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Fill Up the Tank... Put together by David Skimmings

Some information obtained from the net.

As most of you guys know many of the bromeliads are "tank type" bromeliads. The rosette of broad leaves creates a "cup" or "vase" in the plants center. These plants hold water in the cup and leaf axils. Plants with cups should be filled, and not allowed to remain empty.

Some people don’t know the tank should be flushed out with plenty of water periodically to prevent possible stagnation. This periodic flushing also prevents a build up of salts left when water in the cup evaporates. Water should be removed from the cup if the temperature is likely to fall below 0 deg C. This shouldn’t happen if your plants are inside. This practice will prevent cold damage which appears as a brown line across each leaf at the water level. Some collectors move plants indoors and outdoors depending on the season. There’s a bit of work associated with this but it does have its advantages.

If you are growing plants indoors, you may need to mist the plant about twice a week in addition to your watering in order to prevent drying of the leaves by the low humidity. Bromeliads are like most other plants in that they will tell you when they become stressed from being too dry. Drying the plant out can cause permanent cellular damage to the leaf structure. You may decide not to grow the plants indoors for all of its life cycle and just bring the plant indoors when it is in full flower. A plant in flower on the dinner table always gets a comment from guests. In homes where the relative humidity is low (during winter months and in air-conditioning) plants must be checked and watered more often. Mist the plants every few days if the humidity is say 50 to 60% or daily if the humidity is lower. Soft leaved bromeliads require more water and humidity than the stiff leaved ones do. Most mounted plants need frequent misting unless the humidity is high.
 

The quality of the water is important. Tap water can generally be used for watering the pots and soil area. Better results are obtained by using rain, distilled or reverse-osmosis water for the tanks or cups. If you use city water, and it contains excessive salts, flushing of the plant periodically will reduce the chances of salt damages.

Bromeliads provide indoor color for months at a time and are generally carefree. Most of the problems encountered with bromeliads are usually associated with rot caused by over watering. By following these watering guidelines you should be well on your way to having a healthy bromeliad to enjoy for months and months. 

Potting Mix.  - put together by David Skimmings information from the net.

 

  • It will not take long to realise that there are more potting mixes than bromeliad growers.

  • The reason for this is that each grower develops his/her mixes around available ingredients and his/her conditions both have a tendency to change and so the grower changes their mix.

  • The main thing with your potting mix is it needs to free drain.

  • The 2nd thing is the ‘Soil Life’ of the bromeliad mix must last through the growing cycle, from offset to flowering plant and until you have harvested the next generation of offsets, without the mix breaking down to a point where the air content falls below 15% for terrestrial bromeliads and 20% for epiphytes.( Air content relates to free draining ability or how compacted the mix has become)

  • When your mix has satisfactory “soil life” and it comes to re-potting your bromeliads it’s just a matter of removing the plant from the old pot and “potting on” i.e. centring the plant in the new container and filling in around the undisturbed root ball. Growth of the plant will proceed undisturbed.

  • Should inspection of the root ball indicate that the mix has broken down or will not last through the next growth cycle it will be necessary to re-pot. This means hosing all the old mix from the root system, removing any dead roots or old plant stems, selecting the right size container and working fresh potting mixture through the root system. This is a common re-potting practise for most plants (when the roots are holding onto rubbish mix.)

  • The mix must be open and drain well, never use garden soil or dirt. Most commonly the mixes are a combination of pine bark, perlite, charcoal, porous volcanic rock (scoria) and sometimes a little coarse sand. Cymbidium orchid mix is probably the best commercial product available for potting them. Many people start with this mix and then add their preferred extras.

  • My personal belief so far from what I’ve seen is broms would nearly grow in bean bag beans with a little osmocote added, along as it’s free draining. This is a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much.

 

  • I buy pine bark from any of the “cheap shops”. I’ve been picking it up on special for $2.50 a bag. 4 for $10 is good buying. I find the chips are too large to pack in around the plants so I run it through the mulcher to get the size down a little. to about 10mm. (as shown above) If I have any pieces of styrene I put this through the mulcher at the same time. I few small bits of styrene in the mix will aid with drainage and help the mix go a little further.

