Bromeliad Society of New Zealand

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Written by BSNZ Admin

 May 2019
VOL 59 NO 5
Tillandsia rotundata.
Photo by Graeme Barclay
2 3
PRESIDENT’S PAGE
W
e’ve had a lovely summer,
and a sunny warm autumn
in Auckland, but with winter
round the corner, we’ll need to start
preparing our plants for the cold and
wet to come. As I write this, there is
a strong wind and rain in the air, a
feeling we have not been familiar with
for many months. Although we will
be thankful for a good downpour of
water, I am pleased it is only around a
month away from the shortest day, by
which time I imagine the still hot days
will be a wistful memory.
Dave Anderson gave a great
presentation at the April meeting on
Nidulariums. This genus of bromeliads
is often under rated, and
his talk has inspired many
of us to take another look
at this hardy group of
bromeliads, that offers
long lasting bright raised
flowers often throughout
winter.
I’m looking forward to
Alan Cliffe’s presentation
this May meeting, talking
us through problems
bugs may inflict on our
bromeliads, and how to
resolve them.
And bring along your
Neoregelia carcharodon
and hybrids. My rockery
is shark infested, but they
bite too hard to retrieve
(and have grown to close
to metre across) so I won’t
bring those ones, I will
find something though.
See you soon!
Diane Timmins
Bromeliad Journal – May 2019 issue
CONTENTS
President’s Page – Diane Timmins
Society officers, subs and Journal directory
Bromeliad Society April meeting news – Dave Anderson
April ‘Plant of the Month’ – Diane Timmins
‘Kiwi Broms’ Conference Corner – Graeme Barclay
Protecting bromeliads for winter – Dave Anderson
‘Spring Sale’ announcement
Group News
‘Brom Surprise’ – Diane Timmins
‘Dear Doctor Brom’ – Diane Timmins
‘New from New Zealand’ – Graeme Barclay
‘Special Species Spotlight’ – Graeme Barclay
Understanding more about nidulariums – Peter Waters
Bromeliad Society of New Zealand Inc
The opinions expressed in articles or letters in this Journal are the contributors’ own views and
do not necessarily express the views or the policy of the Bromeliad Society of New Zealand.
COMING EVENTS
Please see the Group News section on page 10 for details of meeting times and
venues.
JUNE
2nd South Auckland Group meeting
12th Bay of Plenty Group meeting
16th Tillandsia Group Auckland meeting
25th Society monthly meeting at
Greyfriar’s Hall, corner of Mt Eden
and Windmill roads at 7.30pm. Our
‘Monthly Choice’ competition is
Bigeneric bromeliads. We will be having
our mid-winter supper and our popular
annual Plant Auction..
Front cover: Tillandsia rotundata exhibited in bloom by Peter Waters at ‘Fiesta’
2019. Formerly known as Tillandsia fasciculata var. rotundata – it was elevated to
species status in 1984 due to its glubose or ‘rotund’ shaped inflorescence. It grows
as an epiphyte between 1,400 – 2,500 metres in southern Mexico, Guatemala and
Honduras. Photo and notes by Graeme Barclay.
MAY
26th Northland Group meeting
28th Society monthly meeting at
Greyfriar’s Hall, corner of Mt Eden and
Windmill roads at 7.30pm. Our ‘Monthly
Choice’ competition is Neoregelia
Carcharodon and its hybrids. Alan Cliffe
will be giving us a talk and PowerPoint
presentation about the bugs we find in
our gardens and some of the products
available to combat them.
A very large ‘shark’ in Diane’s rockery –
Neoregelia carcharodon silver hybrid.
4 5
Patron: Patricia Sweeney
President: Diane Timmins 09-415 9066
Vice Presidents: Jocelyn Coyle 09-416 8272
Graeme Barclay 09-817 4153
Secretary: Dave Anderson 09-638 8671
Membership Secretary | Scientific Officer:
Peter Waters 09-534 5616
Treasurer: Pas Southon 09-535 3544
Librarian: Bev Ching 09-576 4595
Committee: Lester Ching 09-576 4595
Alan Cliffe 09-479 1451
David Cowie 09-630 8220
Lucy Timmins 021-078 1102
Editor: Murray Mathieson 09-418 0366
Life Members: Dave Anderson, Patricia Perratt,
Patricia Sweeney, Peter Waters
OFFICERS
MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTION
BROMELIAD JOURNAL
Editorial Committee
Dave Anderson
Murray Mathieson
Peter Waters
Production
Murray Mathieson
Distribution
Dave Anderson
All enquiries and contributions welcome,
please contact any member of the editorial
committee or send to Peter Waters, 22 Half Moon
Rise, Half Moon Bay, Auckland 2012 or email:
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Deadline
For all editorial and advertising, the first
Tuesday of publication month
Display Advertising
Rates are:
Full Page $60.00
Half Page $30.00
Quarter Page $15.00
‘Buy & Swap’
Listings in ‘Buy & Swap’ are FREE for members
of the Society (max. 30 words).
For advertising enquiries and material, please
contact Murray Mathieson ph (09) 418 0366
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New Zealand
Ordinary membership NZ $45.00 ($5.00 discount
if paid before the end of February).
Dual membership (same household) NZ $55.00
($5.00 discount applies as above).
Overseas
NZD $45.00. Send all payments to the Treasurer,
Peter Waters, 22 Half Moon Rise, Half Moon Bay,
Auckland 2012.
Paying electronically
Paying via internet banking: Bromeliad Society
account: 03-0227-0071516-00. Please include your
name as reference. Re full contact information for
new members / changes for existing members,
please email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Correspondence
All general correspondence should be sent to the
Secretary, Bromeliad Society of New Zealand,
P.O. Box 108-168, Symonds Street, Auckland,
New Zealand. The opinions expressed in letters
or articles in the Journal are the contributors’ own
views and do not necessarily express the views or
policy of the Bromeliad Society of New Zealand
Inc.
Society Website
www.bsnz.org – For past Journal archive –
growing tips – articles – sales information
F
ollowing the Society’s AGM,
president Diane opened the
monthly meeting.
Peter Waters took us through the
‘Show and Tell’ plants. First up was a
clump of four plants of Vriesea sucrei
with the owner wanting to know if the
competition rules identified this as a
colony? Lastly, the species Tillandsia
tectorum var. tectorum was brought in
for identification.
Dave Anderson then gave an
informative talk on the genus
Nidularium.
The special raffle prizes this month
went to Rebecca Morrissey and Peter
Wake. The door prizes went to Eric
Billington, Betty Goss and Claire
Roberts.
COMPETITIONS
• Open Flowering: First Peter Coyle
with a Guzmania monostachia.
Peter was also second with
Nidularium procerum ‘Menescal’.
In the competition were Nidularium
innocentii var. paxianum, procerum
and Vriesea ‘Pacific Bling’.
• Open Foliage: Peter Coyle was
first with Aechmea orlandiana (white
form). Second was Don Brown with
Vriesea (Tasman hybrid). In the
competition were Vriesea ‘Chestnut
Wave’ hybrid x ‘After Glow’, ‘Jaco
Lemon Pepper’, ‘Highway Beauty’
and Vriesea ‘Ragtime’ hybrid.
Bromeliad Society April
Meeting News – Notes by Dave Anderson
• Tillandsia: Lynette Nash was first
with Tillandsia crocata – a beautifully
mounted clump of plants with 20-
30 flowers in full bloom. Second
was Dave Anderson with Tillandsia
superinsignis. Other plants on the table
were Tillandsia capitata ‘Yellow’,
heteromorpha and ‘Enano Latifolia’.
Cont’d P6
First in Tillandsia:
Tillandsia crocata – Lynette Nash
PHOTO DIANE TIMMINS
6 7
Cont’d from P5– Bromeliad Society Meeting News
• Neoregelia: First Nancy
Murphy with Neoregelia
‘Margaret’. Second was
Peter Coyle with Neoregelia
‘Lorena Lector’. Also in the
competition was Neoregelia
ampullacea x ‘Wee Willy’,
‘Absolutely Fabulous’,
chlorosticta ‘Marble Throat’
hybrid, ‘Hannibal Lector’
F2, ‘Totara Rhubarb’,
(‘Kiwi Regalia’ x ‘Tiger
Cat’) x ‘Grace’s Avalanche’
and ‘Manoa Beauty’.
Named Monthly Plant
(Nidularium): First was
Peter Coyle with Nidularium
procerum ‘Menescal’.
Second was David Goss
with Nidularium innocentii
var. paxianum. Other
plants on the table were
Nidularium innocentii,
innocentii var. striatum and
procerum ‘Menescal’.
The Plant of the Month
went to Peter Coyle with
Neoregelia ‘Lorena Lector’.
Congratulations to all the
winners.
NEXT MEETING: Tues
28th May.
First in Named Monthly Plant (Nidularium):
Nidularium procerum ‘Menescal’ – Peter Coyle
PHOTO DAVE ANDERSON
First in Open Foliage: Aechmea orlandiana
(white form) – Peter Coyle
PHOTO DIANE TIMMINS
First in Open Flowering: Guzmania
monostachia – Peter Coyle
PHOTO DIANE TIMMINS
At our April meeting…
P Neoregelia ‘Lorena Lector’ – grown by Peter Coyle
erhaps Hannibal Lecter was
getting in touch with his
feminine side when he fathered
this magnificent beauty.
Far prettier than its menacing pollen
parent, Neoregelia ‘Lorena Lector’
is a brassy blonde with lipstick pink/
red bleeding through the glossy leaves
from the tips inwards.
Peter Coyle brought in a number of
spectacular plants for us to enjoy at
the April meeting and his beautiful
Neoregelia ‘Lorena Lector’ won plant
of the month.
Along with a beautiful Aechmea
orlandiana, and Nidularium innocentii,
his Guzmania monostachia with a
fascinating bloom also attracted a lot
of attention. Interestingly, this small
epiphytic green bromeliad has been
noted to use CAM photosynthesis.
That is, it can completely close its
stomata during daytime to reduce
water evaporation when in an arid
environment. It collects and stores
CO2 at night, which is then used during
the daytime photosynthesis process.
Neoregelia ‘Lorena Lector’ – Peter Coyle
PHOTO DIANE TIMMINS
First in Neoregelia:
Neoregelia ‘Margaret’ – Nancy Murphy
PHOTO DAVE ANDERSON
Second in Open Foliage: Vriesea (Tasman hybrid) –
Don Brown | PHOTO DAVE ANDERSON
8 9
– Graeme Barclay
‘KIWI BROMS’ CONFERENCE CORNER – APRIL 2021
Facebook April Rare Plant Auction
I am delighted to report we had an unbelievable result
from our online Facebook auction fundraiser last month.
We had nine very generous members who donated a
total of 26 broms, the end result was a fantastic $6,720
added to our conference fund! Some of the bidding and
plant prices obtained was incredible, which is testament
to the quality of donated plants and also the good
following and charitable attitude of collectors that our
online auctions have engendered around the country. If
we continue attaining such great results, it will certainly
allow us to tailor both a very attractive and hopefully
affordable conference package for everyone to enjoy.
So, THANK YOU once again to those members who
donated plants and placed bids – and congratulations to
those who ended up happy buyers.

So we can now update our fundraising graphic from
the last total in the March Journal of $14,520. With the
$6,720 from the online auction, we can add another $170
from the March and April meeting plant sales, so our new
fundraising grand total is $21,410. This means we have
now reached our initial ‘Goal’ of $21,000 with almost two
years to go until Conference – amazing! But we won’t stop
there, as mentioned above, the more funds we can raise
beforehand, the better it will be for everyone come April
2021.

