trees which create extra shade we didn’t consider, aqnd it’s one big learning curve.

With your Vr. Angela, if you want more pups, just remove the flower spike as the flowers aren’t very spectacular anyway, however if you want to save the flowers to get seed, this can’t be done.

I’m looking at your pics now and the first one shows quite a nice little collection beginning to build and the thing that stands out the most in the second picture is your hose; you can tell immediately it’s a lady’s garden with the hose neatly rolled up. If it was a man’s garden the hose would be all over the grass and the path…Ha! Ha!

Keep up the good work.

All the best, Nev.

Hi all,

Warm day on the coast today, sweating like a pig walking around this morning. (do pigs actually sweat much?).
It will be a good day to watch the sun and see what it does with the plants. I have always had a small plant that reacts quickly if it gets too much sun or not enough water, it is a fair guide to what is happening.

Shirley, nice looking plant in your last post, is there a correct name for the leaf spikes? I would be stabbing myself on those. I was putting up some mesh shelves the other day for a few hours, at the end of the day sat down, took my shoes off and both feet were covered in blood, I hadn't felt a thing, strange.

Jean, looks like everything is coming together for you.

Teresa, maybe your competitors are luring Sugar away with some treats.

Nev, yes the picture in the last post is Bill. 'Curly Top' but I should off waited a day to take a picture as when the flower opened it was more spectacular.
The hall in the pics of your last post is a good one, looks more like a big factory set up.

Anyhow , there is plenty to do today so i will leave with a couple of pics.
Pics 1 + 2 are of Tascott.
Pic 3 is labelled as Bill. Myee
Pic4 is of Neophytum 'Gary Hendrix' ( pups have taken off since it has got wamer or the benefits of fertilising).
Pic 5 Neo. 'Midnight'. (other pics i have seen have it a lot darker)

Brian

Hi all,

Teresa, your Sugar sounds like a really lovable girl. I know our Molly can be such a trouble maker at times but when she turns on the smooch, it’s so hard to be annoyed with her.

Jean, sounds like you’re settling in well. Generally the sun is at its worst around the middle of the day. Maybe you could get some big pots and plant frangipani in them for some summer shade. Nice pics.

Nev, you can send some of your rain here. Seems we are having the driest October on record and it’s certainly hot.

Brian, I love the toothy ones and the bigger the better. I think the correct name is probably ‘spines’ but I always call them teeth. I also grow a lot of succulents, aloe and agaves and various other pricklies. My forearms are always covered in spike spots and scratches from the broms. Maybe your neo Midnight needs a bit more shade. Tascott looks nice and peaceful.

Hi also to Trish and Dianne.

Pic 1 – neo Allure
Pic 2 – neo Cockabell
Pic 3 – bill Tarantella
Pic 4 – vr Gigantea Nova
Pic 5 – neomea Strawberry … just a bit bleached

Bye for now, Shirley

Hi Brian and Shirley – I looked in yesterday morning and there was no one to talk to so as posted twice the day before I didn’t bother posting again..

Tascott is a nice looking area Brian, and very relaxing looking out over the water. I can just imagine sitting back with a “tinny” watching the BBQ whilst I take in the scenery. It’s interesting on the map how the rail line is parallel to the road for quite some distance, what a train ride that would be for an old bloke like me.

I think with the Bill. Curly Top, it’s the contrast of the red bracts with the spotted green curly top foliage that makes it so popular more so than the flowers which unfortunately like most Bill's are short lived.

The first thing I thought when I saw those pic’s of the Brisbane show was how much more room than Burwood they have for their show and what a great venue for their society as it grows.

Bill. ‘Myee’ is a registered hybrid between Bill. amoena v. viridis (Seed parent) crossed with Bill.’Gem’(Pollen parent)
See: http://registry.bsi.org/?genus=BILLBERGIA&id=1000#1000

I think the pups on your 'Gary Hendrix' could be exactly what you say, "wamer weather or the benefits of fertilising" or possibly a combination of both; all brom's love this warm weather and a bit of food is the “icing on the cake”.

As for Neo. 'Midnight', the first question is which one do you have, as I was told there are two ? There is a Neo Midnight (Goode) and a Neo. Midnight (Wurthmann)... Butb let me start at the beginning, I once bought a very dark foliaged plant called Neo.’Voodoo’, and after a couple of years I was told the name had been changed to Neo.‘Midnight’. A few years later I was told it had been changed back to Neo.‘Voodoo’, so I decided to do some of my own investigating.

I found there were 3 different plants with Voodoo in the name (None of which was just Voodoo). There were also 8 plants with ‘Midnight’ in the name but no stand alone ‘Midnight’. It wasn’t until I decided to look further to see if the name may have been alphabetically out of order that I found a Wurthmann’s Voodoo and a Wurthmann’s Midnight; two more to add to the list.
When I followed up Wurthmann’s Voodoo I didn’t find any pic’s but I did find a detailed explanation from Derek Butcher the then BCR registrar.
See: http://registry.bsi.org/index.php?fields=&id=7717&search=voodoo

When I checked out the Wurthmann’s Midnight, I found the pictures which clearly identifies my plant as not ‘Voodoo’ but ‘Wurthmann’s Midnight’
See: http://registry.bsi.org/index.php?fields=&id=5806&search=midnight

My experience with my plant is that it gets its best darkest colour when grown in about 50% light. Other brom. friends I know say it needs to be grown in higher light, but when I do this it gets much more green instead of the occasional green flecks. I hope this helps you with your cultivation of this plant.

Shirley – Our weather is changing every day, we’re getting rain, wind, cold and hot so take your pick. This morning when I went out to get the paper, I couldn’t even see the other end of the street for a sea fog, where it will all end I don’t know.

As for the plants with “teeth” , I’ve heard them called prickles, spines, spikes and ??1$#%. There is a correct botanical name for them but I’ll have to do a bit of detective work to find out. Whatever the name, they still draw blood.

With your pic’s today, you’ve almost hit the jackpot as I have 1,2,3 and 5 but not the Vr Gigantea Nova.

Now I can hopefully see what they will all look like as the only one I’ve grown to maturity so far is xNeomea Strawberry but mine looks more of a red to yours but that could be due to the different degrees of light.

It's now afternoon and I’ve just ducked outside to take a few new pic’s and unfortunately it’s the wrong time of the day but here goes anyway. Pic.1 is my Neo.’Wurthmanns Midnight’ for comparison with Brian’s plant, Pic. 2 is the species Vr. Elata; it’s a most unusual plant inasmuch as when the inflorescence has almost died off, the new one is already halfway to maturity and you more or less have it in flower all the year around. I also have some of my other pic’s of it in a garden setting shown on the FCBS site as well at No50 in the Vriesea species section. Pic.3 is Neo. 'Vos Cos' which I got from Trish; Pic.4 is one of my own hybrids, which is a gangly looking thing about 30” across, but because it’s a bit unusual, it will go into the garden instead of the bin and Pic.5 is a mix of plants just potted or waiting to be potted.

