NEWS East London LETTER Bromeliad Society March 2018

South Africa Established: 25 July 2009

Our aim is to promote and encourage awareness and interest in Bromeliads in East London and all of South Africa!

ELBS is an Affiliated Society of Bromeliad Society International

A visit to Ester’s farm garden! What a splendid venue for our February meeting!! Many thanks to Esther Botha, a brand new member of the society who hosted 28 members and 8 visitors at her lush coastal farm, Adelsicht on the Schafli Road 19km from East London.

Ester has created a wonderful farm garden in only six years, spreading all around the house creating a sheltered spot for the house and wedding venue, The Vineyard Guest Lodge. The work of a courageous lady. She loves planting and creating gardens, there are lovely areas of groupings of including all sorts of shrubs, agapanthus, cycads and aloes under large trees and even a nook with bonsai Ester at the entrance to Vineyard Guest and of course bromeliads!!! Lodge and Wedding Venue with lovely Together with her late gardens on either side. husband, they planned and planted the vineyard, hoping to one day try and make some wine. It is a living memory to a husband with whom Ester shared the planning and building of everything that is on the farm which they bought on the internet without seeing it first! In the front, there are lovely iceberg roses around a fountain to greet visitors to the The Vinyard Wedding Venue which she has successfully got off the ground. We held our meeting in the main ‘hall’ of the venue which has stunning views all the way

Next Meeting: Sunday 25th March at 2 for 2.30pm. Hosted by Miriam Kennard at 43 Grace Crescent Beacon Bay. Don’t forget to bring your chair if you want a seat.

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to the sea, overlooking a typical Eastern Cape coastal landscape. In the paddock there are goats and donkeys, rabbits, chickens and ducks and some impala and blesbok in a nearby field. It was a super meeting too, I am sure everyone who attended will agree! Thank you for hosting the meeting Ester, your first one as a member too!!! and sharing your very special ‘place on this earth’ with all of us.

Xenia Winther gave us a ‘first time’ talk on ‘Starting with Bromeliads’, and a fine job she did, appealing to all the newer members amongst us.

Starting with Bromeliads - Xenia Winther • What to do when you buy or receive a Bromeliad : first thing, ask for the type (eg. Neoregelia, Aechmea, Billbergia ), and name (eg. 'Galaxy', 'Inferno', sanguinea ). • Check to see where the has been growing: sun, shade, dappled shade, under shade cloth etc. This along with the name and type will help you to determine where and how to place and care for your new plant/s. • If no identification can be found, take your plant with you to your Bromeliad Society or to an experienced grower for identification and advice, or if all else fails try the internet. • Transporting: GOOD IDEA, always keep a box or crate in the boot of your car for easy, clean transporting. Remember to empty all excess water from the cups of tank type bromeliads eg Neoregelia , Aechmea etc. Place your plants as close together as possible without them crushing each other to help prevent them from falling Xenia Winther presenting ‘Starting with over. Bromeliads ’ at the February meeting. • NEVER, EVER leave plants in a parked car in hot sun, they can get ‘COOKED’. For long distance trips stop and air (refresh), your plants and yourselves regularly, no one enjoys a hot stuffy car. • WHAT TO DO AT HOME, until you know exactly what your bromeliad is and the conditions under which it has been growing, rather place it in shade or dappled shade. You can’t reverse sunburn, so rather be safe than sorry. Check the size of the pot, most bromeliads have a small root An Aechmea grown in too much A Neoregelia that has been burnt system and don’t need or want a huge pot. If shade. by the hot sun. you want to keep the plant in the pot check that the soil isn’t soggy and that the plant is not planted too deeply. (the soil should just cover the roots). • BARE ROOTED PLANTS (the plants are not in pots when you get them) especially Neoregelia , Aechmea and other epiphytic bromeliads can simply be wedged upright amongst other plants or supports in a shaded, or semi- shaded position. They can grow like that for months, just remember to water the leaves. • PLANTING OR PLACING OUT. Don’t place a shade grown plant in sun straight away. Acclimatize or harden the plant off over a period of months, gradually moving the plant into more sun. Bromeliads like well drained soil so don’t plant them in a bog, you can improve your soil by adding small stone or coarse Grown in too little light and too sand to your potting medium. You can leave your plant in the pot until you close together. are happy with its position. • To avoid plants blowing over half bury the pot in soil for extra stability, group plants together that like the same growing conditions and support with stones or rocks or place gravel and stones in the potting mix. Keep your plants away from copper and treated wood, as these are toxic to your plant. • HOW TO IDENTIFY SHADE PLANTS: Soft green leaves with small or no spines, discolour leaves (green on top and purple/ pink/ reddish underneath the leaf). Note there are exceptions which have coloured leaves. Eg. Guzmania , Nidularium . • SUN TOLERANT: Mostly tough, spiny green and coloured leaves, morning sun or dappled shade is best. A lot of broms scorch and burn in the midsummer afternoon sun. If your plant gets too much sun it may burn or bleach but don’t throw it away as it will probably still produce pups (babies). If your plant is grown in too much shade, the leaves will grow long, very green and thin with little or no colour. Gradually move it into

