NEWS East London LETTER

Bromeliad Society September 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

August Meeting

On a scorcher of an afternoon, 38*c in the shade! 26 of us gathered under the trees at the home of Dudley and Albie Reynolds for an extremely interesting meeting. If you were not there, you seriously missed out as Dudley shared his passion for orlandiana and its cousins, plus we got to drool over loads of his own fabulous varieties of this family of bromeliads that he used to enhance his very interesting talk. There was a lot of discussion from the crowd which made for an interesting afternoon. Even though we are just coming into Spring, these bromeliads were just stunning. The further we move into summer, with stronger light, the true colouration of the leaf markings will still emerge.

Dramatic Leaf Colouration of Aechmea orlandiana and its Cousins - by Dudley Reynolds .

My talk is based on my book with the above title in which I describe 20 varieties of Aechmea orlandiana and its close relatives, cultivars and hybrids. The description of the leaf markings are my own visual perception I have experienced growing these . Aechmea orlandiana with its dramatic leaf colouration has been one of my favourite bromeliads and has been in my collection for the past 30 years. Grown as an epiphyte, the zig-zag , maroon to brown leaf markings can be properly appreciated at eye level. The stoloniferous growth pattern makes it a lovely to mount and grow epiphytically. Aechmea 'Medio Picta' is a cultivar of Ae. orlandiana and has an almost solid brown to maroon central leaf area. ‘Medio picta’ means 'painted centre'. Aechmea 'White Knight' is a large upright rosette cultivar of Ae. orlandiana and has lovely colour combinations of brown, maroon,

Aechmea ‘Medio Picta’ Aechmea ‘Rainbow and Aechmea ‘White Knight’.

Next meeting: Sunday 25 September at 2.00 pm. Hosted by Denise O’Hagan, 14 Aloe Road, Beaconbay. Bring your chair , a mug, and one of your broms to brag about! See you there!

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Aechmea ‘Ensign’ Aechmea ‘Reverse Ensign’

green and pink markings on a cream leaf. Aechmea 'Rainbow' is a cultivar of Ae. orlandiana and is aptly Aechmea ‘Gold Tone’ named 'Rainbow' as it sports a kaleidoscope of colour, infused with pink when grown in strong light. Aechmea 'Pickanniny' is a hybrid cross between Ae. orlandiana , 'Bert' and Ae. fosteriana . This Aechmea ‘Rainbow Snowflake’ plant has more prominent black markings on its shiny green leaf, which is narrower than a lot of crosses. I have also observed that the trichomes are more visible on this hybrid due to the leaf colouration. Aechmea 'Glowing Embers' is a hybrid crossed from Ae . 'Shadow' and Ae . 'Pickanniny'. The dark barring on the leaves are infused with dark pink when grown in good light. The plant has a very upright form, which probably stems from Ae. fosteriana . Aechmea 'Hayward' has subtle colouration compared to the rest of the varieties described, but never the less, is still very attractive and comes in a few different variations. Aechmea 'Ensign' is very popular amongst collectors, due to the lovely albomarginated leaves, the pinks prominent on the white areas, and Aechmea ‘Bert’ maroon on the green areas of the leaf. I find this form more attractive when grown in high light. However, depending on your taste, a plant grown in shadier conditions produces more elongated leaves and the contrast between green and white is also pleasing to the eye. Aechmea 'Rainbow' x 'Snowflake’ is a delightful combination of good traits from both parents. The colours are accentuated on the cream base colour of the leaf. Aechmea 'Reverse Ensign' is a sport of Ae. 'Ensign'. The leaves are variegated. Although it does not match Ae. 'Ensign' s pink markings, it is still an attractive plant. Both of these forms do not enjoy cold weather under 10*c and severe leaf burn may occur. Aechmea 'Gold Tone' is a yellow variegated sport of Ae. orlandiana . One of my favourites and for good reason. The different blends of pink, maroon, brown green, yellow/gold makes it stand out in a crowd. And then there is Aechmea orlandiana cv. 'Pink'. The pink which is very prominent on the leaf , gives this one the real 'WOW' factor. Aechmea 'Jean Merkel' is also described as 'medio picta' . I find the central dark colouration more prominent towards the central reservoir. Aechmea fosteriana is a tubular with matt green leaves and irregular banding on the outer leaf. The inflorescence is more branched Aechmea fosteriana , one of the parents than Ae. orlandiana and extends way above the leaves and can be of Aechmea ‘Bert’ quite pendulous due to its weight. Aechmea correia-araujoi another species, has light green leaves, banded with dark brown which are edged with purple. Although very attractive, it is also a cold sensitive species.