‘Golden Broms’ Bromeliad Conference
– October 2019
If you are feeling like a holiday in the Gold Coast in October, it’s not too late to
register for the ‘Golden Broms’ 20th Australasian Bromeliad Conference being
held at Sea World Resort in Surfer’s Paradise, October 17th-20th. Registration is
$350 per person until June 30th, after which it will increase to $375 – it includes
all seminars, banquet, garden tours, plant show and sale and some meals over
the four days. Go to www.goldenbroms.com for the full programme details and
registration form.
T
his year, there has been the
ongoing ‘climate change’
around the world and here in
NZ, we have certainly had a distinct
change to the climate. In particular
the Tasman Sea where most of our
weather comes from has been several
degrees above the average historical
temperatures over the last few months.
Regardless we will still have to prepare
our bromeliads for the cooler wetter
weather that we can expect, although
the usual odd frost does not appear on
the weather forecasts over the next 3
months. Bearing in mind that over
much of Auckland, it is not the rare
frost that does the damage but rather
the cooler wetter rain through June,
July and August.
The following are some things that we
can do for our plants:
• Clean any foreign matter out of the
cups using long handled tweezers etc.
• Cut away any dead or yellowing
leaves.
• Clean out any dead leaves or grass
which may have lodged in amongst the
leaves.
• Pull out any weeds growing in and
around the pots.
• Check the potting mix to see that it
is not too decayed or broken down.
Replace the mix as need be.
• Watering: No hard and fast rules
can be set down for watering during
the cold weather but it is important to
remember that more plants are lost due
to OVERWATERING in winter.
• Water in the morning if possible.
Keep the soil only SLIGHTLY moist
and the leaves dry during extreme cold
spells.
• Tillandsias: If possible, turn the
bulbous tillandsias planted on bark in
an upside-down position so that the
plant will not become waterlogged
during any wet weather. Water other
tillandsias VERY, VERY sparingly.
• Bromeliads in outside gardens:
If, through lack of space, some plants
have to be left out in the open, try to
arrange them in the most protected
spot but not pushed into a damp
corner which gets no sun. Where frost
is expected, cover with frost cloth as
appropriate preferably supporting the
cloth above the plant foliage with wire
frames or similar.
• When plants are outside there is
a difference between sitting the pot
on the ground and sinking the pot in
the ground. If the pot is sunk into the
ground the plant will be kept warmer
and will be more moist.
Protecting bromeliads for winter in NZ
– Notes by Dave Anderson
A note for your diary…
OUR ANNUAL ‘SPRING SALE’ WILL BE ON AGAIN IN OCTOBER.
Sunday October 13th…
at the Mt Eden War Memorial Hall, Mt Eden Rd, Balmoral, Auckland.
10 11
Northland Bromeliad Group
– Nancy Peters
Our meeting on 28th April 2019 was held
at the home of Lesley Mackintosh in
Kamo. President Adona thanked Lesley
for hosting our group to her home and
her extensive collection of tillandsias. 31
members were present with one visitor.
‘Show and Tell’ winners for April:
1st Graeme Smithyman – Neoregelia
‘Jeffrey Block’, 2nd = Angelica Pohle
– Tillandsia ionantha, 2nd = Pat Vendt –
Vriesea ‘Astrid’.
Pat Vendt gave us an insight to two lesser
known bromeliad genera:
• Orthophytum: This genus is a native of
Brazil and there are less than 20 species
of the spiny but brittle leaved plants. They
are great for rockeries.
• Deuterocohnia: This plant grows in
mounds up to 1 metre across and comes
from the foothills of the Andes mountains
in Bolivia 1,200 to 2,000 metres above
sea.
Raffles were drawn and we had afternoon
tea before dodging the heavy rain showers
to load our cars and head for our next
garden at Lynley Churches.
Next meeting: 26th May at 1.30pm at
Ashwina Patel’s garden 17 Rodrick Place,
Onerahi, and then to: Pene McKenzie’s,
76 Church Street, Onerahi, and then on
to Rea Vinke’s, 54 Kokich Crescent,
Onerahi.
Group News
Eastern Bay of Plenty Bromeliad
& Orchid Group – Jenny Briggs
On Sunday 28th April we met in Ohope for
a garden and art ramble followed by our
meeting, afternoon tea, competitions and
plant sales.
• Leonie and David Sheaff’s large
seaside garden delighted all with grand
palms providing structure above various
drifts of plantings including grasses,
yuccas, ferns and urns. In contrast, native
trees provided a shaded hillside scene of
meandering paths forming a ‘Pooh Bear’
woods with lots of interesting nooks and
views over the outdoor entertaining areas,
other plantings and terraced edible plots.
Colourful clumps of broms featured
throughout the garden.
• Bob Nicol’s smaller garden featured
several cycads complimenting the many
broms, succulents and other plants
including a fine specimen of the Dipsis
baronii clustering type palm. A large
potted bougainvillea and many other
flowering plants added pops of colour
both in the garden and in Bob’s admired
covered outdoor entertaining area.
• David Poole Art Studio on Harbour
road with his 3D multi-media art,
exhibiting various sculpting forms
including the stunning ‘elongated people’
theme where the use of dried palm petioles
embellished in fine detail with a variety of
natural and other materials, wowed us. A
huge cycad featured in the garden.
Jude Fairbrother hosted our meeting
in her seaside garden, framed with
pohutukawas, citrus and other trees and
underplanted with a variety of plants
for all seasons. A flowering vine over
the pergola plus mounted tillandsias and
other broms caught the eye along with
interesting garden curios.
President Ross Fergusson welcomed
30 members and visitors including
Don Brown from the South Auckland
Bromeliad Group.
‘Show and Tell’: Barbara Rogers had
some cuttings from her huge Frangipani
tree to give away with propagating advice.
Ross presented Catopsis berteroniana, an
epiphyte from Brazil that naturally grows
high in trees and also has carnivorous
features. Its powdery chalky leaves reflect
infrared light, becoming invisible to
insects who collide with then fall down
into the central leaf urn for subsequent
digestion. Ross also showed us three
Quesnelia plants.
Competition Results:
• Plant of the month – Aechmea:
1st Alison Iremonger with Aechmea
fasciata, 2nd Alison again with Aechmea
recurvata mounted on palm petioles, 3rd
Ross Fergusson with Aechmea fasciata x
nudicaulis.
• Foliage: 1st Ross Fergusson
with Quesnelia ‘Rafael Oliveira’,
2nd Alison Iremonger with Neoregelia
‘Gespacho’, 3rd Alison with xCryptbergia
‘Red Burst.’
• Flowering: 1st Ross Fergusson with
Catopsis berteroniana, 2nd Alison
Iremonger with Neoregelia carolinae var.
tricolor, 3rd Elaine Binns with Aechmea
gamosepala.
• Tillandsia: 1st Ross with Tillandsia
duratii mounted on driftwood.
• Orchid: 1st Alison Iremonger with
‘Dancing Lady.’
Next meeting: Sunday 19th May at
12.45pm in the Kingsley Scout Hall,
James Street. Enquires to Maureen
Moffatt 07-322 2276 or Judy Lewis 07-
315 4686.
Bay of Plenty Bromeliad Group
– Lynley Breeze
At our April meeting we held a fun
auction to raise funds to put towards the
Bay of Plenty group donation for the
‘Kiwi Broms’ conference to be held in
Auckland in 2021. The auction attracted
a huge range of garden related offerings
such as tools, bromeliads, non bromeliad
plants, pots, garden ornaments and garden
produce. Our auctioneers Roger Allen and
Dean Mormon were well informed about
the plants and very entertaining. We ran
over an hour late, and raised a record
amount for a fun auction. Many bargains
were celebrated. We ran so late that we
had to postpone the auction of the garden
books to another date.
Roger Allen is seeking new sun tolerant
plants for the bromeliad area at the
Quarry. The intense heat and drought has
meant that many bromeliads have died,
often without providing pups.
We did not have the usual monthly
competitions, but the results of our annual
competition are available:
• Tillandsia Competition:
1st Audrey Hewson with 38 points
2nd Kevin Pritchard with 22 points
3rd Dean Morman with 18 points
• Open competition:
1st Dean Morman with 52 points
2nd Ralph Starck with 38 points
3rd Kevin Pritchard with 14 points
• Plant of the month:
1st Dean Morman with 42 points
2nd Kevin Pritchard with 26 points
3rd Ralph Starck with 16 points
• Novice Section:
1 entry by 1 member, Jan Missen
Next meeting: 12th June, 12.30pm at the
Yacht Club, Sulphur Point. Dean Mormon
and Ralph Starck will discuss and answer
questions about vrieseas. Plant of the
month: Vriesea
Cont’d P12
12 13
In this new semi-regular column we aim to be a little ‘off-beat’ and show you
some different perspectives on bromeliads. We will be trying to bring you
interesting snippets that show broms in unexpected locations and how they
can inspire and even become part of urban works of art.
South Auckland Bromeliad Group
– Margaret Flanagan
Our new president, Hawi Winter, asked
some members to showcase bromeliads
that were garden-friendly for our new
members. He had a slide show of some of
the plants.
Norma Cook brought her oldest
bromeliad, Neoregelia ‘Bronze Leaf’
which she purchased in 1977. It seems to
have struggled, and remains a clump of
only four plants.
Margaret Kitcher showed us two clumps
of Neoregelia ‘Chiquita-Linda’. Both
clumps were very prolific, but one clump
was redder than the other, showing the
difference in light exposure. She also
featured Aechmea ‘Karamea Topsy’
which seemed to be identical to Aechmea
‘Suenios’.
John Muddiman showed us varieties of
Aechmea orlandiana which grow well as
epiphytes. It seems that the hybrids were
better than the original. He also showed
an Aechmea correia-araujoi which looks
great in a hanging basket. John also had
a Quesnelia lateralis, well known for its
stunning and repeated flowering.
Margaret Flanagan had one of the original
bromeliads that she started her collection
with, Neoregelia correia-araujoi. This
plant performs well in the garden as
it can cope with full sun and gets to an
impressive size.
Judy Graham had what she believes is
the best tillandsia for a garden, Tillandsia
punctulata. It flowers for most of the year,
is cold-hardy, grows quickly, is a very
successful epiphytic plant and it is happy
to put down roots in a fork of a tree.
John Mitchell had his very impressive
Tillandsia eizii on show, and he told us
that it is not a fussy plant, as it has been
growing at his place in a tree for a good
length of time. The flower measured 1.6m
long. He sprouted the seed in 2006 and it
flowered for him last year, so you need to
be patient!
Hawi Winter showed a brom ‘that no-one
can destroy’ – Aechmea gamosepala and
some of its named cultivars. Impressive
flowers, hardy, terrestrial or epiphytic.
His second plant was Neoregelia ‘Apricot
Beauty’, an ‘oldie’ but a ‘goodie’.
Everyone should have these two!
A thoroughly enjoyable member-focused
meeting and we all learnt something.
Raffle winners:
1st M. Healey, 2nd P. Southon and
3rd H. Winter
Winners of the Skite Table:
1st M. Flanagan, 2nd and 3rd D. Brown
Next meeting: June 2nd in the Drury
School Hall at 1:30pm. The presentation
will be Hawi Winter’s ‘Inhabitants of
Bromeliads’, a slide show with stunning
macro photos
Tillandsia Group – Auckland
– Isla McGowan
Bev and Lester Ching hosted our April
meeting on a lovely autumn day with 16
existing and 2 new members. We had
some interesting plants to keep an eye
on e.g. Tillandsia rubella that had many
more pups than usual.
Our next Tillandsia Group meeting has
been deferred a week, and is now Sunday
16th June at Peter and Jocelyn Coyle’s
‘Totara Waters’ in Whenuapai at 1.30pm.
We are featuring tillandsias beginning
with the letter ‘S’ . There are lots of them
so please bring them all along.
Cont’d from P11 – Group News
Broms at the zoo? Why and where?
Zoos are evolving. Auckland Zoo now
aims to display a diverse range of plants
that complement many different precincts
and animal groupings. They also use the
technical term is endemism (the ecological
word meaning that a plant or animal lives in
a specific location or habitat type). Several
continents are currently covered this way at
the zoo. A variety of bromeliads, including
impressive alcantareas, are growing boldly
and colourfully in the South American
habitat – along the pathway that leads from
the alligators to the orangutans and even
inside the alligator enclosure.
Brightening up life for the alligators
and orangutans at Auckland Zoo…
PHOTO COURTESY OF AUCKLAND ZOO
PHOTO DIANE TIMMINS
PHOTO DIANE TIMMINS
By Diane Timmins
14 15
New from New Zealand
– By Graeme Barclay
Our plant this month is a new midi neoregelia from our champion local
mini neo hybridiser.
Neoregelia ‘Tara Magic Tiger’
Diana Holt – 2013 / Reg: February 2018
M
ature, small rosette to 15cm.
diameter x 14cm. high.
Slightly flared leaves with
close clumping pups. In strong light,
golden yellow foliage cross-banded /
spotted russet red plus small red tips.
The parents are Neoregelia ‘Knight
Sprite’ x Neoregelia ‘Ed Prince’.
This new “midi” was made with a
seed parent being one of Diana’s first
hybrids. It is always pleasing to use
your own hybrids in further second
generation crosses, as one can fully
appreciate the history and special
traits associated with them. Neoregelia
‘Knight Sprite’ comes from a cross
Diana made back in 2006 of Neoregelia
‘Tiger Cub’ x ‘Oeser’s Black Knight’,
both well known classic minis based
on Neoregelia ampullacea parentage.
Adding the Neoregelia carcharodon
genes in the background of the pollen
parent, Neoregelia ‘Ed Prince’ (Neo.
‘Punctate Red’ x ‘Hannibal Lecter’),
has “upsized” Diana’s Neo. ‘Knight
Sprite’, while also
adding more defined
banding and an upright
leaf shape. With only one
plant being registered
from this cross to date,
the result is a very nice,
bright, golden plant,
that accentuates the red-
brown zonations on the
golden background. Like
most of Diana’s other
neo creations, this one
needs high, consistent
light and minimal careful
feeding to allow the
golden-yellow rosette to
develop and colour up
well.
Diagnosis: We can’t do better than quote
from an article by Graeme Barclay that
appeared in our February 2017 Journal.
‘Unfortunately, this spectacular plant is not
easy to grow well and is relatively rare in
New Zealand. In our temperate climate with
cool winters, I have found it suffers from
regular lower leaf cold-spotting and leaf-
tip die-back. To grow a specimen in even
reasonable condition to a size of around a
metre in diameter is a definite challenge.
It must be housed in a warm and preferably
humid greenhouse that is heated in winter.
The mix must be kept well fertilised and
the plant regularly watered or misted to
prevent the leaves from drying out, as they
are extremely thin and delicate. Even with
greenhouse heating to 9 degrees minimum
during winter nights, I still suffered some
cold damage on my plant. However, there
are two things that may have been a factor.
Firstly, while I used sufficient granular
fertiliser in the mix, I did not regularly
foliar feed it. Secondly, I always watered
it with town supply water, not rain water.
It is well known that some sensitive
guzmania and vriesea species prefer pure
rainwater to grow well, so I will try these
two things on the emerging pups and see if
it makes a difference.’

Added comment from Graeme Barclay:
‘I would say a lack of humidity/water (being
kept indoors) or water quality is more likely
cause of the leaf tip die-back in this case,
as opposed to a temperature issue. Many
species of guzmanias seem to be very fussy
and only do well with pure rain water.
Dear
Doctor Brom…
Dear Doctor Brom…
Q: I bought my Guzmania ‘Madam Omer
Morobe’ in February at the ‘Fiesta’.
I know it’s fussy. I’ve kept it inside.
Is the damage it’s showing now due to
cold or too much or not enough water?
It’s so pretty.
16 17
It’s been a while since we looked at a special clone of Aechmea nudicaulis.
This is a new cultivar for us in New Zealand, also with a brand new name.
Aechmea nudicaulis var. nudicaulis (1997-0314A)
- now Aechmea ‘Parana’
Article and photos by Graeme Barclay
As
with many other special
Aechmea nudicaulis cultivars,
this plant hails from the
Mata Atlantica (Atlantic Forest) in
south-eastern Brazil. It was found in
the wild by well-known American
bromeliad collectors Wally Berg and
John Anderson. They collected it on
August 7th, 1997, while exploring in
forest near the small towns of Morretes
and Matinhos in the southern state of
Parana, just south of the major city
Sao Paulo.
How do I know the exact collection
date? The answer is in the ‘1997-
0314A’ number that is on the original
tag and also noted above. When wild-
collected plants are submitted to Marie
Selby Botanical Gardens (MSBG)
in Sarasota, Florida, (home of the
Bromeliad Identification Center), they
are given an identification number,
preceded by the year of collection.
This number identifies when, where
and by whom the plant was collected
in habitat. After I imported this clone
from Peter Tristram in Australia in
2015, I waited for it to bloom and
then sent photos with the identification
number to MSBG, hopeful for
information on its history. The ‘Plant
Records Keeper’ there, Shawn
McCourt, promptly replied with the
above collection information from
their database. This was great to know
and shows the importance of keeping
names and numbers on our plant tags.
Being an unusual looking cultivar,
it was sent to MSBG by Wally Berg,
but interestingly does not appear to
have been named or widely distributed
in cultivation to date. Over the years,
Peter Tristram obtained a number
of species cultivars from the MSBG
collection, often by swapping plants
sent from Australia for study and
preservation. This lovely, large clone
of Aechmea nudicaulis was one of
his acquisitions in 2012, of which he
dutifully recorded and kept the Selby
number on the tag in his nursery. Now
that we have it outside of MSBG in our
private collections, it should be given
a cultivar name and registered with the
BSI for future identification purposes.
Therefore, it will now be known as
Aechmea ‘Parana’ and is registered
with the BCR as such.
This lovely plant is a clone of Aechmea
nudicaulis var. nudicaulis, with the
elongated inflorescence, bunched
scarlet scape bracts and robust, tubular
form. It grows large to 40-50cm tall,
propagating its offsets on short, thick
stolons to form a sturdy clump. In high
light the undersides of the leaves blush
pink, traversed with defined silver
banding, while the upper leaf surface
stays plain yellow-green, producing
a lovely contrast. The toothy leaves
also develop very noticeable, thin, red
margins, which accentuates the other
leaf colours, creating a unique and
stunning spectacle. In lower light, the
leaves are a marbled olive or light-
green colour and the red leaf margins
tend to fade, but are still noticeable.
The photos below are great examples
of how the same plant can look, simply
being grown under different light
levels.
Aechmea ‘Parana’ is very hardy and
relatively quick growing like most
other clones of Aechmea nudicaulis.
It is highly suitable for epiphytic
mounting in full sun positions where
the myriad of colours and silver
banding fully develops to await the
stunning, red and yellow blooms at
Christmas time.
Aechmea
‘Parana’ young
pup showing
off its colours
and red leaf
edges.
PHOTO GRAEME
BARCLAY
Aechmea ‘Parana’
blooming clump.
PHOTO GRAEME BARCLAY
Aechmea ‘Parana’
in lower light.
PHOTO COURTESY
OF MARIE SELBY
BOTANICAL GARDENS
18 More photos on P20 19
T
he genus Nidularium consists
of 46 species of medium sized
bromeliads which are endemic
to the Atlantic Forest, and stretch
from the very south to Bahia in north-
eastern Brazil. As a general rule they
live in the understorey of the forest,
although some can be found in sandy
coastal areas on the perimeter and
others range up to 2000 metres at
the edge of the cloud forest. Many
are terrestrial and others, growing
epiphytically, inhabit the lower limbs
of the trees. In cultivation they grow
very satisfactorily in shady places and
like plenty of water, although many
can also tolerate quite a lot of sun.
The main horticultural asset is the
brilliantly coloured primary bracts
which most display at flowering and
the length of time these are in colour,
which is often for months.
In 2000, Elton Leme, the authority
on Brazilian bromeliads, produced
a monograph on the genera of the
Nidularioideae. This included
Nidularium, Wittrockia, Canistrum,
and the new genera, Canistropsis
and Edmundoa. Prior to this time
the rules separating the genera were
Understanding more about
the genus Nidularium…
– Peter Waters
quite arbitrary and included such
details as the presence or absence of
appendages on the petals. Nidularium
had no appendages, and this presented
anomalies eg. Wittrockia amazonica
had appendages but looked much the
same as Nidularium innocentii. Leme
looked at all the species in a new light
and sorted them out on more obvious
appearance attributes. Many of the
previous nidulariums now joined the
new genus Canistropsis. The main
difference now is that nidularium
primary bracts hold water, up to 100
mils in some cases, while canistropsis
primary bracts don’t.
When he studied the nidulariums he
went to all the habitats of the known
species and collected examples and
together with some new ones he
formed the opinion that they could be
grouped naturally in accordance with
the colour of the petals. He divided
them into three initial groups, the
blue complex, red complex and white
complex. Since 2000 there has only
been one new nidularium added to
the genus and this must surely be an
indication of the thoroughness that
Leme devoted to the task.
The blue complex consists of 27
species and is the largest group. For
practical reasons it has been divided
into four subcomplexes.
Subcomplex (a): N. linehamii, N.
ferrugineum, N. bicolor, N. fulgens, N.
atalaiaense, N. ferdinando-coburgii.
Subcomplex (b): N. utriculosum, N.
jonesianum, N. scheremetiewii, N.
kautskyanum, N. mangaratibense, N.
rosulatum, N. fradense.
Subcomplex (c): N. bocainense, N.
marigoi, N. antoineanum, N. meeanum.
Subcomplex (d: N. catarinense,
N. azureum, N. angustifolium, N.
procerum, N. viridipetalum, N.
serratum, N. cariacicaense, N.
angustibracteatum, N. amorimii, N.
alvimii.
The red complex has only 7 species
and has been divided into two
subcomplexes.
Subcomplex (a): N. corallinum,
N. purpureum, N. itatiaiae, N.
altimontanum, N. apiculatum.
Subcomplex (b): N. rutilans, N.
espirito-santense.
The white complex of 12 species is
divided into three subcomplexes.
Subcomplex (a): N. rubens, N.
albiflorum, N. organense, N. innocentii,
N. campo-alegrense.
Subcomplex (b): N. picinguabense, N.
longiflorum, N. campos-portoi.
Subcomplex (c): N. amazonicum,
N. kris-greeniae, N. rolfianum, N.
minutum.
After Dave Anderson’s informative talk on nidulariums at our April meeting
we have received several requests for some printed reference material
on this interesting genus. We decided to reprint this edited, shortened,
version of an article by Peter Waters which appeared in our May 2012
Journal. Please refer to the May 2012 Journal for the full article and to
see a wide range of Peter’s photos. If members do not have access to our
older Journals and would like to see the full article, please email the editor:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to arrange for an electronic copy.
Nidulariums growing right now in Dave Anderson’s
Auckland garden…
Clockwise starting in right hand corner:
3 light purple coloured rosettes – Nidularium ‘Leprosa’
1 variegated plant – Nidularium ‘Bahia Variegated’
1 plant next to palm trunk – Nidularium amazonicum
1 plant light green/purple leaves – Nidularium innocentii
5 small plants reddish coloured leaves – Nidularium altimontanum
1 larger plant leaves green on top red underneath – Nidularium innocentii
1 larger plant close to palm trunk – Nidularium innocentii
5 red large flowering plants across back – Nidularium ‘Oddball’
Lastly 6 red bracted plants with dark green leaves – Nidularium rutilans
20
Nidularium cariacicaense
Nidularium albiflorum
Nidularium organense
Nidularium longiflorum
A selection of Nidularium
species photos from
Peter Waters…
Nidularium bicolor
Nidularioum atalaiaense
Nidularium utriculosum

Read more ...

