Contents of Newsletter

• Patron's Day at The Olive Branch
• Report of April Meeting
• Programme for May and June meetings
• Results of Mini Show

Editors: Rob Murray and Maxim Wilson maxim.wilson@internode.on.net

Patron’s Day at The Olive Branch

Many members and partners/spouses gathered for a celebration hosted by Len and Olive Trevor on Sunday 6th May.

After a guided tour of the wonderful garden, Len shared some history not in the Golden Anniversary Magazine.

Len and Olive started with the society about 45 years ago, and Len remembers being told broms must be grown in earthenware pots no more that 4 inches big! That was until Peter Cooper promoted the subversive notion that broms grew better in  plastic pots, 10 inches or bigger! Len tried to imagine how Bromeliad business would look like in the next 50 years, and ventured that vehicular transport would be radically different.

The Trevor tribe is now 40 strong, the latest addition just two weeks old. Bekky Trevor introduced three of her young sisters who helped with the party.

 Dr James Lergessener entertained us with an amusing address full of nostalgic memories of 50 years ago in Brisbane. Then lunch was enjoyed.

Guest Speaker was Peter Tristram on Hybridising Neoregelias.

Peter is a Commercial Grower and Breeder Of Bromeliads from Reston, near Coffs Harbour. He first collected Neoregelias in 1977 when teaching at Mount Druitt, west of Sydney.

Peter later moved to near Coffs Harbour and established his Forrest Drive Nursery. He has collected bromeliads on excursions to Central America, Peru, Colombia and Brazil.

Peter touched on some history of bromeliads in Australia.

About 1979-80, pioneers included Allan Ladd at Newcastle and Bob Larkin made hybrids, as was Chester Skotak in Costa Rica. Peter started about this time, and the fashion was for small compact plants. The limited number of Neos included carolinae, princeps and concentrica, and marmorata.

Peter described the basic anatomy of the Neoregelia to locate the ovary and sepals with pollen to explain fertilisation. Most flowers are self-sterile, so the hybridiser needs two different clones to cross-fertilize. Pollen is not ripe till after dawn.

In 1990 from Brazil came Neo carcharadon
(the genus of the white pointer shark) with its prominent spines, and bigger size. Skotak also experimented with this species. Peter imported the first carcharadons, although they was wrongly named Hohenbergia. They were called ‘Great White', ‘Macho’, and gigas, and came from Corcovado Mountain, near Rio de Janeiro. Their true genus was revealed when the plants flowered. Carcharadons have a long stigma and are easy to pollinate.

Peters goals with creating new hybrids are:

1. Hard leaves and sun tolerance
2. ‘Stripes’ (variegation)
3. ‘Big teeth’ (spines)
4. Novelty
5. Zonation of colour as is found in Neo ‘Skotak’s Tiger’
6. Big size (in contrast the smaller compact plants in 1979).

He has planted  50,000 seeds! and mentions he has no more room! He finds the more crosses that go into a specimen, the greater the seed production.

Variegation is highly desirable in all bromeliads, and 99% of variegated Neoregelias get it from the original variegated  carolinae. The so-called variegated ‘Tiger’ is not a sport of tiger, but has variegated carolinae in its heritage. 

General Meeting Information

Monthly Competition

• A species class will be added to the monthly competitions.
• Members requested a return of Field Days. For this to happen, a Field Day Convenor is required. Please contact publicity@bromsqueensland.com.au   if you are interested.

Guest Speakers/Information Sessions

• The committee would like to hear of recommendations for Guest Speakers.
• Information Sessions will be monthly at the request of members. Please inform the committee of topics of interest.

Golden Broms Conference, Gold Coast 2019

Mini Show Competition 

Novice
Class 1:
1st Quesnelia ‘Tim Plowman’ by Gilda Trudu.
2nd Ursulaea tuitensis by Alfonso Trudu.
3rd. Quesnelia marmorata by Alfonso Trudu.

Class 2:
1st Guzmania ‘Hilda’ by Alfonso Trudu.
2nd Tillandsia dura by Alfonso Trudu.
3rd Guzmania ‘Lill’ by Alfonso Trudu.

Class 3
1st Pitcairnia smithiorum by Gilda Trudu.
2nd Pitcairnia smithiorum by Gilda Trudu.
3rd Pitcairnia smithiorum by Gilda Trudu.

Class 4:
1st Till compressor by Alfonso Trudu.
2nd  Tillandsia capitata by Gilda Trudu.
3rd  Tillandsia shiedeana by Gilda Trudu.

Intermediate 
Class 1:
1st Nidularium fulgens by Maxim Wilson.
2nd Ananas ‘Spanish Red’ by Sharon Born.
3rd Portea alatisepala by Maxim Wilson.

Class 2:
1st Guzmania ‘Tricolor’ by Maxim Wilson.
2nd Guzmania hybrid by Maxim Wilson.

Class 4:
1st Tillandsia ‘Silver Trinket’ by Pam Butler.
2nd Tillandsia crocata Orange by Pam Butler.
3rd Tillandsia ‘Tilly Delight’ (xiphioides x stricta) by Pam Butler.

Advanced
Class 1:
1st Orthophytum ‘Copper Penny’ by Barbara
McCune.
2nd Acanthostachys strobilacea by Barbara McCune.
3rd Orthophytum glabrum by Barbara McCune.

Class 4:
1st Tillandsia duratii var saxitilis by Bruce Dunstan.
2nd Tillandsia ‘Queens Delight’ by Bruce Dunstan.
3rd Tillandsia ‘Silver Trinket’ by Ron Jell.