NEWS East London LETTER Bromeliad Society May 2015 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 April Meeting and News A really super meeting was held in the garden of Nancy Brindley and Roy Anderson’s home in Beacon Bay. Nancy’s collection of broms has grown and some very creative areas are developing combined with her love of creating sculptures that can be seen in parts of the garden. The autumn sunshine obliged to add to a lovely afternoon under that gorgeous flamboyant tree whose low branches connected with a few heads Our hosts for the meeting, Roy Anderson and Nancy Brindley and their during the afternoon!! It was good to lovely garden, you can see the broms are spreading here and there, welcome new members, visitors and evidence of Nancy’s growing collection all creatively placed. especially new country members Alex Viossat and Michel Barau from Port Edward. Alex told us a bit about themselves, Alex hails from Madagascar and Michel from Reunion Islands and they specialise in growing heliconias and gingers for the cut flower market. Alex also collects aloe species and succulents. The brom bug has now seriously bitten, hence their visit to East London to attend our monthly meeting and visit quite a few members gardens! Continuing with our discussions on the Barbs and Eddie Black, Roy Anderson, Alex More of Nancy's garden with different bromeliad genera that make up the Viossat, Michel Barau and Brenda Wegner. Aechmea ‘David Barry’ bromeliad family, Pete Pfister discussed blooming in the foreground. Guzmania and Hohenbergia this month. Pete brought many of his stunning and colourful examples to share with us as did Eddie Black, Dudley Reynolds and Lyn Wegner. Guzmania and Hohenbergia presented by Pete Pfister Guzmania grow mainly in the Northwest of South America. The genus is named after a Spanish pharmacist and naturalist, Anastasio Guzman. There are 185 natural species in the genus Guzmania and 348 hybrid varieties at this time, according to the fcbs.org website. More are being hybridised all the time! They are the most widespread of house plants in the world due mostly to their long lasting inflorescence. There are Dutch, Belgian and USA nurseries that cultivate guzmania hybrids in their millions for the commercial Next meeting: Sunday 31st May, 2.30pm. To be hostePete’sd bystunning Elna SmitGuzmania at 15 Hart Street in Gonubie. market. They are tank-type epiphytes, growing in the Please bring your mug, chair and gardening friends.‘Amaranth’ See youwith itsthere!! dark purple lower shady sections of rainforests. Their leaves are inflorescence. East London Bromeliad Society May 2015 Page 1 soft, with smooth edges, usually green but there are some with reddish coloured foliage and there are many with variegated leaves eg. Guz mania ‘Georgia’. They need protection from the wind and sun and grow best in shady, damp areas in our gardens. They do not like to be wet and cold, so need free draining A group of gorgeous guzzies! Guzmania Pete Pfister amongst his fabulous guzzies he wittmackii is the tall one in the centre. brought to the meeting to illustrate his talk. potting mix or soil if planted out in the garden. Flower spikes (infloresences) come in many colours, sizes and a few form variations. In 1776 Guzmania lingulata was one of the first few bromeliads brought to Europe. Guzmania sanguinea and Guzmania wittmackii the flowers has a tall flower spike emerging. and there are a Guzmania lingulata Eddie Black’s Guzmania zahnii. few colour forms including amethyst, orange, purple, red, rose and y e l l o w . Guzmania ‘Amaranth’ has a Guzmania ‘Orangeade’ lovely dark purple inflorescence. The top layer of foliage of Guzmania sanguinea colours spectacularly in shades of yellow, orange and red as the plant Dudley Reynolds’ stunning Guzmania Eddie Black’s Guzmania ‘Hope’. ‘Georgia’, which was also a Show prepares to bloom . It could be mistaken for a and Tell plant. neoregelia as the orange/yellow flowers peep out the centre. Guzmania ‘Orangeade’ pups freely and blooms regularly. Guzmania zahnii, I got it from Donald at Amalinda Nursery, it has a lovely golden yellow flower spike. Hohenbergia This striking family of bromeliads originate from parts of Brazil, Central America and the Caribbean. The genus was named in 1830, after the Prince of Wurttemberg, a German patron of botany known as Hohenberg . There are 42 species and fcbs.org shows only one hybrid, Hohenbergia ‘Maria Valentina’ a cv of H. stellata , registered in 2005. They are large impressive plants that can be mistaken for aechmeas. Excellent used for landscaping. They can be grown as epiphytes. They are tough, sun hardy and flourish best in a sub tropical warm garden. They are frost tender. The flower spikes are sturdy with star shaped