The Orchid Garden

bromeliad growers

Question:

I’m sure there’s at least one bromeliad society in AUland, probably more.  A little poking around ought to yield their address(es).  In addition, The Bromeliad Socitey, founded in the US but always having at least one trustee from both Austrailia and NZ, has many chapters down under, too.

True. There are societies here in Oz and at one time I was a member of the Queensland Brom. Society and have maintained a contact from there. Time is the problem for me. I don’t have much to spare for meetings etc. You really do want to get into them in a big way if you’re talking about seeds.  I personally have 3 bromeliads: Cryptanthus zonatus, C. bivittatus, and Tillandsia cyanea.  All very common, I know, but they’re what I have.  I don’t know what hybrid varieties they are.

I have raised them from seed in the past and at one time had 2 shadehouses and a garden full of plants (~2000 plants; 40-60 varieties) but a forced move to a city flat caused me to give most of them away and send my better plants to "holiday" in a friends commercial orchid nursery. I’ll be getting a small shadehouse soon and the plants will be coming home. With the space requirements, I want to have relatively small plants (Tillandsia’s) so I can maximize usage. Growing them in shadehouses does not seem to be a problem in sub-tropical Queensland. Temperatures just don’t get that low in Queensland. I keep them in a 120 gallon terrarium.  The Crypthanus are planted in the peat-based substrate and the Tillandsia is mounted on a branch in epiphytic fashion.  Temperatures run from 70-84F and humidity is always very high, around 80-95%, but the air isn’t stagnant.  They seem to like things.  I like the bromeliads in a terrarium because many genera thrive in hot humid conditions and the ones I have are tough enough to handle the occasional trampling by the iguana-like lizards I have with them.

The crypts. seem to do rather well in Terrariums and I’ll be trying this myself shortly. The local aquarium plant wholesalers sell crypts as aquarium plants and the plants don’t seem to die underwater; they just don’t grow. Could this be because they live on the rainforest floor and the whole rainforest gets flooded for a number of months each year? I love the idea of having lizards with them. I know some people grow frogs in the plants with funnel-shaped rosettes that hold water. I saw a rather interesting documentary a few years ago that showed how the "poison-arrow frog" (I think thats its name) lived in bromeliad funnels in the rainforest. Amazing! — Keith Rogers Evans & Sutherland Computer Corp.

Pleased to meet another bromeliad lover! Steve Imber.

Response:

just looking for contacts who are interested in the growth and culture of bromeliads for correspondence of ideas, techniques etc.

I’m sure there’s at least one bromeliad society in AUland, probably more.  A little poking around ought to yield their address(es).  In addition, The Bromeliad Socitey, founded in the US but always having at least one trustee from both Austrailia and NZ, has many chapters down under, too. I’m especially interested in seed-raising of Tillandsia’s, Vriesea’s and Guzmania’s but will discuss anything on the topic of bromeliads (though I can’t claim to be very knowledgeable).

You really do want to get into them in a big way if you’re talking about seeds.  I personally have 3 bromeliads: Cryptanthus zonatus, C. bivittatus, and Tillandsia cyanea.  All very common, I know, but they’re what I have.  I don’t know what hybrid varieties they are. I keep them in a 120 gallon terrarium.  The Crypthanus are planted in the peat-based substrate and the Tillandsia is mounted on a branch in epiphytic fashion.  Temperatures run from 70-84F and humidity is always very high, around 80-95%, but the air isn’t stagnant.  They seem to like things.  I like the bromeliads in a terrarium because many genera thrive in hot humid conditions and the ones I have are tough enough to handle the occasional trampling by the iguana-like lizards I have with them.                    Steve Imber.

– Keith Rogers Evans & Sutherland Computer Corp.

Response:

Hi, just looking for contacts who are interested in the growth and culture of bromeliads for correspondence of ideas, techniques etc. I’m especially interested in seed-raising of Tillandsia’s, Vriesea’s and Guzmania’s but will discuss anything on the topic of bromeliads (though I can’t claim to be very knowledgeable). I’m also looking for sources of seeds of the abovementioned types. Any info received will be greatly appreciated!                         Thanks,                         Steve Imber.

Response:

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