 

  • Of course, you could by your bark in bulk if you have a greater need however, I find 4 bags through the mulcher gives me a large plastic garbage full to play with for a while.I think the cheaper pine bark mixes do the job just fine, however, do not just take my word on this. Put some similar size pups into the cheapest pine bark you can buy and put some others in the best orchid mix you can source. Experimentation is the key to fun and learning

 

Broms & Creatures

THE POISON DART FROG

Put together by David Skimmings (a collection of points from many articles)

  • Poison dart frogs are very brightly coloured and these bright colours are warning signs.

  • The colours tell other animals that these frogs have poison in them.

  •  The 175 species of poison dart frogs come in many different colours like blue, green, yellow, red, and many others.

  • These frogs find their shelter in trees, leaves and often shelter in Bromeliads due to their water holding capacity.

  • Poison dart frogs get their poison from the food they eat.

  • When the dart frogs are stressed, they sweat out their poison.

  • Some are not very poisonous, but others have enough poison to kill 3 grown men. Levels of toxicity vary considerably from one species to the next and from one population to another.

  • Native people of the Amazon Rain Forest catch these frogs and put them near the fire to make them sweat. The natives roll their hunting darts or arrow in this poison. Then they go hunting for food. It’s only been documented that native people extracted poison from 3 species of frog.

  • Poison dart frogs range in size from 1/2 inch to 3 inches. These frogs eat small insects like termites, fruit flies, and small crickets.

  • The poison dart frogs get their water from rain that collects in the leaves of bromeliads and other plants.

  •  The skin of a poison dart frog is very thin and these frogs can breathe and also drink water right through their skin.

  • The parents guard the eggs until they hatch, then carry the tadpoles on their backs, one at a time, high up into the canopy to a bromeliad pool. Only one tadpole is placed in each bromeliad pool, a behaviour that scatters the tadpoles and reduces competition for limited food in the small pool.

  • While there is little scientific study on the lifespan of poison dart frogs, estimates range from 3 to 15 years in the wild and up to 20 years in captivity. Most species reach maturity around 1.5 to 2.5 years of age.

  • The easiest way to determine the sex of a particular species of poison dart frog is by observation of behavior. Mature male frogs will usually make a mating call after eating or after a heavy misting of water. The sound varies from species to species, and ranges from a barely audible series of clicks to a loud, bird-like trill.

What’s in a name? (A collection of condensed points from many articles) put together by David Skimmings

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Introduction- A rose is a rose; most of us know the common names of a lot of garden plants and flowers. Even kids can probably tell the differences between the African marigold and a potato. However, if we want to know more about our "African" marigolds like they are, in fact, from Mexico and the "Spanish" cedar originated in the West Indies, we would realise how misleading the common names of plants can be. The same plant can have many different common names. The European white lily has at least 245 names, while the marsh marigold has at least 280. When I started hearing plant names it sounded like a foreign language to me. Unless it was a plant with the name “Black night” and had relatively dark foliage it was bit hard to remember. The first place to start is getting to know the genus groups. Eg Billbergia, Vriesea, Neoregelias etc. the more you see, hear and say the names the easier it gets. Then you hear the –aceae and the –oideaes, what’s this all about. I searched far and wide on the net to find something that could enlighten me fairly simply on this, believe me at times it can be very heavy going. Anyway, this is how it basically fits together.

Classification of Plants- Plants are classified in several different ways and the further away from the garden we get, the more the name indicates a plant's relationship to other plants. It tells us about its place in the plant world rather than in the garden. Usually, only the Family, Genus and Species are of concern to the gardener, but we sometimes include subspecies, variety or cultivar to identify a particular plant. Starting from the top, the highest category, plants are classified as follows. Each group has the characteristics of the level above it, but has some distinguishing features. The further down the scale you go, the more minor the differences become, until you end up with a classification which applies to only one plant.

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CLASS

Angiospermae (Angiosperms)

Plants which produce flowers

Gymnospermae (Gymnosperms)

Plants which don't produce flowers

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SUBCLASS

Monocot eg. Lilies, daffodils, iris, orchid, tulip, onion, garlic, wheat

Dicotyledonae (Dicotyledons, Dicots) eg Magnolia, castor oil plant, cactus, carnations, most carnivorous plants

Plants with two seed leaves A. Dicotyledons (Dicots are plants with two seed leaves. This huge group, with approximately 2/3 of all flowering plants, includes most all wildflowers. Dicots have “net-veined” leaves, which mean they have the familiar leaves with center vein plus branching veins running from it.

