Club Activities & Around the Members

MAY: We car pooled and travelled down to Babinda to Darryl’s psychedelic cabbage patch. Yes, it was raining on the way but we had only a few light showers - yes, one when we broke for coffee! Members who had not been there before were delighted to feed their souls on Darryl’s exquisite plants. Some plants found new homes, I hope they don’t miss the eternal rain!It was a happy meeting with varied cultivation topics discussed. * New Member - Rose Nixon from Mareeba. Welcome Rose, we hope you

enjoy learning and our company.* Whenever it was mentioned that it was Treasurer Sharron’s birthday Bob

played the chicken dance. * It was good to see that members carted plants to Babinda, both for

Popular Vote and the Mini show. Well done each of you. Congratulations to Beryl Watson for first entry and a Winner!!

* Bob was skiting with Tillandsia duratii. Not only was it huge, it was flowering but also the mauve flowers smelled lovely - he kept proffering everyone a ‘sniff’.

* Karen also had a smelly flowering Tillandsia crocata x mallemontii. It was smaller than T. duratii but the perfume was sweeter.

MINI SHOW – Flowering TillandsiaTillandsia duratii Grower - Bob HudsonTillandsia fasciculata Grower - Nalda WilsonTillandsia crocata x mallemontii Grower - Karen Stevens

Tillandsia Tillandsia albida Grower - Bob Hudson

Tillandsia thomasellii Grower - Nalda WilsonTillandsia fasciculata Grower - Thomas Jones

POPULAR VOTE: NOVICE: Neoregelia ‘Blushing Bride’ Grower - Beryl Watson OPEN: Neoregelia ‘Leopard’ Grower - Darryl Lister}

Cryptanthus ‘Marion Oppenheimer’ Grower - Karen Stevens Tillandsia duratii Grower - Bob Hudson

Bromelcairns Bimonthly Newsletter of Cairns Bromeliad Society Inc. 2009 # 2 P.O. Box 28 Cairns Queensland 4870 Australia

President Thomas Jones unlistedV-President Bob Hudson 0740533913Secretary Lynn Hudson 0740533913Treasurer Sharron Miller 0740322283Librarian Elaine Asher 0740937510Editor Lynn Hudson 0740533913Editor Assist. Sturt Gibbs 0421041236OIC Raffles Karen Stevens 0740361086Member Concierge Barry Osborne 0740532047Popular Vote Steward Karen Cross 0740545497 *Honorary Life Member - Grace Goode O.A.M.* Life Member - Lynn 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, $7.50 junior (if not in family membership). Country Member $25 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 will be emailed on request to LynnHudson@BromeliadsDownUnder.com

3 Behind his back we prepared to present Bob with Life Membership at our ‘Bloomin Broms’ weekend. To him it was a complete surprise, he got all choked up, grabbed the badge and sat down. Congratulations Bob. Below is the citation President Thomas prepared and read out, then members

signed it. Life Membership –Robert John Hudson

In 1983 when Bob and a number of other Bromeliophiles started what was to become the Cairns Bromeliad Society they set down the club’s aim as being: “To promote and develop interest in Bromeliads through friendship. To Co-operate with similar clubs throughout the world”

If you were to ask any member of the Society over the past 26 years they would all agree that this statement describes Bob’s actions to a ‘B’.

It does not matter whether it is a member of the public asking about the “green plant with prickles and a pink centre” or the “grey, fluffy plant with the yellow flowers”. Bob will always help them to select the best plant on sale as well as tell them how or where to grow it to get the best display. If asked the best place to grow Neoregelia concentrica or should they buy a Tillandsia multicaulis Bob will inform them whether or not it grows here in Cairns or which specimen on the sales table is the best to buy.

Regular attendees to Society meetings will know Bob’s feelings on tillandsia hybrids and his commitment to growing and propagating Tillandsia species. At every opportunity he is demonstrating how to pollinate plants or how to grow bromeliads or tillandsias from seed. He also takes great delight in listening to stories about how somewhere in North Queensland there are Sunbird nests adorned with baby Tillandsia ionantha and T. bulbosa.

