BROMELIADS
BROMELIADS
are native to Central and
South America.
The family consists of over 2000 species, and more are
still being discovered. The diversity of Bromeliads
ranges from the pineapple to the "Spanish Moss" or "Old
man's beard" we have all seen in pictures of the Florida
everglades, hanging in the trees. Countless hybrids have
been produced from these species and the possibilities
are endless.
Bromeliads are hardy, easy to grow and survive the
neglect imposed upon them by the accelerated pace of
modern living. Greatly adaptable, they grow under
artificial, air conditioned atmospheres and tolerate
abnormal light and moisture situations. They are ideal
companion plants to most orchids as they both favour the
same conditions for growing ..
The Bromeliad family is broken into about 30 different
sub-families called genera and some of the more well
known of these are as follows:
AECHMEA
Aechmeas could be described as stately in size and form.
Their leaves are often strongly patterned, with flower
bracts that usually produce berries that last for
months. Some are quite hardy and will take full sun
although others require semi-shade to full shade. Sizes
vary from quite small to huge.
BILLBERGIA
Although their flower is not long lasting, it is
orchid-like and quite beautiful. The plants are mainly
tubular in shape and are very decorative and worthwhile.
They prefer good light.
CRYPTANTHUS
Cryptanthus collecting is fast becoming recognised as a
hobby in itself, particularly where space is limited,
and a very rewarding hobby at that. These colourful and
fascinating little plants, commonly called "earth
stars", are the one of the few genera of true
terrestrials in the Bromeliad family (apart from
Orthophytums and similar plants). Grow them indoors or
out. The light level is important to their colour
development; too much and they will bleach and too
little and they go dark.
GUZMANIA
Possibly some of the most beautiful Bromeliads are the
Guzmanias. With often beautifully coloured and patterned
leaves and long lasting flower bracts, sometimes many
months, they make ideal indoor plants. They often have
delicate foliage and should be grown in a sheltered,
semi-shaded position.
NEOREGELIA
Of all the Bromeliad genera, Neo's as a whole are the
most colourful. They do not have a significant flower
but are in demand more for their brilliantly coloured
leaves. Their form is generally rosette and their size
varies from about 10cm. to a metre or more. Neo's need
bright light to colour well but may burn in full sun.
NIDULARIUM
Nidulariums are probably the most under-used of all the
Bromeliad genera. They make excellent indoor plants or
can add spectacular and long-lasting colour and contrast
to a garden. In looks, they are almost a combination of
Neos and Guzmanias having mainly green to purple leaves
and a coloured central flower rosette. They look their
best in semi-shade.
TILLANDSIA
Tillandsias are the most fascinating of all the
Bromeliads. They are completely ephiphytic (air growing)
and will grow almost anywhere. Under normal garden
conditions they will grow without additional watering or
feeding although these will encourage extra growth.
They vary greatly in growth and flowering habit and so
are difficult to describe. Some are large, some small.
some grey, some fuzzy, others smooth and some have
beautifully perfumed flowers (marked P), but they are
all beautiful. They can be glued with most glues (NOT
SILICONE ) or tied to most rough surfaces until the
roots take hold.
VRIESEA
Vrieseas are a worthwhile addition to any garden or
greenhouse as well as being an ideal indoor plant. I
divide them into two categories; those with plain leaves
and those I call "fancy" vrieseas. Fancy vrieseas have
magnificent leaf colour and marking, whereas the plain
varieties usually have soft green or purple leaves and
striking sword like flower bracts which lasts for
months. They prefer shady conditions.
CULTURE :
POTTING
Most Bromeliads, except for a few terrestrials, are
either epiphytic or semi-epiphytic and can be tree
mounted or potted. A Cymbidium orchid mix is most
commonly recommended but they seem to do well in any
medium provided it is very open and drains well. Pine
barks are the basis for most mixes. The terrestrials
(especially Cryptanthus) prefer a heavier mix e.g. a
fern type mix, which will remain moist. Most Tillandsias
need to be mounted on wood, rock, etc. but there are a
few varieties that will do better if potted in a free
draining open mix.
WATERING
Normal garden watering is fine. So long as their cups
contain some water they will survive. Whether this is
from weekly or more frequent watering or from normal
rainfall does not really matter. It is nearly impossible
to over water as the cups will simply overflow.
FERTILISING
Bromeliads require very little fertilising. Some
varieties are able to take more feeding than others but
over fertilising plants such as Neoregelias will result
in long strappy leaves (compact shape is usually better)
and loss of colour. A pinch of slow release fertiliser
when first potting these plants is usually sufficient.
