East LondonEast London · PDF fileLyn’s conference and American travel experience...

East London Bromeliad Society South Africa July 2016

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June Meeting

Thirty six members gathered for the June

meeting that was held at the home of Gale and

Ron Kockjeu on their super big patio! A lovely

garden with loads of space to spread out the

raffle plants, the member plant sales and the

lucky draw plants. It was a very unseasonal, HOT

afternoon in the middle of winter in a stunning,

relaxed garden setting. Thank you so much

Gale. Dudley opened the meeting and

congratulated Lyn Wegner on her appointment

as the new BSI President; we are all so excited

by this appointment! I am sure Lyn will bring a

breath of fresh African perspective and offer up

some new ideas to assist the BSI, as we know

what she has done for our society! We definitely do things differently in South Africa! So let’s go straight to

Lyn’s conference and American travel experience story!!!

My 5th World Bromeliad Conference Experience 2016! Lyn Wegner I am back home after attending the 22nd World Bromeliad Conference,

Bromeliads Texas Style, hosted by the Houston Bromeliad Society from June

13th to 19th. I visited Rainforest Flora in California for 2 days after the

conference but I'll start at the beginning.

I left East London on Saturday 11th June and arrived in Houston, 3 flights

later, at midday on Sunday. I was travelling alone again. I am hoping a

group of us will attend the 2018 San Diego World Conference!

It started raining en route to the conference hotel and I heard later that

Houston's 2 airports were closed as a result! The taxi cost me $80. I won't

even comment! The hotel had doors that opened into a huge shopping

mall. There were lots of expensive shops, places to eat and an ice rink

which I didn't have the nerve to try out!

The hotel, Westin Galleria, was in an extremely busy area, hotels, offices

and traffic! I couldn't attempt to walk any where! My memory of Houston will be traffic, up to 6 lanes, jam

packed with cars. Houston seems pretty spread out and sprawling. I didn't see many residential areas. I didn't

find the heat outside too bad, but as with previous conferences, it is just too cold in the hotel, air conditioners!

ELBS is an Affiliated Society of Bromeliad Society International

East LondonEast LondonEast LondonEast London Bromeliad Society

South Africa Established: 25 July 2009

NEWS LETTER

July 2016

Next meeting: AGM and 7th Birthday Bash!!!! Sunday 31st July at 2.00pm. Hosted by Trevor

and Lyn Wegner at Bromeliads for Africa, 18 Wentworth Road, Sunnyridge. See you there!

Our hostess Gale Kockjeu with her hostess choice, Neoregelia ‘Cereza’ x1-

x in her lovely garden.

Lyn with Janet Schaeffer, our ELBS member from Colorado USA!!!! Conference buddies!


The streets of Houston, visible from our tour buses, were well maintained.

Pretty gardens and lots of flowering pink Pride of India which they refer to as

Crepe Myrtle. It could be a smaller form of Lagerstroemia.

The conference was only due to start on the Tuesday for me, with the BSI

Board meeting. An all day productive meeting with breakfast, lunch and

dinner included. Good food!

I was very lucky to be included in a tour to Carole and Rick Richtmyer's

garden together with Dan Kinnard and Eloise Lau from San Diego as well as

David and Joan Anderson from New Zealand. Carole is the Secretary of the

Cryptanthus Society and it was exciting to see her many beautiful crypt

hybrids! Rick likes the terrestrials and he had some very nice dyckia,

orthoyphytums and more. The Richtmyers took us all out for a delicious lunch

and then it was back to their lovely home in a beautiful suburb, lush green

lawns, heaps of trees, attractive homes and well maintained gardens. We

had time to spare before the shuttle took us back to the hotel so we 'worked'

in the Richtmyer's garden, sorting out little areas here and there that they still

wanted to improve before the conference delegates visited them later in

the week. What a privilege to spend an hour or so in their garden. It wasn't

long before I was scratched and bleeding which made me feel right at

home! Thanks Dan and Eloise for including me! After returning to the hotel I

learnt of a meeting I needed to attend that evening, Monday.