All the best, Nev.

Hi All,

Hot day today, cooled down to a bit of rain likely.

Nev, this Neo. 'Midnight' looks very much like the pictures of the Neo. Midnight (Wurthmann).
It is clearly not the Goode plant.

I originally thought the more light the better for this but after leaving out in the sun it hasn't darkened up that much and the pups that are growing are darker than it, so I think I will take Shirley's and your advice and move it to less light.

My wife tells me the train ride is a good one, as she doesn't drive she catches them all the time. I haven't caught a train in years, will have to do so, I think they do the occasional steam train ride which the grandson would love.

Hanging your plants like that is a good idea, looks like a wall of plants. I would have thought it
would tilt the pots on top but they look great.

Unusual colouring of the plant in the 3rd picture, many colours and striping.

Shirley, nice pictures. Is the bleaching from too much sun? is very colourful all the same.

Anyhow, hello to everybody else. Hope your weekend was a good one.

Brian

Hi Brian and anyone else who's looking in. Was a weird day here yesterday and this morning now 5.30 and its already feeling warm and humid so who knows, maybe a bit of rain around.

Regarding Wurthmann's Midnight; like Shirley, I would suggest a bit less light for your plant although other growers would disagree. You mention "pups" so why not try one in low light and one in medium light, (you already know the results of high light) and then you'll know what's the best for your conditions.

As for hanging the plants, I do get the occasional one that tips, but that's only when I haven't hung them right with the largest at the top. I had one that was out of sight and by the time I noticed it, the pot was horizontal and the plants were all still upright as the plants had automatically adapted themselves so their vase was uppermost and still able to capture any rain.......... Ain't nature great?

That plant in the third pic is one I swapped with Trish; It's a beautiful and most unusual plant. That's the advantage of a small forum like this, you get to know and trust the members and it's easy to swap or buy plants from them and you know what you are getting is the real thing. What we usually do when we see one we like is ask to be put on a list for a pup when one becomes available. When it does you can either swap for it or buy it whatever suits.

That's certainly a short post from me today, makes up for all the drawn out long ones of the past.

I'll finish today with firstly another pic from the Brisbane Show; this time a massive specimen plant of a Deuterocohnia (which one I don't know). To grow a plant of this size is really quite an achievement and something that has taken years to achieve. I don't know who the grower is but it seems they have deservedly won an impressive trophy for their efforts. Pic.2 is another of Jack Koning's new hybrids, Vr. 'Snows of Mauna' x 'Montezuma's Gem', Pic.3 is one I recently managed to get a pup of from a brom friend and is an Allan Freeman hybrid called Neo. 'Delicate Delight'. Pic.4 is an unusual Tillandsia NOID growing around the base of a tree fern, does anyone recognise it? Pic.5 is of a few more of my pups, just potted and waiting to be hung somewhere.

All the best, Nev.

Hello everyone.
Nev, we are having that odd weather here too.
This morning I looked out and saw it had rained overnight. Must have been quiet as I never heard anything.
Not much but it did wet the ground.
My broms are now all in relative shelter from the summer sun as far as I can get them.
I have not noticed any bleaching from the sun on any except the few that were right out the front. Now they are in the shade of a large rose so should recover eventually.
Some of the ones along the back wall get quite a bit of afternoon sun , but it hasnt bothered them.
I think the ones in the front were getting the sun from first light until after lunch so maybe it is more damaging then than the later sun.
The overall light they all receive is about the same, its just the amount of direct sun which is slightly different.
Checking on the broms still at the house last Saturday and they are all doing very well.
I may have a buyer for some of them with any luck.
I will be glad to see them go to a good home rather than just die.

Now that I have had a chance to have some here for a while,and have seen how they cope, I may swap a few around .

Brian, Tascott looks very nice and restful.

Shirley, your neo Allure is very pretty. I have it here too and it does color nicely.

Nev , I also have a neo Midnight . It is a lovely plant but i am still waiting for it to pup.
Have added pics of it . I must check which one I have.
The first pic was taken last year in May and the second was in Jan this year.
Not great pics but I will get a new one of it later.

Hello Teresa and Trish. I am off again to Hamilton again today. I seem to be spending a lot of time going to & fro.
Enjoy your day everyone and I will try to remember to take the camera next time I go to the house , to get some progress pics of some of the broms over there.

Jean.

wow - some great pics since I last looked in!

Nev - Neo.Wurthmann's Midnight... love that dramatic dark colour contrasted with the bright green flecks.
Neo. Vos Cos is nice, the next pic of your own breeding certainly shape isn't it's strong suit but the colours... well I can see why you don't want to bin it.
who knows - it might be a good one rro breeding.
If you got those colours on something like a concentrica shape...

Nev - your next post I went through the pics & all I could say was wow, wow, wow...

The new Jack Koenig Vr. hybrid - has the man got a magic wand?
Your Neo. Delicate Delight - it looks like a water colour... it is aptly named.


Jean - glad to hear you may have buyers for some broms - it would be so sad if they didn't find a home where they can be appreciated.

We had a lovely weekend here, great weather for dog showing & Miss Sugar was well behaved & even won reserve Bitch on Sunday... which meant of the four entered she came second over all. (we were nowhere the day before) A friend gave me some advice on setting up in the ring after Saturday's performance & it was nice to gain a result the next day by following her suggestions.

We had a Japanese judge on Sunday & he was very thorough - even had us line our dogs facing the opposite way to normal to check them from both sides.

We have nice steady rain today which is good for the roses, lilies & irises...
the weeds will be loving it too ;)

Hi everyone – What a weird day yesterday; we had four seasons in one day and it finished late in the afternoon with a weather warning that gale force winds were lashing Sydney and to batten down the hatches as it was heading down the coast. Well we battened down the hatches but nothing happened, so I guess we got a reprieve. Today’s looking much better, fine and sunny with no wind, so fingers crossed.

Jean – It’s so good to hear from you with your regular progress reports and as I said previously, the progress you’re making is making me feel very guilty.

It will be great if you have a buyer for your extra brom’s, unfortunately when you are selling under these circumstances the buyers try and get them as cheaply as they can. We know you never get back what you pay for them unless they are something rare, but then what’s best, selling them for less than they’re worth or letting them die.

A friend of mine who passed away recently had a backyard full of brom’s which due to ill health had been badly neglected over the previous 12 months. His wife asked if I could come up and advise her what she could do as she only wanted to keep a few for herself and sell the rest.

After looking them over I saw there were some really good quality plants which had unfortunately due to neglect and excessive sun last summer looked pretty crook and purchasers would really only be buying the new pups on basically dead mother plants. There were also probably 50% of them which were NOIDS as well.

