NEWS East London LETTER August Bromeliad Society 2011 Established: 25 July 2009 Our aim is to promote and encourage awareness and interest in Bromeliads in East London and all of South AfricaAfrica!!!! All About the Canistropsis Variety of Bromeliad This month, Lyn Wegner presented a very interesting talk on the Canistropsis variety of Bromeliad. There are about 20 varieties in this genus, which originally formed part of the Nidularium family. Many are highly ornamental and are popular with gardeners and Bromeliad collectors. They are found in Brazil. Most Canistropsis require a shady position in a temperate or subtropical garden, with frequent Canistropsis billbergioides - pink form Canistropsis billbergioides - red form watering. Their beautiful flowers are long lasting. Canistropsis are fairly hardy plants and make excellent ground covers, scrambling over rocks or up tree trunks with their long stolons reaching upwards. Some varieties include Canistropsis billbergioides, which if grown well, have beautiful shiny green leaves and form a rosette of about 30cm wide. This variety is happiest grown in the shade, where the bright, star-shaped flower spikes, including yellow, pink and red look striking. Canistropsis seidelii has a beautiful flower spike, Canistropsis seidelii Canistropsis burchellii which has layers of bracts clustered up the stem. There is a yellow and also a red form. Canistropsis burchellii have a darkish green upper leaf & burgundy below. It has a pincushion like flower nestled between the leaves. Good for a groundcover in very shady spots. Lyn described x Neostropsis ‘Shadeball’, a bigeneric hybrid, meaning a cross between two genera, and in this Our next meeting: 25th September: Please meet at 2.00pm at Dawn Sheard’s home at 17, 3rd Street, Gonubie. We will then proceed to her sister Fran’s garden, also in Gonubie, in a few cars, due to a shortage of parking. We will then return to explore Dawn’s garden where we will have tea. See you all there! 1 case, Neoregelia and Canistropsis. The hybridiser, Lisa Vinzant of Hawaii, crossed Neoregelia ‘Fireball’ with Canistropis burchellii to give us the beautiful stoloniferous red leafed plant, xNeostropsis ‘Shadeball’ which is very suitable for a hanging basket. The stolons being the long woody stems connecting the mother plant with the pup, enabling them to climb up a tree or hang over the edge of a basket. August Show and Tell Please bring to the meeting and share your prize plants or problems, ask for advice or anything that would be of interest Lyn, showing society members an example of viz to other members. xNeostropsis ‘Shade Ball’ from her collection. 1. Lyn showed the members two of her Aechmea caudata vareigata bromeliads. Aechmea caudata variegata is growing in an area of bright light next to a boundary wall where there are more of these growing and flowering happily. An aberration has occurred in the growing formation in the centre of one of the plants. The pups don’t appear normal either, they have no variegation, and have formed stiff rosettes, more like a Neoregelia in shape rather than Aechmea caudata varigata , Aechmea caudata varigata growing normally. with stunted growth. an Aechmea , The members commented that maybe this was caused by environmental stress of some kind. Lyn sent a photo to Micheal Kiehl, of Michael's Bromeliads in the USA and he made a few comments: “That Aechmea caudata variegata looks very strange. I don’t know what would have caused it to grow like that. I see the pups on it, but they aren’t variegated. I would cut the green ones off so the plant might then produce a variegated pup.” 2. To illustrate the subtle differences in the variegation in the leaves of two Aechme, Lyn discussed two Aechmea that are both cultivars of Aechmea lueddemanniana (above) . The plant on the left is Aechmea Aechmea ‘Mend’ and Aechmea ‘Rodco’. ‘Mend’ and on the right is Aechmea ‘ Rodco’. Both will still flush a beautiful bright pink as they mature. August Meeting News and Notices ELBS Zoo Project In an effort to assist the East London Zoo in beautifying some of their extensive gardens and to promote Bromeliads and the East London Bromeliad Society, we have embarked on a project whereby they have assigned the ELBS the garden bed at the bear enclosure and those around the tea room to plant with bromeliads and maintain in the future. They will have signs made to advertise our society for gardens that we have taken under our wing. Anyone is welcome to come and join in, spend a morning, digging, planting, watering or providing moral support! A very Lyn Wegner and Dudley Reynolds next to one of enthusiastic team got stuck in on Thursday morning, 1st the beds below the tea room . 