Details

Written by BSNZ Admin

July 2019
VOL 59 NO 7
Neoregelia watersiana. This new species was discovered in the Atlantic forest near Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil in 2009. It was described by the leader of the exploring group, Elton Leme, in
2013 and named in honour of a kiwi member of the group, our own Peter Waters. The plant
was found on the edge of a forest, about 10 metres above the ground and high on a tree
trunk, at the beginning of the track to Mt Morumbeca.
Photos: Neoregelia watersiana by Graeme Barclay. Brazilian locations by Jeanette Waters.
2 3
Bromeliad Journal – July 2019 issue
CONTENTS
President’s Page – Diane Timmins
Bromeliad Society June meeting news – Dave Anderson
June ‘Plant of the Month’ – John Mitchell
Novice table rules for our August monthly meeting
Nothing has changed… – from the ‘Bromeliaceae’ archive
The importance of labelling – Brenda Wegner
‘Dear Doctor Brom’ – Diane Timmins
Yates fertiliser available at monthly meetings
‘Brom Surprise’ – Diane Timmins
‘Spring Sale’ reminder
Group News
‘New from New Zealand’ – Graeme Barclay
Society officers, subs and Journal directory
‘Special Species Spotlight’ – Graeme Barclay
Bromeliad Society of New Zealand Inc
The opinions expressed in articles or letters in this Journal are the contributors’ own views and
do not necessarily express the views or the policy of the Bromeliad Society of New Zealand.
COMING EVENTS
Please see the Group News section starting on page 13 for details of Group meeting
times and venues.
AUGUST
4th South Auckland Group meeting
11th Auckland Tillandsia Group meeting
14th Bay of Plenty Group meeting
27th Society monthly meeting at
Greyfriar’s Hall, corner of Mt Eden
and Windmill roads at 7.30pm. Our
‘Monthly Choice’ competition is our
special ‘Novice Table’ (see rules on Page
7). We will also feature discussions on
well known bromeliad genera.
Front cover: Neoregelia watersiana – See front cover notes for background.
Neoregelia watersiana is closely related to Neoregelia kautskyi and Neoregelia
gavionensis, but has very attractive blue-edged petals, as well as other differences.
Photo by Graeme Barclay.
JULY
21st Eastern Bay of Plenty Group
meeting
23rd Society monthly meeting at
Greyfriar’s Hall, corner of Mt Eden and
Windmill roads at 7.30pm. Our ‘Monthly
Choice’ competition is hanging baskets.
We will also enjoy a PowerPoint
presentation from the Bromeliad Society
International (BSI) archives.
28th Northland Group meeting
PRESIDENT’S PAGE
T
he Bromeliad Society
International (BSI) has recently
been upgrading its archives, and
the resulting library includes a number
of PowerPoint presentations that we
hope to share with you at our monthly
meetings from time to time. The first
one will be shown at our July 23rd
meeting.
Once again, It will be a treat to see
hanging baskets on display on the July
‘Monthly Choice’ table. Please bring
yours along for us all to enjoy.
We had a wonderful result for our
annual ‘Rare Plant Auction’ at our June
meeting. Thank you to everyone who
participated by supplying or buying
plants, and also to our charming and
talented auctioneer – Peter Coyle.
And a huge thank you also to our
kitchen crew, who served, and tidied
away the delicious mid-winter supper
everyone brought along to share.
A lovely social night enjoyed by all
– and a great fundraiser. This auction
provided some lively bidding resulting
in a record sales amount – with an end
profit for our Society of over $800.
Our August meeting is shaping up to
be a great night for newer members.
A panel of knowledgeable bromeliad
enthusiasts will each give a brief talk
on a genus they are familiar with,
so that you can learn some of the
basic differences between them, and
recommendations for what special
care is required.
August will also be an opportunity for
our newer members to bring in plants
for the ‘Monthly Choice’ competition
table. It’s the meeting where we feature
our novice category. If you have been a
member for less than 3 years, you are
able to bring in your plants, and only
other new members will be with you
on the special novices’ table. Have
a look at what you’ve got, and bring
in something that is looking good.
This novice category has simple rules
printed on page 7 of this Journal.
Meantime, I hope your precious broms
are as snuggly warm as they can be
these chilly nights.
Take care,
Diane Timmins
4 More photos on P6 5
P
resident Diane chaired the
meeting and welcomed everyone
including two new members on
a cool winter’s night. She reminded
us that the mid-winter supper would
follow our annual Rare Plant Auction.
The Society has the Spring Sale coming
up in mid-October and Diane asked if
anyone knows of a sign maker they
can recommend to construct some new
signs. Finally, we are always looking
for articles to put in our monthly
Journal.
Peter Waters then took us through the
‘Show and Tell’ plants. First up was a
‘grass type’ tillandsia with the owner
wanting to know the plant name. Peter
said that there are many different grass
type tillandsia species but could not
identify it further. Next was a large
tightly quilled plant that had been
grown in a dry situation for a long
time – what to do? It was suggested
that the plant be left to soak in water
for a few days before trying to gently
prise the leaves apart. A plant for
display was the species Vriesea ruschi
that throws its pups on long stolons
that are quite unusual. A small form
of the species Aechmea tayoensis that
had been purchased at a local nursery
was displayed. It had been grown from
tissue culture in NZ and was flowering
even though the leaves were only
250mm long compared to it normally
flowering with the plant 1.5m in
diameter.
Peter Coyle was the auctioneer once
again for our annual Rare Plant
Bromeliad Society June Meeting News
– Notes by Dave Anderson. Photos by Diane Timmins.
Auction and what a wonderful job he
did – making it a very entertaining
event.
The special raffle prize this month was
won by David Cowie. The door prizes
went to Pas Southon, Peter Waters and
Rebecca Morrissey.

COMPETITIONS
Open Flowering: Nancy Murphy
was first with a guzmania hybrid.
Second was Diane Timmins with
Goudaea ospinae var. gruberi. In
the competition were Alcantarea
‘Totara Burgundy Rose’; Nidularium
innocentii; Goudaea ‘Tiger Tim’;
Vriesea ‘Majestic Beauty’ x fosteriana
and xVriesgoudaea ‘Jags Hunua
Gloss’.
Open Foliage: First Graeme Barclay
with an Aechmea ‘Supernova’. Second
equal were Peter Coyle with Aechmea
orlandiana and Ian MacPherson
with Tillandsia punctulata. In the
competition were Aechmea ‘Rainbow’;
Billbergia ‘Hallelujah’; Vriesea
‘Bright Jade’ hybrid, ‘Pacific Knight’
hybrid, simplex x ‘Star’ hybrid, ‘Lime
Wave’ hybrid and xCanmea ‘Hunua
Outacon Troll’.
Tillandsia: Judy Graham was first with
Tillandsia tectorum. Second was Peter
Coyle with Tillandsia capitata. Other
plants on the table were Tillandsia
caerulea, capillaris, ‘Cupcake’, ‘Eric
the Red’, floribunda, punctulata and
tectorum.
First in Open Flowering:
Guzmania hybrid – Nancy Murphy
First in Tillandsia: T. tectorum – Judy Graham
Neoregelia: First was Peter Coyle
with Neoregelia ‘Gizmo’. Second was
Pas Southon with Neoregelia ‘Stellar
Blast’. Also in the competition were
Neoregelia ‘Blushing Tiger’, ‘Downs
Paint’, ‘Exotica Red Striata’, ‘Painted
Lady’, ‘Red Tiger Prince’, ‘Tigrina’ x
‘Gold Fever’, ‘Totara Gold’, ‘White
Hot Embers’ and ‘Wild Rabbit’.
Named Monthly Plant (Bigeneric):
First was John Mitchell with
xVriesgoudaea ‘Jags Hunua Gloss’.
Second equal were Peter Coyle with
xCanmea ‘Wild Leopard’, Graeme
Barclay with Neoregelia ‘Fire Plum’ x
Wittrockia superba and Nancy Murphy
with xNeophytum ‘Burgundy Hill’. Also
in the competition were Nidularium
fulgens x Neoregelia ‘Skotak’s Tiger’,
xNeomea ‘Strawberry’, xCanmea
‘Wild Tiger’ and xVriesgoudaea ‘Jags
Hunua Fountain’
The Plant of the Month went to John
Mitchell with xVriesgoudaea ‘Jags
Hunua Gloss’.
Congratulations to all the winners.
NEXT MEETING: Tues 23rd July.
June winning plants…
First in Open Foliage: Aechmea
‘Supernova’ – Graeme Barclay
First in Neoregelia: Neoregelia ‘Gizmo’ –
Peter Coyle
6 7
At our June meeting…
xVriesgoudaea ‘Jags Hunua Gloss’ – grown by John Mitchell
John’s notes…
My
‘Plant of the Month’ was
xVriesgoudaea ‘Jags Hunua
Gloss’. The plant was bred
in 2010 by John Lambert. All the seed
from the cross of Goudaea ospinae
gruberi and Vriesea ‘Angela’, was
given to John Mitchell to grow. Both
Johns are of the opinion that this plant
was the best of all the plants produced
from the cross. With this plant it’s
‘showtime’ all the time. This point
is fully demonstrated by the plant
getting ‘Plant of the Month’ when
it is really just a clump of emerging
pups on a mother plant spent from
flowering last summer. At this point
in their life cycle most other plants are
looking their worst! Even at flowering
time ‘Gloss’ doesn’t disappoint with a
spectacular multi branched orangey
red inflorescence.
xVriesgoudaea ‘Jags Hunua Gloss’ – Plant
of the Month and First in Named Monthly
Plant (Bigeneric) | PHOTO JOHN MITCHELL
More photos…
Second in Open Foliage:
Aechmea orlandiana – Peter Coyle
Second in Neoregelia:
Neoregelia ‘Stellar Blast’ – Pas Southon
‘Novice Table’ rules… applying for
our August monthly meeting
Reprinted from April 2018…
• Exhibitors must be financial members of the Bromeliad Society of
New Zealand, and have been a member for 3 years or less.
• A maximum of two plants may be entered.
• Plants must have been grown by the exhibitor for at least 3 months
prior to the competition.
• Plants must be labelled, clean and healthy, and drained of water.
• No commercial leaf shine, cream or milk may be used to enhance
the appearance of the plant.
• A pot may contain single or multiple plants provided they are attached
to a single rootstock (except Tillandsias).
• Tillandsias may be loose or if mounted be firmly attached to mount.
They may be single or multiple plants of one type only.
Nothing has changed!!
(From ‘Bromeliaceae’ July 1970)
To the members:
Getting out this Journal is no picnic. If we print jokes, people say we
are silly. If we don’t we are too serious. If we clip things from other
magazines, we are too lazy to write them ourselves. If we don’t we
are too fond of our own stuff. If we don’t print contributions, we don’t
appreciate true genius. If we do print them, the Journal is full of junk.
Now, as like it or not, someone will say we swiped this from some other
magazine.
We did!
So, let’s have your problems, no matter how small and some other
member can learn from the answer.
8 9
Diagnosis: Snails and slugs
Such a common garden pest, and not
normally associated with causing
leaf damage in bromeliads. But
they do seem to have a liking for
alcantarea leaf tips. You might also
have had the misfortune of having
your precious flower spike of other
bromeliad varieties chewed through,
especially when other food may be
a little sparse. These invaders can be
elusive to confirm. They sneak out at
night. That is when they feel safe from
the dehydrating rays of sunlight that
they need to avoid – as they require
a constantly moist environment.
So night time is generally the only
time you might see the snail in action.
As snails can live a number of years,
and produce large numbers of eggs,
they need to be dealt with.
Prescription: Snail bait
We scatter ours around the soil at the
top of the pots, and also any nearby
floor, and are quickly rewarded with
numerous empty shells.
For those of a more delicate disposition,
you may prefer the following system
(look out neighbours):
Snails appear to have a homing instinct
over short distances, as proved by
a famous experiment in 2010 that
involved moving snails from the
garden they were found in.
However – you may succeed if you
have the ability to give a hefty lob.
The scientists have concluded that
Dear
Doctor Brom…
Dear Doctor Brom…
Q: Every year I find my alcantarea
plants, young and old, get marks on
the very ends of their leaves. They
look like something has had a chew.
Usually just the top of the leaf is
removed – there is not a hole all the
way through the leaf. It starts off
green, but later becomes a thin white
scar. The alcantareas are next to
other varieties of bromeliads, which
are never affected. I have looked for
something that might be the possible
culprit, and can’t find anything.
What is the cause?
We
moved to a new house
over 12 years ago and after
spending about a year doing
alterations we were ready to start on the
garden. My sister in law, Lyn Wegner,
had started collecting these amazing
plants called bromeliads, which I had
never seen or knew existed. At that time
not many people had bromeliads in East
London or had even heard of the word
‘bromeliad’. I became hooked on these
fascinating, unusual and unique looking
plants. I just loved them because you
could plant them, mount them on trees,
logs, rocks and display them in hanging
baskets.
When I first started collecting I would
always take the label out and give it
back to Lyn and say, ‘Keep it and re-
use it as I’m never going to remember
the different species or the names’. Lyn
would look unhappy and reply, ‘One day
you will be sorry that you didn’t keep
your labels’. Now years later I regret
that early decision. I learnt the hard
way and now ensure the plants I add
to my collection are labelled whenever
possible.
For example, many neoregelias are not
easy to identify because some are so
similar and the colouration changes
depending on growing conditions. I have
tried to ‘Google’ many bromeliads to
find a name, but a lot of the time I will
not put pen to label as I am not 100%
sure it’s correct.
The importance of labelling your
bromeliads…
– Brenda Wegner. Adapted from the newsletter of the East London (SA) Bromeliad
Society.
An important part of collecting
bromeliads is labelling, for the
following reasons:
• You don’t necessarily want to buy the
same plant again.
• If you are selling or swapping plants
from your collection, it is important that
they are labelled.
• Visitors to your garden will often ask
the names of various bromeliads.
• It’s a good way to become familiar
with your plants.
• You can go into bsi.org and fcbs.org to
find out more info on a particular plant.
Tips:
• I use an Artline 725 superfine point
permanent marker to write on my labels.
You can use plastic strips cut from
yoghurt or ice-cream tubs to make labels.
• Some people prefer using a 2B pencil.
You need to keep an eye on the labels
though as ‘permanent’ doesn’t always
mean ‘permanent’!
• Labels shouldn’t detract from your
plant. You can position a label in the side
of your pot where it is visible and you
could bury a second label in the pot just
in case visitors or ‘little people’ mix up
your labels.
• Glenn Miles told us he labels his clivia
by having a code on the pot which ties up
with all the info regarding that particular
clivia on lists he compiles. Glenn also
writes the name of his plant on the
outside of the pot.
The bottom line, label your bromeliads
in the manner that best suits you.
Cont’d P10
10 11
removing snails by distances of more
than 20 metres, which appears to
be usually sufficient to nullify their
homing instinct, is as effective a control
method as using ‘natural’ deterrents
such as eggshells and beer traps. Few
snails were hurt in the course of this
research, the scientists are anxious
to note: ‘There was little evidence
Cont’d from P9 – Dear Dr Brom
of subjects [i.e. snails] withdrawing
from the trial. While occasionally
a sound was heard when the snails
landed, most snails had soft landings
in the undergrowth and long grass of
the wasteland [into which they were
thrown].’ (reference: The Guardian,
May 2014)
Snail and slug damage to alcantareas…
N
ext time you are heading to the bright
lights ready to paint the town, you
may be tempted to drop into the
Headquarters Bar at the Viaduct Basin,
downtown Auckland.
Make sure you look up! We guarantee you’ll
be spellbound by the ‘living chandeliers’ of
Tillandsia usneoides glowing at night in all
the colours of the rainbow. The plants are
suspended from a circular wire, and are lit
from within by a ring of lights (the lights don’t
emit heat, so the plants are not burned). The
living furnishings are maintained regularly by
a special living wall business, and add a surreal
atmosphere to a fun restaurant/bar with its tasty
menu and glorious view onto the beautiful
viaduct marina.
‘Living Chandeliers’ light up in
Auckland’s Viaduct Basin
By Diane Timmins
12 Cont’d P14 13
A note for your diary…
Our annual
‘SPRING SALE’
will be on again in October.
Sunday October 13th…
at the Mt Eden War Memorial Hall,
Mt Eden Rd, Balmoral, Auckland.
Tillandsia superinsignis…
– Notes and photo by Dave Anderson
This stunning species was discovered
by the late Professor Eizi Matuda some
80 kilometres southwest of Mexico
City in the early 1970s. Professor Eizi
Matuda was in his late 70s when he
found this species and what is even
more amazing is that the area had
been studied by many botanists for the
previous one hundred years.
This large species that is over one metre
in diameter grows well in partial direct
light, outside all year in Auckland. Its
compound inflorescence is primarily
red and yellow in colour with purple
tubular flower. The spike can reach up
to one metre tall!
Sadly, it is one of the 70 or so tillandsia
species that is monocarpic (i.e. dies
after flowering) so here’s hoping that
the spike will stay colourful for many
months to come. Tillandsia superinsignis
Northland Bromeliad Group
– Nancy Peters
Our June meeting was held at the
Masonic Hall, Whangarei, with 33
members and 2 visitors attending. We
began with a ‘pot luck’ soup meal. Six
choices of soup were offered together
with buns and bread. Thanks to the
soup cooks for the delicious offerings
and to the committee for the buns and
breads.
• Plant of the Month Table: Dark-
leafed bromeliad:
1st Lyn White – Aechmea ‘By Golly’,
2nd Adona Cox – unnamed neoregelia,
3rd Dot Leaning – Neoregelia
‘Midnight’.
• Members ‘Show and Tell’
Competition:
1st Pat Vendt – Neoregelia ‘Alcatraz’,
2nd Gaelene Dorreen – Tillandsia
lindenii, 3rd Decima Severinsen –
Neoregelia ‘Hot Gossip’.
• ‘Bring one – take one home’
It was suggested that because the next
meeting would feature tillandsias, club
members should each bring a piece
of driftwood or any other object that
plants could be mounted on. At the
end of the meeting members would be
welcome to take one of the tillandsia
pieces home to mount and then bring
back to a later meeting to show us their
creativity.
Next meeting: Sunday 28th July at
Masonic Hall, starting at 1.30pm.
Lester Ching will be our guest speaker
on tillandsias. He will also have plants
for sale at afternoon tea time.
Group News
Bay of Plenty Bromeliad Group
– Lynley Breeze

At our June meeting, Roger Allen
asked for helpers to work up at the
Quarry gardens in the Bromeliad
section on Tuesday mornings. We
would also appreciate donations of sun
loving bromeliads for replacements of
those which did not survive the hot dry
summer conditions.
Di Pinkerton will co-ordinate a roster
of volunteers who will help setting out
chairs and tables prior to our meetings.
Di will phone people prior to the
meetings.
Dean Morman spoke about how
he promotes the growth of pups in
vrieseas. When flowers begin to
emerge, Dean cuts the flower off so
that the energy can go into the growth
of pups. He carefully cuts away lower
leaves (with scissors) to allow water
and sunlight to reach the growing pups.
This also makes it easier to remove the
pups when they are large enough. He
then adds sheep pellets to the soil –
about 10 or so around each plant. Dean
thinks the first pup is usually the best
pup and suggests growers put it aside
for their replacement plant. He would
not remove pups until September, and
prefers to allow them to get large before
cutting them off. It is important to
ensure the pups are secure and not able
to wobble in the wind. On occasion he
has had up to 11 pups from one plant,
sometimes getting a third run off some
of them.
14 15
We also discussed growing on grass
pups off alcantareas and noted that for
some alcantareas (eg imperialis) grass
pups will be the only chance of getting
pups to replace the plant as they will
not develop pups after flowering.
Competition Results:
• Plant of the month – Vriesea:
1st Kevin Pritchard with Vriesea ‘Hunua
Skinny Star,’ 2nd equal Dean Morman
with Vriesea ‘Quirky Rose’ and
Vriesea ‘Tasman Hybrid’. Also in the
competition were Vriesea seideliana,
Vriesea racinae and Vriesea ‘Elsysian
Charm’.
• Open Flowering: 1st Dean
Morman with Orthophytum gurkenii,
2nd Kevin Pritchard with Guzmania
‘Torch’ 3rd Di Pinkerton with
Vriesea ‘Chiquita’, also tabled were
Tillandsia guatemalensis and Aechmea
weilbachii.
• Open Foliage: 1st Dean Morman
with Neoregelia ‘Dream Baby’,
2nd Dean Morman with Vriesea ‘Vivid
Vista’, 3rd Carolina Pagnanelli with
Vriesea fenestralis. Also presented
were Vriesea ‘Midnight Splendor’,
Neoregelia ‘Annick’, Aechmea
‘Ensign’and Vriesea ‘Vista’.
• Tillandsia: 1st Dean Morman with
Tillandsia crocata, 2nd Dean Morman
with Tillandsia fasciculata and 3rd
equal Audrey Hewson with Tillandsia
stricta (green) and Kevin Pritchard
with Tillandsia lindenii. Also on the
table were Tillandsia capitata (rubra)
and guatemalensis.