She was desperate to get rid of the excess and said if she couldn’t sell them they were going to the tip as it saddened her so much to see how they had deteriorated. I told her that under those circumstances if I were in her situation I would sell the large ones for $10 and the smaller ones for $5 no matter what they were. She thought about it for a while and decided that’s what she would do. She made it known at the brom club that she was selling them and one bloke bought $350 worth which made her quite happy as you couldn’t even see where they had been taken from, but there’s still the majority left because as soon as other people see the state of the mother plants they shy away and don’t look past them at the healthy new pups pushing up. The bloke who bought the big batch knew what to look for and got many bargains, unfortunately that wasn’t the case with others. The plants are still there and if anyone wanted some good bargains and comes to this area let me know and I’ll contact the lady for you to visit.

I guess the moral of the story is, don’t wait until the plants are looking crook and dying before you try to sell them or you’ll be stuck with them.

That plant in your pictures especially the first one, looks like a twin to my plant and that’s Neo. ‘Wurthmann’s Midnight’ and I feel you can confidently change you name tag to that.

Teresa – Yes there’s been some wonderful brom hybrids bred over the years and they just seem to get better and better which makes me wonder where it will all end. There are several Vriesea hybridists in NSW, Qld and N.Z now producing marvelous plants but I think Jack and a couple of others were the “trail blazers” and their experience is showing in the hybrids they are making as they seem to now have captured the shape combined with colour.

Neo ‘Delicate Delight’ is a beautiful plant and was bred by Allan Freeman a well know Qld. hybridist with 957 registered hybrids to his name.

Congratulation to Miss Sugar for the dog show, you can’t call her Weasel now.

That’s it for this morning and I’ll finish with some pic’s of new hybrids from Peter Coyle of N.Z. Pic 1 is a very unusual Vriesea hybrid; I initially dismissed it as “nothing much” until I looked closer and saw the amazing colours including subtle variegation. Pic.2 is Neo.’Tiger’ x ‘Apricot Nectar’, Pic.3 is Neo. Spotted Devil’ x ‘Skotak’s Tiger’, Pic.4 is Neo.’(‘Avalon x ‘Fireball’) x ‘Felix’ and Pic.5 is Neo.’Baker’s Tiger’ x ‘Apricot Nectar’.

All the best, Nev.

Hello everybody,

Like Nev said, we were supposed to get lots of wind last night but hardly got much at all. It must have been windy in Sydney though as there was a lot of tree branches down on the road.

Nev, that's a shame that your friend's plants have deteriorated, probably after a hell of a lot of work put into them. There was a bloke at my mother in law's nursing home that was a bromeliad collector and he recently passed away from a brain tumour, but beforehand he was able to get rid of all his plants to local people that would look after them.

Jean, best of luck with your buyer, I hope it all goes well for you.

Teresa, well done to Sugar / Weasel and yourself. Do they call it Dog Trialing ?

Anybody got any tips for removing a Neophytum pup?

I snapped off one Neo. pup a bit short of the mark but it doesn't seem to have had an effect on it.
Does it just not grow roots / plant as quick? Also what are the faults if the pup is removed too early?

Anyhow, have a good night all.

Brian

Good morning everyone. Have been doing a lot of work with my Cacti and succulents and tidying up the back. Slowly getting there. The Broms are going great and I have had a few flower that I haven't seen before. I sold a few too. The boys are going great but boy are they hard work. Friends over and eat, OMG they've got hollow legs. I reckon if the dog sat still long enough they'd eat him too. Hope everyone is well and great to see you Jean. You seemed to have been able to take a nice selection of plants with you. That's great. Take care everyone. Colleen.

Hi Brian and Colleen – It seems like we’re back to just two members again, anyway no matter, we can still have a three way discussion.

Brian – As for removing a xNeophytum pup, I just break them off when the pup is about three quarters the size of the mother and plant them like any other pup. The down side of just breaking any pup off is that they occasionally can break off higher up than anticipated and then you are left with a pup with no “heel” (This is the bit where the roots grow from).

In cases such as this, I have dipped the broken end in “Flowers of Sulphur” and left them three or four days to dry out and start to callus over and then plant them in sphagnum moss using the smallest pot possible. Eventually they will form some secondary roots from the base of where the break was. It will take a lot longer than usual but it does work and I’ve never yet lost one to rot using this method. Flowers of Sulphur was commonly used to dust the “cut” section when dividing orchids when I grew them many years ago. The following information was taken from the Royal Horticulture Society's website:

FLOWERS OF SULPHUR - Dry flowers of sulphur powder and wettable sulphur preparations are effective against mites and powdery mildew. According to the Royal Horticulture Society's website, flowers of sulphur may be used in the garden to prevent the growth of certain fungi and bacteria that cause plant rot. Sulphur combined with fatty acids also can control powdery mildew growing on roses, house plants and several other varieties of fruit-bearing plants. Growers should be careful not to use sulphur on seedlings and should not allow the vapours to accumulate, as it can kill flowering plants. For many years orchid growers have dusted Flowers of Sulphur on the cut surfaces of orchids after plant division to prevent bacterial and fungal infection and it may be used in the same way for bromeliads.

If a pup is removed too early it can cause a few problems. Firstly it will be much slower to put down roots and will just “sulk”, sometimes for many months before root growth starts. It is during this period, especially during the colder weather that these premature pups can be lost to rot. Secondly, plants grown from premature pups, rarely make into robust plants and it often takes a couple of generations of pups (taken off at the right size) to get a plant back to its original size. Sometimes this doesn’t happen at all and subsequent pups will always be undersize and weedy looking.

Ever since I first started growing bromeliads I have heard various arguments as to the size pups should be when removed. Generally speaking the recommendation is from one third to one half the size of the Mother plant with or without roots (this is in accordance to the Mother plant’s width as well as height).

Although that seems the most common recommendation, I like to wait until pups are at least three quarters the size of the parent and have roots already growing. You may only get two pups from each plant but they will grow into good plants much quicker. Taking them off when they are smaller often results in more (less vigorous) pups of a lesser quality; the choice is yours. They can be taken at any time of the year, but it’s best to avoid the colder winter months and where possible remove pups in spring.

Colleen – Good to hear from you again after so long. I know just what you’re saying about your boys, we had two sons who regularly brought home two or three mates and they almost kept us poor with what they ate.

Don’t leave it so long before you post next time.

What's the name of your plant, Is it a Canistrum fosterianum?

All the best, Nev.

Nev - again some gorgeous photos... I love the colour of Neo. Spotted Devil x Skotak's Tiger.
It's a colour I like to wear as it suits me...
funny that one isn't spotty or stripey.

Brian - last weekend we competed in Conformation Showing... so basically they are looking for the dogs that most closely matches the breed standard.
Judges should have an image in their head of the ideal specimen & compare the ones in the ring to that rather than to each other.

I also compete in Obedience Trials.
In that we are judged on how perfectly we can complete the set exercises eg heel work on lead & off lead, recall, retrieve, and stays.