Tuesday, Board meeting, where I was welcomed as the new BSI President by

Jay Thurrott, the outgoing President. The new Vice President was also

welcomed, Rick Ryals. I like him! A ball of fire! I counted about 24 men and 4

ladies present. Some really special people, doing wonderful jobs as

volunteers, despite being very busy in their private lives. BSI is in very good

hands. I am sure some of you are aware of the Journal and Website problems,

but good plans are in place to get this all back on track. I will tell you a little

later about the exciting BSI 66 Fund.

Back to conference 'stuff': The Houston Bromeliad Society, which I think is

considered the largest in the USA, had spent many hours since the last world

conference in Hawaii, planning the event. Quite an undertaking! I am sure

they are very pleased with their successful event. These conferences are held

every 2 years.

Wednesday. I attended another meeting. Registrations took place and

we received our jam packed goodie bags and name badges. The

official opening took place at 12pm and all registrants received a Box

Lunch. Then another 'meeting' for a few of us at the bank to sort out

some BSI stuff. 3.30pm to 9pm was an Optional Tour to Jimbo's Nursery

($75) which included a BBQ. I was keen to see how that compared to

our SA braai ! We got delicious sliced brisket with a tasty sauce, a

piece of chicken, some beans (not in a sauce like baked beans) and

some potato salad? Pudding was Peach Cobbler?, peaches in a

baked mixture. I think the meat was cooked in an oven, not over coals

on a grid like we would braai.

Jimbo's Nursery (25 miles south of Houston, about a 90 minute drive),

sells a wide variety of plants other than bromeliads. We received a

diagram of the nursery showing the various sections eg, palms, roses,

fruit trees and of course, bromeliads etc.

Informal workshops were held on cryptanthus, mounting broms,

neoregelia and hechtia presented by BSI members. They were pretty

basic, but you never know what ideas you might pick up. In fact, I am

wondering how marine silicone sealer will work as a glue for mounting

tills. Watch this space!

Thursday. Optional Tour ($30) to the Klein Estate. These gardens have

been in this family for 163 years. It is an ongoing project with new

plantings visible. We received a map of the grounds which made it

easy to find your way around the large property. The main attractions

Part of the only display at the conference. Odean Head's mounted

plants!

Carol Richtmyer in her greenhouse.

Rick Ryals the new Vice-President of BSI at Jimbo's Nursery.

Inside David Klein's tropical greenhouse.


were 2 large greenhouses, one filled with over 1200 tropical plants, mostly bromeliads but including ferns and

palms. The structure is large with strong beams ideal for hanging the many huge bowls of bromeliads that

have multiplied over the years. It had a beautiful large water feature. The second greenhouse was only 4

years old and was filled with many varieties of cacti and succulents. We

were treated to refreshments and snacks in their lovely cool home.

And then the seminars were on next. Three were held on Thursday

afternoon, each one an hour long. What a privilege to have these

speakers, experts in their fields. I enjoyed most of the seminars but a

couple were too scientific for me. Everyone needs to be catered for. Eric

Gouda and his lovely wife Renate Verwer told us about their 'Bromeliad

Treasure Hunting in the Peruvian Andes'.

Next up was Gregory Brown speaking on 'Bromeliaceae Systemics –

Stepping Back to Move Forward'. Jose Manzanares then spoke about

'The Genus Mezobromelia; Status and New Species.

Then, what everyone waits for with GREAT anticipation! the Show and

Plant Sales open from 6pm to 9pm for delegates only. I was going to be

very disciplined, but you guessed

correctly, my good intentions fell apart

and I bought 3 full boxes of plants!

Herb Plever (Editor of the New York

Bromeliad Society Journal for 50 years!)

suggested we go to supper and we

were joined by Pamela Koide-Hyatt. A

couple of special hours with some

really special people!

I managed to have a quick 20 minute

peep at the Show before the doors

were closed at just after 9pm.

Friday. The Sales and Show are open

to the public. We had another three

seminars on Friday morning. Thomas

Givnish: '100 Million Years of Bromeliad

Evolution'. Pamela Koide-Hyatt: 'Thirty

Plus Years of Hybridising Tillandsia, What

I've Learned' and Bruce Holst: 'Exploring

Bromeliads in Belize.

