It's great to welcome Spring again, even though we've had an amazingly warm winter. It reached 36 degrees C at our nursery one day in August!

HAWAII: We had a most enjoyable two week trip to Hawaii in August. It was great meeting renowned hybridists Sharon Peterson, David Shiigi & Lisa Vinzant, all of whom were wonderful, friendly, hospitable people. Found some very interesting broms, but it will be several years before they are any available for sale. We visited two islands, Oahu & Hawaii (the Big Island). Loved Waikiki Beach, even though the waves were flat due to it being their Summer. Winter is the time for the big waves. The volcanic activity on the Big Island was fascinating - red hot lava spilling over a cliff into the sea. We drove a four wheel drive to the summit of Maunea Kea, the tallest mountain in the world from the bottom of the sea to the top. We were way up above the clouds, snow was on the ground & did experience a little altitude dizziness & shortness of breath. The sunset was breathtaking.

BROMELIAD WALLS: After the exposure on some of the TV garden shows, bromeliad walls have become very popular. They are a wonderful feature or cover for a blank wall. They can be either in partial shade (neos etc) or shade (guzmanias, vrieseas, canistropsis & other shade lovers). We have recently supplied bromeliads for several walls in Sydney. If you need any information about setting one up, give us a call & we can help you with it.

SHOWS: We will be at the Twin Towns & District Garden Club Annual Flower Show being held at the Civic Centre, Tweed Heads, NSW on Saturday 19th September. Also upcoming is the Bromeliad Extravaganza at the Wavell Heights Community Hall, 175 Edinburgh Castle Road, Wavell Heights, Brisbane. Saturday 10th (8am - 3pm) & Sunday 11th October (9am - 2pm). For further information call Nigel on 07 5485 3515.

FEATURE PLANT: Aechmea 'Del Mar'. We now have this beautiful aechmea growing from tissue culture & can supply quantity. This brom grows well in high light, avoiding the midday sun.

GUZMANIAS PART 3 - Potting Medium & Pots

Potting Medium: Needs to be acidic (5.5 not to exceed 6.2), hold moisture, retain fertilisers & yet drain freely. A commercial cymbidium orchid mix is suitable. A recommended potting mix is composted pine bark combined with peat moss or cocopeat (3 parts bark to 1 part peat moss). Dolomite can be added to the mix to achieve a final pH of approx 6.0.

Pots: Bromeliads need to be snugly potted, with the pot just a little larger than the root area, allowing for a year's growth before potting on to the next size pot & fresh potting mix. Repot in warm weather until the plant fills a 150cm (6") pot.

Next: Propagation, pests & diseases.

Happy growing,

Bob & True Grant

A warm welcome to all our new newsletter subscribers.

The Wavell Heights Show in Brisbane on 7th & 8th March was once again a great success. It was good to meet some of our customers there in person. Next one will be held 10th & 11th October this year.

We will also be at the Orchid Show held at the Oasis Centre on the Gold Coast Saturday 23rd & Sunday 24th May.

You are very welcome to visit our nursery but do need to make an appointment. We also mail order to all states in Australia except Tasmania & now export our bromeliads overseas.

We only have small numbers of some of our collector plants - & do apologise if we have sold out when you place an order. There will always be more available in the future.

If you have trouble opening up the price list (excel document), please let us know, email your address & we'll post one to you.

Also, if you'd like a copy of the previous newsletter with Guzmanias Part 1 - we're happy to email you a copy.

We're working on getting more photos up on our website. You can access photos of many of our broms on www.fcbs.org/pictures.htm  & we're happy to email photos on request.

Feature Bromeliad: Alcantarea imperialis Rubra

We have available the New Zealand clone of this wonderful specimen bromeliad which develops exceptional colour. 

One of the giants, imperialis is considered the signature species of this genus. This sun loving bromeliad grows to a span of more than 1.5 metres & the thick, red, branching flower spike, which reaches up to 3.5 metres tall, produces hundreds of slightly fragrant white flowers. This inflorescence lasts up to 12 months.

The grey/green broad leaves are quite leathery & tough, with a red underside. In full sun, the leaves of Rubra take on a deep red cast. However it is also suitable for shade where the leaves become greener.

It can withstand very cold temperatures as it's native to mountains near Rio de Janiero at an elevation of 1,500 metres - but it does need to be protected from frost.

It can be planted in the garden as a feature plant or in large containers (300mm - 500mm) & requires little fertiliser or water when established.

Special: 'Sapphire Tower' (Puya alpestris)

Seedlings 15cm high  - $15

This clumping bromeliad from the highlands of Chile, where the days are hot & the nights cool, grows terrestrially & on rocks to a height of approx 1 metre. It has a tall flower spike filled with dark turquoise flowers. Loves full sun & tolerates frosts minus 5 degrees to minus 10 degrees C.

Cultivation Notes - Guzmanias Part 2

Water

Keep potting mix moist but not wet & the central tank filled with water which is changed frequently. One heavy watering a week in winter is sufficient & two in summer. This also helps to leach out any accumulated salts. A daily light watering is beneficial if the temperature is over 30 degrees C. It's preferable to water early am in winter, & early am or late pm in summer.

