SEMBSSEMBSTHE SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN BROMELIAD SOCIETY

AFFILIATE OF THE BROMELIAD SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL

MAY / JUNE 2010

Tillandsia duratii ( 1840) epiphytic in Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia(graphite - P. Goff)

May Meeting Our May meeting will be at Matthaei Botanical Gardens, Saturday May 29 at 1:00p.m. Please note: 1:00p.m. rather than our customary 2:00p.m. meeting time. Park in back of the building and enter through the service door. If you come in the main entrance the people at the desk can steer you in the right direction. We will be taking the bromeliads from the greenhouse to the shade house for their summer vacation. It’s going to be a warm week but I don’t think it will rain—there’s no water left in the heavens. We will have Show and Tell so please bring your favorites or your problems. The conservatory display is very colorful right now with a varied collection of neoregelias and, among other things, Aechmea dichlamydea in the middle of blooming. Bromelia sylvicola started blooming last week. Info: 248-380-7359.

Aechmea dichlamydea var. trinitensis Bromelia sylvicola

June Meeting

Our meeting in June is on Saturday, June 26, 2:00p.m. at Rob Halgren’s Little Frog Farm in Stockbridge. Rob’s major preoccupation is not little frogs but orchids, and of course bromeliads. He specializes in bromeliads for use in terrariums (where frogs live). He is also an expert in mounting bromeliads in innovative ways. So there’s lots to see in the greenhouse and we can probably persuade him to show us his little frogs as well. LittleFrog Farm is located a few miles north of Stockbridge at 3525 North M-52, MI 49285. Tel.: 517-851-4472

Rain by Lynn Hudson*

Today it rained, really rained. As it came across other buildings it sounded like a billycart on a rough road.

It poured down in big wet drops. It filled up my bromeliads. They look so different, like they are laughing.

It formed small rivulet streams and rushed along to soak into the dry earth. It was so loud on the shed roof I could hear nought else.

Yes, I got caught in it as it stopped

and suddenly started again.

It was just lovely and it made me

feel like this ...

*Lynn Hudson organized the 18th World Bromeliad Conference (2008) in her hometown of Cairns, Australia. She does not consider the above a poem. However–even though the words need the picture to be complete–this is indeed a poem and a very good one.

SEMBS, the newsletter of the Southeast Michigan Bromeliad Society, appears bimonthly for the purpose of disseminating information about bromeliads and about Society activities. Editor: Penrith Goff. Material published in the newsletter may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes without the express permission of the editor. It is requested SEMBS be credited as the source and that any changes from the original be noted as such. Photo files of illustrations are usually available upon request.

The Bromeliad Society International will hold its 19th World Conference in New Orleans, hosted by the Greater New Orleans Bromeliad Society July 26 – August 1, 2010. In addition to fabulous bromeliad displays and plants for sale there will be lectures by leading researchers, plant hunters, and hybridizers. Tours of New Orleans gardens and environs will be available. For more information about the conference check out: www.gnobromeliads.com

For pictures from past conferences check out: www.bsi.org Events: Past Conferences. The Florida Council of Bromeliad Societies also includes pictures of past conferences: http://www.fcbs.org/pictures.htm , left hand menu column under “Shows.”

A few highlights of the conference:

Keynote speaker Prof. Gregory Brown (Univ. of Wyoming) has optimistic view of Selby Gardens’ future as research center Rare Plant Auction - crazy bidding with proceeds donated to Selby Bromeliad Identification Center Tours: Silver Slipper Casino Trip, Plantation Tour, Swamp Boat Tour, Home Tour

We Remember Bill Vilders

One day back in 1975 Willem Vilders Sr., known to all of us as Bill, sat at his kitchen table with a friend or two and founded the Southeastern Michigan Bromeliad Society. In the first years he served as president, newsletter writer and in various other capacities. Meetings were held at various members’ homes, often at his little house in Detroit where it all started. Bill never had a large collection–he was pretty much a window-sill gardener–but he always had a collection. His love for bromeliads never flagged, his enthusiasm and support for the society he founded continued even after the physical limitations which plagued him these past few years made it all but impossible to attend meetings. Bill died April 2, 2010.

