Bromelcairns. P.O. Box 28 Cairns Queensland 4870 Australia. Bimonthly Newsletter of Cairns Bromeliad Society Inc # 2

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1 Bromelcairns Bimonthly Newsletter of Cairns Bromeliad Society Inc # 2 P.O. Box 28 Cairns Queensland 4870 Australia President Brendan Leishman V-President Matt Wilson Secretary Dave Weston Treasurer Kelly Knight Librarian Steven French Editor Lynn Hudson Editor Assist. Jodie Smith Concierge Sharron Miller Pop.Vote Steward Lynn Hudson OIC Raffles Karen Stevens OIC Pots Frances Boyd Honorary Life Member - Grace Goode O.A.M. Honorary Life Member - Kay Edington Life Member - Lynn Hudson Life Member - Robert (Bob) Hudson ******************************************************************** Aims of the Society Promote and Develop Interest in Bromeliads through Friendship To Co-operate with similar Clubs throughout the World ******************************************************************** Membership Fee: $15 Single, $25 Family, Country Member $25. $7.50 junior (if not in family membership) Meetings start at 1.pm sharp first Saturday of the month. Please bring a cup and a chair. Library: All books & magazines borrowed are to be returned in good order to the following meeting. If not on wait list, they may be rebooked. Plant Display/Sales: To participate, a member must be financial and circumstances permitting, have attended at least three meetings in the past six months. Where the society is charged a stall fee - 20% of sales are deducted for club funds. No charge venue & meetings - 10% of sales is deducted. All plants to be clean, free of disease, named and price tagged. Show Plants: Must be the property of and in the custody of the entrant for the past three months. For Society Shows the entrant must be financial and have attended at least three meetings during the past six months. Pens, Plant Tags & Pots: available at each meeting. If reprinting article, wholly or in part, please acknowledge Author & Newsletter. Any article &/or Bromelcairns will be ed on request to lynnie@ledanet.com.au or

2 2 Club Activities & Around the Members MARCH: We had good attendance, visitor Leilani Morris and our new member Maurice Anderson was able to attend. Our mini show of any flowering bromeliad attracted varied entries - a good cross section for the new members viewing and to add to their wish lists. Dave s Catopsis berteroniana drew most attention and he gave us an interesting talk on catopsis species. Darryl s Aechmea Samurai had good colour and form. Bob s Tillandsia bradeana was a bright red. Steven s Aechmea Darth Vader was a perfect mini. Brendan showed Aechmea Maryanne a huge plant, nearly a metre wide and a branched inflorescence a metre high. It was seed grown by Barry Burke, labelled as Hohenbergia ridleyi but this amazing plant probably has chantinii & blanchetiana parentage. Named after Barry s lovely wife Maryanne - they are the same height but not width! * Sharron is making a list of members flowering plants and members are asked to advise her when your plants look their best. Please note - this differs from Flowering Plants for Show purposes where it is considered flowering as soon as the plant changes - in colouring or when the knob is formed in a neoregelia. * It was great to see the Novice members bring in well grown plants and we hope you continue to better each other. MINI SHOW - Flowering Bromeliad! 1 st Catopsis berteroniana Dave Weston 2 nd Aechmea Samurai Darryl Lister 3 rd. Tillandsia bradeana Bob Hudson POPULAR VOTE NOVICE - Bromeliad Vriesea vagans - Jo Smith Cryptanthus Cryptanthus zonatus - Maurice Anderson Tillandsia 1 st Tillandsia andreana - Paul Morris 2 nd. Tillandsia cyanea Maurice Anderson 3 rd. Tillandsia Houston - Maurice Anderson OPEN - Bromeliad 1 st Catopsis berteroniana Dave Weston 2 nd. Neoregelia Voodoo Doll - Brendan Leishman 3 rd. Aechmea Samurai - Darryl Lister Cryptanthus 1 st Cryptanthus Thriller Lynn Hudson 1 st Cryptanthus Volcano - Dave Weston 2 nd. Cryptanthus Black Mood Lynn Hudson 2 nd. Cryptanthus Witchdoctor - Brendan Leishman Tillandsia 1 st Tillandsia hildae Dave Weston 2 nd. Tillandsia bradeana Bob Hudson 3 rd. Tillandsia ehlersiana Sharron Miller Vriesea vagans

