NEWS East London LETTER Bromeliad Society April 2016 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 March Meeting held on 3rd April! We had a fabulous, relaxed meeting at the home of Lynn Friend, our Treasurer. Lyn is fairly new to bromeliads but her collection is growing and the garden is ideal for broms to flourish, with lovely dappled shady spots from big trees and a path meandering down a tiered slope. I especially enjoyed ‘the man’ on an old tree stump. Every angle I took a photo from, he had a different expression! Haha! I noted the water tank tucked away at the side of the front garden and thought, most of us have invested in a water tank by now. If you haven’t Lynn Friend our hostess for the afternoon with her choice of and have the space, it is such an essential and plant, Tillandsia lindenii and some photos of her garden. worthwhile investment these days, especially to water your special plants with rain water or just to save using municipal water which costs an arm and a leg! Thanks Lynn for sharing your garden and home with all of us! Dudley welcomed us all to the meeting using our new PA system, what a difference it makes to those sitting in the back rows! Pete gave a talk on which bromeliads like to grow in sun or which need shade with loads of examples. There are a few basic notes below. We hope that our newer members benefitted from this, as it really is important in order to bring out the best in your bromeliads. Bromeliads for Sun and Shade - Dr Pete Pfister A frequent question when growing bromeliads is where to grow them? Which ones belong in sun or shade? We are lucky in East London with a subtropical climate, bromeliads will grow well almost anywhere. A few points to bear in mind when deciding where to place or plant your bromeliads: • Know the genus name: is it an Aechmea, Neoregelia, Guzmania or Vriesea etc. • Inspect the leaf: is it thick and strong, with thorns, or soft, thin with no thorns? • Are the leaves strongly variegated or albomarginated (white on the Dr Pete Pfister talking about growing bromeliads in sun or shade. Next meeting: Sunday 24 April at 2.00pm. A travelling meeting hosted by (first garden), Jill Buckler at 13 Hillcrest Drive Beacon Bay and then on to Odette Degenaar at 105 Beach Road, Nahoon. East London Bromeliad Society South Africa April 2016 Page 1 edges)? • Is there a maroon/ red colour on the underside of the leaf (discolour leaf)? • If there is not enough light you will find the leaves becoming long Neoregelia ‘Annick’ from Pete’s and strappy and Aechmea ‘ Ensign’, both from the shadehouse. You can see by the they will lose same parent, one grown in shade colour development how half the colour. With a big and one in full sun all summer. plant was not getting enough light. plant you also risk losing your plant to rot. • Too much light/sun and the leaves can become burnt or The tough Aechmea get that bleached blanchetiana can take full out look. You will summer sun. also get a short, The dark leaves of Nidulariam thick, squat plant. ‘Madame Robert Morobe’ need • Dappled shade shade. will suit many Neoregelia marmorata bromeliads and give you good colour and growth. • Most bromeliad types are epiphytes but some need to have their roots in Vriesea bleherae with the soil, eg: Ananas, discolour leaves needs a shady area. Dyckia, Cryptanthus and Orthophytum . Most need good light to grow to their best potential. Soft leaved Guzmania ‘Kapho Fire’. • Nidularium are the most shade loving of the bromeliad family. Of course there are always exceptions to the rule with some Nidularium requiring more light. Most grey Tillandsia with trichomes Neoregelia ‘Magali’ A bromeliad’s response to light levels is also can take full sun. This one is affected by temperature, humidity and nutrition. Tillandsia fasciculata ‘Hondurensis’ • High temperatures and low humidity levels can cause scorching. • A dry, slightly cloudier summer day you might find some broms scorching but not on a clear sunny winter day. • Many Neoregelia develop good leaf colour in high light levels and a low nutrient situation, especially Neoregelia sarmentosa, N. marmorata , N. ‘Fireball’. • Leaves that are soft and pliable, green on the top and maroon underneath (discolour leaves), grow well in bright light with early morning sun. • Leaves with colour, variegated and are soft and pliable with no thorns need morning or late afternoon sun. eg: Guzmania and Vriesea. • Green leathery tough spiny leaves need morning and late afternoon