On Tiptoeing through the Bromeliaceae by W. Vilders, Sr. (Reprinted from Journal of the Bromeliad Society, V27,3 [1977]106-110)

After having lived in the Netherlands for twenty-one years, it took me almost another twenty-two years of living in the United States to find out that many, many bromeliads are grown commercially in the Netherlands. Of course, needless to say, during my first twenty-on years, I thought that only tulips were grown there. It was only after I had joined the Bromeliad Society that I realized how wrong I was. I had the good fortune of being able to correspond with Mr. Bak of the Firma Bak, commercial bromeliad growers in Assendelft, Holland. When I visited the Netherlands last year, besides visiting with my family, I intended to see as many bromeliads and nurseries as I could during my stay. Upon arrival at my brother’s home in “The Hague,” my sister-in-law suggested that I visit a bromeliad nursery that she had heard of. This place happened to be the same Firma Bak that I was hoping so dearly to visit. Bingo! Free transportation! I couldn’t ask for more. After a very scenic ride from “The Hague” (Scheveningen) to Assendelft, going over some beautiful roads, making a right turn by the canal up to the bridge going along the Dijk (dike) we finally wound up at the wrong place. But after following the right directions given to us by a nice orchid lady – “Follow the

cows, turn right at the sheep, and you’ll get there,” we finally reached our destination. Assendelft is a small community with one very, very long street. It is about thirty miles north of Amsterdam. If you are interested in buying at least one quarter million bromeliad seedlings, you know the place to get them. Forgive me, Mr. Bak, if I’m wrong about the size of your greenhouses and other statistics, for I lost count upon entering your first greenhouse. I was overwhelmed! The first question my sister-in-law asked was “Why do they grow grass here?” Indeed, the greenhouse looked like the length of a small football field with styrofoam flats sitting on cement benches with, and not exaggerating, millions of seedlings of guzmanias. At first glance it looked like an enormous field of grass. Mr. Bak started growing bromeliads in 1955 and has been tremendously successful in producing beautiful plants. The Firma specializes in guzmanias and vrieseas at this time. Most stores carry the following: G. lingulata ‘Red’, Vriesea splendens, different forms of Neoregelia carolinae, and Ananas comosus. The seedlings all come from home-grown seeds and are only produced as ordered. As I said, there were about 1/4 million seedlings growing in his greenhouses. These

are kept very warm and humid – about 28-29°C., the humidity being at least 60%. Ventilating is done by automatic window control, depending on the wind direction and many other factors. Even though it was very hot, even by Dutch standards, there are no fans for circulation. This seemed to be surprising considering the healthy condition of the plants. All seedlings are planted in flats (I’m guessing again) about 12 x 12 inches in size. The planting medium is pure ground moss. No sand or no perlite is used. Supplemental light is provided by overhead mercury vapor lights. The lights go on at night and are left on for hours to insure good growing conditions. In other words the bromeliads are treated as long daylight plants. Take note, indoor growers, long daylight means 12 to 18 hours of light. This is more than I give my bromeliads at home which are grown under lights. Mr. Bak uses rain water only. Luckily the Netherlands is a good place for rain. I would like to inject my personal opinion about water. The city water in Holland consists of the same lime and salts as we have in Michigan – ingredients which spell sure death for certain bromeliads. In Michigan we are fortunate to have as much rain and snow as we need throughout the year – enough to keep me supplied for my one gallon a day to use for my plants. In the first greenhouse we entered we saw how Mr. Bak grows tillandsias from seed (. . .) on nylon netting with great success. To my knowledge Mr. Bak is the only grower raising tillandsias from seed on a commercial basis in Europe. I may not be right in this respect, but I would venture to say that he has tens of thousands of tiny tillandsia seedlings growing at his nursery.

Moving on to the next greenhouses (how many? Maybe twenty?) We see all kinds of bromeliads happily growing. I did not realize how many types of T. usneoides there are until my visit. There were perhaps five, six or more kinds – find heavy, curly, not so curly, etc., etc. Now we go to the latest and last greenhouses through the working area where many young people were transplanting seedlings into flats ready to be shipped. Between the work area and the last greenhouse is a hallway which was loaded with tillandsias mounted on cork. The noticeable difference walking into the hallway and the new greenhouse was the difference in temperature from a warm 29°C to a cool 20°C (72°F). In the last greenhouse was a huge Guzmania lindenii climbing out of the pot, at least 8 feet high, including the pot. Wow! Also I had never seen such large G. musaicas – 24 inches high. There were many of these. Just about everything in this greenhouse is automated. The entire building is covered with curtains that open and close automatically. When the sun comes out the curtains close; when the sun disappears the curtains open. Thank you, Mr. Bak for your precious time and your infinite patience in showing and explaining to us about your wonderful establishment. For those who visit Amsterdam, please don’t miss going to the “Frij Universiteit” (Free University) in the city. The botanical gardens are like a tropical paradise. Many bromeliads are to be seen. Detroit, Michigan