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Aechmea 'Bert' is a hybrid from Ae. orlandiana and Ae. fosteriana . It has the best characteristics of both parents and the inflorescence is the same as Ae. fosteriana . Aechmea 'Bert’ variegated, is a lovely form of Ae . 'Bert'. Pink colouration appears on the longitudinal stripes which are cream and green. Lisa Vinzant of Hawaii crossed Ae. correia-araujo i and Ae. orlandiana and named it Aechmea 'Haiku'. I can see a lot of the parent Ae . correia-araujoi in this plant. The markings are a little darker and the inflorescence is shaped the same as Ae. correia-araujoi presenting itself well above the leaves. I have also described Ae . 'Charcoal' which has not been To explore and enjoy this topic more, place registered at the time of writing. It is a sport of Ae . 'Black Beauty' an order with Dudley for and shows a lot of potential in the dark leaf colouration on the the book he has written. green underlay infused with a dark pink, almost a red colour appearing on the edges of the dark markings, which makes it a very exciting prospect. Aechmea 'Pali Ridge' is a hybrid between Ae. correia-araujoi and Ae . 'Bert'. My example of this plant seems to be prone to leaf markings due to cold temperatures, although only imported last season. I will review my opinion on this plant once it has endured another winter. The largest factor that influences these plants is bright sunlight, which brings out the amazing, dramatic combinations of leaf colouration which is my biggest attraction to these bromeliads. I HOPE YOU ENJOY THEM AS MUCH AS I DO!

Show and Tell Lyn Wegner brought her micrantha to show us. This was the first time we had seen a plant from the Fosterella . I find it an interesting plant if not the most exciting! It has extremely soft leaves which the snails and slugs love! It is of the subfamily and is found in , Guatemala and El Salvador where it is pollinated mainly by insects. It is easy to grow in semi shade and requires well drained soil. Some slow release fertiliser will keep it looking good.

Lyn also showed Tillandsia xNidus. This is a natural hybrid found in Mexico between T. fasciculata and T. ionantha . It gets its size from T. fasciculata and the beautiful form resembles an enormous T. ionantha! I imported this particular beauty some years ago and didn’t realize just how spectacular it would be! It is a lot larger than the other forms in my collection. I Fosterella micrantha grow mine in a sunny spot and it hasn’t been fertilised for some years! A struggle to keep up with it all but I plan to get my fertilizing act together! Paul Isley mentions it can grow up to 30cm! Lyn’s Tillandsia xNidus

Dudley Reynolds showed his Ananas lucidus which is slowly producing its tiny mini pineapple, which is the inflorescence.

David Flint talked about his research into Ananas and the therapeutic benefits of eating them. He also brought pineapples along for everyone. Thanks David!

Spring Garden Fair - Brenda Wegner Ananas lucidus Members of the East London Bromeliad Society spent an enjoyable three days at the Spring Garden Fair held at Pioneer Nursery from Friday, 12 th – Sunday 14 th of August. Our display stand was set up on the Thursday afternoon and after much manoeuvring and repositioning of plants the stand looked fabulous at the end of the day. A very big thank you must go to Dudley Reynolds and Lynn Friend for the props and to all the members who assisted with the stand setup, display plants, plant donations for the raffles and giveaways, Larraine for photocopying and last but not least to the members who gave up their time to sell raffle tickets and chat to the public.

Two talks were held on Saturday, Dudley spoke on Tillandsia and Dr Pete Pfister covered Mounting. Lyn’s talk

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on Sunday was a general overview of bromeliads, different genera, colouration and form and growing conditions. The society gained two new members, Geoff Howes and Lisa Voges.

The three days seemed to fly by and it was wonderful to Dr Pete Pfister and Brenda Wegner were part of the group hear all the comments and compliments from the that set up this magnificent display! public. A great platform to show off these amazing and diverse plants and hopefully whet some appetites and encourage more interest in planting and growing bromeliads in East London.

The bromeliad that drew the most attention and questions was Encholirium horridum . Other popular ones were Guzmania wittmackii, Hohenbergia correia-araujoi, Edmundoa ' Alvim Seidel' albomarginated and Billbergia 'Beadleman' and 'Fireworks' . Overall the event was a huge success and a great way to promote and encourage awareness and interest in bromeliads. Thanks once again to all involved. Lyn Wegner’s Encholirium horridum .

