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East London Bromeliad Society South Africa April 2017

Our aim is to promote and encourage awareness and interest in Our aim is to promote and encourage awareness and interest in Our aim is to promote and encourage awareness and interest in Our aim is to promote and encourage awareness and interest in Bromeliads in East London and all of South Africa!Bromeliads in East London and all of South Africa!Bromeliads in East London and all of South Africa!Bromeliads in East London and all of South Africa!

March Meeting We held our March meeting at Miriam Kennard’s

home, it was good to see 28 in attendance!!!

Miriam’s garden always feels so tranquil with its open

spaces of lawn and gardens laid out with beds of

lush mondo grass, cycads and echeveria plus beds

overflowing with colourful broms under the large

trees providing welcome dappled shade. There is

also another bed in a sunnier position with more sun

tolerant bromeliads planted out. Miriam had had a

nasty fall in the garden 2 days before and bravely

soldiered on, with sunglasses and some makeup she

managed to hide the huge shiner and swollen lip, we

hope she is fully recovered now! Lyn and Dudley

spoke on the topic ‘Vriesea’. Many thanks to

members who brought along examples to show

during the talk and discussion that followed.

The Genus Vriesea The introduction of bromeliads into Europe was undeniably instigated

by Eduard Morren (1833—1886), the curator of the Botanical Garden

of Liege. He described

numerous species and

introduced many of

ELBS is an Affiliated Society of Bromeliad Society International

East LondonEast LondonEast LondonEast London Bromeliad Society

South Africa Established: 25 July 2009

NEWS LETTER

April 2017

Next Meeting: Sunday 30 April at 2.00pm. Hosted by Irene Manthe at 27 Epping Road, Nahoon

Valley. Feedback from Lyn’s Sunnybroms trip, bring your mug and chair!!!

Vriesea carinata No vriesea collection is complete without the ‘King of

Bromeliads, Vriesea hieroglyphica.

Lyn Wegner

and Dudley

Reynolds led

the talk and

discussion on

the genus

Vriesea.

Our hostess, Miriam Kennard with her hostess gift, Vriesea ‘Margarita’.


them to the public. This public was not the same as the public of today

because it was more interested in unusual plants than in well-known

items. He made his first hybrid crossing in 1879 with Vriesea psiuacina x V.

carinata resulting in V ‘Morreniana’. We

have Belgian and French growers to

thank for many of the early hybrids. The

United States is considered the

birthplace of the explosion of bromeliad

enthusiasm which took place in the

1950’s. The climate offers many

advantages in growing bromeliads. The

area from Florida to California is a

bromeliad paradise. It often provides the

biennial meeting place of all world-

famous bromeliad breeders, traders, and

hobbyists at World BSI conferences.

Vriesea are found from Central Mexico

to Argentina but mainly in Brazil. They

grow in forests at sea level but also at

high altitudes. The larger varieties grow

as terrestrials on sunny hill sides while the

smaller, soft-leaved species grow in

warm humid forests. Most grow

epiphytically (on trees etc.) and many

can handle low winter temperatures.

Nearly all of the Brazilian species and

their hybrids possess considerable cold

tolerance. Many of them are as tough as

neoregelia and can be grown outdoors.

The most cold tolerant are those with

green leaves. They include: Vriesea

altodaserrae, carinata, ensiformis,

erythrodactylon, flammea, friburgensis,

incurvata, philippo-coburgii, simplex,

vagans and platynema to name a few.

Species somewhat less tolerant of cold

include those with more decorative

foliage such as Vriesea fenestralis,

f o s t e r i ana , g i gan tea , ‘Nova ’ ,

hieroglyphica, imperialis and saundersii.

They vary greatly in size, from 15cm to

about 1.5m height and diameter. They

like humidity and air movement. Luckily

we have both in East London!

Many have soft, smooth-edged

(spineless) foliage which may be spotted,

blotched, or barred with eccentric

markings called fenestrations which are

the markings on the leaves of some

vriesea varieties, such as Vriesea

fosteriana and V. fenestralis. The

markings on the leaves form windows

that allow light to pass through to the

others underneath. ‘Windows’ are more prevalent

on younger leaves and on the lower sections of older

leaves. The windows allow light to pass through and

be reflected back off the water that accumulates in

the plant.

The inflorescence usually bears a flattened or

Lyn’s amazing Goudaea (formerly Vriesea)

‘Josefa Leon’.

Vriesea ’Pink Dreams’

Vriesea fosteriana var sedeliana

Right: Dudley's

Vriesea fenestralis

grown in lots of light

and Pete’s on the

right grown in more

shade. Note the

difference light

makes to the look

of a bromeliad.