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Monocotyledonae (Monocotyledons, Monocots)

Plants with one seed leaf  (Class Liliopsida - part of the brom line)

B. Monocotyledons (Monocots, plants with one seed leaf, are the grasses and other simpler plants, and make up about 1/3 of all flowering plants. Monocots have parallel-veined leaves.)

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SUPERORDER

A group of related Plant Families, classified in the order in which they are thought to have developed their differences from a common ancestor. There are six Superorders in the Dicotyledonae (Magnoliidae, Hamamelidae, Caryophyllidae, Dilleniidae, Rosidae, Asteridae), and four Superorders in the Monocotyledonae (Alismatidae, Commelinidae, Arecidae, Liliidae) The names of the Superorders end in -idae

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ORDER

Each Superorder is further divided into several Orders. The names of the Orders end in -ales           Poales (- part of the brom line), including grasses, sedges, wheat, rice, millet, bamboo

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FAMILY

Each Order is divided into Families. These are plants with many botanical features in common and are the highest classification normally used. At this level, the similarity between plants is often easily recognisable by the layman. Modern botanical classification assigns a type plant to each Family, which has the particular characteristics which separate this group of plants from others and names the Family after this plant. The names of the Families end in -aceae -Bromeliaceae is a family of monocot flowering plants

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SUBFAMILY

The Family may be further divided into a number of sub-families which group together plants within the Family that have some significant botanical differences. The names of the Subfamilies end in -oideae  Bromelioideae, Tillandsioideae, Pitcairnioideae

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TRIBE

A further division of plants within a Family, based on smaller botanical differences, but still usually comprising many different plants. The names of the Tribes end in -eae

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SUBTRIBE 

A further division, based on even smaller botanical differences, often only recognisable to botanists. The names of the Subtribes end in -inae

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GENUS – Latin descent, type, gender

This is the part of the plant name that is most familiar, the normal name that you give a plant. The plants in a Genus are often easily recognisable as belonging to the same group. The name of the Genus should be written with a capital letter.

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SPECIES - A group of organisms that can interbreed and produce offspring

This is the level that defines an individual plant. Often, the name will describe some aspect of the plant - the colour of the flowers, size or shape of the leaves, or it may be named after the place where it was found. Together, the Genus and species name refer to only one plant, and they are used to identify that particular plant. Sometimes, the species is further divided into sub-species that contain plants not quite so distinct that they are classified as Varieties. The name of the species should be written after the Genus name, in small letters, with no capital letter.

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VARIETY - a name usually given by the legal plant breeder.

A Variety is a plant that is only slightly different from the species plant but the differences are not as insignificant as the differences in a form. It needs to be genetically fixed; remaining in the next generation. The Latin is varietas, which is usually abbreviated to var. The name follows the Genus and species name, with var. before the individual variety name.

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FORM – the shape, appearance

A form is a plant within a species that has minor botanical differences, such as the colour of the flower or shape of the leaves. The name follows the Genus and species name, with form (or f.) before the individual variety name.

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CULTIVAR – propagated to maintain characteristics

A Cultivar is a cultivated variety, a particular plant that has arisen either naturally or through deliberate hybridisation, and can be reproduced (vegetatively or by seed) to produce more of the same plant. The name follows the Genus and species name. It is written in the language of the person who described it and should not be translated. It is either written in single quotation marks or has cv. written in front of the name.

 

 

The genus and species names often tell something about the plant. They can describe the appearance of the plant, reflect the common name of the plant, indicate a chemical present in the plant, tell how the plant tastes or smells or describe how the plant grows. The genus or species name can honour someone; a botanist, a person in power or someone historically prominent. The name can reflect the country or origin of a plant.

Fertilizers

Put together by David Skimmings - A cross section from 20 Net articles.

1) They say “oils aren’t oils”, and it’s fair to say that fertilizers aren’t fertilizers. The best indication of this is using the wrong fertilizer on natives. Leading fertilizer brands will offer at least a dozen different packets/containers for various applications. So what’s it all about. To know what is going on we need to understand some basic chemistry. Stay with me, don’t be scared.

2) There are a lot of trace elements in all fertilizer but the 3 main ingredients to look at are (the big 3) Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) Potassium (K) (Just a point - some members might recognise Potassium “Slow K” oral medication)

3) Nitrogen (N) is an essential part of protein in plant cells and a necessary part of chlorophyll. Nitrogen is therefore in the green pigment of plants and aids in overall growth of the leaves.