And I do Rally-Obedience where the course is laid out with numbered 'stations' each one describing an exercise to be completed at that point.
This can be as simple as having the dog sit beside you to being as complicated as having the dog stand & wait while the handler walks to a set point, turns & commands the dog to sit then to come.
Rally-O is a timed course (like dog agility) so if two handlers are on the same score the winner is decided on fastest time.
Sugar & I are up to Advanced so have to compete entirely off lead... so when she has a weasel moment she can run off.

Thank you for more interesting information Nev, every bit is helpful to a novice like me. I have not posted lately as a family member in New Zealand has passed away and I am flying over on Friday to attend the funeral. While we have been experiencing a heat wave I have been trying to bullet proof my garden for the period I will be away in NZ (until next Tuesday). On top of that a friend here has passed away and I have inherited her many cherished pot plants and trying to give them the care she would have. There just have not been enough hours in the days to get everything done so I have been too tired to post in the evenings. It is nice to pop in and read everyone's posts though and try to keep up with what's been happening. Till next week, Diane

Hi everyone,

Nev, love your pics, neo Delicate Delight is so pretty and very unusual. Lots of pups you have there ready to hang, are you hanging all your plants now.

Brian, regarding your question about the colour of my neomea Strawberry, the answer is yes, bleached by the sun. Hope your neo Midnight darkens up more when moved to a bit less light.

Teresa, great to hear Sugar was a prize winner on Sunday, must be her good trainer, hey.

Hi Jean and Colleen, great to hear things are going well.

Pic 1 – neo Mandela
Pic 2 – neo Wild Pepper
Pic 3 – neo Anzac Spirit
Pic 4 – neomea Valli

Bye for now, Shirley

Good morning everyone. Nev, the pic is Canistrum triangulare. First one I've had flower. It looks like a Tulip. Very nice. Starting to warm up here. The boy's alarms have just gone off so can't stay long. A pic of my Mr O'Dean seedlings.

Hi everyone, (those who are posting and those who are just looking in). It would be nice to see a few more people posting, as the more members participating the more information sharing can occur, and after all, that’s what forums are all about isn’t it?

Teresa – The array of combinations, new colours and patterns which are popping up daily with the new hybrids being created are “mind boggling” and makes me wonder where it will all end or what the next direction of hybridising will take. As well as the normal hybrids we also have bi-generic crosses and it seems these may eventually lead to tri-generic crosses and who knows where from there. Whatever happens, we should never forget the species, as this is where it all started and there are many beautiful species in their own right which can hold their own against many of the new hybrids. On another forum I visit, there is a chap from Brazil who posts some wonderful species and habitat pictures and this morning I sent him an Email seeking his permission to post some of his pictures here on our little forum. Hopefully he will agree and I can share some of the wonders of his species with you all.

It’s good to see Sugar working her way up the competition ladder, let’s hope she doesn’t get a swelled head and revert to her Weasel ways. Ha! Ha!

Diane – Sorry to hear about the death in your family and please accept my condolences. What’s more, as well as your family member, a friend has passed away as well so you’re going through a really sad and very busy time at present and we all understand why you’re not posting, and look forward to hearing from you again next week when you can continue to learn more about this wonderful hobby of growing brom’s.

Shirley – To answer your question about whether I’m hanging my plants now; I’ve always hung a lot of my plants simply because I just don’t have sufficient bench space, so when the benches are full, I just go up; consequently, in the shade houses I probably have one third on benches and two thirds hanging.

Don’t be deceived by the hangers on all the pots though, they don’t necessarily mean I’m going to hang them as for the most part they are just a convenient handle to carry them with, and stop me having to bend down to pick them up. It does help the old back a bit though, so when I pot a plant I always fit a hanger which allows me to carry them more easily to the Vriesea shade house where they are watered and left for a couple of days to settle down before they are moved again to their permanent location, either on a bench if there’s space or hanging.

Today I looked at your last picture first as I’ve always been interested in bi-generics and as xNeomea ‘Valli’ is one I hadn’t seen nor heard of before I went straight to the BCR to find out more about it. I see it is a cross between Aechmea zebrina and an unknown Neoregelia.
The interesting thing I did see though, there is also a picture showing a great example of a compound inflorescence. (Defined in the FCBS Glossary as; a compound inflorescence is a branching inflorescence)
See: http://registry.bsi.org/?genus=xNEOMEA&id=9450#9450

I don’t have Neo. ‘Anzac Spirit’, but I’ve seen it in a friend’s collection and yours will get more colour yet I’m sure. It is another which was bred by Allan Freeman with parentage of Neo. 'Gee Whiz' x (carolinae x 'Painted Lady').

Neo.’Wild Pepper’ is one I don’t know and can’t find anything about; it’s not shown on the BCR or the FCBS so obviously unregistered. This however doesn’t alter the fact that it’s still a nice plant though.

I think it’s pretty obvious to everyone though, that the Grace Goode bred Neo.’Mandela’ beats everything else “hands down”. The plant colour, shape and nice wide leaves just leaves the others for dead in my opinion…… a beautiful plant.

Colleen – Well I was half right with Canistrum; too hasty in my assessment, I should have noticed the dark colour around the base of the leaves which would have identified if for me if I’d looked and hadn’t been in so much of a hurry.

Your Neo. Mister Odean seedlings are powering on and much larger than last time you posted them and it won’t be long before you’ll be seeing an indication of what colour they’ll be, but don’t be impatient, as I’ve found with mine they were much slower to mature than other seedlings of the same age.

That will do me for today and the pic’s I’ll finish with are 1and 2. Some Neo’s just potted and waiting to be re-located, 3 is a friend’s Ae.’Aussie Ruby’, finally two more of Jack Koning’s new Vriesea hybrids, 4 is Vr. fosteriana ‘Megan’ x fosteriana ‘Reconciliation’ and pic.5 is Vr.’Double Pleasure Jack’s Gem’ F2 .

All the best, Nev

Hi All,

Shirley, love the colour of the plants in your pictures, especially the first one with all the different coloured plants in the background.

Colleen, I understand what you mean about boys being hard work, having all the kids from around the neighbourhood at your house all the time is hard, but as soon as they left home that is something I really missed, and you know where they are even if the neighbours complained constantly. HAHA
As I am writing this my son is blasting out his guitar in the next room, cancel that last comment about missing it Colleen.

Teresa, Sugar does well not to run off more often with all the competitions she is in, good luck to you both.

Diane, sorry to hear about the passing of your family member and friend very sad time for you. I have to go to a funeral tomorrow myself of a work colleague. It is always such a shock and not only is it such a tragedy for those around the person its the life experiences and knowledge of that person that goes with them. Looking after your friends plants will be a good memory for you.

Nev, a wealth of knowledge and brilliant pictures as usual. Thanks for the info on the pups you wrote in your last post.

Hi to Trish and Jean as well.

Oh well I have a couple of flowering pics
1. Unknown Bill.
2. Neo. Rosy Morn ( is this a flower)
3. Unknown Neo.

Brian

Hi everyone, well Brian anyway, come on the rest of you, out of bed and up and at ‘em.