Vriesea saundersii x platynema

Vriesea erythrodactylon

Vriesea variety

Vriesea ‘Kiwi Sunset’

A clump of Vriesea ‘Vulcana’.


distichous spike with yellow, red, green, or purple bracts while remaining in

colour for several months. The inflorescences have green, yellow or white

flowers. Some have upright spikes, many are paddle shaped, some are

pendulous. Some varieties have flowers which open at night when they are

pollinated by bats.

When grown in pots they like moisture but need a free draining potting

medium and like to grow in shady spots, but with good light. There are some

varieties that have stiffer leaves and these can handle more light. They like

less water, especially in the cold winter months. Leaf colour varies from light

green to dark green and can be spotted, blotched and barred.

You could fertilise during Spring and Summer when the plants are growing,

using orchid feed or pot plant food which needs to be diluted to half the

normal strength. Slow release fertiliser can be added to the potting mix or

sprinkled on top of the soil. Granules mustn’t fall between the leaves, it will

cause burning. Foliage vriesea will grow much faster if fertilised, while the

green leaf varieties will have much nicer colour and larger inflorescences.

Lyn - I am going to refer to my 'foliage' vriesea in future as 'pattern-leaf' vriesea in line with many growers

around the world. I think it is more appropriate. Foliage vriesea would then refer to the varigated and

albomarginated forms.

Some of this information was taken from the very informative ‘Growing Bromeliads’ by the Bromeliad Society

of Australia. This book can be found in our library.

Barbs: I have included information from the BSI Journal Vol. 45, No. 3 May -June, 1995 which has loads of

information on Vriesea and the evolution of Vriesea breeding if you are interested to read more. This journal

can be found in the Journal Archives on the BSI website.

Show and Tell

Robert Moss brought along

his Aechmea Alvarez (a

c u l t i v a r o f A e

lueddemanniana) seedlings

growing like crazy. Now that

they are big enough the lid

can be left off the container

to harden them off a bit. He

is now waiting for the leaf

variegations to appear. The

growing medium used is

fine aquarium gravel

topped with a layer of coco

peat.

Right: Brenda

Wegner showed

her Nidularium

variety with

strange looking

p u p s

developing.

Betty Heunis brought along a

lovely big bromeliad to be

identified, it is a Vriesea

gigantea!

Left: It was so

good to see

Danie Conradie

who brought his

maginificent bowl

of cryptanthus off

of which he gave

many members

pups!

Below: Dr Pete

Pfister brought his

s t u n n i n g

A e c h m e a

‘Samurai’ to show

off!

A good example of fenestrations on

a young Vriesea ‘Red Chestnut’ Ed:

One of my favourite words!


Library Corner - Brenda Wegner This glossary is designed for use by bromeliad growers

and readers of the ‘Journal of the Bromeliad Society’

to aid them in understanding more clearly the

terminology used in describing bromeliads. In no way

does it pretend to be a botanical dictionary or to

apply to other plant families. It covers a wide range of

terms, having been compiled from articles that have

appeared in the journal since its inception in 1951.

Thanks • Miriam Kennard for hosting the March meeting.

• Lyn Wegner for Lucky Draw bromeliads.

• Dr Pete Pfister, Lyn Wegner and Danie Conradie

for give-away bromeliads.

• Nancy Brindley and Roy Anderson, Pam Rogers,

Dudley and Albie Reynolds for bringing delicious

eats for tea time and assisting with serving.

Tea Duty Roster for Meetings If you are unable to provide eats for the meeting

when you are on duty please let Larraine Parathyras know in time, so that someone else can be organised to

swap duties with you. Contact Larraine: cell: 082 594 4559 or [email protected]

April: Linda Flanagan, Barbara and Eddie Black, Val Nel and Caryn Delport.

May: Miriam Kennard, Dave and Carol Flint, Glenn and Barbara Miles.

June: Sue Pema, Dr Boots and Alison Horsfall, Dr Geoff Howes and Lisa Voges.

Congratulations to the Raffle Winners for March!

• Ray and Elna Weyer still to choose their winning

bromeliad.

• Jill Buckler still to make a choice.

• Anne Holder chose Neoregelia carolinae concentrica x

'Big Blue'

• Nancy Brindley chose Vriesea ‘Vulkana’.

• Norman & Hantie Weitz from Pretoria.

• Deon Barns from Randburg.

• Christo van Wijk from Pretoria.

• Pieter van der Walt from Johannesburg.

