SEMBSSEMBSTHE SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN BROMELIAD SOCIETYTHE SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN BROMELIAD SOCIETYAFFILIATE OF BROMELIAD SOCIETY INTERNATIONALAFFILIATE OF BROMELIAD SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL APRIL 2013 APRIL 2013

Tillandsia streptophylla

Our winter visitors, the slate-colored juncos, have not left yet and the hummingbirdsOur winter visitors, the slate-colored juncos, have not left yet and the hummingbirds are still lolling somewhere south of our border. I guess they're not sure winter isare still lolling somewhere south of our border. I guess they're not sure winter is really over. This year we didn't get the sun in March that we're used to. And we didreally over. This year we didn't get the sun in March that we're used to. And we did get a little snow last night. In spite of all that, though, I do think Spring is reallyget a little snow last night. In spite of all that, though, I do think Spring is really here and a few more nice days will convince the birds that warmer weather is on itshere and a few more nice days will convince the birds that warmer weather is on its way. I have even put out a few tillandsias. Close to the house, of course. way. I have even put out a few tillandsias. Close to the house, of course.

Next Meeting: Saturday, April 27, 2:00-4:00pm at Matthaei Botanical Gardens, 1800 N. DixboroNext Meeting: Saturday, April 27, 2:00-4:00pm at Matthaei Botanical Gardens, 1800 N. Dixboro Rd., Ann Arbor, Room 164Rd., Ann Arbor, Room 164

Topic: The Place for Bromeliads in Your Summer Garden. Topic: The Place for Bromeliads in Your Summer Garden. A roundtable discussion.A roundtable discussion.

Whether you have one bromeliad or several hundred the best place for bromeliads during the summer isWhether you have one bromeliad or several hundred the best place for bromeliads during the summer is outdoors. Single plants can serve as exciting accents amid ground covers or groups of annuals oroutdoors. Single plants can serve as exciting accents amid ground covers or groups of annuals or perennials, group or mass plantings provide an exotic display which gains intensity and drama as theperennials, group or mass plantings provide an exotic display which gains intensity and drama as the summer wears on. We will offer a few helpful tips, discuss some of the threats to watch out for andsummer wears on. We will offer a few helpful tips, discuss some of the threats to watch out for and compare experiences.compare experiences.

Bring plants for Show and Tell! Bring a guest! Guests are always welcome.Bring plants for Show and Tell! Bring a guest! Guests are always welcome.

N.B.: We will be compiling an order for Tillandsias at the meeting. You can join the order andN.B.: We will be compiling an order for Tillandsias at the meeting. You can join the order and pick up your plants at our May meeting.pick up your plants at our May meeting.

Dues for 2013 due and payable toDues for 2013 due and payable to::SEMBS

P.O. Box 80472

Rochester, MI 48308$12 for individual memberships,$15 for two or more memberships at one address, $5 for associate membership (75 mi. from Detroit).

LLandscapingandscaping with with BBromeliadromeliadss 1. What bromeliads can grow outside?

All of them. They are better off outside. Compare the two habitats:a. Nature: rain water, high humidity and dew, nightly cool-down, bright light, constant air

circulation.b. Home: no dew, no cool-down, less intense light, poor air circulation, low humidity.

2. What are potential problems?c. Fungus: none under normal circumstancesd. Insects and snails/slugs: no insects (in the North) other than scale; snail damage minimal.e. Animals: rodents may eat cryptanthus, even dyckias.f. Toxic chemicals: major danger is copper. Prevent all contact with water runoff from treated

lumber, with algaecides containing copper compounds, with metallic copper or any copper-containing compounds. (Fertilizer containing copper in trace amounts is OK.)

g. Sunburn: brown (dead) areas on leaves caused by extreme exposure to sun; gradual bleaching out of green or red pigments caused by prolonged exposure to too much sun. Sun damage is irreversible, therefore move plants to a shadier location as soon as signs of burn (bleaching) are evident.

h. Sheathes (bases) of outer leaves develop dead areas. Unsightly outer leaves can be removed; the plant remains healthy.

3. How do I go about moving them outside?i. Leave them in their pots.j. Get them used to the intenser light gradually!k. Leave the pots above ground, or for greater stability, sink them into the ground, but not

below the surface. l. Make sure that the pots drain freely!

4. How much light should they get?m. Green leaves, especially thin green leaves, should have bright light without sun.n. Heavy leaves with other pigmentation can take much more light, even considerable sun. o. Those are rules of thumb. There are exceptions. Cryptanthus, e.g., should not have sun no

matter how richly colored they are. p. One must experiment with one’s own conditions. The more light, the more complex and

intense the coloration!5. In what ways can they be displayed effectively?

q. Hang them up! Many bromeliads are well suited for the hanging basket (stoloniferous Neoregelias, such as ‘Fireball,’ Aechmeas such as orlandiana, fosteriana, nudicaulis, whose growth habit makes them unmanageable in pots). Hang the baskets on shepherd’s crooks, on a tree branch, or on the kids’ swing set.

r. Integrate them into the garden. They can be stunning accents in the garden bed: a pink or red neoregelia on a bed of yellow-green lysimachia, e.g., red and purple neos in a bed of purple ajuga, or green and white neos amid a groundcover of the variegated dead nettle.

6. How do I care for them outside?s. Check periodically to make sure they have water. They will stay moist longer than the

garden soil around them because the medium is mostly peatmoss.t. When you water from the hose make sure the water is neither too hot nor too cold.u. Be careful about spraying when the sun might burn the leaves. For compactness and best

color fertilize neoregelias and billbergias sparingly, if at all.

v. If you like to fertilize, your plants will benefit most from fertilizing during this summer period of high metabolic activity. Use fertilizer at half-strength.