After a lunch for all delegates we had

another two seminars; Elton Leme

'Cryptanthoid Complex Upside Down:

New Circumscriptons for Cryptanthus

and Allied Genera' and the final

seminar was on 'The Status of the BSI

Journal and Website by Alan Herndon,

the Editor, and Eric Gouda, Webmaster.

The Rare Plant Auction took place on

Friday evening. Hors d'oeuvres were

supplied, a cash bar was available

which gets everyone in the right mood

to bid high prices!

On Saturday morning we had three

garden tours, the highlights at

conferences for me. I planned to spend

the afternoon in the Show which would

be dismantled at 4pm but I had 2

unexpected back to back meetings

which was the end of that plan. It's hard

to believe that I could only spend 20

minutes admiring the many show

entries.

Guzmania ‘Kapoho Fire’ cv ‘Red Streak’. David Shiigi received an Award of Merit

for this beauty!

Michael Kiehl selling his broms to eager buyers.

Two very excited shoppers in the Sales Room, Herb Plever and Janet Schaeffer.

Best of Division II Tillandsiodeae: Tillandsia flabellata.

B e s t o f S h ow C r y p t a n t h u s Sweepstakes: Cryptanthus 'Green on

Red'.

Award of Merit: Vriesea 'Strawberry Icecream', from David Fell, Hawaii.

Best of Show Commercial Horticulture won by Michael's Bromeliads: Dyckia

goehringii.


The conference ends with the Banquet on Saturday evening. The Wally Berg Award of Excellence was

announced too, a worthy 90 year old, amazing man in the bromeliad world, a member coincidentally, of the

host society, Odean Head, was the very worthy recipient. The Keynote Address was by Elton Leme; 'Bromeliad

Conservation in Brazil: Current Situation and Perspectives.'

On Sunday morning the Cryptanthus Society

Annual Membership and Board Meeting took

place which I also attended. And then! I

rushed to the Cheesecake Factory in the mall

and bought TWO pieces of cheesecake! That

was the end of the Conference for me.

So many people introduced themselves to

me and wished me well with my new roll as

President. I didn't expect the warmth and

friendliness which was very touching. I also

received many compliments on our ELBS(SA)

Newsletter. Thank you Barbs, our super duper

hardworking Editor!

There were many meetings which I felt were

beneficial to me, as I have a lot to learn

about the BSI, its procedures, the Board

members, as well as where I actually fit in. I

learnt a bit about how much it costs BSI, for

the conferences and to produce and mail the

journal and I would like this to be

communicated to BSI members, through the

Journal.

The top priority of the Board is to get the

journals up to date. Some of you might be

aware of this problem. There are good plans in place to get it back on track. A team has been put together

offering assistance to the hardworking Editor, Alan Herndon, who does a great job. You might not be aware

that these Journals were behind when Alan took over this mammoth task .

The website has had many problems which will also be sorted out soon. A lot of inherited problems making the

job so much more time consuming for the efficient and hardworking Webmaster, Eric Gouda.

As I have already mentioned, the BSI board members are serious and enthusiastic about making BSI the

society it should be, for all of us around the world! The BSI received a very generous offer during the

conference from an anonymous donor, who has promised to equal $25000 once we, the BSI members have

managed to raise this amount. The Board have decided that we would like to bring the amount up to $66000

as this is the 66th year of the existence of BSI. All affiliates and BSI members are encouraged to make a

donation to the BSI 66 Fund.

I hope this gives you an idea of what a BSI World Conference is all about and just maybe, you will be able to

attend the next one in San Diego! The host society is already very busy with plans for the next World

Conference in 2 year's time!

I would like to thank all our members, in East London and our country members

all over SA! I have been overwhelmed by your support and kindness! Thank

you to Barbs for the surprise cheesecake especially made for me at our last

meeting! and also thank you Barbs for arranging via Facebook! a big hug from

an Australian delegate, Peter Ball! Such a nice surprise and a contact with

home!