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more sun over a period of months. • Bromeliads are generally easy plants to grow with few pests and diseases, and it’s very easy to get addicted to them and start collecting.

Show and Tell Vilma Murray showed us an un-named Guzmania from her garden that is struggling a bit and asked where it should be positioned to grow to its best, as she has a very sunny garden with not much shade. It has very soft leaves with no spines, so is best Pete with his stunning clump of Wallisia Vilma’s un-named Guzmania she grown in dappled light to shade. cyanea . brought to get some advice.

Dr Pete Pfister showed us his lovely clump of Wallisia cyanea (formerly cyanea ) which he has had for a long time. It is growing in a hanging basket in his shadehouse. They need a fair amount of sun to ensure that they bloom.

Robert Moss showed a splendid clump of Vriesea 'Astrid' in a hanging basket.

Robert also brought along Vriesea simplex or is it V. scalaris ? to try and clarify the name as there has been some controversy over over V. scalaris and V. simplex, they are so Robert’s very similar. Vriesea ‘Astrid’ right, and Vriesea What is that? - Lyn simplex on the left. Wegner

Tillandsia multicaulis I chose this as our species plant for the meeting as it was blooming and looking good! It is one of the tank type Tillandsia (air plant), with soft green leaves. These are often potted as they usually require more moisture. They also pup more prolifically when potted.

This Tillandsia species grows in the humid cloud forests from almost sea level up to 2300m from Southern Mexico to Panama. Multicaulis refers to the many stems of the inflorescence. It is a small/medium sized plant with lots of leaves forming a dense rosette. The leaves are pale apple green, purplish towards the base. Several scapes (inflorescence stems, which usually extend beyond the leaves), narrow and upright, emerge from the axils of the leaves. There are 6 to 8 scapes, lanceolate (paddle-shaped, widening from the base and tapering to a point), 10 to 20cm long with numerous red, shiny complanate (flattened), imbricate (overlapping) floral bracts (leaf-like plant part, sometimes brightly coloured and found below a flower), shorter than the leaves. The petals are very long and erect, 6 to 7cm and blue/lilac. This species is quite epiphytic but will adapt Lyn’s Tillandsia multicaulis to a pot requiring a very free draining mix. This is a showy colourful species but a difficult grower. It has a soft leaved rosette. It produces several lateral (from the side) inflorescences from the leaf axils. The spikes, similar to a goldfish in shape, have flowers with shiny red bracts and blue petals. Grows in shade, with cool night temperatures.

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I was lucky to find all the above information in some of my bromeliad books, as there is very little information on the internet.

I have found the plant very easy to grow. It is in the shade house, potted, and I don't think the mix is as free draining as it should be. It is watered now and then, sometimes it might be too dry and sometimes too wet! especially if we have had good rain. I don't feed it (poor thing!) but probably did give it some Vitaboost granules some time ago. It's beautiful and I love it! Visiting sisters, Martie Barbs, Alison Horsfall and her visiting Annandale and Christa twin sister, Sheila Scheppening. Member News Klinck. • We welcome Ester Botha to our merry throng of bromeliad fanatics!!! May you enjoy being a member as we all learn together. • Winner of the annual BSI Membership Draw is Gabriel Scholtz. Congratulations !!! • Sincere condolences to Barbara and Glenn Miles on the loss of Barbara’s father. We are thinking of you and your family at this sad time.

Thanks Glen and Bev Reynolds with New member Wendy Fiebiger • Many thanks to Ester Botha for hosting us! visitors, cousin Terrence was joined by her husband Reynolds and his wife, Wendy. Trevor this month. • Xenia Winther for the talk on ‘Growing Bromeliads’ • Dr Pete Pfister and Lyn Wegner for Lucky Draw plants. • Lyn Wegner, Brenda Wegner Lyn Odendaal and Norma Hart for give-aways. • Larraine Parathyras for organising eats for tea time. • Norma Hart and Nancy Brindley for being on tea duty.

