Bromelcairns Bimonthly Newsletter of Cairns Bromeliad Societ Inc. 2012 # 1 P.O. Box 28 Cairns Queensland 4870 Austalia President Dave Weston 0740578604 V-President Karen Stevens 0740361086 Secretary Lynn Hudson 0740533913 Treasurer Frances Boyd 0740552550 Librarian Maria Grant 0740370161 Editor Lynn Hudson 0740533913 Editor Assist. Moyneen Charlton 0740337390 Member Concierge Nalda Wilson 0740544825 Popular Vote Steward Karen Cross 0740545497 OIC Raffles Lesley Hepburn 0488788892 Honorary Life Member - Grace Goode O.A.M. Honorary Life Member - Kay Edington Life Member - Lynn Hudson Life Member - Robert (Bob) Hudson ******************************************************************** Aims of the Society Promote and Develop Interest in Bromeliads through Friendship To Co-operate with similar Clubs throughout the World ******************************************************************** Membership Fee: $15 Single, $25 Family, Country Member $25. $7.50 junior (if not in family membership) Meetings start at 1.pm sharp first Saturday of the month. Please bring a cup and a chair. Library: All books & magazines borrowed are to be returned in good order to the following meeting. If not on wait list, they may be rebooked. Plant Display/Sales: To participate, a member must be financial and circumstances permitting, have attended at least three meetings in the past six months. Where the society is charged a stall fee - 20% of sales are deducted for club funds. No charge venue & meetings - 10% of sales is deducted. All plants to be clean, free of disease, named and price tagged. Show Plants: Must be the property of and in the custody of the entrant for the past three months. For Society Shows the entrant must be financial and have attended at least three meetings during the past six months. Pens, Plant Tags & Pots: available at each meeting. If reprinting article, wholly or in part, please acknowledge Author & Newsletter. Any article &/or Bromelcairns will be Emailed on request to [email protected] or [email protected] Previous issues are on my website www.bromeliadsdownunder.com.au 2 Club Actvites & Around te Members NOVEMBER: We met at Marguerite & Bill’s in air conditioned comfort. Again we were treated to lots of orchids and lots of bromeliads - they are certainly multiplying and the mix of colours and shapes demand a closer look - members could not resist looking! * New members Shirley and Liz were treated to some extremely well grown bromeliads in both the mini show and Popular Vote. Brendan’s orthophytum was bright red glowing like it was afire. See Dave’s excellent orthophytum article in ‘Bromelcairns‘2012 #2. * Gloria showed Orthophytum ‘Warren Loose’, four specimens in one pot, the green inflorescences starkly contrasting with the brown leaves. * Cryptanthus ‘Ruby’ shown by Kath and Darryl were healthy plants, dark red with good conformation. Wendy’s ‘It’ was four almost identical plants with good colour. * Wendy also brought in a large pot of Acanthostachys strobilacea, a plant now seldom seen. Half way down the long terete leaves inflorescences formed like small orange cones. ‘terete‘ = circular in transverse section, imperfectly cylindrical because it may taper both ways. Acanthostachys = thorny spike. strobilacea = resembling a cone. MINI SHOW – Orthophytum & Cryptanthus 1st Orthophyum aff. burle-marxii - Brendan Leishman v 2nd Orthophyum ‘Warren Loose’ - Gloria Wegner 3rd Orthophyum glabrum - Dave Weston 1st Cryptanthus ‘Ruby ’ - Darryl Lister 2nd Cryptanthus ‘It’ - Wendy O’Bryan 3rd Cryptanthus ‘Ruby - Kath Radlof POPULAR VOTE: NOVICE - Bromeliad: 1st Neoregelia ‘Jaws Too’ - June McGlew 2nd Acanthostachys strobilacea - Wendy O’Bryan 3rd. Orthophyum ‘Warana’ - Kath Radlof Crypthanthus 1 st. Cryptanthus ‘It’ - Wendy O’Bryan 2nd. Cryptanthus ‘Ruby’ - Kath Radlof 3rd. Cryptanthus ‘Marion Oppenhiemer’ - June McGlew Tillandsia 1st Tillandsia caput medusae - June McGlew OPEN - Bromeliad 1st Orthophyum aff. burle-marxii - Brendan Leishman 2nd. Dyckia ‘Yellow Glow’ - Dave Weston 3rd. Orthophyum ‘Warren Loose’ - Gloria Wegner Tillandsia Cryptanthus 1st Tillandsia jalisco-monticola Dave Weston 1st Cryptanthus ‘Ruby’ Darryl Lister 2nd Tillandsia caput medusae Nalda Wilson 2nd. Cryptanthus ‘Starlite’ - Lynn Hudson 3rd. Tillandsia flabellata rubra Bob Hudson 3rd. Cryptanthus ‘It’ - Marguerite Sexton 2012 POPULAR VOTE & MINI SHOW RESULTS 3 Most Points – Lynn Hudson - Bob Hudson Trophy Popular Vot Novice Bromeliad - Bromeliads & Logs Trophy - June McGlew & Paul Venturi Cryptantus - Grace Goode Silver Ingot Trophy - Kat Radloff Tilandsia - Bromeliads & Logs Trophy - Kat Radloff Open Bromeliad - 2002 WBC Florida Sundial Trophy - Brendan Leishman Cryptantus - Grace Goode Trophy - Lynn Hudson Tilandsia - Bob Hudson Trophy - Dave Westn Total Points - Societ + Cairns Show Lynn Hudson - 18.5+69=87.5, Dave Westn 46.5+14=60.5, Rob Giddins 8+31=39 Brendan Leishman 23.5+3=36.5, Bob Hudson 12+23=35, Kat Radloff 31, Paul Venturi 28, Bernice Marks 