3 Cryptanthus Witchdoctor ^ Aechmea Darth Vader > Far right - Aechmea Maryanne Neoregelia Voodoo Doll Tillandsia hildae Tillandsia ehlersiana ********************************************************************* Catopsis - notes from Dave s March presentation. Catopsis habitat is from the southern tip of Florida, throughout Mexico, the Caribbean and South America. Catopsis berteroniona habitat elevation ranges from sea level to above 1300m. They are epiphytic, clinging to bare branches of moderate to large trees with sparse foliage. They attach in a dense mass of wiry roots. They can also be found in dense tropical rainforest. Plants in high light take on a luminous yellow appearance. A white epicuticular wax coats the leaves, particularly more so towards the base, giving them a powdered appearance. Catopsis berteroniana has been referred to as insectivorous or carnivorous as their slippery leaves trap insects for nutrients. Most catopsis are open vase shaped but some are bulbous Flowers are small and range in colour. [Pics from Google]

4 4 Club Activities & Around the Members APRIL: Again attendance was good and we were inundated with really well grown tillandsias, 17 in all! It was very hard to judge such beauties. *New Members: Welcome to Noelene Parker from Townsville, Robyn Forrester and Leilani Morris and welcome back to Margaret Marton who rejoined after a few busy years break. We hope you each enjoy learning with us. I am really happy to again have a Junior, Leilani s favourite is Tillandsia bulbosa and Bob plans to wean her off them - she showed a good andreana.! * Excellent to have novices Paul & Maurice entering their tillandsias. While Maurice was voted first with cyanea, Paul was close with a healthy Cotton Candy. MINI SHOW - Tillandsia 1 st Tillandsia hildae Dave Weston >>>>>> 2 nd Tillandsia ehlersiana Sharron Miller 3 rd. Till. Samantha Brendan Leishman MINI SHOW - Tillandsia Flowering 1 st Tillandsia streptocarpa Bob Hudson 2 nd Tillandsia crocata Dave Weston 3 rd. Till. butzii hybrid Brendan Leishman POPULAR VOTE JUNIOR Tillandsia 1 st. Tillandsia andreana Leilani Morris NOVICE - Tillandsia 1 st Tillandsia cyanea - Maurice Anderson 2 nd. Tillandsia Cotton Candy Paul Morris 3 rd. Till. xerographica - Maurice Anderson OPEN - Bromeliad 1 st Neoregelia Chester Dave Weston 2 nd. Neoregelia Lorena Steve French 3 rd. Neoregelia Bill Morris Darryl Lister 3 rd.orthophytum Warren Loose - Kelly Knight Cryptanthus 1 st Cryptanthus Elaine Brendan Leishman 1 st Cryptanthus Thriller Dave Weston 3 rd. Cryptanthus Robert Read Kelly Knight Tillandsia 1 st Tillandsia streptocarpa Bob Hudson 2 nd. Tillandsia tectorum Lynn Hudson 3 rd. Tillandsia tricolepsis Brendan Leishman 3 rd. Tillandsia hildae Dave Weston

5 5 Tillandsia streptocarpa Tillandsia crocata Tillandsia butzii hybrid Tillandsias Halleys Comet andreana Cotton Candy tricolepsis Tillandsia LC Bob separating a Tillandsia streptophylla clump Bob managed 12 good offsets but some were discarded. He advised the plants have problems growing to full size if left in a large clump as they vie for nutrition and space. Far right: Francis brought in a long stemmed Vriesea ospinae var. gruberi asking what to do with it as she is tired of staking it and it will not stand alone. Greg advised her to cut the long bare stem, leaving a few sets of leaves on the top of the stem. Offsets should form among those leaves. With the top part, prune off a few bottom leaves and plant it as normal. Thanks Greg. The meeting was all about tillandsias and we had some very attractive and well grown plants to drool over. Yes there is more yet! Thank You Brendan for taking so many pics, they are all included!