Genera such as Cryptanthus and Vrieseas require more
feeding.
PESTS
Probably the only pests you will have to worry about
with your Broms are various types of scale, the worst of
which is "fly speck scale" which can be seen as small
black spots over the leaves. These scales can be
controlled with insecticides specifically for scale
pests. Scales will not be as much of a problem in plants
which are given good light and air movement and where
periodic inspection and maintenance is carried out.
NEVER USE WHITE OIL SPRAYS.
PROPAGATION
......is usually by the removal of offsets which are
often called "pups" which can be cut or broken from the
mother plant when they are approximately one third to
half the size of the mother which will often then
produce more pups before deteriorating and dying over a
period of months of even a year or so. Pups can be stood
together on top of or slightly into potting mix in a box
until they root and then they can be potted.
LIGHT
It is important to find the right spot for the right
Brom as the conditions required to get the best results
vary from variety to variety. One of the major factors
in this is light levels. Plants such as Neos, Ananas,
Tillandsias, etc. require good light whereas Vrieseas,
Guzmanias, Canistrums and Nidulariums will look good
grown in shady areas. Most plants will adapt well to 50%
or 70% shade cloth under which there are usually areas
that are more shady or more light. It is usually better
to keep your plants in pots and move them around until
you find a position where you feel they respond best.
Cryptanthus require semi -shade to look their best.
TREE MOUNTING
Many Bromeliads can be tree mounted, the stoloniferous
varieties such as miniature Neos being the most
suitable. They can be fixed to trees by tying or nailing
or tucked in a suitable fork or crevice. When tree
mounting Bromeliads, it is not necessary to cover the
root area but it is important that they remain upright
to hold water. (except for Tillandsias which can hang in
any direction)
TILLANDSIA
-
GENERAL INFORMATION AND GROWING TIPS
TILLANDSIAS
are probably the most fascinating genus of the Bromeliad
family. There are now over 500 species and new varieties
are still being discovered. Hybrids are also becoming
more common. In nature they range from Florida and
Mexico through all of the Central and South American
countries, from deserts to rainforests, from freezing to
tropical conditions. They vary in size from 1 cm or so
to plants in excess of 4 m. Habitat altitude ranges from
sea level to elevations of 3000 m. Most Tillandsias are
totally epiphytic or "air growing" and are able to
extract all moisture and nutrient required to live
through a system of trichomes or "fine hairs" on their
leaves which gives many of them a silver/grey velvety
look. As a general rule, the more silvery they look, the
dryer the climate of their native habitat. This silvery
surface also reflects heat and keeps the plant cooler in
the hot desert areas. The forest dwellers tend to be
green or red. Tillandsias vary greatly in size, shape,
leaf formation, colour combinations and general
adaptability in their native habitat. Some have the most
beautiful perfumes. Some have dispensed with a root
system and use their leaves to hold onto branches so
they do not fall to the forest floor where they might
rot away. However, most do have relatively small root
systems which attach the plants to various mounting
materials such as cacti, bark or branches, rock, sand or
leaf litter on the forest floor. They do not use their
roots to feed and are not parasites. These plants are
very slow growing so patience is required. Single plants
can be very attractive but they are at their best when
they have formed into larger clumps or colonies. Clumps
in flower can be quite spectacular. After flowering,
mother plants will make new plants in the form of
suckers called "pups" or "offsets". Remember that growth
of a clump is slowest in the early stages. Your first
plant might produce 4 pups. They, in turn, might produce
4 each, that's 16. If they produce 4 each that's 64 and
so on.
GROWING.........Tillandsias
require very little attention. Provided they have
reasonable conditions they will grow on happily without
any fuss whatsoever. However, if a few simple rules are
followed, you will get the best out of your plants
CLIMATE..........Tillandsias
are grown successfully from Cairns to Tasmania. Most of
them will adapt to this climatic range with the
exception of a few that are not generally available in
Australia. There may be some that will grow in Cairns
that will not grow easily in Tasmania and others that
will grow in Tasmania and not in Cairns unless special
conditions are provided.
GROWING CONDITIONS....Tillandsias
require light, water, and good air movement to grow
well. If these requirements are provided, they can be
grown in many and varied situations from open gardens to
indoors, but I recommend outdoor growing and taking the
plants indoors for short periods. Let's look at these
one by one.
