Bromeliaceae VOLUME XLIII - No. 1 - JAN/FEB 2009 The Bromeliad Society of Queensland Inc. P. O. Box 565, Fortitude Valley Queensland, Australia 4006, Home Page www.bromsqueensland.com OFFICERS PRESIDENT Olive Trevor (07) 3351 1203 VICE PRESIDENT Anne McBurnie PAST PRESIDENT Bob Reilly (07) 3870 8029 SECRETARY Chris Coulthard TREASURER Glenn Bernoth (07) 4661 3 634 BROMELIACEAE EDITOR Ross Stenhouse SHOW ORGANISER Bob Cross COMMITTEE Greg Aizlewood, Bruce Dunstan, Barry Kable, Arnold James,Viv Duncan, David Rees MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Roy Pugh (07) 3263 5057 SEED BANK CO-ORDINATOR Doug Parkinson (07) 5497 5220 AUDITOR Anna Harris Accounting Services SALES AREA CASHIER Norma Poole FIELD DAY CO-ORDINATOR Ruth Kimber & Bev Mulcahy LIBRARIAN Evelyn Rees ASSISTANT SHOW ORGANISER Phil Beard SUPPER STEWARDS Nev Ryan, Barry Genn PLANT SALES Pat Barlow Phil James COMPETITION STEWARDS Dorothy Cutcliffe, Arnold James CHIEF COMPETITION STEWARD HOSTESS Gwen Parkinson BSQ WEBMASTER Ross Stenhouse LIFE MEMBERS Grace Goode OAM Peter Paroz, Michael O’Dea Editors Email Address: [email protected] The Bromeliad Society of Queensland Inc. gives permission to all Bromeliad Societies to re- print articles in their journals provided proper acknowledgement is given to the original author and the Bromeliaceae, and no contrary direction is published in Bromeliaceae. This permission does not apply to any other person or organisation without the prior permission of the author. Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the individual contributor and may not neces- sarily reflect the opinions of the Bromeliad Society of Queensland or of the Editor Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the information in their articles. Front Cover: Ae. recurvata var benrahii Photo by Ross Stenhouse Rear Cover : xGuzvriesea ‘Happa’ Photo by Ross Stenhouse Bromeliaceae 2 Jan/Feb 2009 Contents RECENT NEOREGELIA B REEDING ...........................................................................................5 BILLBERGIA DISTACHIA ‘PURPLE HAZE ’ ...............................................................................13 DECISIVE ACTION NEEDED - S.O.S NEO . ‘HEART M USIC ’ ....................................................15 WEIRD AND UNUSUAL P LACES TO GROW BROMELIADS . ..........................................................16 AECHMEA SERRATA /SMITHIORUM .........................................................................................22 BROMELIADS ANONYMOUS ...................................................................................................24 CALENDAR OF EVENTS ..........................................................................................................26 PLANT OF THE M ONTH P ROGRAMME FOR 2009 .....................................................................27 COMPETITION SCHEDULE FOR 2009 ......................................................................................27 Note from the Editor’s Desk David Rees has asked me to remind people that the library books are only on load for one month MAXIMUM of one month. If you have any books out from the society’s library please check to ensure you haven’t exceeded the load period, if so please return them. Important things to remember to do: 18th April - Bromeliad Symposium 18/19th April - Society’s Autumn Show and Sale of Bromeliads at Mt Cootha Botanic Gardens 2nd & 3rd May - Australian Open Garden Scheme at Anne McBurnie & Philip Beard’s garden Books For Sale The Society has the following books for sale: • Starting with Bromeliads $18 • Pitcher Plants of the Americas $60 • Bromeliads: A Cultural Manual $5 • Back Copies of Bromeliaceae (2005, 2006 Editions) $4 • Bromeliads for the Contemporary Garden by Andrew Steens $36 • Bromeliads: Next Generation by Shane Zaghini $33 Postage and package extra. Unfortunately we cannot supply overseas orders. Please phone the Librarian, Mrs Evelyn Rees (07) 3355 0432 to order books. Bromeliaceae 3 Jan/Feb 2009 Neo. ‘Caution’ Neo. ‘Mighty Impact’ Bromeliaceae 4 Jan/Feb 2009 tion, from variegated to green, yellowing in bright light. It was destined for the bin. Recent Neoregelia I don’t have a competitive bone in my Breeding body but a southern visitor said to me that it by Rob Smythe was a possible show champion because of its shape etc. Off it went for registration as N. ‘Champion’. Not acceptable I’m told. “Can’t Up to 2005 I dabbled with Neoregelia blow your own horn”. hybridization.. The amazing success of one of The fact that I told the registrar that I my first hybridization attempts should have was from the Smythe family and that it was a spurred me along much earlier. I crossed genetically dominant trait carried no weight! N. carolinae x concentrica x ‘Painted lady’ Usually throwing in a bit of science helps! (eventually registered as Neo. ’Lost in How did Neo. ‘First Prize’ get past him? Space’) with itself. I spawned three vari- Maybe it is not registered. Eventually my egated seedlings and thought nothing of it. now non-variegated