Congratulations to the February Raffle Winners • Tracy Moss chose Neoregelia 'Cosmos'. • Elna Smit chose Aechmea fasciata 'Rubra'. • Larraine Parathyras chose Neoregelia 'Blushing Tiger x Norman Bates'. • Ester Botha chose Neoregelia carolinae x 'Painted Lady' x concentrica. • Johan Bouwer from Graaff-Reinet chose Tillandsia Lucky Winners for February: Larraine Parathyras, Tracy Moss and remota in a wire basket . Ester Botha. Elna Smit, Ester’s sister also won a raffle but was • Norman and Hantie Weitz from Pretoria still to make unable to be at the meeting. their choice. • Eugene Ernest from Durban chose Neoregelia 'Cocktail Girls'. • Allan and Jolanda Nel from Pretoria chose Aechmea 'Silver Streak'.

Lucky draw winners: • There were numerous lucky draws.

From the Chairman Xenia with Dudley Reynolds Gordon and Vilma Murray with Observing a Bromeliad ‘newby’ who has just who added a few interesting Roy Anderson in the middle. been exposed to this plant family for the first facts to Xenia’s talk. time is so refreshing. It is wonderful to see the desire they have to get hold of any bromeliad they can get their hands on and how enthusiastic they are to gain new knowledge and information about the plants. This stirs the passion in some of us older collectors and renews our enthusiasm by sharing our knowledge that we have gained over the years with these individuals. That's what it is all about hey!! sharing the passion.

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Thank you Ester, for sharing your lovely farm with us. We hope your association with ELBS SA as a new member will be a long one and that your collection will grow in leaps and bounds.

Now that Summer has reached its peak and Autumn is looming, the bromeliads that have suffered and bleached from the harsh sun will be able to recover. As I walk through my garden the more lucky ones which received filtered light are certainly looking fabulous in their bright, vivid kaleidoscope of colours. In a garden such as mine where I have many different colours all mixed, it is difficult on the eye and takes quite a while to register what you are seeing. Maybe one day I will consider grouping my colours, a lot of folk do this with amazing results. For now it is a good excuse to spend more time looking at my broms and sharing them with others. Until we chat again next month. Happy bromming !

Upcoming Society Events 25th March: The meeting will be hosted by Miriam Kennard at 43 Grace Crescent, Beacon Bay at 2.30pm. Don’t forget your chair if you want a seat! Topic: A demonstration and discussion on Splitting Bromeliads, which is always interesting as there are so many different varieties. Bring yours along if you want help splitting them.

29th April: Our host will be Les and Andre Dry at 27 Hillcrest Drive, Beacon Bay.

27th May: Our host will be Brenda Wegner at 19 Putney Avenue, Nahoon Valley.

Upcoming International Conferences 2018: World Bromeliad Conference to be held in San Diego, California from 29 May to 3 June 2018. This will be the third WBC that will be held in San Diego, California.

2019: ‘Golden Broms’ 17-20 October 2019 Hosted by the Gold Coast Succulent and Bromeliad Society Inc. at the Sea World Resort on the Gold Coast. This will be the 20th Australasian Bromeliad Conference. For contact information go to the conference website at www.goldenbroms.com

2021: The New Zealand Bromeliad Society will be hosting the bi-annual Australasian Bromeliad Conference again in 2021.

From the Members Gabriel Scholtz from Wilderness . Bromeliad Kingdom – Realm of the Keystone Species. I have always possessed a sincere and bottomless love for the botanical world and more specifically, Bromeliads. I must give full credit to my Mom, Dad and my siblings for a myriad of different reasons leading to this botanical insanity.

I had learned about tropical Gabriel with one of his Alcantarea. Right an item rainforest flora and fauna as a mere in the SA Garden and Home!! boy of about eight or nine years. When I reached the age of 12, I started saving all my pocket money to buy specific plants on my way home from church with my Dad and Gran. I was also going around my neighbourhood from door to door - or rather garden to garden - in search of plants to add to this exciting collection I had started. I was trying to replicate a rainforest in our backyard. One day, I came across a particular plant offered to me by an old lady. This pale green plant looked poorly cared for and was armed with spines. It had an almost diseased appearance: horizontal silver banding on the ventral surface, a less silver and dusty interior and an old spiny brown inflorescence. In its centre it had a deep funnel with water in the very bottom. I kindly refused her offer, saying that I was only searching for plants of a tropical nature and this could certainly not be tropical.