Brian – I’m pleased to see you’re looking past the main flower in Shirley’s pic’s and by doing so you’ve obviously found what we already know and that is, Shirley is the “Queen of Colour” when it comes to Neo’s. Even her NOIDS are nicer plants than many we’ve seen winning at shows.

It’s surprising what you can often learn by looking past the main object in a picture and studying the background; it may be a particular type of bench construction, a method of supporting newly potted pups with no roots (that’s how I learned to re-cycle wooden chopsticks) or even some previously unknown ingredient of a potting mix. There’s always something new to be learned.

Now to try and answer your questions; your first picture isn’t a Billbergia, it’s an Aechmea nudicaulis. There are many different forms of these and some have beautifully marked foliage with barring or variegations as well brilliantly coloured bracts (see my Pic’s 1-3).

It’s a great time of the year now for nudicaulis on the east coast of Australia as they are all either coming into flower or have just finished. They are also an excellent plant for mounting on a tree and will quickly grow into a substantial clump.

Your next question about the Rosy Morn (Is this a flower?) The answer is no; it’s sometimes called a “flower head” by some growers and comprises all of the flowers in their various stages of growth from budding through to seed capsules.

The actual small mauve flowers can be seen in your third picture, the one at top right is almost open, the one below it is fully open and the ones on the left and at the bottom look like they have just finished and are closing up.

I don’t want to use technical terms which I’m not even sure of myself as this takes the fun out of things for we “back yard growers” and I’ll leave the technical stuff for the “experts”.

If however you want the technical names for all of these bits and pieces they can be found in the FCBS Glossary (all 44 pages of it) which can be found at: http://fcbs.org/articles/Glossary/Glossary.pdf

Because the flowers are often small and insignificant and the “bracts” are often brightly coloured, it’s often the bracts which are incorrectly referred to as the flowers. A bract is a leaf-like plant part often brightly coloured and located below the flower or on the stalk of a flower cluster. A common example of this is a Guzmania; take for example the Guzmania in picture 4. People often look at this and say “look at the nice red flower” when in fact the actual flowers are small and yellow in colour and peep out from between the red bracts and it’s the colour of the bracts that attract the attention initially.

I hope all of this isn’t too confusing and does help you to understand the various “bits and pieces” Time to go now and as well as the pic’s mentioned above, Pic.5 is Billbergia ‘Estrella’.

All the best, Nev.

Bil. nutans...

Hi All,

A bit of a sad day today, after attending a funeral. Its a bit of a reminder to not get caught up in work so much and sit back and enjoy things a little.

Nev, Thanks again for the info and pictures, its not confusing I just have to give parts their correct terms.
A glossary of terms is a handy thing to look up I will have a good look at it.

Teresa, Did you buy this plant? Gee it has some colour in it.

Anyway, looks like a warm weekend coming up.

Brian

Hi all,

another very hot day here in Brissie.

Nev, that’s a great idea, hangers on the pots to carry them and save bending. Neo Wild Pepper is one of Jack Koning’s ‘wild’ series, it appears only some of them are registered.

Brian, the pic of neo Mandela was taken yesterday in the igloo. There is lots of colour at the moment but we will probably add a ‘topper’ soon (a second layer of shade cloth) so the broms don’t burn ... they also lose some of their colour with the added protection.

I think the brom in your first pic could be an aechmea Brian. Nev should be able to tell you more.

Nev, ‘Queen of Colour’ … that’s nice, thanks, but I think it’s due to the climate rather than anything I do.

Has anyone heard from Trish, hope everything’s OK. Hi to Teresa, Jean and Dianne too.

We rushed our Molly off to the emergency animal hospital this morning after she was bitten by a very large brown snake. She killed the snake but not before it struck her. Thankfully we got her there quickly (along with the snake for ID) and they were able to administer the anti venom in time to save her. She is still being monitored but hopefully we can pick her up tomorrow.

Anyway, that’s it for me tonight, after a very stressful day.

Pic is our beautiful girl, Molly. She is not allowed on our bed and she knows it but loves to sneak in for a quick snooze given half a chance.

Bye for now, Shirley

Shirley - {{{hugs}}} - poor Molly, hope she makes a speedy recovery.
One thing I don't miss about Aussie is the number of bitey, venomous things you might meet in the garden.
The most dangerous things I have to face are rose thorns.

Brian - my Bil. nutans was a huge clump in a pot sadly neglected at the RSA where I worked.
It never flowered & was put outside so I took 3 pups & potted two into one pot, one into another & this is what I have about 4 years later.
I asked on the tea room forum if anyone could id the plant - luckily we had a brom person on who told me it was Bil. nutans & invited me to join the happy band here :)

I gave the second pot to a friend, hoping to convert her to a bromaholic too.

These plants were mollicoddled at first then someone here suggested they would be fine outside in summer.
They did well & were brought in for winter - the first year.
After that I left them outside & they have ignored frost, rain, hail, gale force winds that knocked one over & emptied most of the potting mix out, and most amazingly - they survived our big snow storms a couple of years back.

Hi everyone – Here we are again at the start of another new month, it will soon be Christmas, and then Easter and then Christmas again, where are the days going?

Not looking too promising here today weather wise as there’s a warm westerly breeze blowing, a sure sign of a “scorcher”, anyway I guess we’ll just have to live with it.

Teresa – Your Bill. nutans is looking good with a really good ratio of flower spikes to plant. To get a “spike to plant ratio” like that, it’s obviously growing in a position it likes so don’t change anything. You see so many pots of nutans which are all chock-a-block full of plant with perhaps just one or two flower spikes and to see this many on a plant that size is very unusual for around here anyway, I don’t think I’ll ever tire of looking at that unusual colour scheme of those flowers; there was once a saying of “blue and green should never be seen” as the colours didn’t complement each other, but Bill. nutans has to be the exception to the rule.

Brian – Don’t let yourself get caught up with learning all of the correct terminology at the expense of enjoying your plants. True, it’s handy to know the correct names for some plant parts but not a necessity. Remember there’s thousands of people growing brom’s who don’t know any of the correct names, and it doesn’t take away any of their enjoyment of growing these great plants.

There is a little book simply called “Growing Bromeliads” and put out by the Bromeliad Society of Australia. It’s a great inexpensive, informative little book written by Australians for Australians and Australian conditions. First printed in 1988, it’s now into its third edition and covers all of the main genera commonly grown by Australian enthusiasts and it also contains a handy four page glossary of the most commonly used terms which is handier than the in depth 44 page glossary I mentioned yesterday.

Shirley – It’s interesting what you say about some of Jack’s “Wild” series not yet registered. I know he registered a quite a few under this name and maybe the new names are pending registration while he waits for a larger group to register them altogether as a lot of the bigger growers do.

You’re fortunate to get Molly to the vet quick enough for the anti-venom to be administered as Brown Snakes are bad news. I guess when she comes home, she will reckon she needs some rehabilitation on your bed after such an ordeal.