After the conference I spent two days at Rainforest Flora in California. I

changed my flights home at the suggestion of Paul Isley. I left Houston early on

Monday morning and flew to Los Angeles where Jerry Robinson from

Rainforest Flora very kindly picked me up and took me to the guesthouse on

his and wife Rhonda's property in Torrance. I dropped off my luggage and

then it was off to the nursery which was started by Paul Isley and Jerry, good

friends and business partners since the 1980's.

Paul took me on a tour starting with a small shadehouse filled with

platyceriums (stag horn ferns) and then more houses filled with till seedlings.

They have some cycads and succulents too.

We moved onto their work area which included a few offices. There are

numerous staff members, male and female, Spanish speaking, who churn out

Paul Isley between thousands of tillys at Rain Forest Flora.

An American franchise, The Cheesecake Factory!!!!!!!!! Can you just imagine?!

Some bromeliads seen at gardens on the tour.


novelty items for the supermarkets eg. a tillandsia and some other bits and pieces in glass jars that then have

a hessian circle tied over their tops. Glass bubbles, with an opening on one side also with a tillandsia and

some decorative 'stuff'. Lizards, parrots etc. all have tillandsia attached, ready for the shops. There are bowls

made up with a neoregelia and a couple of flowering guzmania also for the markets. They fill trolleys with

these items and it looks like they could go out daily? This is also the area where orders for shipping are

prepared. The staff are pleasant and friendly. There are also seven cats on the property!

Then we moved to the sales area which is where the waterfall rock formation is situated. If you have Paul's

Tillandsia book or booklet you will know which area I am referring to. It feels very special to know I actually

stood there and walked past it numerous times in the many hours I spent at RFI. This is where the public can

buy tillandsia and a few broms too. There are trays positioned around the waterfall area which is the

centrepiece of the Sales Area and each tray is labelled with the

variety it contains. You help yourself to an empty tray and as you

gather your order you take a loose label from the side of each

basket. A little worrying as it would be easy to get these labels

muddled.

I spent many, many hours (a whole day) walking up and down

rows and rows and rows of tills. Mostly unlabelled and of course

un-priced. I was lucky to be allowed to wander around as these

areas weren't open to the public. I spent most of the day on my

own. Paul and Jerry have lots to do. Very nice to look at but not

nice if you would like to shop! One plant I commented on, Paul

said was $850! The majority were not blooming. That evening,

Rhonda and Jerry and Paul took me out for a delicious supper.

Paul's wife was away so I didn't get to meet her.

Tuesday morning Paul was picking me up at

5.45am to take me to Bonsall, about 1½ hours

away where they have another very large

greenhouse. I was very worried about waking up

in time as I was getting more tired with each day.

I flew out of bed with 5 minutes to spare, dressed,

brushed my teeth, put my watch on to discover it

was just after midnight! My watch had been

upside down when I panicked and thought I

had overslept! Bonsall is a rural area used by

many nurseries for tunnels and shadehouses as

land is more freely available, cheaper too. Paul and Jerry have another

greenhouse filled with neoregelia and guzmania which I didn't get to visit.

The Bonsall greenhouse is huge. I am so sorry I didn't count how many aisles

there were, there were many, and I had about 5 hours to look at the tillandsia. Again mostly un-named, un-

priced and not blooming. There was a husband and wife team I could ask if tillandsia were for sale, their

names and prices. Paul was busy, there is a lot to do! There were a few blooming beauties! We returned to

RFI in Torrance and I spent the rest of the afternoon going through the same shadehouses. Tuesday evening

was spent with Jerry and Rhonda, their 2 daughters and 2 grandchildren. We had a delicious supper at their

home.

The tillandsia are in varying stages of development. There are heaps ready for

sale. They must have millions of plants! The low light conditions they are growing

under surprised me. It's pretty dull. I commented on this to Paul who mentioned

they grow quicker with more shade. Of course I bought a pile of tills! I am

looking forward to their arrival! A huge thanks to everyone at RFI for everything.

Then it was time to come home. I was excited! There is just is no place like home!