Water quality is important for guzmanias - if possible avoid hard, alkaline or salty water. Alkaline water causes burning in the central leaves of the cup. Hard water can cause spotting of the leaves.

Fertiliser

Guzmanias benefit from a stronger fertilising regime than do most other bromeliads. Opinions differ - but it is generally agreed they benefit from a higher % Potassium (K) then Nitrogen (N) & low Phosphorus (P). High levels of phosphorus can cause tip burn. European growers advocate a ratio of N:P:K of 1 / .11 - .22  /  1.66 - 2.49. Some in Australia recommend even higher levels of Potassium.

All bromeliads require Magnesium (Mg) which must be in the form of magnesium sulphate (MgSO4). This is usually in the slow release fertiliser. It can be added to a soluble fertiliser, if necessary, as Epsom Salts.

There are 3 micro elements that can be harmful to bromeliads & should be no more than trace elements in the fertiliser: Excess Boron (B) causes tip burn. Zinc (Zn) & Copper (Cu) will kill bromeliads at higher levels & toxic levels have been associated with quilling.

Add a slow release fertiliser (eg Osmocote or Nutricote) to the potting mix. Guzmanias love liquid fertilisers - use a high potassium soluble fertiliser at normal indoor plant strength at least fortnightly, preferably weekly throughout the year. This will give you shiny green leaves &  a large colourful inflorescence.  Examples are Phostrogen (14/10/27), Thrive (15/4/26) & Flourish (16/4/25.7)  -  all readily available commercially.

There is a wealth of information about fertilising bromeliads on the net & in books for those who want to delve further into this complex subject . It comes down to what works for you in your climate & what you have the time to do. We keep our ratio of potassium closer to 1.66 due to our higher levels of light here in Northern NSW. 

Having outlined all of the above, we have some 'guzzies' in a shady area of our garden which are quite neglected - & they don't look too bad!

Next Newsletter: Guzmanias - Potting Mix / Pots

Happy growing, 

Bob & True Grant

Wholesale Bromeliads of Australia
Newsletter No 2
November / December 2008

We had a very successful launch of Andrew Maloy's Kiwi vrieseas at our Wavell Heights Show in October. Sales exceeded expectations & continue to do so. 'Sunset', 'Cream' & 'Dusk' are beginning to show their true colours & our stock of two year old plants is diminishing quickly. We will have follow up stock which is six months or more away.

The Show at Wavell Heights, Brisbane, was bigger & better than ever & is now becoming an event on the Brisbane bromeliad calendar. Thanks to all the visitors in the bus from the Gold Coast Bromeliad Society who really made it a day out.

Our bromeliads are loving the warm, humid weather. New release guzmanias coming into flower are 'Etude', 'Yellow Fire' & 'Focus'. Also Vriesea 'Draco' & 'Miranda' are close to flowering. Please contact us for a full list of bromeliads currently available.

Plant of the Month - Alcantarea imperialis Rubra

One of the giants, Alcantarea imperialis Rubra is considered to be the signature species of this genus. This sun loving specimen bromeliad grows to a span of more than 1.5 metres, although it takes up to ten years to get to this size. The thick red flower spike reaches up to 2.5 metres in height, producing hundreds of slightly fragrant white flowers. The leaves are quite leathery & tough & the plant can withstand relatively cool nights as it is native to mountains near Rio de Janiero at an elavation of 1,500 metres. In bright light, the leaves of Rubra take on a deep red cast. This bromeliad will take full sun. The inflorescence can be seen at www.fcbs.org/pictures.htm

Bromeliad Facts – Guzmanias

The genus Guzmania was established by Ruiz & Pavon in 1802 & named in honour of the Spanish pharmacist & naturalist Anastasio Guzman.

Guzmanias are among the most beautiful bromeliads in cultivation. In the last several years, many new & easy to grow hybrids have been produced by Dutch, Belgian & North American nurseries. They are prized for their brightly coloured bracts & long lasting flower spike (inflorescence).

They belong to the subfamily Tillandioides, the tillandsia like bromeliads. They are not as numerous as tillandsias & vrieseas to which they are closely related. There are aprox 185 species & they have entirely spineless leaves.

Habitat

Most guzmanias originate from north - western South America, where they are found in the tropical rainforest, mountainous regions of the Andes in Columbia, Ecuador & northern Peru. The family distribution however extends from Southern Florida through central America (Costa Rica & Panama) & the West Indies down to western Brazil & Bolivia.

Rarely found near sea level, they prefer the moist, cooler, shady conditions from 1000 feet to10,000 feet. The majority are tank type epiphytes growing in the lower areas of the jungle, usually within 25 feet of the ground. The larger species are quite commonly found growing as terrestrials in leaf mould, particularly in forests above 5000 feet. Some species are found growing in 'cloud forest' environments, in which the microclimates include daily periods of fog. In such regions of very high humidity, torrential rains are infrequent, so the plants are watered by condensation on their leaf surface.

Next Newsletter: Growing Guzmanias

Happy growing,

Bob & True Grant