Next meeting: Wednesday 14th August
12.30 – 2.30 at the Yacht Club, Sulphur
Point. Gordon Nairn will speak about
attracting bees into the garden. Plant of
the month – neoregelias with stripes.
Cont’d from P13 – Group News
Eastern Bay of Plenty Bromeliad
and Orchid Group
– Jenny Briggs
Sue Laurent opened our June meeting
by welcoming 27 members and
visitors.
Our guest speakers, Pam and Trevor
Signal, shared their orchid journey
spanning decades and several moves.
Pam’s interest began at high school
on discovering the caretaker’s orchid
collection. After setting up home
with Trevor in Taranaki the orchid
collecting began in earnest along with
the building of a shade house. When
they arrived in the Bay of Plenty they
joined the BOP Orchid Society, Pam
completed the 6 years of training to
become an orchid competition judge
and Trevor helped with Geyserland
Orchids, plus the couple got into
hybridising. Globally, there are over
3,000 orchid species and there’s at least
annually 100 new hybrids in NZ alone,
submitted for registration. In 1990 the
World Orchid Conference was held in
Auckland.
Pam met Sue Laurent at a Whakatane
Camellia show where was displaying
bromeliads and that was the beginning
of our combined bromeliad / orchid
group.
‘Show and Tell’: Barbara talked
about the value of starting cuttings off
in water until root buds appear then
planting the cuttings in the garden or
a pot. She had ready to plant dracaena
and cordyline cuttings to give away.
Pam Signal showed us a cute mini
flowering intergeneric orchid ‘One
Twinkle’ x P. echinata and a Tillandsia
guatemalensis with a flowering stem
ready to bloom.
Competitions:
• Plant of the month – Midi
Neoregelia: 1st Maureen Moffat with
‘Wild Rabbit’, 2nd Alison Iremonger
with ‘Sheba’, 3rd Gail Anderson ‘Tiger
Cub’.
• Foliage: 1st Maureen Moffatt with
Vriesea ‘Highway Beauty’, 2nd Alison
Iremonger with a bright pink spotted
neoregelia, 3rd Olene Ross with Vriesea
‘Tasman Hybrid’.
• Flowering: 1st = Jenny Briggs
with Canistropsis ‘Tutti Frutti’ and
Stewart Sutton with Aechmea fasciata,
2nd Alison Iremonger with a large pink
toned neoregelia, 3rd Gail Anderson
with Neoregelia ‘Fall in Love’.
• Tillandsia: 1st Sue Laurent with a
clump of stricta (dark form), 2nd Alison
Iremonger with a vertical display of
somnians, 3rd Gail Anderson with
Tillandsia lorentziana.
• Orchids: 1st Don Young with a
flowering Dendrobium speciosum,
2nd Alison Iremonger with a highly
perfumed flowering cymbidium.
Next meeting: 12.45pm Sunday 21st
July at Kingsley Scout Den, James St,
Whakatane.
Guest Speaker: Janine from Coast
Palms and Cycads, Te Puke.
Enquiries to: Ross Fergusson 07-312
5487 or Maureen Moffatt 07-322 2276.
South Auckland Group
– Hawi Winter
As advised in the June Journal our July
meeting was put back a week from
its normal first Sunday in the month
because of hall availability and so our
July meeting news was not ready in
time to print this month. In August we
will be back to our normal scheduling.
Next meeting: August 4th, in the Drury
School Hall at 1.30pm.
Tillandsia Group - Auckland
– Isla McGowan
Our June meeting was at Totara Waters
in Whenuapai. There was a great
turnout of nearly 30 people and we
even welcomed a group from Tauranga
who joined us for the afternoon. Thank
you to Jocelyn and Peter Coyle for
hosting. It is always a pleasure to visit
your beautiful property. We featured
the letter ‘S’ and it was a treat to see
so many of the theoretically possible
54 on display. Robert’s ball of stricta
will be beautiful when it flowers.
Kevin contributed greatly with his S’s,
also his way of mounting plants and a
different idea for presenting them. e.g
wire frames bent over like a pup tent.
We thoroughly enjoyed a tour of the
glasshouse, a delicious afternoon tea
and then a walk around the immaculate
garden. People were reluctant to leave!
It was a very enjoyable day.
Next meeting: Sunday 11th August
at 1.30pm at Rebecca Morrissey, St.
Heliers. We will feature tillandsias
beginning with ‘T’.
16 17
Tillandsia ‘Paris Pink’
(T. erubescens x T. achyrostachys)
Andrew Flower – 2002
(Reg: August 2016)
Mature rosette to 13cm diameter x
23cm high in flower. Recurving grey-
green scurfed leaves. Simple arching/
pendant spike of rose pink scape
bracts and green flowers. See also
Tillandsia ‘Naughty Nicole’.
Tillandsia ‘Aztec’
(T. erubescens x T. bourgaei)
Andrew Flower – 2001
(Reg: August 2016)
Mature rosette to 30cm diameter x
40cm high in flower. Scurfed, grey-
green channeled, curving leaves.
Arching branched inflorescence
of pale pink/light green scurfed
“paddles” – side branches 7.5cm
long, terminal 9cm long with mid-
green flowers tipped puce.
New from New Zealand
– By Graeme Barclay
I had been waiting for someone else to shine the spotlight on what our
intrepid Kiwi tillandsia expert has been up to down in windy Wellington,
but no luck! Better late than never, I will start the ball rolling and add him
into our ‘New From NZ’ roster.
A
ugust 2016 was a very busy month for Andrew Flower of Anwyl
Bromeliads, with many of his tillandsia hybrids officially named
and registered in the BSI Cultivar Registry. Many growers may have
these plants under the formulas listed below in black, so be sure to check your
collections and update your name tags as they get featured here in future. Here
are a couple of wonderful hybrids to start, with Tillandsia erubescens used as the
seed mother. It is a lovely, smallish species from Mexico, medium-high altitude
of 1500-2500m, with large pink bracts and pale green-petalled flowers that has
obviously combined brilliantly with the two pollen parents.
Patron: Patricia Sweeney
President: Diane Timmins 09-415 9066
Vice Presidents: Jocelyn Coyle 09-416 8272
Graeme Barclay 09-817 4153
Secretary: Dave Anderson 09-638 8671
Membership Secretary | Scientific Officer:
Peter Waters 09-534 5616
Treasurer: Pas Southon 09-535 3544
Librarian: Bev Ching 09-576 4595
Committee: Lester Ching 09-576 4595
Alan Cliffe 09-479 1451
David Cowie 09-630 8220
Lucy Timmins 021-078 1102
Editor: Murray Mathieson 09-418 0366
Life Members: Dave Anderson, Patricia Perratt,
Patricia Sweeney, Peter Waters
OFFICERS
MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTION
BROMELIAD JOURNAL
Editorial Committee
Dave Anderson
Murray Mathieson
Peter Waters
Production
Murray Mathieson
Distribution
Dave Anderson
All enquiries and contributions welcome,
please contact any member of the editorial
committee or send to Peter Waters, 22 Half Moon
Rise, Half Moon Bay, Auckland 2012 or email:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Deadline
For all editorial and advertising, the first
Tuesday of publication month
Display Advertising
Rates are:
Full Page $60.00
Half Page $30.00
Quarter Page $15.00
‘Buy & Swap’
Listings in ‘Buy & Swap’ are FREE for members
of the Society (max. 30 words).
For advertising enquiries and material, please
contact Murray Mathieson ph (09) 418 0366
or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
New Zealand
Ordinary membership NZ $45.00 ($5.00 discount
if paid before the end of February).
Dual membership (same household) NZ $55.00
($5.00 discount applies as above).
Overseas
NZD $45.00. Send all payments to the Treasurer,
Peter Waters, 22 Half Moon Rise, Half Moon Bay,
Auckland 2012.
Paying electronically
Paying via internet banking: Bromeliad Society
account: 03-0227-0071516-00. Please include your
name as reference. Re full contact information for
new members / changes for existing members,
please email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Correspondence
All general correspondence should be sent to the
Secretary, Bromeliad Society of New Zealand,
P.O. Box 108-168, Symonds Street, Auckland,
New Zealand. The opinions expressed in letters
or articles in the Journal are the contributors’ own
views and do not necessarily express the views or
policy of the Bromeliad Society of New Zealand
Inc.
Society Website
www.bsnz.org – For past Journal archive –
growing tips – articles – sales information
Tillandsia ‘Aztec’
PHOTO ANDREW FLOWER
Tillandsia ‘Paris Pink’
PHOTO ANDREW FLOWER
18 19
It’s been almost two years since we looked at a quesnelia. This one is a
common garden plant that is often seen wrongly labelled in our collections.
Quesnelia arvensis, or Quesnelia quesneliana (red form)
By Graeme Barclay
F
or many years we have grown
this plant in our gardens as
Quesnelia arvensis (red form).
As the name suggests, the leaves take
on a bronzy-reddish hue in full sun
or very strong light, whereas other
clones of Quesnelia arvensis (and
also Quesnelia quesneliana) remain
green in all light levels. Surprisingly,
while the green form of Quesnelia
arvensis is very common in New
Zealand, the green form of Quesnelia
quesneliana is not. In fact, it appears
to be quite rare, I have not seen any
clumps in gardens, or plants for sale
at all. If you are growing what you
believe is Quesnelia quesneliana
here, I would love to hear from you.
A few years ago, my interest was piqued
when my red Quesnelia arvensis
finally came into bloom. I had always
doubted its true identity, as the plant
looks very different to the common
green form of Quesnelia arvensis that
we all grow. As mentioned above,
not having a green form of Quesnelia
quesneliana around to compare,
made a more definitive identification
difficult. However, prior to my plant
blooming, I had seen several specimens
in Australia of the green Quesnelia
quesneliana, as well as the red clone
too. To me, it became quite apparent
that they were very similar and perhaps
the same species. I discussed this with
other species aficionados in Australia
and they largely agreed something was
amiss. So when my red clone bloomed,
I had a chance to compare the floral
details to the botanical descriptions of
both species and also compare it to a
very similar third species, Quesnelia
testudo.

To make a positive botanical
identification, we need to look at a
number of different morphological
details of the plant – namely the
leaves, inflorescence structure and the
parts of the flowers. Leaf and bloom
colour and shape of the plant alone,
are normally not enough to make such
a determination. In most bromeliad
genera, ‘Identification Keys’ have
been constructed by botanists to
help us more easily decipher the
differences between species and lead
us to the correct name. In this case,
the differences are very minor, as
these three species mentioned above
all have very similar shaped and
coloured inflorescences and so are
often confused. Here is the key for
Quesnelia – Subgenus Quesnelia,
courtesy of Smith & Downs and the
online Encylopaedia of Bromeliads:
1a. Peduncle-bracts bladeless, entire or nearly so Go to 2
b. Peduncle-bracts with subfoliaceous serrulate Q. testudo
blades
2a. Upper part of floral bract uniform, flat; flowers Q. arvensis
in about 12 ranks
b. Upper part of floral bract with broad, white, Q. quesneliana
strongly crisped margins, contrasting sharply
with the roseate, subglabrous, flat center;
flowers in 6-10 ranks
Cont’d P20
Quesnelia quesneliana (red form) and close up of inflorescence.
PHOTOS GRAEME BARCLAY
20
So the first thing we look at (1), is
the bracts of the peduncle (on the
main flower spike). In our red plant,
the creamy coloured bracts are entire
(do not have noticeable spines along
the edges) and are not serrulate
(with saw teeth), so that rules out
Quesnelia testudo. We then look at
(2), the construction and floral bracts
of the inflorescence. As evident in the
photo here of the bloom of our red
plant, there are 10 ranks of flowers
and the upper part of the pink floral
bracts (excluding the tip) has wide,
white, scurfy and crisped edges.
Therefore our red plant aligns closer
with Quesnelia quesneliana and not
Quesnelia arvensis.

The other main difference I have
noticed (that is not fully evident in
the descriptions), is the leaves of
Quesnelia arvensis are much thicker
(more leathery) and the spines on the
leaf margins are more conspicuous and
dense. The leaves of our red plant are
much thinner by comparison and the
spines less noticeable, which also fits
closer to the green forms of Quesnelia
quesneliana I have observed in
Australia. In future the red clone may
be given a cultivar name, but for now
if you have this plant, change your
name tag to Quesnelia quesneliana
(red form).

These species are widespread in
south-eastern Brazil and like most
other quesnelias, they are quite hardy
and suitable for growing outdoors in
New Zealand. They will grow well as
epiphytes, terrestrials, or on rocks and
do not seem fussy or suffer too badly
from cold damage. They do enjoy a
warm, sunny spot with a quality potting
mix, so they can grow faster and look
their best. Quesnelia quesneliana (red
form) seems to be a shy bloomer and
the striking pink bloom only lasts for
a few weeks before fading to brown.
Like most other species in the genus,
I have found it best to allow it to make
pups and form a clump before it will
bloom.
References: Smith, L.B & Downs, R.J -
Flora Neotropica - Bromeliodeae, 1979
Enyclopaedia of Bromeliads - https://
botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/encyclopedia/brome/.
Cont’d from P19 – Special Species Spotlight
Quesnelia quesneliana (red form) rear and
Quesnelia quesneliana (green form) front.
PHOTO CAROL EVANS

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Details

Written by BSNZ Admin

June 2019
VOL 59 NO 6
• Visiting Ayrlies… a world renowned garden
• ‘Bromeliad Rare Plant Auction’… at our June monthly meeting
Ayrlies Garden at Whitford.
Photo by Diane Timmins
2 3
Bromeliad Journal – June 2019 issue
CONTENTS
CONTENTS
‘New from New Zealand’ – Graeme Barclay
President’s Page – Diane Timmins
Society officers, subs and Journal directory
Bromeliad Society May meeting news – Dave Anderson
May ‘Plant of the Month’ – Diane Timmins
‘Spring Sale’ reminder
Ayrlies… an internationally famous N.Z. garden – Diane Timmins
‘Brom Surprise’ – Diane Timmins
‘Special Species Spotlight’ – Graeme Barclay
Group News
‘Dear Doctor Brom’ – Diane Timmins
Our ‘Bromeliad Rare Plant Auction’… happening at our June meeting
Bromeliad Society of New Zealand Inc
The opinions expressed in articles or letters in this Journal are the contributors’ own views and
do not necessarily express the views or the policy of the Bromeliad Society of New Zealand.
COMING EVENTS
Please see the Group News section starting on page 16 for details of Group meeting
times and venues.
JULY
10th Bay of Plenty Group meeting
14th South Auckland Group meeting
23rd Society monthly meeting at
Greyfriar’s Hall, corner of Mt Eden and
Windmill roads at 7.30pm. Our ’Monthly
Choice’ competition is hanging baskets,
We will also enjoy a PowerPoint
presentation courtesy of Bromeliad
Society International (BSI).
Front cover: This month we are featuring Ayrlies – a world renowned garden in
Whitford, south east of Auckland city. Our president, Diane Timmins, made a visit
and you can read her article and see some more photos, starting on page 10.
JUNE
23rd Northland Group meeting
25th Society monthly meeting at
Greyfriar’s Hall, corner of Mt Eden and
Windmill roads at 7.30pm. Our ’Monthly
Choice’ competition is Bigeneric
bromeliads. We will be having our
‘Bromeliad Rare Plant Auction’ and also
enjoying our mid-winter supper. Please
bring a plate of finger food to share.
New from New Zealand
– By Graeme Barclay
Another red-striped shark has entered our waters, though this one is tame
and has lost its teeth.
Neoregelia ‘Shark Lines’
Graeme Barclay – 2011 (Reg: June 2019)
M
ature open rosette to
60cm diameter. Upward-
curving, broad leaf blades
with rounded/blunt tips and crimson
fingernails, creating a crateriform
rosette. Olive-green, finely spined
leaves overlaid with thin, uniform red
lineations on both sides.
The parents are Neoregelia ‘Roseo
Lineata’ and Neoregelia ‘Rainbow
Carcharodon’.