plant was registered as Subsequently I realized this was a mammoth Neo. ‘Champers’. This came about because fluke as variegates almost invariably deliver in addition to sounding a bit like ‘champion’ albino or non-variegated offspring. the centre has all those white spots looking A friend passing through was given like champagne bubbles. one. After all, I had three. Visitors coming Without these I probably would not north were asking ‘Have you got any more of have registered it as it looked like a form of that plant with a girl’s name on it (Caroline) N. ‘Bruiser’ ‘Novar’. This is a genetically that you gave John?’ closely related plant. Just change ‘Painted Eventually I visited John and what a Lady’ in the formula above to concentrica and beauty it was. As near to perfect in shape, you have ‘Bruiser’. To be absolutely honest conformation and markings as any artist with you, in the early days , post registration, could produce. I said to John that this has to be named. He said to name it after his wife so it became Neo. ‘Iris’. Pictures of Neo. ‘Iris’ and Neo. ‘Lost in Space’ can be found on (page 35 Jul/Aug 2008 Bromeliaceae). The second plant of merit from this Suppliers of fine cross was what is now known as Neo. ‘Cham- tissue-cultured bromeliads pers’. (page 39 Jul/Aug 2008 Bromeliaceae). This plant quickly reverted, before registra- [email protected] Bromeliaceae www.plantbiotech.com.au Production Crew Phone (07) 5471 6036 Editor: Ross Stenhouse Postal Address: 7 Thougla Place, Proofreader, and distribution manager: Buderim QLD 4556 Roy Pugh Lab: 99 West Coolum Road, Regular Contributors : Derek Butcher, Mount Coolum QLD 4573 Rob Smythe, Rob Reilly, Peter Paroz Bromeliaceae 5 Jan/Feb 2009 I saw N. ‘Bruiser’ plants sold with either the walk up to me with the crossing label in their correct or the ‘Lost in Space’, formula shown hand. “Have you got a spare of this”? “Which on the tag. vase did you take it out of?” Ho, hum, yet Neo. ‘Champers’ eventually threw another one wasted. a variegated pup which was registered as Now for some of my more recent Neo. ‘Champers Bubbles’. (page 37 Jul/Aug crosses. Neo. ‘Bobby Dazzler’ is quite mag- 2008 Bromeliaceae). The third variegated nificent in itself. From this I bred N. ‘Soft and seedling in this trilogy was dumped as it was Cuddly‘ (Page 35 Nov/Dec Bromeliaceae). too white. This was a result of a selfing of the As another aside, see pages 166 and 167 plant. It was initially considered to be a throw of Andrew Steen’s’ new book you will see a away seedling. I look for early colouring cultivar of Neo. ‘Lost in Space’. Interesting, first then unusual colour or markings, then as at the time of publication, all plants of this for shape. As a seedling Neo. ‘Soft and Cud- registration were still in my garden. It took dly’ only survived due to its excellent shape. me years of selection of pup traits to get my Several times I considered ditching it but then desired plant’s traits. I think N. ‘Serendipity the pink suffusion started at the tips, and with Girl’(page 33 Jul/Aug 2008 Bromeliaceae) yellowish leaves and a large size it became a took eight years to develop. stunner. At maturity, it threw in a couple of What is the bet that someone named attractive red bands towards its centre. their plant after seeing the formula of the A month later the yellow centre became cross on the FCBS site? This is not illegal but stunningly pink. This one is just so different the two plants have to be identical according to any Neo. that I have seen. And rivals the to plant data and not only with the picture. best that I have bred. Another from the same That is enough about the older ones. cross named Neo. ‘Bobby’ is depicted (Page I will now like to concentrate on the newer 31 Nov/Dec Bromeliaceae). This plant mor- ones. phology is as per Neo. ‘Bobby Dazzler’ but Mostly these have grown from seed is more or less concolour red with a textured sown from 2005 onwards. At the time of appearance. The Bobby Dazzler’s yellow you read this they may not yet have appeared spots are completely missing. Two additional as photos on the FCBS site , however they ‘Bobby Dazzler’ hybrids registered by me should all be in the data bank. A lot of their are Neo. ‘Code Z’ = Neo. ‘Cordite’ x Neo. photos were used as fillers in the last edition ‘Bobby Dazzler’ and Neo. ‘Rose Dazzle’ = on Bromeliaceae( Nov/Dec 2008). Firstly, Neo. ‘Rosy Morn’ x Neo. ‘Bobby Dazzler’. how do I cross them? - I imitate a bird’s beak. The former is very similar to Neo. ‘Emerald Poke something into one flower, check for City’, and the latter is a softer marked, larger pollen, then place pollen into the pod parent’s form of Neo. ‘Bobby Dazzler’. flower. I have learnt my lesson and only put I use Neo. ‘Rosy Morn’ a lot in my the one cross onto the pod parent plant. I breeding program as I like big plants. There pollinate 4 to 6 flowers. are at least four forms of Neo. ‘Rosy Morn’ This helps me to decide if the plant is around. I use the white flowered form unless self pollinating and prevents mixed labels.