ELBS Library - Brenda Wegner The Cryptanthus (earth star) enthusiasts will enjoy the April to June 2016 Cryptanthus Journal! It is filled with news from the 2016 BSI World Conference held in Houston, Texas. Just to mention a few topics covered: the goings on at the WBC, tours and garden visits and super photos of the major award cryptanthus show winners. You might like to join the Cryptanthus Society. The cost is $30 per annum. The Journals are jam packed with photos! Contact Lyn Wegner for more info if you are interested. Anyone interested in taking any of the interesting books or journals out on loan, of which there is a large variety on various bromeliad related topics, please contact Brenda Wegner who kindly hosts the library at her home.

Member News • We welcome new local members Geoff Howes and Lisa Voges who joined our society at the Garden Fair and Dirk and Les Wessels from Port Edward. We hope you all enjoy a long and rewarding association with the society.

Thanks • Dudley and Albie Reynolds for hosting the August meeting. • Dr Pete Pfister for donating the Lucky Draw plant. • David Flint for donating pineapples for everyone! • Many thanks Billy and Sheila Gerretsen, Norma Hart and Koos and Christine Steyn for bringing eats and catering for tea. Albie and Dudley Reynolds Tea Duty To facilitate catering, please confirm with Eddie Black, our new Catering Co- ordinator, cell: 082 5505 347 or [email protected] if you are unable to provide eats for the meeting when you are on duty.

September : Larraine Parathyras, Joyce Hattingh and Bev Owen. October: Donovan and Nadia de Ridder, Helena van de Ham, Malcolm and Pam Stoltz November: Annual Bring and Braai. We need volunteers to make desserts, you can be reimbursed for the cost of the ingredients. Roy Anderson, Nancy Brindley and Larraine Parathyras.

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When you are on duty this is what your duty entails: • The catering Co-ordinator will bring everything required for tea, eg, tea, coffee, milk, sugar, paper plates and styrofoam cups, spoons and serviettes. • There will be three people (or partners) allocated per meeting to cater for tea. • Each person on duty to supply 2 plates of eats (sweet or savoury). Biscuits or sandwiches are just fine! • The people on duty must put out everything required where the host wants tea to be served, so it is a good idea to arrive a bit earlier. • Check that the urn/kettles are full and prepared in time for tea time after the meeting has concluded. • Cut cakes, serve tea etc… clean up and wash dishes and assist the host where necessary. • All this applies to the guys as well when they are on tea duty ! • If you are not able to do your duty, please contact Eddie as soon as possible after you get the reminder message/e-mail to provide time to find someone to swap duties with you.

Raffle Winners for August • Sue Pema chose Neoregelia ‘Maggies Pride’. • Bev Reynolds chose Aechmea orlandiana. • Dudley Reynolds still to choose. • Jill Buckler still to choose. • Mike Bester from Pretoria chose Neoregelia 'Midnight'. • Clint Gordon from Johannesburg chose Neoregelia 4873-18 x 'Victory' RC130. • Christo van Wijk from Pretoria chose Vriesea species Brazil Red form of lubbersii. • Avikar Chunilall from Durban chose Neoregelia 'White Wedgewood'.

Lucky Draw

Won by Betty Heunis Bev Reynolds chose Sue Pema chose Neoregelia Aechmea oralndiana ‘Maggies Pride’ 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.

From the Chairman - Dudley Reynolds Our Spring Fair involvement at Pioneer Nursery was 3 Neoregelia 4873-18 x Neoregelia 'Midnight' 'Victory' RC130 days of thorough enjoyment. The members who contributed plants and built the beautiful display of bromeliads really excelled. A nice variety of genera were displayed which attracted a lot of interest and attention. The objective of promoting bromeliads in the East London and surrounding community was well accomplished. To all the members who assisted with this event, a big THANK YOU! As Spring approaches, a renewed energy always overcomes one and inspires one to really get down to the nitty-gritty in the garden. As with most bromeliad Vriesea species Brazil Red Neoregelia 'White collectors there is always a mountain of pleasant work form of lubbersii. Wedgewood'. to do with our plants at this time of year. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. Until next time, happy bromming.

From the Committee • Huge thank you to Eddie Black for offering to be the Catering Co-ordinator because, what would our meetings be without tea!! The guys, who love cake said: anything a woman can do a man can do too!

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Upcoming Society Events

25th September : Hosted by Denise and Ian O'Hagan, 2.00pm at 14 Aloe Road, Beaconbay. Bring your chair , a mug, and one of your broms to brag about! 30th October: Hosted by Pam and Malcolm Stoltz in Stirling. 27th November: End of year Christmas bash hosted by Bev and Theo McGregor.

