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What's Happened and What's Happening
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Contents of Newsletter  

  • Cancellation of BSQ events due to COVID-19.
  • Report of the February Meeting.
  • Information Session: Removing pups with Rebekah Trevor.
  • Plant of the Month: Tillandsias with Barry Genn.
  • Guest Speaker: Mick Grange on Bromeliads in the Landscape.
  • Results of Popular Vote Competition
  • Rules Governing Plant Competitions
  • Upcoming Events
  • 2020 Meeting Information

Editors: Maxim Wilson 
maxim.wilson@internode.on.net.

Cancellation of BSQ events due to COVID-19


With the current situation due to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus), the Bromeliad Society of Queensland’s Committee have made the tough decision to cancel the following upcoming events as listed below.

We have a duty of care to our members and take this seriously, and feel that this is the best course of action to ensure the health and wellbeing of all our members, as well as the general public.

The following BSQ events have been cancelled:
  • March meeting + AGM, ‪Thursday 19th March‬ – Cancelled
  • April meeting, ‪Thursday 16th April‬ – Cancelled
  • Bromeliad & Tropicals Show & Sales - Autumn, ‪Saturday 18th‬ & ‪Sunday 19th April‬ – Cancelled
  • Patrons Day 2020, Sunday 3rd ‪May‬ – Cancelled
We hope that you all remain well during this troubling period and look forward to seeing you again in the near future.

Report of the February Meeting

 

New members

We welcome new members Lyn Parry, Cheri Parks, Judith Lynne, Kayleen Courtney, Wendy and Scott Hansen; and Clive and Pauline Watson.

Information Session: Removing pups with Rebekah Trevor

Rebekah's tools for removing pups (offsets) include secateurs, scissors, a small saw and a sharpened table knife.

When approaching a clump of broms, first ask, ‘Do I want to finish up with a lovely clump, or do I want individual potted plants?’

Rebekah started with a pot of Billbergia ‘Kawana Amethyst’ with five medium sized offsets coming off an old mother. She chose to preserve the specimen as a clump, and merely removed the mother to give the others room to grow.

A clump of Vrieseas looked old and neglected. Rather than break them up, Rebekah thinned it out by removing old plants with spent blooms, then transferred the clump to a bigger pot.

A specimen of Neoregelia Imperfecta had a pup one third the size of the mother, just big enough for removal. Take care not to tear the base of the pup. If you do, set it aside for a few days to permit the wound to harden before potting.

Tricky pups, such as from Guzmania sanguinea, can be hard to remove as the these pups grow in the centre of the plant. Using the sharpened table knife, Rebekah cut from top down to the base, separating out the two pups and leaving the mother intact.

A note on fertilisers: 
Plants with coloured foliage, like Neos and Aechmeas, need fertiliser low in nitrogen. Foliage plants that are mostly green, do well with a fertiliser high in nitrogen.

Thanks Rebekah for your informative talk.

Rebekah Trevor 


Plant of the Month: Tillandsia with Barry Genn

Barry showed members various Tillandsias in bloom.

T. capitata ‘Old Gold’ was very large. The leaves colour up as flowering approaches, to attract pollinators.

Tillandsias grown in pots can extract better nutrition through a good root system, and grow larger.

Whereas other Tillandsias are not suited for potting and do much better mounted. T. tectorum is silver with trichomes that adapt to arid conditions on the Andes where there is little rain, but lots of fog rising from the sea, and is trapped in the tectorum's trichomes.

Thanks Barry for sharing your tillandsias.

Barry Genn with Tillandsia capitata 'Yellow'
Barry displays a Tillandsia capitata in bloom.
Barry showed a large specimen of Tillandsia capitata 'Old Gold'


Guest Speaker: Bromeliads in the Landscape with Mick Grange

A professional horticulturalist for many years, Mick spoke of bromeliads that lend themselves to landscaping on the ground and on trees.