(Due to Lyn leaving shortly after the March meeting for the

SunnyBroms conference, the country raffle bromeliads have

not been organised yet.)

Lucky Draws

There were numerous lucky draw winners.

From the Committee • Members are welcome to bring good quality, labelled bromeliads for the raffle table. Please ensure that

you let the Treasurer, Lynn Friend know if your plant was chosen and the price to facilitate payment.

• Members Plant Sales: members are also welcome to bring plants to sell after the meeting. Please ensure

that your plants are labelled with the name of the bromeliad, your name and price. Display your name

prominently so that people know who to pay when buying your plants.

• Please wear your name badge at our meetings. There will be a R5 fine if you are spotted without your

name. Please advise Barbs if you lose your badge. A replacement will cost you R5.

Upcoming Society Events

April: To be hosted by Irene Manthe at 27 Epping Road Nahoon Valley. Please bring your mug, chair and

anything bromeliad related you would like to share with the members. Topic: Feedback from Lyn Wegner’s

trip to the SunnyBroms conference in Australia. Not to be missed!!!!!!!

Anne Holder. Nancy Brindley.

Right: Lyn Wegner’s

Tillandsia ‘Samantha is

colouring up nicely

since we saw it at the

last meeting. This plant

was on view at the SunnyBroms Competition and

the inflorescence was 1 meter tall!


May: Travelling meeting: Koos and Christine Steyn in Sunnyridge and Sandy Baxter in Greenfields.

June: Wyndham Whitfield in Dorchester Heights. The orchid man!!!!!!

July: Lyn and Trevor Wegner, Sunnyridge, AGM and Birthday Bash!

August: Tamara Hartwanger in Baysville.

Upcoming International Events

2018: World Bromeliad Conference to be held in San Diego, California from 29 May to 3 June 2018. Check out

the Conference Corner at bsi.org for more information. This will be the third WBC that will be held in San

Diego, California. Registration for the 2018 conference has already begun. If you are interested in going

contact Lyn Wegner for more information as she will be going! Start saving!!!!.

From our Members

From Rob Hazell in Swellendam, (his nursery is now called: ‘Broms in the Berg’). When my son in the UK heard I

had retired, he said "Oh good dad , now you can come and visit Rocco" (My grandson in the UK). I explained

the operative word was “retired”, which meant no income, so he offered to pay. Wow! are children not

great!. Well, ten years ago David Davidson, the designer of the Kirstenbosch Chelsea Flower Show exhibit

offered me a spot on his team, so I immediately phoned him and ascertained if the offer still stood. Yes, I am

off to Chelsea, one bucket list tick. I must say that I have followed Chelsea for more years than I care to

admit, back to the old tape days, and I cannot recall ever seeing a bromeliad. But I will look carefully and

report back when I return in June.

Lyn – they have been spotted there Rob but have been very slow to make an appearance!

Dawid Botha in Port Elizabeth: I was looking for a book, ‘Bromeliads, The

Connoisseurs Guide’ by Andrew Steens. After an appeal in our

newsletter, I received an e-mail on 21 February from Bev and Lester

Ching from Pandora Bromeliads, Pakurange in Auckland, NZ stating that

I must send them my address as they would like to send me some books

free of charge. I offered to pay for the postage but they would not hear

of it. The 23rd February I received the word that the parcel was on its

way. I waited anxiously like a boy the night before Christmas for my

present to arrive. After some weeks of waiting and correspondence

back and forth, the parcel finally arrived. The box was plastered all over

with brown tape and looked like it survived a war, some import duties

were also required. On closer inspection and after a few queries it was

discovered that the parcel had been opened by an anonymous

handler and rummaged through for easy loot! Thankfully, they did not

realize the treasure they were dealing with! The parcel was discovered

by another Postal Worker, resealed and sent on its way to me. That night I hardly slept as I studied the three

books. (Bromeliads for the Contemporary Garden by Andrew Steens, Growing Bromeliads, second and third

addition by the Bromeliad Society of Australia).

I would just like to thank Bev and Lester Ching very much for their most generous gesture in sending me these

fantastic books, as I did not have them in my collection and they contain a lot of valuable information that

will assist me with improving my cultivation of bromeliads, plus there are loads of photos of plants that will

appear on my wish list.

From local member, Gale Kockjeu: Thanks for the newsletter. Especially on being water wise. Just a word of

warning for the older East London houses - I connected an outlet to our bath water some 10 or 12 years ago

and it was going brilliantly until the loo backed up. When the BCM department came out to see what the

problem was they said that the older houses (ours was built in 1931) had their sewerage system hooked up to

the bath and basin outlet which assisted the “flow” of the sewerage. Needless to say we have since stopped

that but have in the meantime invested in four large water tanks around the garden which are also used to

great effect. Our next investment is a 5000ltr tank to be pumped into the house.