Upcoming International Events 2017: The 19th Australasian Bromeliad Conference, Sunnybroms on the Sunshine Coast will be held in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland 31 March to 2 April 2017. For more information do check out http://sunnybroms.com

2018: World Bromeliad Conference to be held in San Diego, California from 29 May to 3 June. Check out the Conference Corner at bsi.org for more information.

From the Members

To all of you who requested seed: Three envelopes arrived from Rob Murray in Australia while I was away last week. At the next committee meeting we will sort them and distribute to those who have requested seed. Watch the post!

Country member Rob Hazell from Swellendam is looking for Cryptanthus ‘Black Mood’, and if so, how much are the pups? You can contact Rob at [email protected] or 072 177 6004

Christo van Wijk from Pretoria, below: Yes, you know how obsessed I am with names… here are a few photos of my seed grown plants… The neoregelia still have to be culled… each plant is labelled with the cross name or species name and the date the seed was planted… every single Danie Conradie: My "rice pot.... !! strainer" has found a new Watch this space, location, that is hanging Some of my own My selection of My Neoregelia there will be more from a "home made" steel foliage Vriesea variegated ’Black Beauty’ x from Christo next bracket. hybrids. Neoregelia hybrid ‘Silver’ batch. seedlings. month on the process involved in hybridising bromeliads. Those of you who are interested will find it very informative.

COUNTRY AND LOCAL MEMBERS What is happening in your bromeliad world? We welcome news and photos from all our members. Local members if your bromeliad is too big to bring along to the meeting for Show and Tell, e-mail it to me or Lyn. We would love to hear from all of you.

Reminder from Lyn Wegner! Please let us have a few photos of some of your special broms and/or tills, an area of your garden or shade house which is looking good as well as a few lines about yourself, where you live and something about the photo/s etc... for possible inclusion in the BSI Journal. We need to show the world what is happening in beautiful South Africa with our diverse weather conditions.

From the Editor

We are much cooler here except for the incredible heat wave experienced earlier this month! A shocking 38*c in the shade on a Sunday and 42 *c on the Wednesday! We nearly all vrekked!!!!!!I just knew after that most unusual heat we would get some good rain. We have since had 102mm and a further 62mm. (Lyn said there was even some hail damage!) Hopefully, more to follow country wide, as there is a national water shortage crisis. I was so sad to find some stunning big neoregelia on the edge of shade in the garden with horrible scorch marks on the leaves!

Don’t forget to get your tickets for the annual Pam Golding Gardens of East London garden show. Sadly I

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shall be away and miss it this year. Two of our members will be showing their gardens again, Larraine Parathyras in Abotsford Spring has sprung, and Miriam Kennard in Beacon Bay. Do support them and the the grass is ris, charities they will be hosting. It is an annual trip around town I wonder where the boidies is admiring, learning and just absorbing the wow factor of Spring The boid is on the wing, and folks passion for gardening and plants. You cannot help How absoid but get back home sooooooo motivated and exhausted if The wing is on the boid! you try to do most of them in one day! Enjoy it all!!! You are bound to see bromeliads in a few gardens! Spring has sprung, the grass has ris’, I wonder where the birdie is? Lyn e-mails an updated members list periodically. I want to There he is up in the sky, encourage you to look up members who may be near you or you might be passing through a city where members live, give He dropped some whitewash in my eye! them a call and pop in for a visit. You will not only make I‘m alright, I won’t cry, contact with another bromeliad fanatic, you will also be I’m just glad that cows can’t fly! inspired by seeing bromeliads from someone else's ~ Author Unknown ~ perspective, it is very inspiring.

Till next time, enjoy this time of the year as a wonderful sense of renewal pervades everything!

[email protected] 072 1787 421

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 above. Any opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the Society.

ELBS is an affiliate of the Bromeliad Society International.

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

We meet on the last Sunday of every month, 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.

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 becoming 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.

Photo Credits: Barbara Black, Lyn Wegner, Brenda Wegner, Danie Conradie, Christo van Wijk,

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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] Sound System: Gerald Vogt 043 726 1075 [email protected] Librarian: Brenda Wegner 082 743 2141 [email protected] Catering Co-ordinator: Eddie Black 043 7212775 082 5505 347 [email protected] Events Co-ordinator: Brenda Wegner 082 743 2141 [email protected]

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 fcbs.org (Florida Council of Bromeliad Societies). 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

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

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