It took 4 flights (one unexpected extra) and 14 hours longer than planned, due

to a flight cancellation (bad weather) and another flight delay due to

mechanical problems! It is good to be home! I missed Trevor, the cats, Ninja

and Ebony, and of course my broms! And now it will have to be serious saving

for the next conference in San Diego in 2018!

Show and Tell

Dr Boots Horsfall, photo right, showed us his beautiful clump of Tillandsia straminea

in a wire hanging basket with numerous flower spikes which are sweetly scented.

(B. I am so sorry I did not take a close up photo of these exquisite flowers as well!)

Sales Area at Rain Forest Flora

The couple who helped me at Bonsall.

My toilet at Bonsall greenhouse! It is quite a rural area.


Feed back on the plant that was shown by Xenia Winther during Show and Tell at

the March meeting. She wanted a name for it, as it did not look like anything she

had seen before. In South Africa we know this plant as Aechmea 'Sangria' mutant

variety. It does not bloom and the growth spirals upwards.

Lyn Wegner followed this up and consulted with Derek Butcher and Geoff Lawn of

the BSI cultivar register. To cut a long story short, it appears that it is a sport of

Aechmea fasciata var. purpurea which has never bloomed for anyone who has it

in their collections around South Africa. As a result of all this it has now been

registered on the BSI cultivar Register as Aechmea ‘Snaakse Ding’ !!!! As we all

know that means “oddity” in Afrikaans, referring to the weird way it grows with a

long stem and almost spirally leaf formation. Well done!

Lyn is busy with an article which should appear in an upcoming BSI Journal.

Geoff Lawn from the BSI Cultivar Register:

This is now registered at: http://registry.bsi.org/?id=13478&whatsnew#13478. I

have not gone along with the idea it is specifically linked to Aechmea 'Sangria'

because there is no evidence to support this theory - A. fasciata var. purpurea is a more generalised notion,

which seems plausible. Lyn, if there are some other details you think are inaccurate, please advise. One point I

would like to include is whether when you cut the top off and re-root, does the remaining stem throw any

pups or not? If so, are the offsets formed at the base, or do they emerge higher up the bare stem? You said

you were writing a BSI article about it, so maybe there are points there I should include in the BCR entry ?

Member News • A big welcome to new country members Marina Aggenbacht from Cape Town, Avikar Chunilall from

Durban and Danie Taljaard from Pretoria. We hope you all enjoy a rewarding association with the ELBS! • Sincere condolences to Craig Nicholson in Durban on the recent loss of a much loved father. Our thoughts

and prayers are with you and your mom at this sad time.

Thanks • Gale Kockjeu for hosting the June meeting.

• Brenda Wegner, Lyn Wegner and Odette Degenaar, many

thanks for delicious tea time goodies. • Barbs for my delicious surprise Congratulations cheesecake!

- Lyn

• Dr Peter Pfister and Lyn Wegner for Lucky Draw plants.

Tea Duty To facilitate catering, please confirm with Bev Reynolds, our

Catering Co-ordinator, cell: 071 509 1286 or

[email protected] if you are unable to provide eats

for the meeting when you are on duty.

July: Denise O’Hagan, David Flint and Lynn Friend

Aug: Billy and Shelia Gerretsen, Norma Hart, Koos and

Christine Steyn

Sept: Noeleen Hogan, Larraine Parathyras and Di Kriel

Raffle Winners for June • Helena van der Ham chose Portea alatisepala.

• Maureen Eybers chose Aechmea ‘Bert’.

• Larraine Parathyras chose Tillandsia leonamiana

• Eddie Black chose Tillandsia concolor.

• Mike Bester from Pretoria still to choose.

• Ansie le Roux from Levubu still to choose.

• Christo van Wijk from Pretoria chose Vriesea fosteriana x

bituminosa

• Chris van Zyl from Somerset West chose Neoregelia 'Green

Olive'.

Lucky Draws

• There were loads of lucky draw plants!

Eddie Black chose

Tillandsia concolor.

Helena van der Ham chose Portea alatisepala.

Andre with Maureen Eybers who chose

Aechmea ‘Bert’.

Vriesea fosteriana x bituminosa

Neoregelia 'Green Olive'.