Luckily for me, in my mother’s care it was compulsory for all of us to belong to the local library and we went once per week. I spent Friday afternoons there to collect books for the

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weekend. Needless to say I discovered that the plant I had turned down a week earlier belonged to an ecological grouping of plants of tropical origin that I immediately became fanatical about. The very next Sunday afternoon, I corrected my cheeky blunder and brought home my first Bromeliad , Aechmea fasciata. My backyard rainforest flourished!

I later went and spent time in the United States and returned to study Nature Conservation. Once I started earning a salary like a real adult, most of it went (and still goes) into my ever expanding collection. I learned to grow a great many plants from seed and cuttings.

During February, 2013 I featured in the South African Garden and Home magazine. An article entitled ‘5 Minutes with Gabriel Scholtz’. This was a very important five minutes, as it allowed me to share a fragment of my botanical love with readers from all over South Africa. After being asked so many questions about plants, soils, gardening, the conservation of nature and everything in between, I thought what better way to do all of this than to launch a YouTube channel. It has been running for only a couple of months but already gardeners from far and wide are starting to pay attention.

The thought of being able to share and acquire information about the natural world means everything to me. There is much more to share but I will leave all readers with the following quote of my own imaginings:

“If our children can learn and respect that every plant has life, displays thought and movement, no matter how insignificant, how much more then would we respect ourselves and our fellow man?” – Gabriel Scholtz.

You can contact Gabriel at [email protected]

Kathy Botha, Port Elizabeth: A couple of years ago I bought a Neoregalia ‘Golden Idol’ from Lyn Wegner and she warned me that it may not meet my expectations of what I had seen on the internet. This photo is of a pup that has had sun most of the day and I think it has coloured up beautifully! The mother is long gone but I have 2 large green pups on another plant. They are in the same position so I am looking forward to them colouring up as well.

Kathy also sent a photo of Neoregelia ‘Gold Medal’ and its pup. The mother is the regular N. ‘Gold Medal’ but the Kathy’s Neoregelia ‘Gold Medal’, left and its Neoregelia ‘Golden Idol’, grown in sun most of the pup seems to be a sport very different looking pup on the right. day. as the coloring is so different… far more white and it looks like it should be a different brom altogether. The white pup has not flowered yet but I can see that it is also getting a tiny pup which looks like it is going to be white as well. Any idea why this should be so ?

How are you all coping with the water situation? We are turning our swimming pool (which we don’t use) into a water storage tank and will use the water for the garden! We have ordered the cover, pump and bits and pieces to put it all together. I will let you know how it works out... hopefully it will be good. You can contact Kathy at: [email protected]

From the Editor We are reaping the rewards of fantastic February rains in and around East London; everything in the garden is looking its very, very splendid best, including the weeds. But I am sure we have Lyn Wegner’s Tillandsia mallemontii , fragrant and a sight to behold! never before had so little sunshine for this time of year. Now is the time to check on your potting mix and make sure that your plants are draining well. Broms don’t like sitting in a watery pot, they will develop rot, so check the base of your soft leaved B romeliads like, Guzmania and Vriesea . Pruning, splitting and potting has been on going, removing dead leaves and re-arranging two beds that have been bugging me for years. It is so good to sit back and

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think, that looks far nicer and the broms are shown off to When the novice Bromeliad monk better advantage. first came into the monastery nursery, s/he was given the task Thank you so much to those of looking after the seedling who have contributed to the newsletter this month, you Tillandsia . After a year the master are stars! If you have time, do came to visit and the novice drop me a line about yourself pointed out the seedlings grow so and your bromeliad slowly there was little perceptible experiences and a few difference and s/he was keen to photos of your favourites, we move into the meditation of would all love to see them in growing “real plants”; like the newsletter; it is your Neoregelia . The master chance to brag, especially suggested to continue with for our country members! Tillandsia for a while longer. To the frustration of the novice this Spread your love of these Barbs: One of my biggest Alcantarea , A. incredible plants! nahoumii is really getting huge. I love the went on year after year. Then on You can all join our Facebook form of these Bromeliads and almost wish the twentieth year when the Group and post your photos they would never bloom as then I shall lose master came to visit, the novice the mother plant. Alcantarea do send out there to get positive grass pups around the base and I have over said that s/he had finally realised feedback or advice. the years managed to get a few off it and that growing Tillandsia was the others and they are all growing well. Very ultimate form of meditation. The Local members, we slow though. encourage you to bring your master said “upon this problem or stunning bromeliads for Show and Tell at the meetings enlightenment you no longer need where you can get advice or just plain show off! Why not? to tend the Tillandsia , you can now move into the Neo house”. I shall not be at the next meeting as Dr Boots and Alison Horsfall and But the Novice replied “Thank myself will be singing our hearts out at a performance of Gabriel you, but no. I would rather stay Faure’s ‘Requiem’ by the Cantata Choir. I am sorry I shall miss the here, look there is actually one meeting, it is always a good time to chat and swap brom stories with plant in flower and its fragrance other ‘bromaholics’ and commune with such a lovely bunch of folks. So, make it a good one, ‘Splitting Bromeliads’ is on the agenda and fills the air. you can also enjoy Miriam's beautiful garden.