clusters of flowers. The most attractive is probably Hohenbergia Right: A young example of correia-araujoi which was discovered in 1979, Hohenbergia correia-araujoi. East London Bromeliad Society May 2015 Page 2 with its incredible l e a f markings, like chocolate fudge ripple!! It has lovely drooping base leaves which are Hohenbergia ‘Maria Valentina’ b e s t displayed when the plant is grown in a tall pot and it has a tall interesting inflorescence. Hohenbergia Hohenbergia stellata Lyn Wegner brought these two beauties, Hohenbergia magnispina cv stellata has a tall flower spike with scarlet ‘Karla’ and Hohenbergia ramageana. bracts and purple flowers. Pete showed us a spike off one of his hohenbergia to illustrate the interesting formation of the inflorescence. Beautiful, even when the colours have faded. Lyn Wegner presented her Guzmania monostachia ‘Alba’ form (white). This species is found in South and Central America, the West Indies and Florida, USA. It is referred to as the West Indian tufted plant. I was surprised to read they like a sunny to part shady position and moist soil. It is an epiphyte. It has an unusual, attractive (I think) inflorescence which unfortunately is short lived. Mine grows in my shade house but I will now try mounting it in a sunny spot. Zena McClaren presented a lovely neoregelia variety with a strange little plant growing in the centre cup, (right) it looks like a mini neo and definitely not a flower. Almost as if a seed has started germinating in the centre. Zena will bring it along It’s growing!! to another meeting so we can follow how it develops. Dudley Reynolds brought along his beautiful Guzmania ‘Georgia’, pictured on previous page. Member news: • We welcome new local members Gail Martin and Irene Manthe!!! Awesome ladies, so glad you have joined our happy band of brom enthusiasts! and also a new country member Michel Barau from Port Edward in KZN! Super to have you join the society and come to East London to attend a meeting, we hope to see you and Alexandre at our Open Day at the end of June! Thanks • Roy Anderson and Nancy Brindley for opening their garden and ‘Pub’ to us for the meeting!!! • Brenda Wegner, Sue Pema and David Flint for goodies for tea time. • Lyn Wegner and Pete Pfister for plant donations for lucky draws. Tea Duty Maureen is away so, for the next 2 months please contact Larraine Parathyras if you have any queries regarding tea duties. 082 594 4559 or [email protected] May: Christine and Koos Steyn, Lynn Friend and Pete Pfister June: Open Day: We will need bakers and helpers for serving teas on the day! Please contact Larraine if you can assist. July: AGM and 6th Birthday!!! Billy and Sheila Gerretsen, Barbara and Eddie Black, Brian and Bridget Kroger. Aug: Norma Hart, Miriam Kennard, Larraine Parathyras East London Bromeliad Society May 2015 Page 3 Raffle Winners for April Only Society members can buy tickets for the Raffle Draw. They can be bought for R5.00each from Norma Hart at the meeting. Country members can buy raffle tickets from Lyn, your winning bromeliad will be posted to you. The Attendance Lucky Draws are open to members and visitors at the meeting. Members are encouraged to bring special bromeliads for the raffle draw selection. They will be paid for their plant if it is chosen by a winner. Congratulations to our Raffle Winners!! • Zena McClaren chose Neoregelia ' Red Macaw '. • David Flint chose Neoregelia ' Lemon Tease '. • Sue Pema chose Neoregelia 'Bold Streak' x David Flint chose Neoregelia Zena McClaren chose 'Lemon Tease '. Neoregelia ' Red Macaw '. mcwilliamsii. • Irene Manthe chose Vriesea fenestralis. • Allan Nel from Pretoria chose xCanmea seidelianum x Aechmea fosteriana. • Eugene Ernest from Durban chose Neoregelia 'Naomi Ceniza'. • Adele and Beurich Groenewald from Cape Town chose Neoregelia kautskyi. • Trish Burns from Port Elizabeth still to choose her winning brom. Lucky Draws • There were numerous lucky draws of various broms. From the Chairman - Dudley Reynolds Sue Pema chose Neoregelia Irene Manthe with her choice, Hello to all bromeliofiles! Autumn is here and so is the 'Bold Streak' x mcwilliamsii. Vriesea fenestralis. opportunity to get things done in the garden, which there was no time for or too hot to tackle, earlier in the year. A warm welcome to our three new members, Irene Manthe and Gail Martin, both from East London and Michel Barau from Port Edward. We hope your association with ELBS will be a long and very rewarding one. The guzmania brought by various members for Pete Pfister’s talk at the last meeting were stunning. Pete’s informative talk on the genus certainly wets my Neoregelia kautskyi Neoregelia 'Naomi Ceniza' appetite to acquire more of these beauties, as I only have a few in my collection.