THE BROMELIAD SOCIETY OF GREATER CHICAGO THE BSGC NEWS May 2001

Patsy Schmidt will be showing us how to plant seeds. We will be planting Billbergia braziliensis, Canistropsis, billbergioides, Neo. Kautskyi, Aechmea bromeliifolia and Catopsis juncifolia. These were obtained from the BSI Seed Fund. There will also be seedlings available from the seeds we planted last year. You need to bring plastic sandwich trays or something similiar to plant the seeds in and a clear sweater container or plastic cake container obtained from the grocery store which will be your greenhouse. Put holes in your sandwich container (First eat the sandwich!) For drainage to occur. The Society will provide potting medium and tree fern fiber. You will need to water this when you get home with distilled water.

If you have some bromeliads that need separating and need advice on how to do it, bring them in and we will show you how. You can share offsets with fellow club members. Jack and Ardie Reilly were presented a plaque at the April meeting for their years of service to the BSGC, without them we probably wouldn¹t have had our shows.

Some of these plants are still available (Not for long!).

He brought several species such as Neo., pauciflora, Neo. maculata and Neo. olens as well as hybrids such as Neo Ultima, Neo. Ali, Neo. Strawberry Sundae (getting hungry yet?) And Neo. Rivera. "Species are the plants that God made and hybrids are ones that man makes." The smallest neoregelia is Neo. liliputiana (Great for those with limited space for plants!) He handed out a sheet on the Neo. Fireball mystery. Nat Deleon wrote to Mr. Walter Doerning of San Vicente, Brazil in 1959 and requested bromeliads to buy. Of those, he obtained 4 plants which were later named Neo. Fireball. Only one of the plants lived. It was green when it arrived but after being in the strong Florida light it became mahogany colored. It continued to grow putting out stolons. A friend, Ralph Davis took an offset. After several years it still had not flowered. Several people kept asking Ralph for a plant. Ralph told Nat that he called the plant Neo. Fireball. Nat agreed that was a good name so that's what it become known as. It finally flowered 8 years after Nat had obtained it. They haven't ever found out where it came from. Fireball is one of Steve¹s favorite plants. Most neoregelias take filtered sun but some can be put in direct sun. When the plants become brown, this is due to the overheating of the plant cells which causes them to expand. Tom uses a mix of 1/3 perlite, 1/3 canadian peat and 1/3 wood chips. There are as many mixes as growers. With a lighter potting medium you need to water more often. By watering more often, you keep the humidity of the plants higher. He waters 3 times a week in his 10,000 sq. ft. greenhouse in the summer, twice a week in the winter, only for ten minutes each time. (He has that kind of watering system which puts water into every pot). He keeps water in the cups. He has the sides of the greenhouse open in the summer and has a fan going. He heats in the winter by using a misting system which has heated water which is 72°F the year around. He suggests fertilizing once a month. If you fertilize, you need to do it consistently otherwise you get stages of growth. This produces a short set of leaves and then a long set of leaves. Not good for Show Plants!

After the program, we discussed hosting the World Bromeliad Conference in 2004. Tom answered many pointed questions. He assured us that the BSI does a lot of work such as chairing the various committees. Carol Wolfe told us that Hattie Lou Smith had developed a manual which will guide us on what we need to do. Martha Goode made a motion to host the BSI World Conference in 2004 and Ardie Reilly seconded it. The motion passed with zero no votes! Everyone agreed that they will be helping to work the show. A hotel committee was formed of Steve Goode, Chuck Stickels, Wally Fox, Alayne Richards and John McNichols. The following e-mail was received on April 25. We¹re going to have it and they will come! "On Sunday, April 22, 2001, I presented a program to the Bromeliad Society of Greater Chicago at the regular monthly meeting held at the Chicago Botanic Gardens. After the program, they made a motion to co-host the 2004 World Bromeliad Conference. They had many questions that needed to be answered. After much discussion they decided that with the BSI's support they would be able to handle an event of this magnitude. The group is small but very enthusiastic with capable leadership. We extend our congratulations to their Society and look forward to Chicago in 2004! Tom Wolfe, President Bromeliad Society International "