4) Phosphorus (P) forms part of the nucleoproteins in the plant cells, so it’s important in growing tissue that is actively dividing, promoting the development of seedlings, root growth, flowers, fruit and seeds. (Point - most Australian soils are low in (P) just enough for natives this is why high (P) products are bad for natives.)

5) Potassium (K) is important for developing strong cell walls. This promotes strong stems and non floppy leaves and flowers. This strength in the cell wall aids in the resistance to diseases. (Point - sandy soils in high rainfall areas are likely to be deficient in (K) Potassium.

6) Now we have worked out what the N.P.K. does for plants it brings us to the N.P.K. ratio. In most granular all purpose fertilizer the N.P.K. is 5:5:4 or 20:20:20. Lawn starters are about 3:7:3 as pointed out above more Phosphorus percentage aiding growing tissue that is actively dividing. Once the lawn is established it can handle more nitrogen to get more leaf growth, therefore, the N.P.K. is 12:2:5. This simple example hopefully shows the advantage of the different ratios even for the same plant. 7) Azalea, Camellia and Rhododendron like less (P) so the ratio needs to be about N.P.K. 7:4:7.

Now we’ll look at Bromeliads. It’s

reasonable to say every article has a different opinion. One point that seems to be common is that the liquid fertilizers need to be applied at 1/3 strength. I believe this is a very good way to apply nutrient as the trichomes work well absorbing it into the cell centre. Slow release fertilizers are the other option. Bromeliads are not gross feeders so a slow continuous nutrient supply of N.P.K will serve your plants well. More is not better. There is great debate about one over the other. I feel a common sense approach is that slow release fertilizer that can be absorbed through a good root system is the go (as in the terrestrial broms Cryptanthus, Dyckia, Guzmanias) and for those broms that don’t have a good functioning root system the sprayed-on soluble foliar liquid fertilizers would logically work better. 

The Bromeliad Society of Queensland recommends NPK

14:4:22 application half to third strength. Harold Bellamy uses a soluble Tomato Food NPK 14:7:24 on his tillandsias. This diluted solution is applied every time he is watering / misting, as you can see it’s very close to the QLD recommendation. This is a good example that you can make an informed decision once you understand the basic science of it all.

Note – 1) Excessive use of nitrogen in fertilizers will promote excessive leaf growth and reduce colour in Neoregelia and some other stiff leafed species.  2) Osmocote 14-14-14 slow release fertilizer is referred to in many articles. 3) Growers generally back off the feeding when growth is slow in the cooler months. 4) Remember, more is not better. Bromeliads in the wild manage ok from dust, debris and a few rotting bugs.

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Rafflesia arnoldii - by David Skimmings

Recently my wife and I travelled to Borneo.  Avid travellers would know that they will want to see the attractions the visited country has to offer.  There is always a standard list of “must see” items on each travel itinerary and in addition to these there is also a raft of fauna and flora points of interest. Many animals, birds and plants are rare, endangered and/or are only found in that small pocket of the world. Borneo is certainly one of those places.  Although this article is not about bromeliads I thought society members may be interested in some of the horticultural gems we saw and some of the things we learnt. I was hoping I would be lucky enough to see the parasitic Rafflesia. This plant has the reputation of being the widest flower in the world. It is often called the “corpse plant” which is not to be confused with the Titan Arum which is the tallest flower in the world and is also referred to as a corpse plant. There are 20 types of Rafflesia and 8 species are endemic to Malaysia. The Rafflesia was difficult to place because of its bizarre characteristics; it is rootless, leafless, has no stem, and contains no chlorophyll. The flower is parasitic and is found feeding only on the roots of the Tetrasigma Vine, a woody type of tropical grape vine. This strange flower was discovered in South Western Sumatra in 1818 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles and Dr Joseph Arnold; the Rafflesia Arnoldii was named to honour both naturalists.