7. How do I bring them in the house for the winter?w. When night temperatures fall to 45º F and lower, they should be brought in. They do not

need conditioning to the warmer, dryer home climate.b. It is good, though not necessary, to repot plants before bringing them in. This is an

opportunity to clean them, separate pups, and put them into appropriately sized pots so they will be pest-free and primed for the winter.

The photos above show how a long sunless winter can affect some bromeliads. The older leaves have become quite dull. The plant, however, is perfectly happy and just beginning its long blooming phase. __________

Fresh pineapple can be cut into chunks and frozen with no change in color, sweetness, or texture. Something to remember when you see the store dumping overstock at $1.00 each.

Neoregelia 'Dexter's Pride' September 2012 Same plant with first flower April 2013

SEMBS, the newsletter of the Southeast Michigan Bromeliad Society, appears bimonthly for the purpose ofdisseminating information about bromeliads and about Society activities. Editor: Penrith Goff. Materialpublished in the newsletter may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes without the express permission ofthe editor. It is requested SEMBS be credited as the source and that any changes from the original be noted assuch. Photo files of illustrations are usually available upon request.

Favorite New Acquisitions from 2012 by Paul Wingert

I’m always trying to find new and different plants for my collection. Growing from seed and hybridizing is one route for getting new and exciting things, but it’s not always the most feasible or practical way to go. Sometimes one needs to go on an old-fashioned buying spree, and last year’s World Conference in Orlando provided a wonderful opportunity to do just that! I came home with a modest haul, and after five months here in Michigan, I can describe how some of the plants are developing.

Neoregelia ‘Eyelet’- one of Lisa Vinzant’s newer “Marble Throat” type hybrids that will stay quite small. I was concerned when it did a quick fade after I first brought it home (probably due to the poor lighting conditions at the sales venue), but it regained its glow after 5 months under my grow lights. It should bloom this summer, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it colors up in the shadehouse.

Neoregelia ‘Wild Rabbit’- I couldn’t resist to pick up another of Chester Skotak’s variegated zonata types. This one will stay small, and has the promise of more stable variegation than many of his earlier introductions.

Aechmea orlandiana ‘White Knight’- this is a very attractive cultivar with nearly white leaves with chocolate colored bands. The

color contrast faded a bit during the winter, but it should be a striking specimen this summer.

Racinaea crispa- an interesting species with narrow, red and contorted leaves. It seems to be enjoying the cool winter conditions of my greenhouse. Our hot summers ironically may prove to be a challenge!

Guzmania musaica x ‘Fortuna’- I purchased a pup from Grant Groves (maybe one of his hybrids?). The plant has discolor leaves, and I saw some that Grant had in bloom with a bright orange inflorescence that resemble Calathea crocata.

Tillandsia wagneriana- evidently my greenhouse is just too cool to make this one happy. It died by the end of January. Aside from another small unrooted Cryptanthus pup that didn’t take, they

Crypt. 'Pomegranate'

Aechmea 'White Knight' cv. of A. orlandiana

Calathea crocata

Crypt. 'Richard Lum'

Neoregelia 'Wild Rabbit' (photo: BCR Register)

Crypt. 'Lisa Vinzant' (photo: FCBS Photo index)

were the only unfortunate casualties of winter.I found myself particularly attracted to a number of terrestrial bromeliads. I added several new

Cryptanthus hybrids. I’ve had mixed results with the Crypts over the years, I’ve killed my fair share probably by simply not keeping them warm enough in the winter. This year, winter proved more cooperative than most and I was able to provide warm enough temperatures to get a lot of them established. New acquisitions include: three hybrids by Carole Richtmyer- ‘Earth Angel’- a nice miniature with mottled green, red, and brown leaves; ‘Calypso’-a distinctive hybrid of C. beuckerii and ‘Strawberries Flambé’, and ‘Pomegranate’- potentially much larger plant, also with interesting mottled leaves; ‘Richard Lum’- another very nice hybrid by Lisa Vinzant; and ‘Lisa Vinzant’- a selection of Cryptanthus ‘Elaine’ with the reverse variegation; and finally, three really colorful hybrids by Stephen Hoppin- ‘Eternal Flame’, ‘Dynasty’, and ‘Tropical Heat Wave’.

Spiny terrestrials proved attractive as well. Four new Dyckias now grace (or guard) my collection. Two red leaved hybrids I find really fascinating- ‘Ruby Snow’ and ‘Burgundy Ice’. Both have faded to green during the winter, though they have kept there conformation well. They will adapt to summer sun and the red will return! ‘Betty Garrison’- (registration pending?) looks as though it will be a small or even miniature Dyckia. From spiny lover Bryan Windham I acquired a hybrid of ‘Baker #1 x reitzii’. It is medium sized, really spiny, with nicely recurving leaves.

The genus Orthophytum has really charmed me in the past couple of years. I’ve had a lot of fun creating hybrids with a limited number of species, and now I’ve added the following species: rafaelii- a new species with affinities to burle-marxii; vagans var. variegata- a caulescent plant with albomarginate leaves; saxicola var. variegata- a charming “earth-star” imitator; horridum- has the

potential to be a large plant, and should turn red in full summer sun. My bareroot purchase barely got established in its 5” pot and looks to be initiating a flower spike at a precociously small size. And finally, O. harleyii- looks like a grey-green Dyckia (see picture). I purchased a husky plant in a 4” pot, and I repotted it promptly in a 6” pot where it looks very much at home. It has grown through the winter and is already producing an inflorescence. I expect to see flowers by the end of April and then through May!

I hope to bring some of these beauties to Show and Tell at future meetings!

Crypt. 'Earth Angel' Crypt. 'Calypso'Crypt. 'Strawberries Flambé'

Orthophytum harleyii (photo P.W.)