Neoregelia compacta is an old favorite, and is one of the earliest used by landscape architects. It’s stoloniferous growth enables it to colonise parts of the garden with good effect. It’s red centres are prominent from May.
Aechmea gamosepala, an old favourite, does well in mass plantings.
Portea petropolitana is indestructible, thriving in dry and sunny conditions, and are very showy, an ideal landscape plant.
Alcantareas were made popular by Bruce  Dunstan when he brought them in from the Roberto Burle Marx garden near Rio de Janiero. Burle Marx is credited with introducing landscaping into Brazil. Alcantareas tolerate full sun, are spineless, and now come in a great variety. Although Alcantarea imperialis won’t clump, it has a great wow factor, and create a beautiful effect grown in a row. However Alcantarea geniculata, mahoumii etc clump very well.
An Aechmea looks attractive mounted on a  tree.
Aechmea weilbachii looks attractive mounted high up on a tree.
Bromeliads grow well on a vertical feature wall, well illustrated in Gardens by the Bay in Singapore. They go well on external walls of buildings, and in the atria of hotels.
Even Dyckia can be grown in a mass on the ground with good effect.
Aechmea tessmanii catches the eye mounted high on a tree.
Tillandsia fasciculata also does well in a mass, even if it’s on a roof!
Mick's next landscaping challenge. Housing development intruded on his quiet rural residence, and will soon move here. 
Many thanks to Mick for an informative talk.
 

Show and Tell

Nev Ryan brought a stunning plant, a Tillandsia xerographica x rothii. A spectacular plant that came from Rolley Riley.
Tillandsia inopinata specimen no.1 shown by Rob Murray.
Tillandsia inopinata specimen no. 2. The only difference in Rob's regime was in the latter stages, specimen no. 2 (the larger one) was grown on the edge of the shadehouse and so the inflorescence reached for the light. 
The photos mislead as no. 2 is twice the size of no.1.

Results of the Popular Vote Competition

Novice:
1st Tillandsia stricta by Barrie Brown.
2nd Deuterocohnia ‘Chlorantha’ by Graham Nolan.
3rd Neoregelia ‘Cheeky Pink’ by Coni Smits.

Intermediate:
1st Werauhia kupperiana by Maxim Wilson.
=1st Tillandsia ‘Silver Queen’ by Peter Ball.
3rd Tillandsia ‘Eric The Red’ by John Olsen.

Advanced:
1st Tillandsia ‘Samantha’ by Barry Kable.
2nd Tillandsia ‘Aristocrat’ by Bruce Dunstan.
3rd Tillandsia ‘Regal Rene’ by Stan Walkeley.

Decorative Display:
1st Tillandsia Tree by Steve Molnar.
2nd Happy Mosaic by Gilda Trudu.
=2nd Happy Heart by Gilda Trudu.

Tillandsia 'Samantha' by Barry Kable.
Tillandsia 'Aristocrat' by Bruce Duncan.
Tillandsia 'Regal Rene' by Stan Walkley.
Werauhia kupperiana by Maxim Wilson.
Tillandsia 'Silver Queen' by Peter Ball.
Tillandsia 'Eric the Red' by John Olsen.
Tillandsia stricta by Barrie Brown.
Deuterocohnia 'Chlorantha' by Graham Nolan.
Neoregelia 'Cheeky Pink' by Coni Smits.
Happy Heart by Gilda Trudu.

Rules Governing Plant Competitions


There are two types of competitions conducted at monthly meetings:
  • Mini Show – held up to four times per year and judged by qualified or trainee judges
  • Popular Vote – held up to seven times per year and judged by members and visitors at the meeting.
Both types of competition consist of three divisions and have the same entry requirements for all Competitors:
  • Novice – open to all members of the Society who have not competed before or have not won the Novice Division in an Annual Mini Show in previous years. (New members with extensive experience in growing bromeliads may be expected to automatically transfer to the Intermediate or Advanced Division depending on their level of experience).
  • Intermediate – open to any member who, in previous years, has won the Novice Division of the Annual Mini Show competition or has extensive bromeliad growing experience.
    Promotion to this Division occurs automatically in the year following winning the Novice Division in the overall annual Mini Show competition.
  • Advanced – For all other members not covered by the requirements of Novice or Intermediate Divisions.
    Promotion to this Division from the Intermediate Division occurs when the member has won the Intermediate Division annual Mini Show awards twice.