Larraine Parathyras chose

Tillandsia leonamiana.

Xenia Winther’s plant, now named Aechmea ‘Snaakse

Ding’.


From the Committee • Any members interested in standing on the committee? We are looking for a new Catering Director. The

committee of the last seven years welcome new nominations for all the positions. We need some ‘new

blood’ and ideas, please do not be shy if you have anything to contribute to ensure that we remain

relevant and meet the needs of our members. • There will be no Member Plant Sales at the AGM

Meeting.

• Bromeliad Society International (BSI) are looking for

photos of special bromeliad collections or

spectacular views of gardens showing bromeliads

in the South African garden context for an article in

the BSI Journal which will feature society member

gardens around the world. The photo needs to be

of very good quality, 300dpi. The article will focus

on photos rather than text. It would be nice to

include ELBS members photos from the various

areas in South Africa. Please e-mail your photos

a n d i n f o r m a t i o n t o L y n a t :

[email protected] or Barbs at

[email protected]. This is a chance to show

the world what is going on in South Africa! Let’s

blow them away!

Upcoming Society Events

31st July: AGM and 7th Birthday Bash at ‘Bromeliads

for Africa’ 18 Wentworth Road, Sunnyridge at 2.00pm.

Come and join us for a fun filled afternoon! once the

AGM business is out the way, which is very quick!! We

shall have our usual Fizz Ananas (champagne and

pineapple juice), hilarious annual quizz contest and 7

raffle draws each for country and local members!

Don’t forget your mug and chair!

12th –14th August: ELBS is assisting Tracy and Robert

Moss in organising an early ‘Spring Garden Fair’ from 12 - 14 August, which is being hosted by Pioneer

Nursery. ELBS will be participating in the form of a

display of bromeliads, together with information,

pamphlets, talks and demonstrations. We will

assemble our display on Thursday 11 August. We are

looking for volunteers to assist, be on hand to chat to the public about bromeliads and the society, sell raffle

tickets etc... for the duration of the weekend. A time schedule and more information will be available at

Sunday's meeting, and you can book a time to do a duty. If any members have any special or beautiful

bromeliads that they would like to put on the display, please let Brenda Wegner know. For

identification purposes the plant/pot must be labeled clearly. There will be other local societies participating

and loads of garden related vendors displaying and selling their wares. If you need any more information

please contact Brenda, the ELBS Events Co-ordinator, 082 743 2141. It is going to be a great opportunity to

spread the love of bromeliads to the East London community!!!!

28th August: Hosted by Dudley and Albie Reynolds in Beacon Bay. Topic: Dramatic leaf colouration of

Aechmea orlandiana and its cousins, presented by Dudley Reynolds.

25th September: Hosted by Denise O'Hagan in Beacon Bay.

30th October: Hosted by Pam and Malcolm Stoltz in Stirling.

27th November: End of year Christmas bash hosted by Bev and Theo McGregor.

Upcoming International Events 2017: The 19th Australasian Bromeliad Conference, Sunnybroms on the Sunshine Coast will be held in

Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland 31 March to 2 April 2017. For more information do check out

http://sunnybroms.com

From the Chairman, Dudley Reynolds

Congratulations to our new BSI President, Lyn

Wegner. We are so proud of you and will support

you in every way possible. A big job for a lovely

lady from little old East London. Your devotion and

love for bromeliads is an inspiration to all of us.

I hope to see a bumper crowd at our next meeting

which is our 7th Birthday party and AGM, lots of

fun will be guaranteed. Brush up on your

bromeliad general knowledge and be ready to

have your brains picked in our fun, competitive

quiz.

On a more serious note, we have been

having strong cold winds here in East London and

us being in the middle of winter, it is advisable to

walk around the garden and identify the less

tolerant bromeliads

and maybe offer

t h em a mo r e

sheltered or warm

spot until Spring

arrives. We are still so

much better off on

the coast than you

inland growers who

have to contend with

frost as well. Spring is

always awaited with

great anticipation

and hopefully lots of

rain. Keep warm and

happy bromming.