At conferences, when the presenter announces how hard it is to grow a particular species of Tillandsia or that he “has the only three specimens of a particular plant in Australia” Bob takes great pride in being able to inform them that “I know where there are three more in Cairns” or that members of the Cairns Society have “no problems” growing them.

As well as his 14 year Presidency, Bob’s commitment to the Cairns Society can also be seen in his efforts to keep members up to date with latest news from the various Bromeliad conferences and bringing “new” varieties of plants back from his many “expeditions”.

Because of his dedication to the society and to the plants, Cairns Members have agreed he should be awarded Life Membership. Congratulations Bob. Thomas Jones, President

Pre ‘Bloomin Broms’ Garden Visits ! ! ! !

Genny & John arrived a week before ‘Bloomin Broms’ so we organized a trip around to local members gardens on Sunday 31st May. Dave & Brendan, Barry Osborne, Karen Cross and Karen Stevens offered to allow us wander among their plants. Olive and Len Trevor arrived just in time to join us in the KIA and Brendan had breakfast awaiting us. Thank you to each of you for you hospitality, happy smiles and enjoyable gardens. I asked Genny and John to write us a few lines on each garden and those lines follow. From Genny Dave & Brendan: A great collection of bromeliads. It was lovely to see so many different species that I think are underutilized in many bromeliad gardens, eg dyckias and billbergias. And a prize for Genny - I replaced my Aechmea ‘Fosters Favorite Favorite’ that I lost many years ago, I am delighted.Barry: Landscaping in the retirement village - I wanted to retire right then and there. The walkway around the pond was lovely with plants lovingly laid out and growing into a nice display. There was a stunning Neoregelia ‘Blushing Bride’ - maybe one day mine will look like that - I have only grown it for 18 years and still cannot get that colour. Karen Cross: How that garden has grown in one year! The bromeliads are looking absolutely stunning, the colours in the neoregelias and the flowering clumps of aechmea were superb.Karen Stevens: Wonderful landscaping in the front garden, a combination of cacti, tropical foliage and bromeliads and they all complimented each other. The shade house was full of interesting plants. The birds were incredibly noisy!!!!Overall the gardens were all wonderful credit to the work and dedication of the owners. I hope that you all enter future Garden Competitions as each garden deserves to be in competition. Keep growing beautiful plants!! d e f e h e i e k e l

Serving Sizes

Garden Visits continuedFrom John. Dave & Brendan: A collection with a diverse interest in various genera. They are growing the plants well and their interest is increasing to seed/seedling production and will probably expand to hybridizing.

Barry: I find commercial facilities produce commercial gardens that may or may not be breathtaking but in either case they do not have the ability to hold interest, but this was different. This place was immaculate and not just prepared for the day. The landscaping fitted the lay of the land and was diverse. We came to see plants and saw a very, very diverse collection of well grown plants that would hold the viewers interest over a number of visits.Karen Cross: Here is a garden created to provide a respite from the stress of modern living and it is successful with over 60% of the landscaping area devoted to peace and quiet with a minimum of four focal points. Karen’s plant collection was grown to one side where it did not intrude on the tranquility of the garden. Karen owns this garden it is an extension of her and it is for her enjoyment.Karen Stevens: Here is a garden being built by persons with a good case of the Bromeliad Bug. I love new collectors gardens as these persons unwittingly acquire the best of the old faithfuls and they proudly intersperse them with later hybrids. The front garden would do justice to an Open Garden Champion Award. It has a diverse collection of plants that include bromeliads. These bromeliads are used as focal points and dominate the whole garden by their clumping beauty even though bromeliads represent less than half the plants. I loved it.! Overall I was impressed by the quality and diversity of the bromeliads grown by each of these members. There is no good, better or best in collections as each collection reflects the interests of the grower and provides a rewarding experience.