6 6 Tillandsia crocata notes from Jo Smith! Dave has had this yellow flowering T. crocata for about 7-8 years and has entered it a number of times in the Cairns Show. Origin & Habitat: Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. Altitude: meters above sea level.! Tillandsia crocata is a xerophyte, epiphytic or saxicolous (rock-dwelling) bromeliad with silvery grey-green leaves. It may be simple or spreading through few branched horizontal rhizomes and forms miniature bundled clumps about cm tall and wide. Its delightful yellow flowers waft one of the strongest and most delightful fragrances of any Tillandsia and warrant its great desirability among collectors. This plant likes bright indirect light and protection from hot sun, it is best placed in a sheltered spot in the garden during the summer to facilitate flowering. In a dark location the plant will gradually weaken and wither.! Pest & diseases: No serious insect or disease problems. Watch for aphids, thrips and scale. Mealybug infestations are also a frequent problem. [ 14 Nov Apr </Encyclopedia/BROMELIADS/Family/ Bromeliaceae/28150/Tillandsia_crocata>] Thanks Jo. *** [I have always loved this plant and watching it grow has been very interesting. It starts as one forked branch and over time, more branches grow over and above the original to form this fascinating clump. Added to the fascinating form are the trichomes that give the plant a fluffy appearance. then there are perfumed flowers! Lynn] ********************************************************************************** Tillandsia hildae notes from Jo Smith! Many thanks to Dave Weston for bringing this beautiful specimen to the meeting. This plant was originally from Barb Davies of Townsville. Dave describes it as having a very vigorous root system, as witnessed by the attachment of the supporting pot. This tillandsia is unique in that it is more terrestrial in habit than epiphytic. Unfortunately it is prone to algae build up in the leaf axils but apart from that is a stunning plant. Dave reported that it is not yet mature with a couple of years more to go. Greg Oldano provided additional cultivation information in that the plant will experience a period of sudden growth, where it doubles in size quite rapidly. Bob also offered that 90% of growers remove the pups quite readily as no pups will be produced after flowering has occurred.//

7 Tillandsia hildae There is also a softer leafed hildae, the trichomed leaves arch gracefully & the striped markings are not as dark Written by Werner Rauh One of the most exciting of the large Tillandsias that I have ever found in the dry valleys of the eastern slopes of the Andes is Tillandsia hildae. It is chiefly desirable when in its vegetative stage, for the flowers are small and insignificant. When you see T. hildae for the first time, you would not think that it is a Tillandsia. Because of its white cross-banded leaves, this bromeliad looks like an Aechmea, but the leaf margins are smooth and without teeth. When you study the flowers, it is obvious that the plant is a true Tillandsia. Tillandsia hildae has its own story. I know the plant from its locality the dry valley of the Rio Chamaya near the village Chamaya - where I first saw it in At this time we found only plants without any inflorescences. I took some specimens back to the Heidelberg Botanical Garden, but as yet they have not flowered. In 1967 I returned to Chamaya and we found hundreds of plants, growing in steep, nearly inaccessible rock walls - but not one plant was in flower. We were sure that it was a new species, but we could not describe it, for we did not know whether it was a Tillandsia, a Vriesea, or a species from another genus. On our last expedition to Peru in 1970 we intended to explore the rain forests of the Rio Cenepa in the Amazona basin, and on the way we had to pass the deep valley of the Rio Chamaya - the locality of our unknown bromeliad. This year we were a little later in the season (end of August) and were full of hope of finding our plant in flower. Indeed, we discovered new spots with thousands of plants, all growing in steep rock walls at an altitude between 1200 and 800 m. Again, not one plant showed a trace of an inflorescence! We were indeed disappointed! Night was coming on, and we were obliged to make a camp near the Chamaya River, but it was very difficult to find a suitable camping place in the narrow valley. Next morning, we were just about to leave the area of our bromeliad when my wife discovered by the help of binoculars a specimen in full flower right on the edge of a vertical rock wall, about 100 m above us. How to get up there? With the help of a rope, my driver, a very clever Peruvian, tried to climb up, but it seemed impossible. After many fruitless efforts he finally succeeded to get up and to bring back the plant completely undamaged. It was a real Alpine climb! Naturally we were happy to see the flowers, and we recognized at once that the plant was a Tillandsia. For my wife Hilda who discovered the first and the only flowering plant, I named it in honor of her - Tillandsia hildae. Scape up to 1m and 3cm thick at the base, glabrous, dark violet. Its bracts imbricate, longer than the internodes, the lower ones subfoliate, the upper ones with a short, erect narrow, triangular cross-banded blade. Werner Rauh - in Institute of Systematic Botany of the University of Heidelberg