This brand new registration is a grex
sibling to my Neoregelia ‘Shark Fest’,
that was featured in our September
2016 Journal. It is a smaller plant than
its brother, closer to the size of the seed
mother Neoregelia ‘Roseo Lineata’,
that has imparted its red lineations
into the leaves. The thing I like most
about this plant, is the form and leaf
shape. The rosette is very symmetrical
and the leaves curve upward in typical
‘shark’ fashion, both before and during
blooming. The leaf tips are quite blunt
and tipped with crimson nails, creating
a pleasing effect with the red-striped
leaves. In the 2016 article I mentioned
there were a number of other nice
plants from this cross,
this is one of them and
only the fourth seedling
to bloom in 8 years since
the cross was made. This
is another bonus trait of
this cross. The Neoregelia
carcharodon genes from
Neoregelia ‘Rainbow
Carcharodon’ have slowed
their shark metabolism
down, allowing us to
enjoy them in the garden
or greenhouse for longer
than usual.
Neoregelia ‘Shark Lines’ | PHOTO GRAEME BARCLAY
4 5
Patron: Patricia Sweeney
President: Diane Timmins 09-415 9066
Vice Presidents: Jocelyn Coyle 09-416 8272
Graeme Barclay 09-817 4153
Secretary: Dave Anderson 09-638 8671
Membership Secretary | Scientific Officer:
Peter Waters 09-534 5616
Treasurer: Pas Southon 09-535 3544
Librarian: Bev Ching 09-576 4595
Committee: Lester Ching 09-576 4595
Alan Cliffe 09-479 1451
David Cowie 09-630 8220
Lucy Timmins 021-078 1102
Editor: Murray Mathieson 09-418 0366
Life Members: Dave Anderson, Patricia Perratt,
Patricia Sweeney, Peter Waters
OFFICERS
MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTION
BROMELIAD JOURNAL
Editorial Committee
Dave Anderson
Murray Mathieson
Peter Waters
Production
Murray Mathieson
Distribution
Dave Anderson
All enquiries and contributions welcome,
please contact any member of the editorial
committee or send to Peter Waters, 22 Half Moon
Rise, Half Moon Bay, Auckland 2012 or email:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Deadline
For all editorial and advertising, the first
Tuesday of publication month
Display Advertising
Rates are:
Full Page $60.00
Half Page $30.00
Quarter Page $15.00
‘Buy & Swap’
Listings in ‘Buy & Swap’ are FREE for members
of the Society (max. 30 words).
For advertising enquiries and material, please
contact Murray Mathieson ph (09) 418 0366
or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
New Zealand
Ordinary membership NZ $45.00 ($5.00 discount
if paid before the end of February).
Dual membership (same household) NZ $55.00
($5.00 discount applies as above).
Overseas
NZD $45.00. Send all payments to the Treasurer,
Peter Waters, 22 Half Moon Rise, Half Moon Bay,
Auckland 2012.
Paying electronically
Paying via internet banking: Bromeliad Society
account: 03-0227-0071516-00. Please include your
name as reference. Re full contact information for
new members / changes for existing members,
please email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Correspondence
All general correspondence should be sent to the
Secretary, Bromeliad Society of New Zealand,
P.O. Box 108-168, Symonds Street, Auckland,
New Zealand. The opinions expressed in letters
or articles in the Journal are the contributors’ own
views and do not necessarily express the views or
policy of the Bromeliad Society of New Zealand
Inc.
Society Website
www.bsnz.org – For past Journal archive –
growing tips – articles – sales information
PRESIDENT’S PAGE
A winter ‘treat’ awaits you in June…
At least there is one good thing about
the middle of winter – we have the
June ‘Bromeliad Rare Plant Auction’
and mid-year supper to look forward
to coming up this month.
Bring along your wallet to nab a great
buy at the auction of rare and desirable
bromeliads this June meeting. Our
talented auctioneer will weave his
magic to prise open our wallets for
some welcome fundraising dollars.
And that will be followed by our mid-
year supper. Please bring a plate of
finger food to share, there will be our
usual sales table, raffle, and ‘Show and
Tell’ – where you can bring along a
plant that is of interest, or if you need
identification or advice.
The ‘Monthly Choice’ competition
table this month is for bigenerics –
that is, hybrids between two genera.
I’m sure we’ll see some beautiful
examples on the table. We have some
adventurous local talent hybridising
some intriguing crosses and I’m sure
they will fare very well against the
older known bigeneric plants we may
have in our collections.
Last meeting we enjoyed Alan Cliffe’s
PowerPoint presentation on uninvited
garden ’invaders’ causing problems
for our bromeliads. His talk included
advice received from an entomologist
from Plant and Food Research who
also assisted us with this month’s’
Dear Doctor Brom’ (see page 19).
Coming up in later months …
We have a great line-up planned for
future meetings this year, including
(among other things), a PowerPoint
presentation sourced from the BSI
(Bromeliad Society International).
It is always fascinating to see how
things are done in other countries and
continents. At another meeting we will
have a number of specialists give a
brief, basic informative overview of a
number of our more common bromeliad
genera such as Aechmea, Neoregelia,
Billbergia, Vriesea and Tillandsia – at
which time the competition table for
‘Monthly Choice’ will be open for our
novice members (those who have been
members for less than 3 years). There
will be more details available closer to
the event.
Get your winter woollies out, and I’ll
see you at our June meeting!
Take care.
Diane Timmins
Bromeliad Rare Plant Auction...
happening at our June 25th monthly meeting.
See back cover for more details.
6 7
P
resident Diane chaired the
meeting and welcomed
everyone, including two visitors.
First on the agenda was a reminder
that any unpaid subscriptions are now
overdue. The Society is proposing
a bus trip to gardens in Tauranga or
Whangarei in the Spring costing about
$45.00. A show of hands had about 30
people interested in going. We have
our Annual Rare Plant Auction in June
so please contact Peter Waters if you
have plants to sell. Also in June we
will have the mid-winter supper; so
please bring a plate.
Graeme Barclay took us through the
‘Show and Tell’ plants. First up for
display was Tillandsia rothii in full
bloom with its beautiful red/gold
foliage. This plant loves the heat
and consequently is difficult to grow
well in Auckland. Next a Neoregelia
‘Gespacho’ was wanting a name with
the giveaway identification for this
plant being the whitish centre to the red
leaves when it comes into bloom. For
display was a Tillandsia complanata in
bloom with 12 spikes emanating from
its bottom leaves. This plant needs
warm conditions and is also difficult
to keep in good condition in Auckland.
A Tillandsia reducta in flower was
displayed – a plant that looks similar
to Tillandsia tectorum and is quite
cold hardy. Graeme had for display
five different forms of the species
Tillandsia araujei varying from a large
form to the tiny small form. Lastly
were two smallish aechmea plants
– Aechmea ‘Suenos’ and Aechmea
Bromeliad Society May Meeting News
– Notes and photos by Dave Anderson
‘Covata Too’, both Hummel hybrids of
unknown parentage.
We then had a talk on bugs and sprays
by Alan Cliffe, coupled with tips on
preparing plants for winter.
The special raffle prize this month
was won by Eric Billington. The door
prizes went to David Goss, Simon
Kriehn and Peter Wake.
COMPETITIONS
Open Flowering: First Graeme
Barclay with Barfussia platyrhachis
– an attractive plant with a lovely
coloured inflorescence some 70cm
high. Second was Ian McPherson
with a clump of Tillandsia punctulata.
Also in the competition were Aechmea
flavorosea, nudicaulis x ‘Paprika’,
Guzmania sanguinea, Nidularium
angustifolium, atalaiaense and ‘Exotic
Ruby Red’.
Open Foliage: John Mitchell was
first with a Vriesea ‘Tango Lace’ x
‘Vistarella’. Second was Graeme
Barclay with Vriesea ‘Splendide Vista’.
In the competition were Aechmea
orlandiana; Billbergia ‘Cold Fusion’,
‘Hallelujah’ x ‘Arribella’; Vriesea
‘Connection’ x ‘Coral Lord’, ‘Megan’
and ‘Tasman’ hybrid.
Tillandsia: Dave Dawson was first
with Tillandsia humilis. Second with
Tillandsia ionantha var. stricta was
Lester Ching. The only other plant on
the table was Tillandsia tenuifolia ssp.
pardoi.
Neoregelia: First Graeme Barclay
with Neoregelia ‘Lucifer’ with its
deep purple shiny leaves and second
was Peter Coyle with Neoregelia
‘Ironside’. Also in the competition
were Neoregelia ‘Blushing Zebra’,
‘Bobbie Hull’ x ‘Silver’, ‘Unraveled’
x ‘Tara Sunset’, ‘Aussie Red Tiger’,
‘Moondust’, ‘Purple Wave’, ‘Tara
Tigers Eyes’, ‘Tiger Cub’ x ‘Maggie’s
Pride’ and ‘Totara Tiger Storm’.
Named Monthly Plant (Neoregelia
carcharodon and hybrids): First
was Graeme Barclay with Neoregelia
‘Red Opal’ that was also voted plant
of the month. Second with Neoregelia
‘Totara Tiger Storm’ was Peter Coyle.
In the competition were Neoregelia
carcharodon ‘Tiger’ x ‘Rainbow’,
marmorata (variegated), ‘Chubby
Cat’, ‘Freddy Krueger’ x ‘Spines’,
‘Lorena’, ‘Predator’, ‘Stella Blast’,
‘Tara Candy’ x smithii and ‘Tara Tiger
Eyes’.
The Plant of the Month went to
Graeme Barclay with Neoregelia ‘Red
Opal’ – an eye catching plant with its
variegated green/white leaves and red
spotted cross banding.
Congratulations to all the winners.
NEXT MEETING: Tues 25th June.
First in Open Foliage: Vriesea ‘Tango
Lace’ x ‘Vistarella’ – John Mitchell
First in Open Flowering:
Barfussia platyrhachis – Graeme Barclay
First in Tillandsia:
Tillandsia humilis – Dave Dawson
More photos on P8
8 9
At our May meeting…
Neoregelia ‘Red Opal’ – grown by Graeme Barclay
Graeme reports…
N
eoregelia ‘Red Opal’ originated
from Peter Tristram in Repton,
NSW, where it was registered
in 2011. Peter imported a load of
plants from Chester Skotak in Costa
Rica in 2008, some of which were
unnamed variegated neoregelia hybrid
seedlings. Peter grew two outstanding
striated plants to maturity, both of which
attained a large size with attractive
markings. The plant with the paler
complexion and blood-red zonated
markings was eventually named and
registered as Neoregelia ‘Red Opal’,
while the darker grex-mate was named
Neoregelia ‘Black Opal’. They are
both from an early second-generation
cross made by Chester in 2005, using
Neoregelia ‘Skotak’s Tiger’ (a cultivar
of Neoregelia carcharodon), where the
formula was (Neoregelia carolinae x
‘Skotak’s Tiger’ x ‘Skotak’s Tiger’).
Many variegates with Neoregelia
carcharodon genes are quite slow
growing and these two plants are
unfortunately no exception.
My plant has taken almost four years
from a young bare-rooted pup to
become well established and attain a
50-60cm diameter in my Auckland
greenhouse. Hopefully it will bloom
this coming summer, then the goal will
be to force it to make as many pups as
possible.
First in Neoregelia: Neoregelia ‘Lucifer’ –
Graeme Barclay
Neoregelia ‘Red Opal’ – Plant of the
Month and First in Named Monthly Plant
(Neoregelia carcharodon and hybrids).
PHOTO DIANE TIMMINS
A note for your diary…
Our annual ‘SPRING SALE’ will be on again in October.
Sunday October 13th…
at the Mt Eden War Memorial Hall,
Mt Eden Rd, Balmoral, Auckland.
Second in Open Foliage:
Vriesea ‘Splendide Vista’ –
Graeme Barclay
Second in Neoregelia:
Neoregelia ‘Ironside’ – Peter Coyle
Second in Named Monthly Plant
(Neoregelia carcharodon and hybrids):
Neoregelia ‘Totara Tiger Storm’ – Peter Coyle
Second in Tillandsia:
Tillandsia ionantha var. stricta
– Lester Ching
Second in Open Flowering:
Tillandsia punctulata –
Ian McPherson
More photos of winning plants…
10 Cont’d P12 11
B
everley McConnell and her
husband Malcolm arrived here
and purchased their 150 acre
dairy farm at Whitford in 1964, 55 years
ago. Young and inexperienced, Bev had
great plans for developing a garden, and
was fortunate that Malcolm was very
supportive. He fenced off three acres of
their 150 acre dairy farm in Whitford,
for her to do as she wished. It was truly
a blank canvas, sporting no trees at that
point in time.
Each phase of development was large
scale – the first step involved 500
trees coming in from Hugh Redgrove,
a nurseryman from Oratia. The process
A visit to Ayrlies… an internationally
famous New Zealand garden
– Article and photos by Diane Timmins
‘Gardening is an art form, and I have long believed
that Ayrlies is the best expression of such art in this country.’
Jack Hobbs, Curator Manager Auckland Botanic Gardens.
was gradual, stage by stage, and now
covers some 35 acres of rolling grassland
punctuated by copses of mature trees,
with streams and waterfalls meandering
down to lakes and wetlands.
Beverley learned quickly that with
Auckland being just a narrow isthmus,
her property had wind on all sides.
Further challenges encountered included
dealing with clay. She is grateful that
she was born lucky enough to have the
physical strength to toil away at such a
mammoth task. One day involved her
digging out and moving 40 barrows of
clay so that the rockery could be created.
When Bev first looked for inspiration for
her plantings, her knowledge stemmed
from experience of well-known
English gardeners, as did her sources
of information. Most reference books
on creating a garden were written by
English gardeners, for English gardens.
So her original plantings involved
conifers, rhododendrons and magnolias.
The New Zealand climate influenced
the plant habits – her supposedly dwarf
Cryptomeria japonica ‘Globosa Nana’s
became great mammas and pappas.
Things began to change when her good
friend up the road – Noel Scotting –
turned up one day with a gift of tropical
plants – an aloe and a cycad. This threw
Bev for a while. She wandered around
with these strange oddities in her hands
for days thinking, ‘What on earth am I
going to do with these?’
However, they were the beginning of the
development of the garden to include a
mixture of classical English garden style
and intermingling subtropical plants.
Noel Scotting was a florist by trade (as
well as a strong influence to gardeners
in New Zealand at the time, proving
temperate and sub-tropical can live
together in harmony). Bev’s philosophy
is that if you are good at putting together
flowers in a pleasing way – you will
be naturally good at the artistry of
making a picturesque garden. Given the
opportunity to build a garden, no two
people will produce the same outcome,
such is the flexibility and unpredictability
of an artistic mind.
Andrew Maloy had also become a friend,
and many great bromeliads came from
his collection to Bev’s. Large specimens
of Vriesea fosteriana (rubra) and Vriesea
‘Dark Knight’ now stand in great pots
near the doors to the house.
Beside the house the pool area itself
is surrounded by a colourful rockery.
The rich planting includes mature
alcantareas and aloes, and groups of
neoregelia hybrids and aechmea species.
Although in hindsight, self-cleaning
Beverley McConnell
with Andrew Maloy
12 13
P
anuku Development Auckland
have added a small ‘pop-up
container village’ on Queens
Wharf to provide a temporary hub
offering food and some services
during the upheaval of the downtown
area redevelopment. Promotional
activities were arranged last summer
to encourage people to discover and
utilise the area. One of these activities,
run by event design company ‘Social
Ritual’, invited people to a free
watercolour painting session.
It was a beautiful, hot February day
on the Auckland City waterfront, and
in ‘Container Village’ sat a diverse
group of people all painting the same
thing – bromeliads. Supplied with
paper, watercolours, and a handmade
beanbag to sit on, around 70 people
trickled in and out of the ‘pop up
art’ class throughout the day. Several
‘Pop up art’ and bromeliads brighten
Queens Wharf in downtown Auckland…
By Diane Timmins
palms would have been better suited
near the pool area around the house, the
majestic queen palms now stand above
the rhododendron and azalea bank as a
pleasing mingling of aesthetics. Down
from the rock garden, the rhododendron
and azalea bank was allowed to have
bromeliads scattered around offering a
lower canopy of different texture and
interest… but the bromeliads get a brisk
trimming if they encroach too much on
the theme of that garden bed.
Walking from the pool area, there is an
enormous Gleditsia tree (‘Sunburst’)
– from Ian Riddell – which seasonally
changes to yellow. When the tree started
growing too big, instead of her initial
instinct of removing it altogether, Bev
decided to embrace its natural beauty, and
created the yellow garden. Underneath,
along with happily flowering Aechmea
gamosepala ‘Lucky Stripes’, there are
yellow epidendrum orchids joined by
a mass of Vriesea maxoniana (a hardy
species of lime foliage and yellow
inflorescence). Perennials and shrubs are
chosen to carry on the yellow as the path
flows down from the rockery. Further
down the path heading towards the coral
garden, neoregelias were permitted in
the area to bring in hot colours – with
orange Neoregelia ‘Apricot Beauty’
and bright red Neoregelia marmorata
hybrids adding blasts of colour. The
colours cool off into the expanse of lawn.
Trimmed hedges give good containment,
this allows the ‘fluffy’ bits to be more
exuberant. Careful placement of trees
means not everything is seen at once.
That way there is always the excitement
of anticipation to see what awaits around
the corner.
Meandering rills (shallow channels
formed by erosion) leading to peaceful
ponds are flanked by large clumps
of Aechmea gamosepala. Neoregelia
‘Aztec’ sits on the lake banks, and other
bromeliads are nestled in various nooks
and crannies throughout the garden.
A giant tree stump has been adorned
with various tillandsias.
When we walked together around the
garden near the house, Bev stopped
first to take her secateurs which always
accompany her, along with her two furry
companions. One dog is hers – Boss
and the other, Minnie, just came for the
weekend… although that was 4 years
ago.
The garden is planted to provide pleasure
somewhere at any time of the year. This
time, Bev was excited at the thought
of walking down to see whether the
tillandsia planted on the enormous tree
stump had opened its flower.
A wonderful experience and I agree
completely when Bev says, ‘What a
wonderful passion we share’.
Contact details for Ayrlies:
125 Potts Road, Whitford.
Monday to Friday 9:00am – 4:00pm.
Saturday by appointment. Ph 09-530 8706
stations were set up under cover
from the hot summer sun, each with
a variety of neoregelias, vrieseas,
tillandsias and more to choose from to
paint. Some people had never painted
with watercolour before, while others
created ‘masterpieces’ within minutes.
Some people chose to paint a specific
bromeliad, while others painted the
detail of flowers, stripes and spines.
14 15
Our plant this month has an uncertain history and is also only the second
guzmania featured in ‘Special Species Spotlight’ in the past five years.
Guzmania ‘Penny Wise’
By Graeme Barclay
S
ometimes we are confronted
with ‘mystery’ plants in our
collections, with no-one
being sure exactly how or where
they originated. While it is entirely
possible that this nice guzmania may
in fact be a natural (or even man-
made) hybrid, we will treat it as a true
species here, if only to highlight the
difficulties in identifying plants and
the reason for giving ‘special species’
clones, registered cultivar names.
To set the scene, the BCR has an
interesting short article listed on this
plant by Derek Butcher from 2008,
who was the BSI Cultivar Registrar
around that time. An abridged version
of the main points of this article
follows:

‘This all started with comments made
on the internet. I had a photo of
Guzmania pennellii on the web site,
fcbs.org, and someone said I was
wrong! Panic! This is how the story
unfolds....In 1980, or thereabouts,
Peter Tristram imported a plant
from Jeffrey Kent (Vista, California)
labelled Guzmania pennellii into NSW,
where it grew and bloomed well. Who
do you go to in time of need? Harry
Luther of course! Harry did have
this plant from Colombia too, but it
was in his ‘too hard basket’ and he
did not know if it was a new species
or a hybrid. It has no good origin
or history, so the chances of it being
formally described as a species are
remote. So we had a good plant that
grew well, without a name. After much
discussion Peter decided on ‘Penny
Wise’, not only were we wise after the
event, but the first three letters linked
to ‘pennellii’. It flowers to about 60cm
high and Peter says it is quite hardy’.