CANCELLED 18-19 April 2020: Bromeliad & Tropicals Show & Sales - Autumn Show
Genesis College, Youngs Crossing Road, Bray Park.


CANCELLED Patron's Day
The Olive Branch Bromeliad Nursery.

10-13 June 2020: World Bromeliad Conference 
Hyatt Regency, Sarasota.
https://www.bsi.org/new/conference-corner/


8-11 April 2021: Kiwi Broms, the 21st Australasian Bromeliad Conference 
Waipuna, Auckland, New Zealand.
https://kiwibroms.bsnz.org



See other Bromeliad Events in Queensland

2020 Meeting Information


Meeting Show Schedule

January - MINI SHOW
Class 1 – Aechmea species and hybrids
Class 2 – Vriesea species and hybrids
Class 3 – Dyckia species and hybrids
Class 4 – any other flowering bromeliad species and hybrid
Class 5 – species.
Feb & March - POPULAR VOTE
– any genus species and hybrids + novelty bromeliad display
April - MINI SHOW
Class 1 – Bromelioideae not listed elsewhere in Schedule, species & Hybrids
(Acanthostachys, Ananas, Androlepis, Araeococcus, Bromelia, Canistropsis, Canistrum,
Edmundoa, Fascicularia, Hohenbergia, Hohenbergiopsis, Neoglaziovia, Nidularium,
Ochagavia, Orthophytum, Portea, Quesnelia, Ursulaea, Wittrockia)
Class 2 – Guzmania species and hybrids
Class 3 – Pitcairnia species and hybrids
Class 4 – any other flowering bromeliad species and hybrids
Class 5 – species
May - POPULAR VOTE
– any genus species and hybrids + novelty bromeliad display
June - POPULAR VOTE
– any genus species and hybrids + novelty bromeliad display
July - MINI SHOW
Class 1 – Billbergia
Class 2 – Tillandsioideae not listed elsewhere in Schedule, species & hybrids
(Alcantarea, Catopsis, Mezobromelia, Racinaea, Werauhia)
Class 3 – Neoregelia up to 200mm diameter when mature, species & hybrids
Class 4 – any other flowering bromeliad species and hybrids
Class 5 – species
August - POPULAR VOTE
– any genus species and hybrids + novelty bromeliad display
September - POPULAR VOTE
– any genus species and hybrids + novelty bromeliad display
October - MINI SHOW
Class 1 – Neoregelia over 200mm diameter when mature, species & hybrids
Class 2 – Tillandsia species & hybrids
Class 3 – Pitcairnioideae not listed elsewhere in Schedule, species & hybrids
(Brocchinioideae, Lindmanioideae,  Hechtia, Puya, Navioideae, Deuterocohnia, Encholirium, Fosterella.
Class 4 – any other flowering bromeliad species & hybrids
Class 5 – species
November - POPULAR VOTE
– any genus species and hybrids + novelty bromeliad display
 
Plant of the Month Schedule
Month Plant
January Dyckia
February Tillandsia
March Stigmatodon
April Fascicularia
May Acanthostachys
June Catopsis
July Fosterella
August Spring-flowering Tillandsias
September Ananas
October Quesnelia & Porteas
November Wallisia
January 2021 Pitcairnia

Meeting Dates
Month Date
January 16th
February 20th
March - CANCELLED 19th – AGM
April - CANCELLED 16th
May 21st
June 18th
July 16th
August 20th
September 17th
October 15th
November 19th
December 3rd – Christmas Party
March Meeting CANCELLED
April Meeting CANCELLED
 
 
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