ELBS Chairman Dudley Reynolds with Lyn at the June meeting. A

cheesecake to congratule Lyn

and welcome her back!


From the Members Feedback on mounting inspired by the demonstrations and talk at the June meeting:

Rob Hazel: Talking of mounting, I am at present experimenting with mounting with "No More Nails" and it

seems to be working very well. I use bits of cork or other bark to mask the glue. When mounting on trees we

use strips of the inner lining of old garden hose nailed into the tree using short clout nails, it works very well to

hold the pup sturdily until the attachment roots have developed.

From Janet Schaeffer, Colorado: Thank you

for the last news letter. Another good one!

Since the subject of your last meeting was

mounting Tillandsia, I thought I would send

you a picture of what I do with my Tillandsia

xerographica. I love these, but they can be

awkward to mount. I have found that if I just

set them in a teak wood basket they are

very happy and immediately start to put out

a nice mass of roots. The roots wrap

themselves around the wooden slats very

securely. There is no getting the plant back

out of the basket if it needs dividing without

taking the basket apart! I think Tillandsia xerographica looks very nice

displayed this way.

More from Janet Schaeffer who was at the conference: Wow, what a big

surprise to find out that our very own Lyn Wegner is the new President of the

BSI. She will do an excellent job! Here she is giving a nice talk at the banquet

and close of the conference.

The Houston Society provided us with a very nice Conference. The sales room

was huge, which made it easy to wander around carrying a large box

shopping for plants. My greenhouse is small so I had planned to buy 2 or 3

plants. That never works. You get in that room with thousands of the most

beautiful Bromeliads you have ever seen and they are impossible to resist. I

filled my box sky high with such wonderful plants. So much fun! The plant

show was amazing to see with every plant grown to perfection. Such

beauties. We had some wonderful and informative talks, great tours, and lots of good food provided for us

too. World Bromeliad Conference is such an amazing treat for Bromeliad lovers. I wish that in the future more

of your members will be able to attend; you would have the best time! And by the way, the BSI is very excited

to have its first International President! Congratulations again to Lyn.

Johan Bouwer in Graaf-Reinet

sent me some photos of his

t i l landsia thr iv ing and

blooming, even though the

temps have dropped to –5*c

some early mornings!!! They

are under shade cloth. He

mist sprays every 10 days or

so. It is snowing there this

weekend!

COUNTRY MEMBERS, what is

happening in your bromeliad

world? Share your garden

story or special bromeliad

with us, e-mail me or Lyn,

would love to hear from you!

From the Editor

The winter garden is definitely full of colour when you grow bromeliads, I love it! and when they are wet like

they are now that we are getting some rain, they provide jewel-like pops of colour, Enjoy!!!

Just some of Johan Bouwer’s Tillandsia varieties thriving in Graaff-Reinet

Lyn delivering her closing speech.

Tillandsia xerographica in a

hanging, slatted, teak basket. Bottom of basket showing a nice mass of roots that have developed.


If you were not at the last meeting for Lyn’s entertaining feedback from her travels, you missed out, but there

is loads to read in this newsletter, so I shall just leave you with this: Lyn has been and gone, and back again,

life moves on, try to move forward with a positive spirit, always look for the good. Just shows you, time is

precious and flies by so fast, so while you are able, do the things that bring meaning to your life and inspire

you.

Hope to see you all at the 7th Birthday Bash at the end of the month and don’t forget to visit the “Spring Fair’

at Pioneer Nursery from the 12 - 14 August and bring your friends along!!

In the meantime, happy bromming !!

[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.

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.

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.

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: Nancy Brindley 043 748 1230 073 512 9971 [email protected]

Librarian: Brenda Wegner 082 743 2141 [email protected]

Catering Co-ordinator: Bev Reynolds 071 509 1286 [email protected]

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

Photo Credits: Lyn Wegner, Barbara Black, Janet Schaeffer, Johan Bouwer


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

You can get good photos on fcbs.org, but members should also explore Brom-L Picture Gallery which is maintained by Eric

Gouda and has photos from expert growers and collectors daily. Its address is: http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/tropical/?

gal=brom&id.

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