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“Bloomin Broms 2009”

Our learning weekend “Bloomin Broms 2009” was enjoyed by all, some saying they learned more in one day than they had at a conference. Thank you to those who helped set it up and keep it smoothly running. Thank You to our speakers Peter and John for sharing some of their profound knowledge. Thank you to the plant growers for growing and bringing in good plants. ! We started with John Catlan speaking on mosquitoes, then Peter Tristram on Tillandsia fasciculata & relatives and alcantareas before we took a coffee break. !The following topics were adventitous offsets, tank type tillandsias, neoregelias, Peter’s Tillandsia Collection, pitcairnias and more neoregelias. There were Plant Sales for Registrants and we opened to the sales to the public on Sunday with demonstrations of offset removal & other cultivation problems and tips. We also had a Special Plant Auction, with Auctioneer Brian Surman and it provided lots of laughs.! On Monday some set off by bus with Bob the LMCBS & Bus Driver Extraordinare for a trip to Pondarossi, Cape Oasis and Whyanbeel Arboretum. It was a perfect Cairns winter day and it was enjoyed by those who travelled.! The main comment was that the attendees enjoyed the company of like minded persons and sharing knowledge, successes, failures, problems, furphies, yarns and much laughter. Plants have new homes, bank accounts have been nudged, lots of memories have since been reviewed and many have John Caltan’s new book “Bromeliads Under the Mango Tree”.

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Trial by Error

Landscaping Bromeliads into existing garden spaces by Barry Osborne This story started when we saw and bought a few bromeliads at local markets – unnamed but very colourful. Then we shifted to a retirement village close to Lynn and Bob Hudson’s and Eric Wilson encouraged me to join the Cairns Bromeliad Society where I have learned so much about incredible bromeliads and tillandsias. There are several issues related to growing bromeliads without shadecloth in the wet tropics and I will not reiterate what Lynn has written about planting mixes, fertilizing, light/sun conditions or about landscaping. Rather I would like to share some of considerations related using bromeliads in an already existing garden. Firstly you have to enjoy experimenting with bromeliads. Secondly, if you have one, you need a partner who at least can put up with bromeliad addiction – your partner may come to like them too. My first attempts were under a syzygium in the front garden and this worked well with great shade for those bromeliads that like to hide from the heat of the sun, but there was still plenty of light. Sturdy Aechmeas like blanchetiana and ‘Bert’ could be put at the margins and survive all day sun but what about the spaces between these bromeliads that I kept in pots? I tried ordinary mulch, then pine bark and I half submerged the pots. That worked well but the weeds were a minor problem. The weeds did not come up through the mulch, but bird droppings carried seed wrapped in fertilizer and they thrived in the mulch, so periodic weeding was required. The shade worked very well until a sap-sucking insect attacked the syzygium and despite a variety of rescue efforts, they killed it. I replaced the dead tree with a sturdy callistemon and waited for it to grow to provide substantial shade. * Suggestion one – only plant under trees that do not die. As my bromeliad collection grew, I located softer leaf neoregelias to a shady edge of the unit – morning sun with good shade from 11am onwards. Again I potted, but this time I used pebbles around the plants and elevated some vriesias on a pedestal in the middle to provide some visual variation and to highlight the flowers (when they come). This is probably the most stable and colourful part of my collection. * Suggestion two - the white pebbles worked well, but it is important not to be lulled into a sense of security during heavy rain – eves shelter from rain, so check that all bromeliads get adequate liquid refreshments. .

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Then there was a section that I planted between several tall palms in an existing stand of palm trees that stretched alongside and past our unit. They did well particularly when the elevated blanchetianas spiked and flowered. However palms provide some shade for bromeliads but not throughout the recommended period of 10:00am until 2:00pm that most bromeliads require. Furthermore three happenings also bring grief - heavy fronds fall and can damage flower spikes; heavy seed pods from the palms can fall with the same effect; and the palms and many birds ‘deposit’ seeds between the bromeliad leaves making weeding difficult - particularly once the bromeliads expand in size and even have pups. * Suggestion three – if you plant under palms be ready to weed a lot and to help that process, spread your bromeliads well apart.