LIGHT...........As
a rule, the silver/grey varieties will tolerate full sun
whereas the green plants will require some shade. Most
of my plants grow well under 50% shade cloth with the
more shade loving plants placed in the shadier
positions. Some people use 70% shade cloth with good
results but my philosophy is "you can always add shade
but it's difficult to add light". Plants indoors will do
better in a well lit area than a dark corner.
WATER..........Watering
requirements will vary according to individual
situations, i.e. indoor or outdoor growing, winter or
summer, humidity etc. I believe in under watering rather
than over watering because plants can be damaged by over
watering whereas they will normally show signs of under
watering before damage is done. My plants get a
reasonable watering once or twice a week summer and
winter and I find this adequate. If plants are not
receiving enough water they will show signs of
dehydration or dryness. Tillandsias - bergeri and
aeranthos are good indicators as they usually let you
know first by the leaves pinching into a trough shape.
In very severe cases of dehydration, plants can be
soaked in a bucket of water for several hours without
harming them. Indoor plants may need regular misting
with an atomiser (maybe once a day) as the atmosphere
inside tends to be dryer particularly if
air-conditioned. A thorough watering or soaking once a
week is also a good idea. Although regular watering is
desirable, plants will not usually come to any harm if
unattended for several weeks or even longer.
AIR MOVEMENT..........These
plants respond to a nice breezy situation.
MOUNTING..........Tillandsias
can be mounted on a number of different materials. Cork,
timber, driftwood (soak well to remove any salt),
grape wood are the most successful. Rock, unglazed
pottery, shells, etc. can also be used but the plants
are not usually as happy on these surfaces. Generally
accepted methods of fixing include gluing or tying to
hold the plant in position until the roots take. I use
hot glue from a glue gun but most other glues (EXCEPT
SILICONE) are used. Contact glues are quite good if you
smear some glue on the mount and some on the plant,
allow to dry for a few minutes and press the plant in
position. I mount most plants facing downward as I find
that most of them will turn up towards the light and if
the glue lets go after the roots have taken, the plant
will hang like a hook instead of falling away from the
mount. Never allow copper or zinc to come into contact
with the plants as it may harm or kill them. I find that
some varieties do better if potted or at least mounted
in an upright position. Some of these would be cyanea,
lindenii, most of the fasciculata types, flabellata and
most of the green Vriesea types. Pot in a well drained
open mix.
FERTILIZING...Some
people apply foliar fertilizer to their plants, some
once a week, others once a month but I find that it does
not make much difference. If you wish to fertilize, use
a fertilizer such as Phostrogen as Tillandsias need
their nitrogen in ammonia form, not urea form. Use
foliar fertilizers at half the recommended strength.
REMOVAL OF PUPS...Pups
can be removed from the parent plant if you wish when
they are about one third the size of the parent. Some
varieties grow their pups proud of the parent and are
easy to remove but others send their pups up between the
leaf -axils and have to be removed carefully with a
knife. If the pups are removed, the parent plant will
produce more. The number of pups can vary from one to a
dozen or more
PESTS AND DISEASES.........Pests
and diseases are not usually a problem. Occasionally
they may attract mealy bugs to an odd plant. These plants
can be dipped or sprayed with a suitable
insecticide.(NEVER USE WHITE OIL OR COPPER SPRAYS.)
FLOWERING........Pups
will normally flower within a year from purchase.
Seedling plants may take substantially longer, sometimes
many years. Sometimes individual plants can skip a year
but once a clump is established, you should have a
reliable flowering each year. Each variety has its' own
flowering season, so, with a reasonable collection of
Tillandsias, you will have something flowering all year.
Flowers can last from a few days to many months,
depending on the variety. If you have one that should
have flowered but doesn't want to, moving the plant or
placing it in a bag with an apple may produce -results.
There are about 20 or 30 varieties that are beautifully
perfumed. I trust this information has given you a little
more understanding of these marvellous plants so that
you may receive more pleasure from them.
LIST
OF BROMELIAD AND
OTHER 'NON-ORCHID' PLANTS
CLICK HERE
INTERESTING
LINKS:
Bromeliaceae -Bird Rock
Tropicals
Bromeliad Encyclopedia -
Florida Council of Bromeliad Societies
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Wilson, Louis -
“Bromeliads for Modern Living” (1977) Merchants
Publishing Company
BROMAGIC and the
magical world of BROMELIADS (CD)
Rauh, Werner – “The
BROMELIAD Lexicon” (1990) Blandford , London
ISBN 0-
947444-42-4