8 8 A Few Tillandsia titbits stolen from the Tillnuts! * This tillandsia has flowered for at least the past 3 seasons, however the flowers get no further than this. There were 6 spikes this year, all dried up as the flower began to emerge. I have tried different things, making sure it has enough humidity & moisture; not wet overnight; waited till it matures so the flowers open! Can anyone give me any suggestions, please? Uncle Derek to the rescue: One must also remember that a hybrid can be a mule in its many senses. Nothing is guaranteed in horticulture. Plants can be just as stubborn as humans, some Diaphoranthema species are at times cleistogamous. In other words they do not actually open their petals but still set seed. [Wow!] ****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ****** Ron Jell: I was just wondering if it is common in habitat for tillandsias to be seen with a bend in the spike. So just a question to those who have travelled to the natural home of tillandsias Is this so? Recent photos of Tillandsia lajensis with a bend in the spike have been posted. Now my Tillandsia latifolia var. divaricata spike has bent the same way. This is despite my best efforts to keep it straight. It has not been moved, has remained in the same position and has had plenty of growing space. Chris Larson: These plants with elongated spikes often do this. Many times I cannot work out why. These things do occur in habitat as well. It is man that tries to get plants to grow in a way that the plants sometimes do not tend towards. We humans like symmetry & predictability - and the seemingly random acts of nature are things we try to control. Both the plant and your reaction are normal. (As an example of this - I always think of Len Summers when he saw a picture of Quesnelia Tim Plowman in a magazine he trained a Quesnelia marmorata to have curls on the ends of the leaves with paper clips - and it worked!) ******* ***** ***** ******* ****** ****** ****** ***** ******* ****** ******* ***** ****** ***** ******* ****** - A little more gleaning -! << How is this for a Novice?! Pretty neat I think. Well done Maurice!! Anyone for a good haircut??!

9 9! Oscar Llovera Lopez of Catalunya &! the Festival of Flowers & Gardens of Barcelona.! While perusing Planet Bromeliad my eye caught this interesting picture. I contacted Oscar for permission to share his inspirational use of bromeliads in our newsletter. Oscar agreed and gave me his story. This clever display was designed by Oscar as part of the first Flower & Garden Show in Barcelona in 16 years. The stage held the Wild Blues band, a group formed by the school workshop of blues in Barcelona. Oscar has described the designs and other items. ^ Water well The first decoration is the named "Tillandsia hanging garden. It was made with nine frames of 120cm x 75cm covered with different species of tillandsia. Tillandsias juncea, usneoides, bergeri, brachycaulos, magnusiana, fuchsii, albida, aeranthos, ixioides, xerographica... this represents the versatility of these plants and a new way of understanding the vertical gardens in Catalunya. Hanging from the old chains are clumps of Tillandsia bergeri. This is the only tillandsia you will see in Catalunya, it is always growing into clumps and attached to some old iron stuff - here in Catalunya exists a legend that tillandsias live from the oxide of the iron! So in this design I wanted to make a combination between the Catalan tradition and showing my idea of vertical gardening.