As the photos show, there are some
obvious similarities between what
is deemed to be the true Guzmania
pennellii, as pictured in the BSI
Journal and what became Kent’s
Guzmania ‘Penny Wise’. However
the true species appears to be much
larger, flowering to around 2 metres
tall in the wild, a rosette to 1-2 metres
diameter and with more spreading,
branched flower spikes. As we have
seen with many other different species
clones featured in ‘Special Species’
over the years, there can often be slight
differences in the morphology (size,
shape, colour) of certain features of
clones within the same species and
varieties. While it is possible this
could also be the case here, because
the wild collection location and other
data is missing for this particular plant,
there is no base to start from to relate it
back to a valid wild population, hence
Harry Luther’s reluctance to take the
plunge and botanically describe it.
Some schools of thought believe it
to be a new species in its own right,
but for now the safest thing to do is
it give it a cultivar name so it can be
traced back to at least some sort of
recorded history for identification.

As mentioned above, I have found this
guzmania to be reasonably hardy for us
to grow outside in New Zealand. The
species Guzmania pennelli grows both
terrestrially and epiphytically at high
altitude between 2400-2800 metres
in Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela.
Guzmania ‘Penny Wise’ also seems
to be from a similar cool temperature
location due to its apparent hardiness.
Like most guzzies, it prefers a sheltered
spot, preferably some morning sun with
dappled shade, a moist mix and regular
feeding to do well. The inflorescence is
quite long-lasting, remaining in colour
for several months and adding some
welcome height and an interesting
shaped bloom to our shady gardens.
The rosette grows to around 50-60cm
high and wide in a funnel-shape,
with very pliable lime-green leaves.

Just prior to blooming it produced two
pups, with more on the way. One of the
large pups will be up for auction in our
BSNZ Rare Plant Auction at the June
meeting, others will be tried growing
as epiphytes.
Guzmania ‘Penny Wise’ in bloom. Reference: BSI Journal 1994, V44(4), pg 166)
PHOTO GRAEME BARCLAY
Guzmania pennellii in habitat.
PHOTO FRANCISCO OLIVA-ESTEVE
16 17
Northland Bromeliad Group
– Nancy Peters
Our May meeting was at the home of
Ashwina Patel in Onerahi. President
Adona thanked Ashwina for hosting
our group to her home and garden. We
enjoyed a splendid view west towards
the Whangarei town basin. Thirty six
members were present with one visitor
and Adona also welcomed three new
members.
Members ‘Show and Tell’
1st Dot Leaning – Dyckia ‘Tuatara’,
2nd Lynley Churches – Neoregelia ‘Hot
Gossip’, 3rd= Pat Vendt – Neoregelia
‘Heatwave’, 3rd= Angelica Pohle –
Neoregelia lilliputiana
Thanks to everyone who brought
along plants and told us about them.
Congratulations to the winners.
Pat Vendt talked about various plants she
had brought to the meeting.
Raffles were drawn before afternoon tea.
Then we loaded up and proceeded south
to visit Pene McKenzie’s garden. We not
only admired her garden, but were also
able to peep over the fence and watch
a wood pigeon feeding. We travelled
back down the peninsular to Ria Vinke’s
garden where she was growing many
bromeliads. Please do check out our
Facebook page for the photos of these
lovely gardens.
A couple of comments overheard
during the afternoon: ‘the neighbours
are building a reclining wall out of
tantalising timber...’ and..... ‘I’ve offered
my husband to repair the damage’.
Group News
Next meeting: Sunday 23rd June at
1.30pm at Masonic Lodge meeting
rooms, 17 Albert Street, Whangarei
(behind Arthur’s Emporium). Parking
available alongside the building.
We start with a ‘pot luck’ soup meal
(thanks chefs). Please remember to bring
a soup cup/bowl and spoon with you.
Eastern Bay of Plenty Bromeliad
and Orchid Group – Jenny Briggs
Our May meeting was attended by 22
members and visitors. Sue Laurent
welcomed all and as a co-founding club
member, reflected on some 20 year old
group meeting minutes she had recently
found.
Members are reminded to sign up for the
away trips to Tauranga and Auckland.
Our guest speaker, local Des Jones, took
us through the decades of gardening
from his perspective as a garden centre
owner/operator. Des spoke about plant
and garden fashion trends from the
early 1970s to our current styles. One
highlight was selling 450 carpet roses
after they were featured on the hugely
popular Palmers/Maggie’s TV gardening
show. Now retired, Des continues to
garden for pleasure and to enjoy an array
of international gardening TV shows.
He personally recommends a trip to
the Chelsea Flower Show. In thanking
Des for his interesting presentation we
gave him what turned out to be his first
bromeliad – watch out Des, it’s catching!
‘Show and Tell’
Sue Laurent showed an ugly looking
Tillandsia streptophylla which she almost
discarded but put aside and she is now
being rewarded with a good-looking pup.
Sue also showed two Vriesea philippo-
coburgii. One green-leafed with red tips,
the other, ‘Rafael’, being the beautiful
variegated form.
Pam Signal showed three beautiful
Zygopetalum orchids with their
variations of purple, violet and white
petals contrasting with the brown and
green spotted sepals. Pam advised that
some people are now successfully adding
potting mix to the bark medium for
orchids rather than just the usual bark
chips.
Competitions
• ‘Plant of the Month’ – Vriesea:
1st Gail Anderson with ‘Quirky Rose’,
2nd Trevor and Pam Signal with ‘Joyful
Charm’, 3rd Alison Iremonger with
platynema variegata.
• Flowering: 1st Gail Anderson with
Nidularium fulgens, 2nd Alison Iremonger
with Billbergia ‘Hallelujah’.
• Foliage: 1st Gail Anderson with an
elbow marginated neoregelia, 2nd Jenny
Briggs with Neoregelia ‘Green River’
and 3rd equals: Alison Iremonger with
a large neoregelia, Jenny Briggs with
Neoregelia ‘Kahala Dawn’.
• Tillandsias: 1st Jean Richardson with
capitata x velutina, 2nd Sue Laurent with
tectorum, 3rd Alison Iremonger with an
arrangement of usneoides, bergeri and
albida mounted on driftwood.
• Orchids: 1st Trevor and Pam Signal
with the intergeneric Burrageara, ‘Dark
Fire’, 2nd Trevor and Pam with Miltassia
Dennis Kleinbach ‘Crowhurst’.
Next meeting: June 16th at 12.45pm
in Kingsley Scout Den, James Street.
Guest Speakers Pam and Trevor Signal.
Enquires to Maureen Moffatt 07-322
2276 or Judy Lewis 07-315 4686.
Bay of Plenty Bromeliad Group
– Lynley Breeze
At the May meeting, Lynley thanked all
members for their generosity in donating
items for the fun auction and also for
bidding at the April meeting.
A few members are yet to pay their subs.
Di Pinkerton will run a roster and contact
two people each month to assist setting
out the chairs prior to meetings. Thank
you in anticipation for your assistance.
As of the June meeting we will delete
the competition plant and subdivide
the category into ‘Best Foliage’ plant
and ‘Best Flowering’ plant. We will
discontinue the novice section because
there was only one entry last year.
Andrew Devonshire was our guest
speaker with a PowerPoint presentation
outlining the evolution of his hybidising
programme. His interest started with
alcantareas progressing to vrieseas, large
neos and now mini and midi neoregelias.
He showed some of the qualities he seeks
in a plant and how he selects the parent
plants to display the traits he seeks.
His growing medium is coco chips and
palm peat blocks. This ensures good
drainage and prevents excess nutrients
from the fertilisers found in potting mix,
and results in better colours. We were
delighted with the specimens he showed,
and Andrew generously donated a rare
hybrid ‘Mai Golden Child’ which was
auctioned for $120 to go towards group
funds.
Competition Results May:
• Plant of the month – small and
midi bromeliads: 1st Dean Morman –
Neoregelia ‘Groucho’, 2nd Dean Morman
– Neoregelia ‘Bumble Bee’ 3rd Kevin
Pritchard – Neoregelia ‘Royal Pepper’.
18 19
Diagnosis:
The white spots are in fact scale that
have been parasitised by Encarsia.
These are a large genus of minute
parasitic wasps of the family
Aphelinidae.
If you look closely you can see the tiny
hole where the adult has emerged from
(photo 1). Therefore, it is actually a
good thing to see! This means the actual
problem – a scale infestation (photo
3), has been somewhat decreased by a
natural bio-control agent.
The insect pointed to by the needle tip is
in fact a juvenile thrips (photo 2). Thrips
are a slender insect with fringed wings.
Although they feed by puncturing the
plant and sucking the contents, they
are generally not considered a serious
threat to bromeliads, and are likely to
be incidental to the dryer protected
environment of your plastic house, as
are the scale.
For information on control of scale,
refer to the Doctor Brom article in the
September 2018 Journal, and also the
coffee grinds article in the October
2018 Journal.
Dear
Doctor Brom…
Dear Doctor Brom…
Q: What makes these white spots on
my neos? They appear in Autumn,
just on a small number of plants,
and only in my plastic house which
is well ventilated. The spots (egg
cases?) are nearly always near the
centre well and/or under the bottom
leaves and I’ve only ever found them
empty. But, the other day, I was
looking at the photos and noticed
tiny worm-like creatures were
exiting one of the ‘spots’! I went
back out to have another look and
saw different, minute, fast moving
larvae(?). Please see photo with
sewing needle as pointer. On one
there’s a tiny spider, but I think
that’s just a coincidence.
I’ve never found the white spots
on the neos outside or in either
glasshouse or shadehouse.
Also tabled were Neoregelia ‘Tassie
Tiger’ and Neoregelia ‘Annick’.
• Open competition: 1st Kevin Pritchard
– Neoregelia ‘Enchantment’, 2nd Kevin
Pritchard – Vriesea ‘Vista’ 3rd Dean
Morman – Vriesea ‘Rose Lime Hybrid’.
Also tabled Vriesea ‘ Rafael’.
• ‘Show and Tell’: Wilma Fitzgibbons
had brought along a tillandsia to be
named and it was recognised as Tillandsia
lotteae.
• Tillandsia competition: 1st Audrey
Hewson – Tillandsia stricta, 2nd Kevin
Pritchard – Tillandsia tectorum,
3rd = Kevin Pritchard – Tillandsia
araujei, Wilma Fitzgibbons – Tillandsia
leiboldiana and Tillandsia capitata
‘Hondurensis’
Next meeting: 10th July 12.30pm –
2.30pm at the Yacht Club. Lynley Breeze
will speak about a visit to the Eden
Garden in Devon, UK.
We will also auction the books and
magazines donated earlier in the year.
Plant of the month – Stoloniferous
neoregelias and those in hanging baskets.
South Auckland Bromeliad Group
– Hawi Winter
Our June meeting was a bit of a
debacle! It all started so well, the sun
was shining, plenty of members in
attendance, many beautiful plants on
the sales and skite tables, and then the
darn data-projector blew its bulb. No
bulb, no light, no projection, no show!
Pretty disappointing for everyone, but
what can one do if technology lets you
down. We improvised instead as follows:
- The owners of the plants on skite tables
gave brief introductions to their plants.
- Hawi showed rat damage on mini
neoregelias; he has lost several hundreds
of minis in the last two weeks due to the
rats, or at least one rat, having found out
how nutritious and sweet the base of a
little miniature tastes. The rodents bite the
plants off their stolons and then rasp out
the core of the rosette from the bottom up.
Rats have very rough tongues and can do
that. They/it have climbed from hanging
pot to hanging pot, harvesting every
single brom of more than a dozen pots
densely populated with mini neoregelias,
leaving a trail of total destruction.
Members expressed overwhelming
interest in short film showings on
bromeliad related topics. The committee
will be working on that. Members
have no interest in commerce-
based presentations at our meetings.
Winners of the raffle: 1st B. Sherson,
2nd C. Dickson and 3rd M. Healey
Winners of the ‘Skite Table’: This
time 3 were equal on 5 points each:
N. Cook, J. Muddiman and D. Brown
Next meeting: Our July Meeting, will
NOT be on the first Sunday of the
month, but one week later on the 14th
July (due to the hall availability) – in
the Drury School Hall at 1:30pm. The
speaker will be Andrew Devonshire on
‘Hybridising’.
We will probably be too late to have our
news in the July issue of this Journal, so
we tell you about our August plans now!
Our August meeting will be back at the
usual time again, August 4th, in the Drury
School Hall at 1:30pm. It will be ‘take
two’ for Hawi Winter on ‘Inhabitants of
Bromeliads’ with a presentation of his
colourful macro photographic slides.
1 2 3
20
Get ready for our annual
‘Rare Plant Auction’… June 25th
– as part of our monthly Society meeting.
Quesnelia edmundoi var. rubrobracteata Hohenbergia stellata (red bract)
Here’s a taste of what you can expect…
two plants being entered for auction by Graeme Barclay…
Every year about this time we present our
‘Rare Plant Auction’. If you’re a seller there’s still time.
Please contact Peter Waters with details of your ‘rare’
plant – 09-534 5616 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
And for us buyers… it’s a wonderful opportunity
to be able to acquire something really special
for the home collection. And it all helps provide
a little extra funds for our Society.

Read more ...

Details

Written by BSNZ Admin

 August 2019
VOL 59 NO 8
Guzmania monostachia.
Photo by Graeme Barclay
2 3
Bromeliad Journal – August 2019 issue
CONTENTS
‘Spring Sale’ is happening soon!
President’s Page – Diane Timmins
Bromeliad Society July meeting news
July ‘Plant of the Month’ – Diane Timmins
Society officers, subs and Journal directory
Group News
‘Special Species Spotlight’ – Graeme Barclay
‘Bromeliad Surprise’ – Diane Timmins
Removing and potting up neoregelia offsets – Scott Sandel
Why broms are a global phenomenon – Marty Folk
‘Kiwi Broms’ Conference Corner – Graeme Barclay
‘New from New Zealand’ – Graeme Barclay
Bromeliad Society of New Zealand Inc
The opinions expressed in articles or letters in this Journal are the contributors’ own views and
do not necessarily express the views or the policy of the Bromeliad Society of New Zealand.
COMING EVENTS
Please see the Group News section starting on page 10 for details of Group meeting
times and venues.
SEPTEMBER
1st South Auckland Group meeting.
8th Tillandsia Group – Auckland
meeting. This is a rescheduled meeting
date – from the original August 11th .
11th Bay of Plenty Group meeting.
24th Society monthly meeting at
Greyfriar’s Hall, corner of Mt Eden
and Windmill roads at 7.30pm. Our
‘Monthly Choice’ competition is Vriesea
fosteriana and its cultivars. Graeme
Barclay will be giving us a talk and
PowerPoint presentation about his trip to
Hawaii.
Front cover: Guzmania monostachia, photographed in our ‘Fiesta’ 2018 show,
exhibited by Peter Coyle. This species is a relatively small guzmania around 30cm –
50cm in diameter. According to Wikipedia it is known also as the ‘West Indian tufted
airplant’. It is widespread in the northern regions of South America, the Caribbean
and also in Florida, where it grows epiphytically in the Everglades swamp. Photo:
Graeme Barclay.
AUGUST
25th Northland Group meeting.
27th Society monthly meeting at
Greyfriar’s Hall, corner of Mt Eden
and Windmill roads at 7.30pm. Our
‘Monthly Choice’ competition is our
special ‘Novice Table’. We will also
feature discussions led by well-known
growers on many of the most popular
bromeliad genera.
SPRING SALE
Sunday October 13th
At our usual venue…
the Mt Eden War Memorial Hall,
Mt Eden Rd, Balmoral,
Auckland.
At our August monthly
meeting we will be asking for
commitments from sellers and,
of course, we will also be looking
again for our much needed
helpers. Thank you in advance!
Time to get ready for our annual
4 Cont’d P6 5
P
resident Diane chaired the
meeting and welcomed everyone
on a cool winter’s night. The
BSNZ Spring Sale will be held as
usual at the Mt Eden War Memorial
Hall on Sunday 13thOctober. The
society is proposing to have a bus trip
to Whangarei in March/April next year
to visit bromeliad gardens. Members
will be kept informed when more
details become available. Graeme
Barclay then said that preparations
for the Australasian Conference to be
held in Auckland in early 2021 were
coming along very well.
Peter Waters then took us through
the Show and Tell plants. First up for
naming was the species Tillandsia
atroviridipetala – a small plant with
green flowers similar to Tillandsia
plumosa. The plant bears a close
resemblance to Tillandsia recurvifolia.
Next for display was the hybrid
Tillandsia montana x ixioides that
has blue flowers. Finally and also for
display was species Tillandsia welzii in
full flower – very similar to the many
Tillandsia fasciculata types.
Graeme Barclay then gave a PP
presentation from the BSI about the
new genera names that have been
introduced over the past few years.
The special raffle prizes this month
were won by Robbie Burns and John
Muddiman and the door prizes went to
Gaelene Dorreen, Joan Anderson and
Fleur Phillips.