Teresa – Isn’t it strange that with all of the tourism to NZ over the years, some idiot hasn’t tried to sneak in a couple of snakes just to take away your “snake free” reputation. I know we sometimes whinge about the difficulty getting plants and animals in through customs to N.Z. and Aus., but we should never lose sight of the fact that these regulations are in place for the good of everyone and to protect our countries from dangerous animals, plants and the associated diseases that inhabit other countries. It’s almost weekly here that we hear of some idiot trying to bring in some restricted plant or food; and some are repeat offenders, they just never learn.

Again, back to Bill. nutans, I know they have a reputation of being “bullet proof” but they don’t always flowers as well as yours, so you must be doing something right.

Time to go once again and today’s pic’s are Pic.1 Neo.’Grace’ x ‘Passion’, Pic.2 Neo. ‘Small World’, Pic.3 Neo. concentrica x carolinae variegata, Pic. 4 One of Peter Coyle’s new Bill. Hybrids, Bill.’Hallelujah’ x ‘Domingos Martins’. Finally this is what happens when you hang plants and don’t keep constant watch on them; this Ae. ‘Ruby Red’ outgrew its growing space and hit the shade house roof.

All the best, Nev.

Hello everyone. I finally have time to do a decent post . Its raining outside, but only light and the sun is trying to get through the few clouds. Very hot yesterday which was not pleasant to have all of a sudden.
It used to be a joke that Melbourne weather could be all seasons in an hour. I think the whole country is now getting Melbourne weather.
One never knows what to put on in the mornings...lol

I spent yesterday over at the house as I had some new friends come over to buy my plants.
I am so pleased that most of my plants are now sold and going to excellent homes. I will be able to visit them when ever I want.
One couple took a lot of the irises and other odd plants . The other couple have taken all the broms and epis along with most of the brugmansias.
I am so pleased to see the plants sold and know they wont be just dying. Its also very nice to make some pocket money.

I actually came home from the house without a plant...
Oops, I forgot I did bring one rose ( only one)

I had a good check of the broms I have here this morning before I got rained on. I am so pleased to see the color creeping in as the weather gets warmer.
I didnt take pics because of the rain, but will get out and take a few later if the weather improves.
I realised, as I looked around at the broms, that I had done what I guess a lot of new broms lovers do. I brought over the ones that had been most colorful as well as some spotties and stripeys.
I never thought of the fact that those were all looking so colorful because they were flowering and wont be as good any more.
Now I have to go and pick out those with pups so I can still have that color as they mature.

Nev, I had to laugh when you mentioned a few posts back about seeing the hose in my pic all tidy and coiled up.
Thats because I only have the two small garden areas and need to keep them clear.
At the house, I put taps where I needed them for all the large garden areas and as I had a hose at each point, they were left to lay on the ground to keep them nice and straight.
Most of the areas were done with retic hose so I just clicked the hose in and put the timer on.
With the smaller area here, I get to talk to the plants as individuals more often.
Your bill Estrella is very pretty. I never saw any sign of flowers coming on any of my aech nudicaulis plants. Maybe they are still a bit young.

I will be bringing another plant stand back from the house for a few more broms before they all go off to their new home.
I was looking for the stand each time I went over as I knew it was there somewhere.
Talking about it yesterday, my friend pointed out that it was right behind me...lol
All the time I had been sitting if front of it and the orchid leaves, being very long , had covered it.

Teresa, you are certainly right about bill nutans being hardy. Nothing seems to bother it .
I had several pots in different areas which all did well.
Nice to hear that you did well in your exams.
Give Miss Sugar a pat for me.

Brian, a very nice lot of plants in your pics.
You must be gathering quite a collection. I see a bad case of bromamania there...
I was explaining that yesterday to my friend as her husband kept picking out broms. He started with one a week ago but kept finding just another one, then another and another.
I think I have created a new bromaholic...lol

Shirley what an awful thing for Molly. I know how you feel, having lost animals to snakes over the years. I am so glad she is okay.
Keep an eye on her as sometimes the venom can have an effect even after the animal recovers.
We had a lovely cat years ago, that went deaf after a snake bite.
Nev is right about your broms being such beauties. My neo Mandela has nowhere near the color of yours. I know the climate does influence them but you do have a magic tough too.

Hello Colleen and anyone I missed.
The rain has stopped so I will try to get a few pics.

pic 1...aech recurvata flower

pic 2...2 bills...one on right is Red Behemoth just starting to look nice as it was very ratty when bought.
The other is a noid which is similar to Hallelujah but with larger white patches

pic 3...neos Bird Rock in center, Jewellery Shop on the right and a bit of Grace Darling x Grace Darling in front.

pic 4...neos eleuthropetala (left) and Lamberts Pride ( right)

pic 5 ..neos Enchantment albo marginata (center) Johannis de Rolf ( back ) Black Brazil ( right)

Jean.



This message was edited Nov 1, 2014 9:46 AM

a few more..
pic 6.. neos Exotica Velvet and Lila

pic 7... neos Pemiento ( center) Marble Throat (back) & Fallon in front.

pic 8..vr Grafton Sunset

pic 9...vr Snows of Mauna Kea x Red Chestnut..looking beautiful as the white & pink are becoming more pronounced.

pic 10..form the back... vrs White Chestnut, Megan, Margarita & Angela ( with flower)

Jean.

Hi everyone – Has anyone heard from Trish? It’s been quite a while since she last posted and I’m beginning to wonder if she’s OK. I know she’s a very busy person, but she usually manages to drop in even if it’s just for a quick word.

Jean – It seems like your weather is up here as well and like I said yesterday, the day started off with a warm westerly wind which is never a good sign, and it just got hotter until about 1.30 when it was into the high thirties. We were at a brom’s meeting and were listening to the guest speaker when all of a sudden we heard this noise like a train coming, and it was a terrific thunderstorm. Fortunately it was short lived, but very savage wind driven heavy rain was coming in horizontally, so much so that it was blown under all of the western doors and nearly flooded out the foyer. After half an hour the storm had past and the sun came out and thereafter it felt like we were in Cairns as the humidity was just so high. This morning it’s quite cool and I presently am wearing trackies and a jumper, so is this what Melbourne weather is like?

That’s great news that you’ve found homes for all of your plants as it would be heart breaking to just watch them all die after all of the loving attention you’ve put into them, and I’m very happy for you.

You say you haven’t seen any flowers coming on your Ae. nudicaulis plants, maybe it’s just because it’s a bit cooler down there than here, and they will possibly be a little behind us. It seemed like everyone at our meeting yesterday brought in a nudicaulis of some sort, and they were all a blaze of colour with their vivid scarlet bracts and yellow flowers.

You say that your friend has a bad case of “Bromamania”; why don’t you get him to join us here on DG as there’s nothing like a good “brom chat” to help with the symptoms of this disease.