I also encourage all our members to recycle kitchen peelings etc. into a compost heap – it makes a great

difference to your soil in the long run. Berea area used to be a mealie farm called ‘Gumtree Township’. They

worked the ground until it was stone dead. I have been making compost and spreading it around the garden

for many years and it has made an incredible difference. Remember that all your cardboard boxes, pill

boxes, tea boxes, toothpaste boxes, jungle oats boxes and I could go on forever, can be torn up, put in a

bucket of water to soak and then thrown onto the compost heap – this will act as a superb mulch and assist

with the loss of moisture staying at a minimum. Put a bucket of cardboard out on the compost heap at least

Dawid Botha in his hothouse with the books

so kindly sent to him by Bev and Lester

Ching.


twice a month – you would be surprised at how much cardboard you throw away each month that could be

put to good use.

Rupert Partridge, Kifli, Kenya: So enjoyed reading all the newsletters. I

have two Alcantarea bought in Nairobi, altitude of nearly 6000' above

sea level and temperatures of around 70 - 80*f (21 - 26* c). They are

now growing on the Kenya coast at sea level with temperature of

around 85/90 (27 - 32*c) year round (Kenya is on the equator so no

Winters). The plants get a few hours of morning sun and then in shade;

sprayed and watered as required. All the larger Nairobi grown leaves

have died gradually to be replaced by much smaller ones ......why?

Maybe a fellow member might comment.

Barbs: There would be a period of adjustment but the centre growth is

looking good to me Rupert! The lower leaves do flop a bit when

getting older.

Something Interesting

I know of quite a few artists amongst our members, so here’s an idea for you! From Florida Council of Bromeliad Societies, Karen Andreas: Bromeliad Art Gallery

Take a visit to the creative side of the bromeliad world and visit the Florida Council of Bromeliad Societies’ Art

Gallery. It can be found at: http://fcbs.org/articles/Bromeliad_Art.htm

This section of the Council’s website features four galleries. Gallery 1 is the Art of Bromeliads, with photographs

from the judged art show at the FCBS Extravaganza in 2001. There is a whole range

of media, including oil painting, water color, photography, and silk artwork.

Gallery II contains just a few of the paintings by Kiti Wenzil, who came to bromeliad

art in her later years and captivated so many with her realistic artwork.

Gallery III is a one hit wonder, featuring one piece of

art from Shari Decker. To the right is Kiti’s Aechmea

orlandiana cv. ‘Hayward’.

Gallery IV has the work of well-known Florida artist

Stephen Littlefield who often combines botanical

with whimsical. Right: ‘Floating xerographica’

Webmaster Michael Andreas is always looking for

new bromeliad artists to feature. Send digital copies

of your art to: [email protected].

From the Editor I hope the change in the season has prompted you to get out there and work with your bromeliads without

having to sweat buckets! Still some days the temperature has spiked and I learnt a severe lesson by thinking

the worst of the heat was over and cut back a whole lot of old wild bananas (Strelitzia nicolai) on the back

bank, only to have a few more days of blazing sun, so some sad burn resulted. The broms will survive and get

acclimatized by next year. I like that there is next to NO WIND now. There is always loads of cleaning out of

dead leaves and splitting to do (these plants love to multiply!!!! making them ideal to share, give away or

swap.) Everything is always getting far too cramped and you just don’t see the best of each plant when they

are all squashed together, so lots of work ahead in the cooler months. Eddie and I are planning to take our

excess plants and create a bromeliad garden at the West Bank Golf Club. This has prompted much

discussion amongst the members, lots of them have broms!!!!!!!!!!!! some collect them, so I hope we do a

good job in the coming weeks to keep them all happy and promote these wonderful plants!

You could consider doing your own bit where there is a garden that needs a bit of upliftment and you could

manage to maintain it just for the sheer love of gardening and bromeliads!

Any item discussed at a meeting or in the newsletter is up for debate and commentary! We appreciate input

from experienced growers on the topics covered and welcome feedback. Some of us grow bromeliads

because we love them and love gardening, some enjoy them from a more scientific perspective. It is all

about spreading the love of this incredibly beautiful and diverse family of plants, enjoy and share your passion

and knowledge! We are a ‘young’ society and keen to learn and grow beautiful bromeliads.