sun. • Heavily coloured, red, maroon, yellow, purple black and leathery and spiny foliaged broms can take full sun. • Pale/grey with fuzzy whitish scales (trichomes), very spiky or green coloured can take full sun. • Exceptions to all the guidelines: some Neoregelia have no thorns on their leaves and some do not tolerate too much light, eg: Neoregelia ‘Magali’, N. ‘Donna’. • Pups often acclimatise to the growing position and do better than the parent plant. Lastly, there is no substitute for trial and error and experience! East London Bromeliad Society South Africa April 2016 Page 2 Show and Tell Dudley Reynolds showed some of his Cryptanthus, which are doing very well. Xenia Winther showed a plant she was keen to get an identity for as it doesn't look like anything she has seen before. We know this plant as Aechmea ' Sangria' mutant variety. It does not bloom and the growth spirals upwards. Can anyone tell us more about this brom? Lyn is corresponding with Derek Butcher and Geoff Lawn and this plant should have a name soon. Watch this space! Member News Dudley Reynolds showed some Xenia Winther’s Aechmea • A big welcome to new local member Pam Rogers, of his Cryptanthus. ‘Sangria’ mutant variety. we hope you have a long and rewarding time with the society. Thanks • Lynn Friend for hosting the March meeting in April! • Dr Pete Pfister for talking to us about Bromeliads for Sun and Shade. • Lyn Odendaal and Gerald Vogt, and Eddie and Barbara Black for delicious tea time goodies which disappeared in a flash! • Billy and Sheila Gerretsen, Pete Pfister, Lyn Wegner and Miriam Kennard for items for the lucky draws. Tea Duty To facilitate catering, please confirm with Bev Reynolds, our Catering Co- It was great to see country ordinator, cell: 071 509 1286 or [email protected] if you are unable to members, Len and Kathy provide eats for the meeting when you are on duty. Moriarty from Port Shepstone join us for the March meeting. 24 th April: Pam and Malcolm Stoltz, Josie Schroding and Sue Pema. 29 th May: Jill Buckler, Danie Conradie, Andre and Maureen Eybers. 26 th June: Brenda Wegner, Lyn and Trevor Wegner, Odette Degenaar Raffle Winners for March • Dudley Reynolds chose Guzmania sanguinea. • Dudley Reynolds chose Vriesea ospinae var. gruberi x poelmanii . • Jan Bezuidenhout chose Vriesea 'Sunset'. • Pam Rogers chose Vriesea 'Vulkana'. • Mike Whitten from Durban chose Neoregelia 'Passion' x 'Grace' Select. • Kathy and Allan Botha from Port Elizabeth chose Edmundoa 'Alvim Seidel'. • Christo van Wijk from Pretoria chose Vriesea ospinae var . gruberi x poelmanii. • Clint Gordon from Johannesburg chose Tillandsia Dudley Reynolds with his two Betty Heunis chose Vriesea 'Sweet Isabel'. winning raffle plants, ‘Sunset’ for Jan’s win. Guzmania sanguinea and Lucky Draws Vriesea ospinae var. gruberi • There were loads of lucky draw plants and items x poelmanii. won. Only Society members can buy tickets for the Raffle Draw. They can be bought for R5.00 each 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. A new member, Pam Rogers chose Vriesea 'Vulkana'! East London Bromeliad Society South Africa April 2016 Page 3 From the Committee Member Plant sales: Members are welcome to bring special plants to submit as raffle choices and to sell after the meetings proceedings. Please ensure that each plant has 2 labels; one with the correct name of the plant and the other with the sellers name and price on it. Please pay the seller for the plant/s that you purchase. The BSI Membership list is out of date and we are trying to establish which of our society members are current BSI members. Please advise Lyn, [email protected] if you are a member or are planning on joining. You will be part of the international bromeliad family and receive the informative journals! Upcoming Society Events 24th April: A travelling meeting to view two gardens and bromeliads and have the usual raffle draws and tea at the second garden. At 2.00pm we will meet at the first venue, hosted by Jill Buckler at 13 Hillcrest Drive, Beacon Bay. At 3.00pm we will move on to Odette Degenaar’s home at 105 Beach Road, Nahoon. Please bring your own chair and a mug if you don’t like using the disposable cups. Lyn will e-mail a reminder and directions closer to the time. 29th May: Hosted by Val Nel in Vincent Heights. Topic: Mounting Bromeliads Workshop (to be confirmed). 26th June: Any volunteers to host this meeting? 31st July: ELBS 7th Birthday celebration at Bromeliads for Africa in Sunnyridge.