15+11=26, June McGlew 23, Karen Stvens 17+3=20, Marguerit Sextn 14+6=20, Marie Giddins 8.5+3=11.5, Wendy O’Bryan 9+2=11, Darryl Listr 9.5, Gail Taifalos 8.5, Gloria Wegner 5.5+3=8.5, Stuart Howe 7, Karen Cross 3.5+3=6.5, Maria Grant 5, Beryl Watson 2, Nalda Wilson 2, Sharron Miler 1 Congratulations to each member who ‘had a go’ & entered plants, especially novice members - your standard has greatly improved. !!Each Entrant is a Winner. Well Done each of you. Congratulations to the winners who get to dust the Trophy for a year. ! Remember your peers voted you The Best. ! So who goes up to join the Big League? Any person who has been in the Society since 2010 and the Winners. Winners up you go Kath, June, & Paul, with Wendy. Points allotted in Popular Vote, Mini Shows and Cairns Show are 3 points for first, 2 for second and 1 for third = 6 total. Ties are shared as fractions - if three tie for first each gets 2 points = 6 total and no other points allotted. If two tie for first they each get 2.5 points, there is no second place, third gets 1 point. 4 ! ! Tillandsia duratii by Bob Hudson When removing offsets from tillandsias we usually remove the old leaves from the mother plant to reveal the base of the offset and enable us to remove it without damage. Tillandsia duratii is a little different from most other tillandsia. On duratii the offset is deeply attached and about ten leaves are tightly wrapped around the offset. These leaves should not be removed but tugged to stretch a little to help release the pup. Then estimate the length of the pup stem and gently cut through that leaf with a scalpel or sharp knife to reveal the base of the pup. Gently move the pup from side to side with upward pressure and the pup should release and come free. Roots grow only on seedlings, not on offsets. The plant relies on it’s leaf end curls to cling to a host. With the leaves still intact the mother should give another pup or two. Offset Base of offset Plant with offset! !! ! ! ! ! ! Mounted offset ******************************************************************************************************************** Bits & Pieces * Scratched? Bromeliad spines in your hands and arms? Scrub using ‘Curash’ Baby Shampoo, dry, & add ‘Curash’ Baby Powder. The zinc will relieve the itch and aid healing. *Plant tags - write with either Pilot SCA UF pen or Stabilo 2008 pencil, press hard. The pointed tag end in the mix will keep the markings - also write the name shortened there - eg Neo. ‘Charm’. * Page #8 has an article by Andrew Flower of Wellington, New Zealand, taken from his new e-pub tillandsia magazine “The Potting Shed Observer” an excellent quality 8 pages on tillandsias. I suggest all Tillandsia Freaks should subscribe, it has a wealth of information and wonderful photographs of ‘man plants’. !! ! [email protected] &/or www.anwyl.com. * Page #9 needed another article and I found a saved 2007 email of a very attractive hybrid by Hiro Takizawa of Japan. 5 more ... Bits & Pieces This beautiful Neoregelia ‘Small World’ was grown by Maria and entered into the August mini show. Maria was surprised that it won! Great Poobah, Grace Goode OAM, produced this plant before 1991. I checked the picture on Bromeliad Cultivar Register on http://registry.bsi.org and suggested that Maria should send the picture to Geoff. This is the reply we received: “Thanks for offering your photos of Neoregelia 'Small World' to the BCR. Their conformation is so perfect they look like button-hole medallions seen at shows. Probably the original photo was from the breeder Grace Goode as a scanned print in the 1980s long before digital photos took over. Maria, if you can email me a blooming JPG photo later on (a close-up of the inflorescence) that would be great. It's always a pleasure receiving unsolicited photos for the BCR, and yours show how well they grow in the tropics. Regards,Geoff Lawn BSI Cultivar Registrar.” [email protected] ************************************ Confidor: Several members have used Confidor against bromeliad scale and claimed it was very successful. It came in sachets, the powder to be mixed with water and sprayed onto the plants, the mixture to be all used on the day of mixing. While those members highly recommended it, my problem was I am continually interrupted and usually disposed of half a tank. Then shopping at Coles, there was a 750mil spray bottle of Confidor, plus some tablets and it was on special at $9.90! I then checked Bunnings and they have it for under $9. Yes it works but ... it has a warning label on the use directions - obey it!! It is also systemic, ie., it is sucked into the plant growing system and therefore can be sucked into your body! We can always get new plants but there is only one You, and we want You! ************************************ Water Quality: Lesley has moved to Mareeba and spends most of her free time gardening. She was horrified to see brown patches at the leaf base of her vrieseas, other genera were ok.