When Neville Butcher, a former member of the Cairns Bromeliad Society came to our retirement village, he brought with him a vast array of bromeliads and helped landscape them into the village community garden. Some went under a stand of three Northern Territory Ti Trees, others under a zamia and yet others under three syzygiums on the north-western side of the community hall – great shade with late afternoon sun and an ideal micro-environment for the huge Vriesia hieroglyphica and Werauhia sanguinolenta that he also kindly donated. All these bromeliads surround a large natural pond that is fed by a spring and provides a tranquil backdrop with glassy reflections and brilliant water lilies in bloom all year round. * Suggestion four - avoid planting under ti-trees – while they provide great protection from the sun, the thin leaves create lots of work if you want to keep the bromeliad tanks and between leaves clean. The large leaves of syzygiums are much easier to deal with.

The final, so far, episode in the bromeliad infusion took place under the Saraca thaipingensis that have leaves about the size of a spectacles case and bright globular yellow flowers. The flowers make a bit of a mess but the shade provided by these tress is excellent. This year I placed a variety of bromeliads and Tillandsia cyanea under the saracas on the inside of a hair pin bend in the footpath. Once again I used white and coloured stones between the potted bromeliads and placed a pedestal for two special vriesias with long lasting spikes. Being able to walk around three sides of these bromeliads creates a variety of vistas and shows off all plants to their best advantage. The branches of the saracas are great for suspending graceful Tillandsia usneoides. There is still work to do removing leaves and the inevitable seedlings, but the varied colours of the stones camouflages much of the litter, minimizing clean up time.

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Megan & John WelchFERtLIZERS * FUNGICIDES * WATERING SYSTEMS POLYPIPES * POLY FILMS * SPRAYING EQUIPMENT SHADECLOTH * PLANTER BAGS * PLASTIC POTS Cnr. Brown & Little Spence Sts. Cairns Phone: 07 4035 2670~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hudson’s Bromeliads Down Under

Bromeliads & Tillandsias Bob & Lynn Hudson 47 Boden St. Edge Hill Cairns Phone: (07) 40533 913 email: lynnie@ledanet.com.au ABN 66 951 932 976~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

19th World Bromeliad Conference - New Orleans July 26 - 1st August 2010 Bromeliad Society International - bsi.org Greater New Orleans Bromeliad Society - GNOBromeliads.com~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Bromeliads Under the Mango Tree” by John Catlan A ‘must have’ book to help you think and grow your bromeliads better. The best $10 you will spend. Available in bulk at reduced price.

Contact John & Genny on phone 07 5546 1401 or Lynn on 07 40533913

h i o e r f

Druidic Resurrection Headlines are supposed to grab a potential reader’s attention and if the reader falls for the trap, then s/he reads further. I hope I have your attention. Of course, as avid readers, you will know that the headline is frequently only vaguely related to the content and that you have been conned into reading. The ancient druids were suppressed by the Romans in the first and second centuries but are alluded to in Irish mythology. They were a scholar/ judge/ teacher/ priestly class who respected nature: which leads to Tillandsias.

However, is hard to conjure up reasons why one particular tillandsia should be graced with the name Tillandsia ionantha ‘Druid’, but hybridizer D. Schultz did name it thus and I bought one from Bob late in 2008.

So the link to the first half of the headline has been tenuously established.

Recently I noticed that my T. ‘Druid’ was looking seedy, as in ‘under the weather’. Within a week its grey green colour was going straw yellow! I thought, “Oh no, not another T. Deadiana created by my heavy handed treatment!” Indeed this time it was not so. My ‘Druid’ was going yellow as part of its flowering cycle and now the white flowers are opening. When I looked more closely that which was not dead or dying was not only resurrecting but also doing its best to reproduce.

Barry Osborne