A reminder to you all to let us know what is happening in your garden or collection of broms, bring it to the

Rupert Partirdge’s Alcantarea.


meeting for ‘Show and Tell’, or send a photo to myself or to Lyn. Especially

our country members, send us photos of anything exciting happening in

your collection/garden, it will be great if you could share your successes or

your problems with how bromeliads are growing in your part of South Africa

as growing conditions vary greatly. Thank you to those who have

contributed this month. We can all learn from each other.

We can all celebrate Earth Day on the 22 April. Earth day is apparently now

the largest civic observance in the world, with over 1 billion participants. This

year, the Earth Day campaign focuses on ‘Environmental and Climate

Literacy’. Recycle, Reduce, Restore, Re-use and Replenish where you are

able!

I am sure that you are all like me, eagerly awaiting feedback from Lyn

Wegner re the SunnyBroms conference in Australia that she has just recently returned from. So be at the next

meeting to hear all about it!!!

Happy bromming to you all !

[email protected]

072 1787 421

This is a publication for the East London Bromeliad Society, South Africa for the interest of its members. Articles

may be used by non profit societies with acknowledgement to the above.

Any opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the Society.

When submitting items for inclusion in this newsletter, please ensure that all information is checked and

accurate.

ELBS is an affiliate of the Bromeliad Society International.

ELBS Address: c/o 18 Wentworth Road, Sunnyridge, East London 5201 South Africa,

[email protected]

We meet on the last Sunday of every month, January to November, at various venues around East London.

We have a topic for each meeting and Show and Tell where members are encouraged to bring along their

brag or problem plants. There are member raffles, lucky draws for those present, tea time, library and

member plant sales, plus a monthly newsletter sent out via e-mail only. Visitors are always welcome and can

attend three meetings before they will need to join the society in order to continue attending. Annual subs

are R120.00 for individuals/families and R60 for students.


Peter Cook from Sunnybroms (Australia) has very kindly created a link to ELBS newsletters on their web page.

https://bromeliadnewsletters.wordpress.com/east-london-south-africa/

You can access :

• All the back copies of the 2016 and 2017 ELBS Newsletters

• The first of the BSI BCR genus changes and cultivar changes generated via DNA studies complied by Derek

Butcher and Geoff Lawn the BSI Cultivar Registrar.

You will find ELBS on Facebook: [email protected] or type ‘East London Bromeliad

Society’ into the fb search bar. You can request to join the group and will then be able to upload your photos

and comments on the wall. The ELBS SA page and other bromeliad related sites are becoming a useful and

informative forum to share and ‘meet up’ with other like-minded bromeliad folks. There are also many other

bromeliad related sites that you can join and become part of a world wide online sharing environment.

You can view most of all the bromeliads mentioned in meetings or in the newsletter at the following websites:

The BSI’s official Bromeliad Cultivar Registry www.registry.bsi.org which is maintained by Geoff Lawn, the BSI

Cultivar Registrar. Plus other information regarding the Bromeliad Society International is found at bsi.org

fcbs.org (Florida Council of Bromeliad Societies). This is a very useful site to reference many bromeliads where

you can clarify identification or just trawl through the site and add to your wish list!

Encyclopedia of Bromeliads - http://bromelia.club (Bromeliad Taxonomists and Growers Society) has

photographs. It also now has keys for the genera and sub-genera. If you like to be informed what is

happening, just follow on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/bromeliadsencyclopedia

For internet resources you can also go to TAXON (The New Bromeliad List) for the most authoritative and right

up to date list of genera and species, accepted and new names and taxonomic keys -

http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/taxonList.php or just type in ‘New Bromeliad Taxon List’, it's much easier!

Photo Credits: Barbara Black, Brenda Wegner, Dawid Botha, Rupert Partridge, fcbs.org,

Committee Members

Chairman: Dudley Reynolds 079 488 2360 [email protected]

Vice- Chairman: Dr Peter Pfister 082 625 5533 [email protected]

PRO & Secretary: Lyn Wegner 043 736 1737 082 970 2293 [email protected]

Treasurer: Lynn Friend 043 748 2271 083 318 1179 [email protected]

Editor & Publisher: Barbara Black 043 7212775 O72 1787 421 [email protected]

Proof Reader: Lyn Wegner 043 736 1737 082 970 2293 [email protected]

Raffles: Lyn Odendaal 043 726 1075 083 441 6813 [email protected]

Librarian: Brenda Wegner 082 743 2141 [email protected]

Catering Co-ordinators: Eddie Black and

Larraine Parathyras

043 7212775

043 726 3167

082 5505 347

082 594 4559

[email protected]

[email protected]

Events Co-ordinator: Brenda Wegner 082 743 2141 [email protected]

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