We arrived in Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah; this being the northern region of Borneo (the 3rd largest island in the world) and travelled towards Mt Kinabalu and the surrounding district of Ranau. (Apart from being a world heritage national park it may ring a bell to those that have heard about the infamous Sandakan death marches etc.) The first Malaysian world heritage site boasts 4,500 species of flora and fauna and I was hoping that somewhere in the vast mountain range that someone would know of a flower that was out and was not too inaccessible. The Rafflesia flower takes 10 months to grow and bloom with a 3 day “window” to jag a viewing. The plan was to keep asking around the locals till someone has heard something. It’s not as hard as it seems because whilst you have to be in the right area at the right time if one is open, the word soon circulates.  We were heading to Poring Hot Spring which is the location of therapeutic sulphuric mineral hot baths high in the mountains. Incidentally, the name Poring comes from the name of the large, thick local bamboo. Whilst having lunch and a drink or two (which is always on the agenda on the humid equator) we got word that a Rafflesia keithii was out and nearby. Full of excitement and the exchange of a few coins, a deal was struck to get “the guided tour.”

 A local farmer took us to the location down a winding track into the steamy forest. We walked into an area under trees where it was heavily vegetated. It was soggy under foot and the forest floor had no direct sun light. Then there it was, just like that. I was amazed by the colour and texture of the plant. Although it looked like something that came from outer space it seemed rubbery and fungus like. I was also pleased to view the small black “cabbage like” flower bud. (As seen in the picture above) The property owner had erected a bamboo rail to prevent us from accidentally walking on the host vine where the Rafflesia is attached by its “haustorium” by which it gets its nutrient similarly to the mistletoe. Some of these plants grow up to 10 kgs and as expected our plant had the mandatory flies crawling of the stamins and the internal compartment due to the odour of decaying flesh.

 

The fascinating facts about this plant go on and on. It flowers of a night and most plants wither up after a couple of days. In Malaysia, the flower buds are used as medicine to help mothers recover after giving birth. The seeds are spread around by tree shrews.

In conclusion, I hope the conservation efforts are successful in preventing the extinction of this highly endangered plant and it doesn’t join the yearly list of forever lost species across the planet.

Beginners Corner.

Growing Bromeliads Epiphytically in the Garden - put together by David Skimmings

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Extracted from a talk given by Arno King at the Bromeliad Conference, Auckland, March 8th-10th, 2003 some (very condensed) interesting points taken from a large document.  You may like to read the full version on the Internet

 

Why mount plants or grow them epiphytically? There are a few reasons:

Plants grow epiphytically in the wild. It adds interest to your garden and green houses. Adding a third dimension.

  • Some plants like the Aechmea pineliana colour up better (compared to pots) while looking very natural.

  • Quesnelia marmorata is a different plant when you put it on a tree. It forms a clump and each of the individual rosettes starts growing outwards.

  •  Many epiphytic bromeliads tend to flower more profusely. It’s just the natural way and it works in with their natural form.

  • Under markings (see left)

 

Certain plants such as Aechmea orlandiana have to be seen from below to be really appreciated. Various plants, such as Aechmea chantinii, can’t really be appreciated unless you are looking up at them. Mounted on a tree, or mounted on a piece of driftwood, and its right up at eye level and you can see the beautiful markings.

Now, which plants do you use, that’s a big question …

  • First of all think about what’s really hardy for you and if its working well, that may give you an idea of what may grow well epiphytically in your garden or greenhouse. Sometimes it doesn’t and in many cases a plant grows well in a pot or in the ground, but grown epiphytically it doesn’t respond as well.

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 Aechmea recurvata a good plant for the beginner to start with. Stoloniferous plants tend to crawl and climb with the rhizome and attach themselves to a tree, they also don’t congest themselves. There are certain bromeliads that start pupping away and grow into dense masses and this can make them look less than ideal.

When you are mounting your plants

  • Avoid the ‘fruit salad’ where you have one plant of this and one plant of that and one plant of the other.

  • Highlight one or two plants, growing plants epiphytically in a mass looks much better.

  • Once mounted, it usually takes another generation before they really become acclimatised to the changed conditions.

Then there’s the snaky type of plants, such as Aechmea orlandiana, which also tend to send their stolons under the branch and then pop out with a rosette on the other side. There can be some mistakes, like using Aechmea orlandiana in a dry rock wall and the plant send stolons between the stones and only about one in four of the rosettes would pop out into daylight. Finally, some plants like Neoregelia compacta and Aechmea nudicaulis just grow out sideways.

You will have wins and you will have losses, but you have to keep at it. Sometimes things may not work. Experimentation is the key to success. Just think of what you want to look down on eg. neoregelia or a nidularium or which broms. are nice from the underside eg. aechmea, billbergia and vriesea. This will help with what should be up or down.

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