Bromeliad Society July Meeting News
– Dave Anderson
COMPETITIONS
• Open Flowering: First was Gaelene
Dorreen with Aechmea racinae.
Second was Nancy Murphy with
Tillandsia lajensis – a lovely plant that
was one of two plants voted ‘Plant of
the Month’. Also in the competition
were Aechmea recurvata hybrid;
Vriesea maxoniana, racinae, ‘Highway
Beauty’ and Wallisia ‘Anwyl Expo’.
• Open Foliage: Peter Waters was
first with Neoregelia ‘Painted Delight’.
Second equal were David Goss with
Vriesea ‘Jewel’ hybrid and Diane
Timmins with an unnamed Vriesea. In
the competition were Aechmea ‘Hunua
Pastel Patches’; Vriesea ‘Colourwave’,
‘Jaco Lemon Pepper’ and ‘Star’ hybrid
x ‘Vulcan Summer’.
PRESIDENT’S PAGE
Winter is finally hitting hard, with
thunder and lightning, even the
occasional tornado and wet, wet, wet,
but it’s the threat of hail that has us
running around in circles. No frost for
us of late – but to avoid the possibility
of hail damage, frost cloth goes on …
frost cloth comes off. frost cloth goes
on … frost cloth comes off.
August always seems to be the month
of wet and cold, but the good news
is I have noticed a lot of noise and
territorial bickering among the birds,
and lambs are starting to appear in the
fields. They all seem to know spring is
just around the corner!
And, we all have our bromeliads to
keep us happy. Their cheery little faces
smiling up at us with bold foliage
colours and even a few midwinter
flowers are a reminder of why we
enjoy this fascinating hobby.
Come along to our August Society
meeting where we’ll have a number of
experts talking on how and why they
grow a particular genus of bromeliad
– such as Neoregelia, Billbergia,
Tillandsia, or Aechmea. Different
plants have different environmental
requirements, and there’s always
something to learn from experienced
growers. Don’t forget it is the
opportunity for novices to bring in their
plants to the ‘Named Monthly Plant’
category of the competition table.
Remember, you qualify as a ‘novice’
for this competition if you have been
a member for less than 3 years. Please
refer to the full ‘Novice Table’ rules on
page 7 of our July Bromeliad Journal.
We have our ‘Spring Sale’ coming up
on Sunday the 13th of October. Sellers
will need to be preparing their sales
plants. We’ll pass round clipboards at
our September meeting for names of
people who are able to help, and for
sellers, and for those who can promote
our ‘Spring Sale’ on their Facebook
pages. If you are unable to attend our
September meeting, please let us know
(committee members, officers, and
their phone numbers are on page 9 of
this Journal)
The September meeting will feature
Graeme Barclay with a PowerPoint
talk / presentation on his trip to Hawaii.
There are some renowned growers and
hybridists there, along with an ideal
climate for bromeliads. I am sure we
will be green with envy after seeing
what they have on display there. The
‘Named Monthly Plant’ competition
table will be Vriesea fosteriana and its
cultivars. A fabulous species which,
in my opinion, still holds in this class
some stunning, hardy plants, that
have never been bettered through
hybridisation.
I hope your plants have fared well this
winter. Hope to see you at our August
27th monthly meeting.
Take care.
Diane Timmins
First in Open Flowering: Aechmea racinae
– Gaelene Dorreen | PHOTO DAVE ANDERSON
6 7
Cont’d from P5 – Bromeliad Society Meeting News
Cont’d P8
• Tillandsia: Pas Southon was first
with Tillandsia divaricata. Dave
Dawson was second with a Tillandsia
‘Tuti Fruiti’. Other plants on the table
were Tillandsia bulbosa, lindenii,
neglecta and tectorum.
• Neoregelia: First Nancy Murphy
with Neoregelia ‘Margaret’ – a
colourful hybrid. Second was Pas
Southon with Neoregelia ‘Groucho’. In
the competition were Neoregelia ‘Best
of Both’ x ‘Skotak’s Tiger’, (carolinae
x cruenta) x (‘Bobbie Hull’ x ‘Skotak’s
Tiger’) x ‘Skotak’s Tiger’, correia-
araujoi x ‘Red Striata’, (‘Hannibal
Lector’ x ‘Norman Bates’) x ‘Norman
Bates’, ‘MacTunis’, ‘Pacific Maui’,
‘Rosy Morn’, ‘Takemura Grande’ and
‘Wild Rabbit’.
• Named Monthly Plant (Hanging
Basket): First was John Muddiman
with an Orthophytum gurkenii that
was also voted joint plant of the
month. Nancy Murphy was second
with Neoregelia ‘Little Lector’. Other
plants on the table were Canistrum
‘Vania Leme’ x seideliana ‘Dark
Form’; Neoregelia ‘Best of Both’,
‘Blushing Tiger’, ‘Grace’s Avalanche’,
pauciflora and ‘Wee Willy’.
There were 2 plants voted Plant of
the Month – Nancy Murphy with
Tillandsia lajensis and John Muddiman
with Orthophytum gurkenii.
Congratulations to all the winners.
NEXT MEETING: Tues 27th Aug.
First in Open Foliage:
Neoregelia ‘Painted Delight’ – Peter Waters
PHOTO DAVE ANDERSON
First in Neoregelia: Neoregelia ‘Margaret’ –
Nancy Murphy | PHOTO LUCY TIMMINS
At our July meeting we had two plants that shared ‘first equal’ status as
‘Plant of the Month’. Well done to our two growers – John Muddiman and
Nancy Murphy.
A very unusual bromeliad in
that it has thick stiff leaves of
chocolate brown with white
zig-zag banding. To top it
off the tall inflorescence is a
contrasting bright lime green,
giving the plant a fascinating
look.
A terrestrial species, from
the south-east of Brazil it is a
plant that can grow well here –
as long as it is not exposed to
prolonged periods of wet, and
is not exposed to frost.
Plant of the Month and First in Named
Monthly Plant (Hanging Basket):
Orthophytum gurkenii – John Muddiman
PHOTO LUCY TIMMINS
First in Tillansdia: Tillandsia
divaricata – Pas Southon
PHOTO LUCY TIMMINS
More winning plants…
Second in Tillandsia: Tillandsia
‘Tuti Fruiti’ – Dave Dawson
PHOTO LUCY TIMMINS
Second in Open Foliage:
Vriesea ‘Jewel’ hybrid – David Goss
PHOTO DAVE ANDERSON
Orthophytum gurkenii - grown by John Muddiman
8 9
Patron: Patricia Sweeney
President: Diane Timmins 09-415 9066
Vice Presidents: Jocelyn Coyle 09-416 8272
Graeme Barclay 09-817 4153
Secretary: Dave Anderson 09-638 8671
Membership Secretary | Scientific Officer:
Peter Waters 09-534 5616
Treasurer: Pas Southon 09-535 3544
Librarian: Bev Ching 09-576 4595
Committee: Lester Ching 09-576 4595
Alan Cliffe 09-479 1451
David Cowie 09-630 8220
Lucy Timmins 021-078 1102
Editor: Murray Mathieson 09-418 0366
Life Members: Dave Anderson, Patricia Perratt,
Patricia Sweeney, Peter Waters
OFFICERS
MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTION
BROMELIAD JOURNAL
Editorial Committee
Dave Anderson
Murray Mathieson
Peter Waters
Production
Murray Mathieson
Distribution
Dave Anderson
All enquiries and contributions welcome,
please contact any member of the editorial
committee or send to Peter Waters, 22 Half Moon
Rise, Half Moon Bay, Auckland 2012 or email:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Deadline
For all editorial and advertising, the first
Tuesday of publication month
Display Advertising
Rates are:
Full Page $60.00
Half Page $30.00
Quarter Page $15.00
‘Buy & Swap’
Listings in ‘Buy & Swap’ are FREE for members
of the Society (max. 30 words).
For advertising enquiries and material, please
contact Murray Mathieson ph (09) 418 0366
or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
New Zealand
Ordinary membership NZ $45.00 ($5.00 discount
if paid before the end of February).
Dual membership (same household) NZ $55.00
($5.00 discount applies as above).
Overseas
NZD $45.00. Send all payments to the Treasurer,
Peter Waters, 22 Half Moon Rise, Half Moon Bay,
Auckland 2012.
Paying electronically
Paying via internet banking: Bromeliad Society
account: 03-0227-0071516-00. Please include your
name as reference. Re full contact information for
new members / changes for existing members,
please email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Correspondence
All general correspondence should be sent to the
Secretary, Bromeliad Society of New Zealand,
P.O. Box 108-168, Symonds Street, Auckland,
New Zealand. The opinions expressed in letters
or articles in the Journal are the contributors’ own
views and do not necessarily express the views or
policy of the Bromeliad Society of New Zealand
Inc.
Society Website
www.bsnz.org – For past Journal archive –
growing tips – articles – sales information
Tillandsia lajensis – grown by Nancy Murphy
The large inflorescence of this
attractive species has been noticed
in habitat for centuries by botanists
travelling through the bare plateaus of
Colombia.
This enormous plant now happily
resides in a little plastic house at Nancy
and Larry Murphy’s, where it bathes in
a warm east-facing aspect.
The potting mix benefits from regular
addition of fertiliser obtained from
our monthly BSNZ meetings, and
the foliage also gets a spray of orchid
feed whenever Nancy’s busy schedule
allows.
Well, Nancy has been a good mother
to it, and the tall inflorescence on both
the winning plant, and it’s sibling in
Nancy’s plastic house, have been a
show for many months.
Each month Nancy has debated
whether or not to bring the large
plant, with its whopping flower spike,
however, eventually she bit the bullet
and jammed it safely behind the
car seat and trundled the plant in –
much to our delight. It was deservedly
voted first equal as our ‘Plant of the
Month’.
Cont’d from P7 – Plant of the Month
Plant of the Month and Second
in Open Flowering:
Tillandsia lajensis – Nancy Murphy
PHOTO LUCY TIMMINS
John grows his plant under cover.
The plant’s fleshy leaves dislike water
sitting on them. These factors mean
that it is a difficult plant to keep and
it is common to lose this plant to rot
during our winter.
Grown well, Orthophytum gurkenii
will reward its owner. Not only being
attractive on flowering, there is also
the bonus of numerous plantlets
forming from the inflorescence. John
was deservedly first equal with his
beautiful clump.
10 Cont’d P12 11
Snail and slug damage to alcantareas…
Northland Bromeliad Group
– Lyn Ferguson
Adona Cox welcomed everyone to our
July meeting held at the Masonic Hall,
Whangarei. 36 members and 3 visitors
attended.
Guest Speakers: Adona also welcomed
guest speakers Lester and Bev Ching.
Lester began by sharing information
that he had learned since 1997. He
delivered a very inspirational talk on
their tillandsias through cultivating
and growing practices, to the scale
of their operation. He told us that we
must all remember a few basic things.
Tillandsias like sunlight, rainwater and
air movement. They also need protection
from the elements in winter. Lester also
told members what fertilisers he uses
and most importantly, how he uses them.
He showed us individually a beautiful
collection of their plants that inspired
us all. We could see the various types
of different media that plants could be
mounted on. Handy for those members
participating in this month’s ‘bring one,
take one home’ challenge!
On behalf of group members, Bill Lee
thanked Bev and Lester for their very
passionate and inspirational sharing of
information and their demonstration
of techniques used. We were spoilt for
choice when it came to their plants for
sale at the end of our meeting.
Members ‘Show and Tell’ Competition:
1st Stacy Ellison with Tillandsia stricta,
2nd Diana Smithyman with Tillandsia
latifolia, 3rd = Angelika Pohle with
Aechmea recurvata benrathii and
Gaelene Dorreen with Aechmea racinae.
Group News
Congratulations to the winners. Thanks
to everyone who brought along plants.
Raffles were drawn – a great variety
today. Thanks to everyone for their
contributions.
‘Bring one… take one home’ challenge
A draw was conducted in numerical order
for selection of a piece of driftwood or
any other object or media that tillandsias
could be mounted on. This was to be
brought back to a future meeting by
participating members. What fun!
Next meeting: Sunday 25th August,
1.30pm at Masonic Lodge meeting
rooms, 17 Albert Street, Whangarei
(the street behind Arthur’s Emporium).
Parking available alongside the building.
BSNZ secretary and life member,
Dave Anderson, will speak to us on
nidulariums.
Please check out our Northland
Bromeliad Group’s Facebook Page for
photos from this last meeting that include
tillandsias from Lester and Bev Ching’s
visit as well as competition winners and
their bromeliads.
Eastern Bay of Plenty Bromeliad and
Orchid Group – Gail Anderson
President Ross Fergusson, back from his
travels to Canada and Sweden, opened
the meeting at the Kingsley Scout Den
and welcomed the 24 members and guest
attendees.
Guest Speaker: Janine from ‘Coast
Palms and Cycads’, Te Puke, gave a
very informative presentation. Janine
explained the different palm leaves with
the pinnate being the feathery type with
leaves off a central spine while palmate
are shaped like a hand or fan. We also
learnt how to tell the difference between
the male and female cycad and how to
propagate them.
Raffle winners: Gail Anderson, Glen
Baker, Sue Laurent, Rose Magee, Des
Jones and Ria De Ruiter.
Competition Results:
• Plant of the Month – Variegated
neoregelias: 1st Ross Fergusson with
‘Red Beauty’, 2nd Alison Iremonger with
a carolinae ‘Tricolor’
• Flowering: 1st Glenn Baker with
Nidularium ‘Litmus’, 2nd Ross Fergusson
with Wittrockia ‘Leopardinum’ and
3rd Alison Iremonger with an unnamed
billbergia.
• Foliage: 1st Alison Iremonger with
Aechmea ‘By Golly’, 2nd Ross Fergusson
with Guzmania sanguinea ‘Tricolor’,
3rd Pauline Fitzhenry with Neoregelia
‘Sharlock’.
• Tillandsia: 1st = Sue Laurent with
fuchsii and Alison Iremonger with a
mixture and 2nd Ross Fergusson with
fuchsii.
• Orchids: 1st Olene Ross, 2nd Glen
Baker with a cattleya and 3rd Alison
Iremonger.
A good selection of plant sales concluded
the meeting.
Next meeting: 18th August at 12.45pm at
Kingsley Scout Club with guest speaker
Andrew Flower, from Wellington, to
talk about tillandsias. For information
contact Ross 312 5487 or Sue 307 1323.
Bay of Plenty Bromeliad Group
– Lynley Breeze

Wilma Fitzgibbons had completed the
membership list and it was distributed at
the meeting.
The Tauranga Orchid club want to avoid
the use of plastic bags at the annual
Display and Sale on 11th – 13th October.
We will need to consider how to deal
with this.
We were saddened by the death of
Margaret Mangos who has been a
long-time member of the club. Our
condolences to Leo.
We auctioned the books which did not
get sold at our auction in April and we
thank Dean Morman for his role as
our auctioneer. This was followed by a
talk and a slide show by Lynley Breeze
about the Eden project and the two
biomes in Devon UK, which have been
built within the pit of a former china
clay mine. One biome replicated the
tropics with high humidity and tropical
plants. The other biome showcased
the Mediterranean climate and plants.
It is not geographically limited to the
Mediterranean but encompassed Central
American ecosystems as well. It was
notable that the bromeliads were in
poor condition, but they were at least
represented in the tropical biome.
Competition Results:
• Plant of the month – Stoloniferous
neoregelias and hanging baskets:
1st Dean Morman with Neoregelia
‘Fireball’ (variegated), 2nd Di Pinkerton
with Neoregelia ‘R.O.2’ and 3rd Dean
Morman with Neoregelia ‘Ounce Of
Purple’
• Open Flowering: 1st Dean Morman
12 13
Cont’d from P11 – Group News
Surprisingly, this is only the second cultivar of Aechmea fasciata we have
featured in over 60 ‘Special Species’ articles since Aechmea ‘Kiwi’, way
back in February 2014.
Aechmea ‘Clara’
By Graeme Barclay
A
echmea fasciata remains one of
the classic and most enduring
bromeliads. First described by
Baker back in 1879, and henceforth
often referred to in horticulture as the
‘Grecian Urn Plant’, this hardy species
has been widely cultivated around the
world and has also been used to make
many hybrids. Due to its urn-shaped
rosette, attractive silver-banded leaves
and highly ornamental and long-lasting
bloom, it has also been extensively
used in tissue culture, by large-scale
European nurseries supplying mass-
produced indoor plants to supermarkets
and garden centres.