10 10 At the ground is another combination between classic mediterranean gardening and exotic and tropical gardening. Classic was contributed by my Master Gardener Joan Bordas with the Mediterranean cypress trees, Cupressus sempervirens, and the tropical and exotic represented by the red/black hybrids of Neoregelias Margaret, Jill and Super Fireball. The second decoration is a representation of how you can see a tillandsia growing in Catalunya - attached to some old iron stuff. This is a typical image in the coast of our country: a old Tillandsia bergeri clump hanging from a chain over a water well. (Page 9) The third decoration named "A world more green" consists of two balls. Tillandsia usneoides and an empty sphere of Tillandsia juncea, the idea was to tell the history of a world which should be more green and transparent at once. // Oscar is from Barcelona city, is 24 years young and studied gardening - where he fell in love with bromeliads. He started to purchase tillandsias and other bromeliads and even purchased seeds from the Bromeliad Society of Australia Inc Seed Bank, and is growing them for a project with a school - to garden the city. In Barcelona bromeliads are unusual and he is probably the only one in the whole country working with only bromeliads. He works with all bromeliad genera: puya, dyckia, deuterocohnia, tillandsia, billbergia, aechmea, neoregelia. He grows them, he teaches others how to grow them, he sells them, and he makes some art with them. He does anything that he can do with them! This is basically because this family of plants is perfect for many kinds of xero-gardening and vertical gardening in the mediterranean climate and nobody uses them. He is also working to make a Bromeliad Society of Catalunya, but says the process is slow. The Festival of Flowers and Gardens of Barcelona, was the first edition in 16 years of a flower & garden show. It was Oscar s idea and he organised the Festival and all the activities of workshops and the international conferences. // Thank You Oscar.

11 * R U going to attend Bloomin Broms?? Friends, Seminars, Plants, Food * Saturday 4th June, 8-5 Sunday 5th June 8 - noon. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *Small boy after his dog died People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life, like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right? He continued, Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don t have to stay as long. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * A girl said she recognised me from the vegetarian club, but I'd never met herbivore. * I know a guy who's addicted to brake fluid. He says he can stop any time. * How does Moses make his tea? Hebrews it. * I stayed up all night to see where the sun went. Then it dawned on me. * I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. I can't put it down. * A dyslexic man walks into a bra. * Why were the Indians here first? They had reservations. * I didn't like my beard at first. Then it grew on me. * 2 cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other: "Does this taste funny to you?" * "Doc, I can't stop singing 'The Green, Green Grass of Home.'" "That sounds like Tom Jones Syndrome.""Is it common?" "Well, It's Not Unusual." *Two cows are standing next to each other in a field. Daisy says to Dolly, "I was artificially inseminated this morning. "I don't believe you," says Dolly. "It's true; no bull!" exclaims Daisy. Nothing just happened or just gets done, Someone has to make it happen or do it.

12 Hudson s Bromeliads Down Under Bromeliads & Tillandsias Bob & Lynn Hudson ABN Boden St. Edge Hill Cairns Phone: (07) lynnie@ledanet.com.au Cairns Lovebirds - bred by Karen Stevens 6 Alabama Street, Whiterock, Qld 4868 Phone bpklstevens@bigpond.com Bloomin Broms June 4th & 5th Cominos House, cnr. Little & Greenslopes St., Edge Hill Good Company, Interesting Guest Speakers, Great Plants. Harry Frakking of Humpty Doo, NT. Anil Ghodke of Plant Biotech Sunshine Coast & Nigel Thomson of Dandaloo Valley Qld. Seminars Saturday & Sales for Registrants, $30 includes lunch. Sunday sales to Public, cultivations demonstrations, free entry. Sunday 5th. June: 8:00am noon Open to the General Public, free entry Contact Lynn on or lynnie@ledanet.com.au ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bromeliad Cultivation Notes by Lynn Hudson A little how-to book. Cultivation made easy. Basics in language anyone can follow John Catlan s notes - Bromeliads Under the Mango Tree A must have book to help you think and grow your bromeliads better. Booklet prepared & printed by Lynn Hudson Both available in bulk at reduced price. Contact Lynn on or lynnie@ledanet.com.au or