I’m looking at your pic’s now and already you have gathered together a nice varied collection for your new home. Ae recurvata is always a winner in any company with the added bonus of orange coloured leaves if you can provide sufficient light. The Bill NOID which you say, “is similar to Hallelujah”, could well be ‘Hallelujah’ as the amount of white and the size of the spots is quite variable, in fact I have on some occasions grown it with large areas of all white on the leaves and I have a pic. somewhere but I can’t find it just now, but when I do I’ll post it. Neo. ‘Birdrock’ is one of those unusual “stand alone” Neo’s which looks better viewed from below rather than from above to show off the silver striping beneath the leaves.

Next there’s ‘Lamberts Pride’ which I don't think will ever go out of favour as well as Enchantment albo-marginata and Johannis de Rolf both long time favourites of growers. Neo.’Black Brazil’, I’m not familiar with, but all collections should have a couple of dark foliage brom’s and this one fills the bill nicely with its deep colour. As if that’s not enough you also haven’t forgotten the species and have a nice plant of Neo. eleutheropetala to top off your collection.

As the man on TV says, “and that’s not all folk” ……There’s a second lot of pic’s as well, and more quality plants; starting with Neo. ‘Exotica Velvet’ which was one from Andrew Steens’ of N.Z. and responsible for boosting the popular trend toward radial reds.

Neo. ‘Lila’ is another popular plant that’s been around for a long time also, but there’s also an interesting connection with another Andrew Steens’ plant called Neo. 'Exotica Lilac Dream' which is a variegated sport from Neo.‘Lila’ (see Pic.1).

Neo.’Pemiento’ is always popular with its great colour scheme and contrasts well with ‘Marble Throat’ which is always a standout in a crowd, and what a great substitute for a bunch of flowers in the house Vr. ‘Grafton Sunset’ makes, and what’s more it will still be in full colour long after any cut flowers have died.

To top it all off there a nice selection of foliage Vrieseas as well, and a favourite of mine Vr. ‘Angela’, which was the first foliage Vriesea I ever bought. All in all I think you’ve selected a good collection to come and live with you.

Time to go once again and today’s pic’s are Pic.1 Neo. 'Exotica Lilac Dream', Pic.2 Nidularium ferrugineum, Pic.3 is another of Jack Koning's plants from the Vr. Red Tip grex, Pic.4 the ever popular Tillandsia bergeri and Pic.5 is Nidularium leprosa x ferrugineum.

All the best, Nev

thanks for the nice comments on my Bil. nutans...
it just keeps on keeping on & gets better every year.

Poor Sugar was vomiting last night, think the duck neck I gave her upset her tum.
Had to jump up & clean the carpet in our room & take the top blanket & duvet down to be washed.
Good thing it was warm enough we didn't need them.
And so warm & windy today they dried easily

.

Hi Everyone!

Gosh I cannot believe my last post was on the 19th Oct', seems such a long time ago now and we are already into Nov'.

Joe and I are not long back from Melbourne as we had to say our sad goodbyes to a very dear friend of ours (that we both knew since high school) and to attend his funeral and be there for the beautiful family he left behind. We got there in time to say our goodbyes and will be forever grateful for that and got to spend time with his beautiful family and be their for them during this heartbreaking time.

We both feel emotionally drained and heartbroken so since being back have just been resting as much as we can. Joe has taken a couple of weeks off work and I am back to work tomorrow with no holidays till the end of the year but something to look forward to never the less.

At this stage I have had not time to read everyone's posts but just wanted to drop in and say a quick hello to everyone and to let you all know that we are back home now and have heaps to catch-up on since being away. I hope everyone is well and a BIG HELLO to EVERYBODY!

Today we rested in the garden, sat under the lemon tree and I potted a few broms; Joe kept me company and even had a little sleep while he was out there; looked pretty funny him snoring on a chair with his feet up on another chair and the girls on their own chairs having 40 winks as well, should have taken a picture of the moment but I did not want to wake him up because he looked so relaxed and really needed the rest.

Lucy is pretty much back to her normal self but still not allowed to jump around too much, no major damage done to her back thank goodness just that she tore the muscles in her back from a fall of some sort by the looks of things. Before we left for Melbourne she was much better after a few visits to the vets and a couple of days with me and Joe where we took turns looking after her as she was feeling really down and naturally very sore and needed to be carried up and down stairs etc. then we got our good house sitter to be with her and to keep both the girls company otherwise I would have been worried sick about her and did not want to put her in a boarding kennel in the state she was in no matter what the circumstances. Today Lucy went for her first swim in the pool but no boggie board jumping allowed for awhile.

Anyway I better head off as early start in the morning and lunch to me made tonight so I don't forget.

I look forward to speaking with you all soon, maybe in dribs and drabs for a bit till we play catch-up but at least you know we are back home and all is well.

Take Care & Happy Gardening!

Trish

Hi everyone – Well Trish anyway; just as well you’re back Trish or I’d be talking to myself. Sorry to hear you’ve been away due to sad circumstances.

It’s good to hear that Lucy’s back to her normal self again and all you have to do now is make sure you and Joe don’t run yourself into the ground again trying to play catch up with the jobs that have accumulated since you’ve been away.

Anyway, just a quick visit today and I’ll finish with firstly a couple of pic’s of the only two Acanthostachys grown by collectors and they are Pic.1 Acanthostachys strobilacea and Pic.2 Acanthostachys pitcairnioides (look closely at the savage teeth on this one). Pic.3, 4 and 5 are the results of a crossing of xNiduregelia ‘Something Special' and an unknown pollen parent, possibly a Neoregelia of some sort. Nothing special, but interesting nevertheless.

All the best, Nev.

Hi all,

It has been overcast all day and we have had a few spots of rain, not enough to do any good but at least it has been a lot cooler.

We have our Molly back home again and trying to follow the vet’s instructions to keep her quiet … not easy.

Teresa, you are lucky not to have any venomous bities in NZ but I don’t think I could handle earthquakes.

Nev, we were very lucky to have been there when Molly caught the snake and to have seen what happened. It took us about 10 minutes to get it away from her … she was so proud of her catch and she wasn’t about to give it up. Finally, she dropped it, came into the house and collapsed and we thought she was a goner. We carried her to the car in a sheet as she was paralysed. On the way to the vet she lifted her head which surprised us and when we got there, she walked into the vet surgery.

After telling the vet, he said she’d had a pre-paralytic episode indicating she had received a lethal dose of venom and without immediate treatment would die within hours. Fortunately, they identified the snake and the anti-venom saved her … though a very expensive exercise.

Jean, it’s good to hear that your lovely plants have gone to caring new owners, even better that you can visit them. Nice pics.

Trish, we were beginning to worry about you as no-one had heard from you. So sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. Glad that Lucy has recovered from her ordeal.

Hi to anyone else looking in.

Pic 1 – neo Anna 63
Pic 2 – neo Bakers Tiger
Pic 3 – neo Golden Goddess
Pic 4 – neo Red Earth
Pic 5 – neo NOID

Bye for now, Shirley

Shirley - touch wood no earthquakes now...
what a good thing you were able to get Molly treatment in time!
I know the Aussie Dalmatian forum has seasonal warning posts about snakes & some years tributes to dogs lost to snake bite.