To those of you who have not been to a meeting in a while, you have been missed, life is busy, I know, hope we see you soon.

Happy bromming to you all.

This is a publication for the East London Bromeliad Society, South Africa for the interest of its members. Articles may be used by non profit societies with acknowledgement to the author where applicable and East London Bromeliad Society South Africa. Please use the photos that accompany the article used. If you require higher resolution photos please request them from the Editor.

Any opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the Tillandsia straminea Planet Bromeliad Society. When submitting items for inclusion in this newsletter, please ensure that all information, including spelling is checked and accurate.

ELBS is an affiliate of the Bromeliad Society International.

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ELBS Address: c/o 18 Wentworth Road, Sunnyridge, East London 5201 South Africa, [email protected]

We meet on the last Sunday of every month at 2.00 for 2.30pm, January to November, at various venues around East London. We have a topic for each meeting and Show and Tell where members are encouraged to bring along their brag or problem plants. There are member raffles, lucky draws for those present, tea time, library and member plant sales, plus a monthly newsletter sent out via e-mail only. Visitors are always welcome and can attend three meetings before they will need to join the society in order to continue attending. Annual subs are R120.00 for individuals/families and R60 for students.

Committee Members Chairman: Dudley Reynolds 079 488 2360 [email protected] Vice- Chairman: Dr Peter Pfister 082 625 5533 [email protected] PRO & Secretary: Lyn Wegner 043 736 1737 082 970 2293 [email protected] Treasurer: Lynn Friend 043 748 2271 083 318 1179 [email protected] Editor & Publisher: Barbara Black 043 7212775 O72 1787 421 [email protected]

Proof Reader: Lyn Wegner 043 736 1737 082 970 2293 [email protected] Raffles: Lyn Odendaal 043 726 1075 083 441 6813 [email protected] Librarian: Brenda Wegner 082 743 2141 [email protected] Catering Co-ordinators: Larraine Parathyras 043 726 3167 082 594 4559 [email protected] Events Co-ordinator: Brenda Wegner 082 743 2141 [email protected]

Additional member: Betty Heunis 073 226 1610 [email protected] Sound System Xenia Winter 043 726 2978 083 981 1312 [email protected]

Peter Cook from Sunnybroms (Australia) has very kindly created a link to ELBS SA newsletters on their web page: https://bromeliadnewsletters.wordpress.com/east-london-south-africa/ • You can access all the back copies from 2016 of the ELBS SA Newsletters • The first of the BSI BCR changes and cultivar changes generated via DNA studies complied by Derek Butcher the BSI Cultivar Registrar.

You will find ELBS on Facebook: [email protected] or type ‘East London Bromeliad Society’ into the fb search bar. You can request to join the group and will then be able to upload your photos and comments on the wall. The ELBS SA page and other bromeliad related sites are a useful and informative forum to share and ‘meet up’ with other like-minded bromeliad folks. There are also many other bromeliad related sites that you can join and become part of a world wide online sharing environment.

You can view most of all the bromeliads mentioned in meetings or in the newsletter at the following websites:

The BSI’s official Bromeliad Cultivar Registry www.registry.bsi.org which is maintained by Geoff Lawn, the BSI Cultivar Registrar. Plus other information regarding the Bromeliad Society International is found at bsi.org

Florida Council of Bromeliad Societies: fcbs.org This is a very useful site to reference many bromeliads where you can clarify identification or just trawl through the site and add to your wish list!

Encyclopedia of Bromeliads - http://bromelia.club (Bromeliad Taxonomists and Growers Society) has photographs. It also now has keys for the genera and sub-genera. If you like to be informed what is happening, just follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bromeliadsencyclopedia Just type in ‘Encyclopeadia of Bromeliads’ into the Facebook search bar.

For internet resources you can also go to TAXON (The New Bromeliad List) for the most authoritative and right up to date list of genera and species, accepted and new names and taxonomic keys - http:// botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/taxonList.php or just type in ‘ New Bromeliad Taxon List’ , it's much easier!

Photo Credits: Barbara Black, Lyn Wegner, Gabriel Scholtz, Kathy Botha

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