In the case of Aechmea ‘Clara’, the
donor plant used by Deroose Plants
in Belgium that supplied the original
tissue material, was reportedly a
normal pink-bracted clone of Aechmea
fasciata. The exact date this was done
is not recorded, but it was probably
sometime in the 80s-90s when such
practice was common. Often these
tissue culture projects can produce
mutations in the genetic make-up
in a few, or even just one, of the
resulting thousands of plants. It may
be that the leaves lose their spines,
or the inflorescence has a different
shape, structure or colour, or a plant’s
leaves become variegated. The floral
differences are not noticed until the
plants bloom, then selections can be
made and cultivar names assigned to
desirable clones or groups of plants -
as no doubt happened in the case of
Aechmea ‘Clara’. While such plants
are no longer a true wild-collected
species, they are referred to as ‘species
mutations’, as no other genes are
introduced from another plant in the
tissue-culture process. Therefore, they
are not hybrids and can be technically
classified genetically as a species.

Aechmea ‘Clara’ has a large, compound
inflorescence, often much larger and
more dense than a normal Aechmea
fasciata. The primary and floral bracts
with Vriesea ‘Pacific Blush’ and 2nd
Dean Morman with Aechmea recurvata
var benrathii.
• Open Foliage: 1st Dean Morman with
Neoregelia ‘Zeppo’, 2nd Dean Morman
with Vriesea ‘Vistarella’ and 3rd Di
Pinkerton with Neoregelia ‘First Prize’.
• Tillandsia: 1st Di Pinkerton with
Tillandsia tectorum mounted on
driftwood, 2nd Dean Morman with
fasciculata ‘Tricolor’ and 3rd = were
Audrey Hewson with Tillandsia tectorum
and Dean Morman with ionantha. Also
tabled was a very pretty Tillandsia
capitata (rubra) belonging to Wilma.
‘Show and Tell’: Wilma had brought
along a Tillandsia capitata (pink) for us
to see.
Next meeting: Wednesday 11th
September 12.30pm – 2.30pm at the
Yacht Club. Peter Waters will be our
guest speaker. The plant of the month
will be billbergias.
South Auckland Bromeliad Group
– Margaret Flanagan
A quick thank you to NZ’s outstanding
hybridiser Andrew Devonshire who
delighted us with a superb presentation
on ‘Hybridising, the joy is in the journey’
at our meeting on 14th July. The selection
of his hybrids for sale was snapped up in
no time by our keen members.
At our meeting on August 4th Hawi
Winter welcomed 35 brave and intrepid
members on a cold and blustery afternoon
to his presentation of ‘Inhabitants of
Bromeliads in NZ’. The photos that he
showed have been collected over a period
of 15 years. He showed ‘unwanted’ and
‘nice’ inhabitants. The ‘unwanted’ were
of course wasps, slugs, snails, wetas
and spiders. The ‘nice’ ones included
bumble bees, flies and crane flies and
praying mantis, and of course FROGS!
Hawi had some gorgeous shots of these
and of course we all want them in our
broms! He has found that they like to
hibernate in billbergias and other deep-
throated broms, and they emerge as the
temperatures rise. He also had some
photos of some random visitors, cicadas,
beatles and his own hens! Thank you
Hawi for an enjoyable look into the
small world inside our broms.
The meeting could not pass without
a special presentation to our Patron,
Norma Cook, who will celebrate her 91st
birthday in a few days. An orchid was
presented to her with all our best wishes.
The skite plant winners:
1st John Muddiman, 2nd Don Brown,
3rd Peter Waters.
Raffle winners: Brian Kitcher, John
Muddiman and Rebecca.
The afternoon finished with a welcome
cup-of-tea in real cups (we have phased
out plastic cups!).
Next meeting: Sunday 1st September
at 1:30pm in the Drury School Hall
on. The presentation of the day will be
movie clips of bromeliad related themes
selected by Kirk and Caroll Dickson.
Tillandsia Group – Auckland
Please note change of meeting date:
The meeting, previously advertised
in the July Journal for August 11th
was cancelled due to bad weather
and has been rescheduled for Sunday
September 8th.
Cont’d P14
Aechmea ‘Clara’ group.
PHOTO OLIVER TREVOR, COURTESY OF BCR
14 15
Cont’d from P13 – Special Species
Y
ou just never know when you
might come across a garden
adorned with bromeliads.
I was very pleasantly surprised to see some
tastefully arranged broms in the landscape
while playing a game of mini golf at a
recent work social function. Wood carvings
were adorned with tillandsias, and the
colourful garden course was sprinkled with
pockets of bromeliads – from neoregelias
to vrieseas, offering a surprise around
every corner and on nearly every hole of
the attractive mini golf layout.
Reprinted from the Onehunga Community
News, February 2019: Jay Saussey and
her botanical company Folia have recently
set up base, and her family of foliage have
found the perfect place to call home. Jay
has been busy adding a professional touch
to the gardens, providing an injection of
flair and artistry throughout the charming
golf course. Jay said, “I am really excited
to be working at the Enchanted Forest with
Darryl, and enjoy helping him beautify the
space. It’s the perfect place to house some
of the stock plants I use for Folia, and
they can also be enjoyed by visitors who
come to play mini golf”. Folia – a living
art installation business – was born from
a passion for plants, art and up-cycling,
adding the perfect synergy to an already
eclectic mix of plants and features that
visitors love.
Putting and Planting… enjoy the
colour and texture while you play
– at Enchanted Forest Mini Golf, Onehunga, Auckland
By Diane Timmins
are a very pale pastel pink to a creamy
white, rather than the brighter mid-
pink tones seen in the normal species.
The leaves are also spineless, as is also
the case in some other tissue-cultured
Aechmea fasciata clones, such as
the well-known Aechmea ‘Primera’.
Interestingly, world renowned
hybridiser, Chester Skotak, mentions
that all spineless Aechmea fasciata
plants probably originated from a
single spineless Japanese clone, that
probably came from tissue culture
itself. He has made many crosses using
these plants and also reports such
clones have the ability to pass on their
spineless genes in further hybrids. It’s
highly possible Deroose used one of
these Japanese clones in the project
that produced Aechmea ‘Clara’. So
how do we look up how many named
and registered cultivars of the species
Aechmea fasciata there are? This plant
provides a good example in how to
use the ‘Advanced Search’ function
in the BCR. If you go to the BSI BCR
website (see reference below) and
click on ‘Advanced Search’ in the
main menu bar, you will be directed
to a page with a number of labelled
data boxes. The seventh box down is
‘notes’. Type in ‘fasciata group’ into
the ‘notes’ field and click ‘search’.
You should get 28 results. Therefore,
there are 28 registered cultivars of
Aechmea fasciata, including Aechmea
‘Clara’. You can click on each name
to view. Note that you must type the
word ‘group’ after ‘fasciata’, to only
see species cultivars, not including
hybrids. Have a go trying this search
function out with ‘nudicaulis group’
and ‘chantinii group’ to see what
happens.
Like all clones of Aechmea fasciata,
Aechmea ‘Clara’ enjoys a fertile mix
and regular feeding to attain good
shape and a robust bloom. Some
morning sun then dappled shade is best
and protection from frost is required,
though this species is generally quite
cold-hardy. Aechmea ‘Clara’ is still
fairly uncommon in New Zealand,
but pups are slowly becoming more
available.
Reference: BSI BCR - http://registry.bsi.org
Aechmea ‘Clara’ inflorescence.
PHOTO PETER COYLE
Aechmea ‘Clara’ bloom close-up.
PHOTO PETER COYLE
PHOTO JAY SAUSSEY
PHOTO DIANE TIMMINS
16 17
T
his month, I am turning my
attention to potting-up a gang of
neoregelia offsets that have been
growing in my collection. This is basic
stuff – cutting off offsets, mixing up
potting media and planting them. I do
not pretend to have the best techniques
or recipes, but I’ve had a lot of fun
with this particularly rewarding genus.
Why rewarding? Well, they grow
relatively fast, going through their life
cycle often in just 2-3 years from small
offset, to adulthood, to blooming and
to then producing the next generation
of offsets. More often than not, your
neoregelia will produce several offsets
that can be easily propagated.
When and how to remove neo
offsets
When my favourite neo hybrids have
bloomed and have begun production
of offsets, I impatiently keep an eye
out to see how many offsets I’m
going to get. And then I keep watch to
monitor the size of the offsets, because
once they’re about one-third of the
mature size, it is time to propagate.
Not to worry if they stay attached
and get bigger; you can cut them off
the ‘mother’ plant even when they
approach maturity! In these cases,
keep only actively growing roots, not
the old roots from the ‘mother’, which
could rot in the new pot. If you remove
the offset(s) earlier, your mother
plant may produce more pups. Some
hearty, slow-dying plants can produce
Removing and potting up
neoregelia offsets
– Scott Sandel, of San Diego Bromeliad Society, writing in their ‘Bromeliad
Blade’. This is an adaptation.
a second and sometimes even a third
round of offsets. For me, this is typical
of xSincoregelia ‘Galactic Warrior’
and other bigeneric hybrids made with
a neoregelia crossed with Sincoraea
(formerly Orthophytum) navioides.
It is not uncommon with a well-grown
‘Galactic Warrior’ to get another offset
or two after removing the first 3-4. Use
a sharp knife or your pruners to get
below the soil line where the offset if
attached to the mother plant. Be sure
to cut as close to the attachment point
as possible so that when you remove
your offset, you get all of the offset,
especially the base where roots will
later emerge and grow. Once removed,
you will find that the offset with quite a
bit of roots, just a few emerging rootlets
or none at all. After removal, I dust the
cut end with a powder with rooting
hormones and (more importantly)
fungicide. Then, before potting them,
I place them upright in an empty plastic
pot for a couple of days for the cut end
to dry up a bit.
Potting your neo offsets…
my personal formula
Most neos are not too particular about
their potting media as long as it is free-
draining. While many will grow an
extensive root system, they often grow
in their habitat attached to a substrate
rather than on the ground in soil.
As epiphytes growing attached to
trees, their substrate is free-draining.
Most of us have favourite recipes for
growing media, and we’ll vary it to
suit the particular species or hybrid
in question. And eventual plant size
matters. So-called mini neos are small
and don’t want to be in a huge pot, and
I find that smaller pots dry out more
easily, so I add more water-holding
media like peat and coir to these. Large-
growing neos, like ones that have N.
concentrica or N. carcharodon in their
parentage, will get a large pot that could
become waterlogged, so I use more
chunky perlite and lava rock for those.
For longer-living species and hybrids,
I plan for permeability of the media
over time by using more inorganic
material (perlite and lava rock) and
chunky organic material that takes
longer to break down in the pot. For
medium and large growing neoregelias,
I typically use 5” to 8” plastic pots, and
I fill the pot to within an inch with
lightly packed media, placing the offset
in the middle of the pot. Often, I lodge
small cobbles around the offset to
brace it to be as motionless as possible.
Another technique is to brace the newly
potted offset with three bamboo stakes.
It is important to keep the offset braced
so that it can be undisturbed while it
grows its first roots.
My typical neo potting recipe is as
follows:
• 30% light potting soil, such as ‘seed
starter mix’ (a soil-less peat/perlite
media)
• 20% coir chunks
• 15% ground coir
• 10% medium size orchid bark
• 10% large-aggregate size perlite
• 15% 3/8” volcanic ‘Lava’ rock gravel
Place your potted offsets in a bright
place with indirect light. Being under
50% shade cloth is ideal for me. Your
young neos will grow and establish
themselves quickly in the next few
summer months!
18 19
– Graeme Barclay
‘KIWI BROMS’ CONFERENCE CORNER – APRIL 2021
Coming up... September ‘Rare Plant Fundraising Auction’
The time has nearly come for our second ‘Facebook Auction’ of the year to raise
funds for ‘Kiwi Broms’. Our earlier April auction was outstanding with over $6,700
raised, so it will be great to have another top effort to add to our fundraising total.
The auction will once again be hosted on the ‘Kiwi Trade A Bromeliad’ Facebook
page, during the week of September 15th to the 22nd, with all auctions finishing
progressively after 7:00pm on Sunday the 22nd. As with our previous fundraising
conference auctions, we are asking for donated plants only to be submitted, so 100%
of the auction proceeds go towards the conference fund.
Any BSNZ member from around the country is welcome to submit plants, bromeliad
books or artwork to auction, and anyone may participate in bidding and buying.
If you are not currently on Facebook and are maybe unsure about joining up, it is
completely free and very easy. Simply join Facebook then search for ‘Kiwi Trade A
Bromeliad’, click the ‘Join Group’ button and you will be approved access straight
away. The full auction instructions will be posted on this group page close to the start
date.
Finally, if you would like to donate something for the auction, you can either upload
plants to the Facebook group yourself any time from Sunday the 15th onwards, just
copy the format you will see I use for my own auction plants. I will then advise
you of an auction finishing time slot to add to your post. You are then in control
of receiving the money after the auction ends, getting your plant to the buyer, and
paying the BSNZ money received. Alternatively, you can simply send me photos of
your plant and I will upload them and do all the work for you. For submissions and
questions, please email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., send me a friend request on
Facebook, or phone 09-817-4153.
‘Kiwi Broms Logo’ and details of conference registration fees...
coming soon!
Lots of other things have been happening lately behind the scenes! Our ‘Kiwi
Broms’ conference logo is almost done and our conference subcommittee is on the
verge of setting the registration fees, based on our completed budgets and proposed
conference programme. Everything is looking very positive and we look forward to
bringing you the first details on the conference itself in our October Journal. Also
in October, I will be giving a ‘Kiwi Broms’ advertorial presentation to the ‘Golden
Broms’ Conference in the Gold Coast.
Hope you enjoy the auction!
Graeme Barclay
A
fter they were discovered in the
New World, the tropical and sub-
tropical Americas, they were
first brought to Europe in the 1700s,
where they caused a sensation. The first
two species being Ananas comosus,
the edible pineapple, and Bromelia
pinguin. Their widespread success can
be attributed in part to their range of
characteristics that allows them to appeal
to a broad spectrum of plant lovers. They
have a little something for everyone’s
preferences and tastes, from purely
ornamental to edible (e.g: pineapple).
Here are some of their variable
features:
• They come in all sizes. They range
in size from less than 2 inches long, the
smallest bromeliad Tillandsia usneoides,
(aka Spanish Moss or Old Man’s Beard),
to10 feet tall, the largest bromeliad Puya
raimondii that can also have a stalk up to
30 feet above the main plant.
• They grow in a number of shapes and
forms: vase-shape, rosette, symmetrical,
asymmetrical and upright.
• Their leaves come in many colours,
shapes, patterns, and textures. Leaf
colours include various shades of
green, red, orange, brown, burgundy
and some with discolour leaves that are
green on top and red underneath to let
in as much light to the plant as possible
in shady conditions. Leaf colour can
vary from top to bottom and change
when the plant is flowering often with
flushing towards the centre of the plant.
Leaf colour can also be variegated (i.e.
Why bromeliads are a global
phenomenon and vastly popular
with hobbyists and growers
– Marty Folk. Adapted from the Florida West Coast Bromeliad Society Newsletter
differently coloured zones on leaves, eg:
albomarginated-white edging around the
outer leaf.). Leaf shape varieties include
short, long, upright, pendant, narrow
(needle thin), and broad. Leaf patterns
can be spots, splotches, and straight
or wavy horizontal or vertical strips
and foliage vrieseas have what we call
fenestrations, which are little windows
that let light through the leaves to lower
leaves on the plant. Leaf textures include
matt, glossy, scurfy, thin, thick, curly,
wavy, with spines, and spineless.
• The bloom stalks (inflorescences)
can also be found in a myriad of sizes,
shapes, colours and textures. Flowers on
the stalks come in brilliant combinations
of red, blue, white, yellow, purple,
orange, green, pink and crimson.
• They grow three different ways –
epiphytic (growing on other plants,
typically trees), saxicolous (growing
on rocks), and terrestrial (growing with
roots in the ground).
• Some love full sun, some need part
shade, some are best in full shade, and
still others can adapt to these different
light conditions. Some thrive inside a
building and others need to be grown
outdoors in order to thrive.
• Some like moist growing conditions
while others prefer little or no direct
watering.
• They are, typically, easy to grow,
water-wise and can figuratively ‘live
forever’ through their offspring, most
commonly called pups that some
bromeliads provide in abundance, while
yet others produce sparingly.
20
Neoregelia ‘Royal Pheasant’
Andrew Devonshire – 2014 (Reg: Feb 2018)
New from New Zealand
– By Graeme Barclay
This great new hybrid would have been featured earlier, but other fantastic
plants from Andrew filled the slot - it’s time to catch up!
Neoregelia ‘Royal Pheasant’
PHOTO ANDREW DEVONSHIRE
M
ature, small open rosette
to 20cm diameter x 15cm.
high. Garnet red leaves with
striking irregular lime green / cream
cross-banding in strong light.

The parentage formula is; Neoregelia
‘Golden Pheasant’ x Neoregelia
(‘Roseo Lineata’ x ‘Marble Throat’) x
‘Royal Hawaiian’.

This beautiful new plant adds to
Andrew’s stable of brilliant ‘midi’
hybrids, using his own 2008 creation,
Neoregelia ‘Golden Pheasant’, as
the seed mother. Neoregelia ‘Golden
Pheasant’ is well known for its
well-defined, golden bandings, or
‘zonations’, across the leaves and
has been used as a parent in ten other
registered hybrids of Andrew’s to
date. In this case, the mix of genes in
the pollen parent (‘Roseo Lineata’ x
‘Marble Throat’) x ‘Royal Hawaiian’ –
(which is another of Andrew’s unnamed
hybrids), have helped produce quite a
different look to the other ten hybrids.
The standout feature is the rich, deep
red leaves, randomly marked with
the clean, creamy coloured and quite
lengthy zonations, mainly on the
undersides of the leaves. This plant has
forged new ground, adding a unique
and appealing contrast in the world of
mini/midi neoregelia.

Neoregelia ‘Royal Pheasant’ will
develop a compact, colourful rosette
in high light and will pup generously
if well fed to create a nice clump.
A perfect specimen for hanging
containers, where the zonations can be
viewed from below with light shining
through, making the plant ‘glow’.

Read more ...