Hi Everyone!

Just a quick drop in as it's been a big day and my head hurts.

We got a little rain this morning with more expected on the weekend so that should be nice.

I still have not had a chance to read all of the missed posts from 19th Oct' onwards except for the last couple from Nev, Shirley and Teresa.

I hope everyone is well and enjoying their gardening time.

Hi Nev thanks we are trying to take things easy but there is so much to do that we are behind on now but if we take some deep breaths in between and chew away at it everyday we should get on top of things in a week or two and things should get back to normal for us both. This weekend I want to spend in the garden as I have lots of things to get done around the place and the fresh air will do us the world of good I think.

Hi Shirley glad to hear Molly is on the mend poor darling; lucky you got to her so quickly.

Thanks everyone Lucy is feeling much better and back to her cheeky self.

Anyway better head off and rest this pounding head of mine.

Sorry no pics till possibly the weekend.

Take Care & Happy Gardening!

Trish

Hi everyone – Drizzling rain again here this morning so the outside work is on hold for the moment and it’s just as well as I have more appointment today so not much time in the garden…… Let’s just say I’m back on that bloody “Medical Merry-go-Round” again.

Shirley – Good to hear that Molly has come through her confrontation with the snake OK; she’s very, very lucky as brown snakes are very bad news and usually don’t give animals second chances. You were very fortunate the vet had the anti-venom on hand as not all vets do as I believe it’s very expensive with a short shelf life and would be a high ongoing expense.

Beautiful pic’s once again I seem to remember when looking up another plant on the BCR recently that it said, “previously called Anna 63”. I’ve racked my brain but I can’t remember what plant it was though so I guess I’m not much help to you. I've done a search for "anna 63" and just "anna" but in each case "zilch". The closest I can come is with a "Google" search which turned up an 'Anna' 49.
See: http://www.lloydgodman.net/Photosynthesis/PHoToS/Neoreg/Anna.html

The text says: This is a catalogue of bromeliads used by Lloyd godman for his various installations and photosynthesis projects - the collection of plants he accessed in New Zealand from 1996 - 2004 was collected from a wide range of sources, while most were brought from Greens Bromeliads, some were also donated by the Dunedin Botanical Gardens. Later in 2004 these plants were either sold or given away with his move to Australia.

Maybe they were N.Z plants and weren't registered and were possibly brought here to Australia by him when he came here in 2004

What can I say about your Neo.‘Baker’s Tiger’, except a perfect example of this plant with even better shape than the one of the BCR.

I’m not familiar with Neo.’Golden Goddess’ and can only find an Aechmea of this name with a search of the BCR, my question is, “is it always such a pale cream and almost white in colour”? It’s certainly a beautiful plant.

That’s also a nicely shaped example of Neo.’Red Earth’; I have this plant too but can’t get it to reward me with a shape like that; what songs do you sing to it?

Finally your NOID in Pic.5; I think it’s one of the many clones of Neo. Tricolor which went under the name of Neo. carolinae tricolour down here for many years (and still does in many collections).

You will see the resemblance in the picture in the link below, but remember this pic was taken in 1953 (pre-digital camera days). Also note the American spelling of “tricolor“ which is what it is registered as and not the Australian spelling of tricolour.
http://registry.bsi.org/index.php?fields=&id=7583&search=tricolor

If you read the info in the link below you will see just what a “Pandora’s Box” this plant comes from hence the reason for the decision stated in the BCR notes about these plants which states, “Thus any variegated Neoregelia can be called as being part of the ‘Tricolor Group’ and need not be listed.”
http://registry.bsi.org/index.php?fields=&id=7584&search=tricolor

Whatever the name is, it’s a beautifully coloured plant whatever way you look at it, and a credit to your cultural methods.

Teresa – Yes sadly, dogs killed by venomous snakes is a way of life in some country areas of Australia.

Trish – Great to hear you and Joe are on the mend. Just think the weekend’s just around the corner and you can sit back and put your feet up and enjoy your garden.

Sorry but no pic’s from me today either, I’ll try for some for tomorrow.

All the best, Nev.

Hello everyone. Its a beautiful sunny morning here. A bit chilly but will warm quickly.
I have been busy changing plants around as I just placed everything where it was convenient when I moved them here.
Now I am trying to place them to show off each one . Of course, there is always the seasonal change when some finish flowering while others start.
Musical chairs for plants..lol
I took a few of the broms back to go with the sold ones as they were not liking the sun here. I cannot put up enough shadecloth to cover them all so have to just make the best of those that will do well.
Nev, all those I pictured are some that look great here. I am glad to have your input on my selections, but it did take a bit of thinking and juggling to finally decide on the right ones.
Thanks for the suggestion that my noid bill may be Hallelujah.
I will be helping load all the sold ones later today and its not far to go whenever I want to see them .
Your neo Exotica Lilac Dream is very pretty and the red tip neo is one I really like the look of.
Shirley, you again show us a beautiful noid. You must be a magnet for the best of the noids .
I love your Golden Goddess and Jack Konings neo from the Red Tip grex is gorgeous.

Thats about all for me today. No pics as I am still moving a few around and havent had the camera out.

Take care and hello to anyone I missed.
Jean.

Trish, poor Lucy must be feeling very unhappy, but I'm so glad to know she is recovering.
Sorry about your friend , but you have lots of memories to look back on.
Nice to hear that Joe was enjoying some great rest time too.

Teresa, did you finally get all your earthquake repairs done ?
How is work going now /
I hope Miss Mischief is learning to listen to you a bit more now. She will probably turn into a very well behaved matron , but some dogs are puppies forever...lol

Hello everybody, just a quick chat.

While its been a sad week for some of the people on here, it's good to see some good news with the dogs on the improve.

My older son has just picked up the younger one and are off to a punk rock concert in Sydney, his first big show (so he says).

There is a huge electrical storm going through here at the moment. Not the best conditions for driving. I hope it doesn't hail as I haven't put any shadecloth over my plants as yet. Some of them are showing small signs of too much sun so I ordered some 30% white cloth to cover the mesh. It only gets direct overhead sunlight for about 2-3 hrs a day, the rest of the time is still plenty of light.

Shirley, nice pics you put up. Does the igloo At your place have a metal frame? Looks like a good set up. I have been looking around for different types of shadehouses, probably going to have to eventually put something up here. Backyard is on a slope though.

Nev, hope everything is ok medically. Take it easy.

Jean, yes I can see why people have bromeliads into the thousands, the variety is unbelievable. Seems like the orchid grower is a similar type of person.

Trish, sorry to hear about your friend.

Hi to Teresa and anybody else.

No pics today as I'm on the IPad I have pulled all the electrical gear out of the wall so it doesn't get fried.

Cya
Brian

Hi all,

Having your plants up off the ground on a shelf might help with the growing part but geez they get blown over easily, some repairs needed tonight.

Brian