2 September. They tackled 7 beds in all, which was a mammoth task. Thank you to all those members who donated plants. We will need more, so if you have any, we will be happy to collect, please contract Lyn. On the 6th September, a second morning was spent working on another 3 beds around the tea room. Now we pray for rain to settle all the plants and give them a good start in their new home. We look forward to seeing the results in a few Garden beds below the tea room. months time. Further work parties will be gathering to work on the remaining Boyz on the job! Danie Conradie, gardens around the tea room. Contact Lyn Dudley Reynolds and Dr Pete Pfister. if you would like to join in. Thanks • Trevor and Lyn Wegner for sharing their home and garden with us yet again and setting up the meeting area outdoors this time, you can tell that Spring is in the air!. Member News: • We welcome three new members to the society, Christo Grobler from Schagen, Tea time! Dudley Reynolds, Dr Pete Pfister and Barbara Black. Craig Nicholas from Linkhills and Glen Miles, (Barbara’s husband). • Andre is recovering well after his back operation and can now sit for short periods. We hope to see you at the next meeting Andre! • Brian and Bridget Kroger would like to extend their thanks to those who called and phoned after the flood damage they suffered to their home and garden recently. It was most appreciated. September Tea Duty: Dawn Sheard • Thank you to the bakers for always supplying such scrumptious goodies for tea. Please remember if you are unable to attend when you are on tea duty, please give Albie a call: 083 980 6102. • Members, remember to pay Albie R5.00 if you are going to have tea and cake after the meeting. Our September Birthdays: We hope you all have an awesome day! 4 Betsy Worraker 5 Trevor Wegner 12 Jill Buckler 16 Craig Nicholas 28 Barbara Miles Raffle Winners for August Raffle tickets can be bought from Brenda for R5.00 at the meeting. Aechmea ‘Artichoke’ Country members might like to buy raffle tickets, your winning bromeliad will be posted to you. We have a R5.00 Lucky Draw at the meetings too, but only members who are present qualify for this draw! Congratulations to our August Raffle Winners: • Dulcie Peinke chose Aechmea ‘Artichoke’. • Eddie Black chose Neoregelia ‘Lambert’s Pride’ x olens Notes From the Committee Congratulations and a huge thank you to our new Editor, Barbara • Neoregelia ‘Lambert’s Pride’ x ‘ olens’ 3 Black. We are excited with our excellent new look Newsletter! • Annual Membership Subscriptions are now falling due: R120.00 per person or per family. (If you joined in July then your subs are due the following July etc.) If you are uncertain of the date you joined, you can check with Andre Eybers, our Treasurer, or the membership list which will have this information. Thanks to those who have already renewed subs. • We have applied to the BSI (Bromeliad Society International) for affiliation. One of the requirements is that we have a minimum of five of our members who are also BSI members and we currently have six ELBS members who are BSI members. • Please remember to bring your name tags with you to the next meeting if you have them at home. Unfortunately, replacements will cost you Brenda Wegner and Rose Sutton R5.00. admiring Orthophytum ‘StarLight ’ in Lyn • We need to finalise arrangements for our year end function at our next Wegner’s garden. meeting, so we need any suggestions to make this a merry occasion, a fitting end to another year of “Bromming Together!”. ELBS Library Library books are available at the meetings and can be taken out on loan for a month at a time. Please speak to Brenda should you want to look at what is available, new books and publications are being added from time to time. Any queries, contact Brenda: 082 743 2141 or [email protected] Upcoming Society Events 25th September: NB: WE WILL MEET AT 2PM for this meeting . Garden visit to Dawn Sheard’s home at 17, 3rd Street, Gonubie. We will then proceed to her sister Fran’s garden, also in Gonubie, in a few cars, due to a shortage of parking. We will then return to explore Dawn’s garden where we will have tea. 30th October: We will meet at 2.30 pm at the home of Barbara and Glen Miles at 7 May Street in Nahoon. Topic for discussion: Terrestrials eg: Dyckia presented by Dudley Reynolds. November Year End Christmas Function : Any ideas for this year’s get-together? Upcoming International Events! 4th - 5th November 2011: The Art of Bromeliads, 2011 Bromeliad Extravaganza to be held in Daytona Beach, USA 24th September - 1st October 2012: 20 th World Bromeliad Conference to be held in Orlando, Florida, USA.