Vrieseas

Anything that doesn't fit in the other forums ;-)
also for NON-bromeliad topics.

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geyornis
Beiträge: 23
Registriert: Mittwoch, 5 Oktober 2005, 14:43
Wohnort: Newcastle

Vrieseas

Beitrag von geyornis »

Hello everyone
I live in Australia and have been collecting bromeliads for some time. I find myself concentrating more & more on foliage vrieseas & started raising them from seed about 15 years ago. Its a long term process but I find it most satisfying. Is there anybody interested in growing bromeliads from seed and interested in swapping seeds with me.
Also, I have a problem in raising seeds (not vrieseas or tillandsias) in that the seedlings germinate & start to grow but after a while the young plants lose their green, turn white & do not thrive. Its not lack of light but a short of shock or deficiency. Can anybody offer any suggestions
Regards
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JoachimInB
Beiträge: 843
Registriert: Dienstag, 7 September 2004, 19:58
Wohnort: Berlin

Beitrag von JoachimInB »

Hi there, I am pretty sure that there are people interested in swapping seeds.

I know the problem of leaves getting white and subsequently dying seedlings. It has been a number of years since I raised quite a few Aechmeas, Orthophytums etc. from seeds, but I do remember that indeed this problem was not uncommon. IIRC, one of the reasons were sciara flies! They can be a pest whenever peat is used in a growing mix. On the other hand, there is no real alternative to peat. Constant supply (but no excess) of nutrients is also crucial. But look for sciara flies first!

Cheers,
Joachim
Andrew
Beiträge: 20
Registriert: Mittwoch, 12 Mai 2004, 13:23

Vriesea seed

Beitrag von Andrew »

Hi,

I have been growing a few Brom's from seed. Mainly my own Neo hybrids, but also a few Alcantarea species. Have grown a couple of Vriesea types, but in limited numbers. Have had a few seedlings yellow off and waste away, plus a few Alcantarea seedlings that just browned off and gradually died. The yellowing has been due to either too much heat, or not enough nutrients. Have not found out about the browning off, some growers thought it may related to fungus....

Would been keen to swap seed. Have some V philippo-coburgii and V fosteriana rubra at the moment. I am interested in Alcantarea species, and want to give some large Werauhia a try. Let me know what you have access to.

Regards,

Andrew. :thumbl
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geyornis
Beiträge: 23
Registriert: Mittwoch, 5 Oktober 2005, 14:43
Wohnort: Newcastle

Beitrag von geyornis »

Hi Andrew,
I would be interested in swapping seeds with you if you like. At present I have V Gigantea hybrid; V Gigantea Nova, and some Alcantarea seeds (I was sent these by a friend, he assumed I would know what type as we had talked about the species in the past - trouble is we talked about many species so am not sure what seeds are at present, I am waiting for him to send me a picture). The Alcanterea is large but the seeds dont look like Imperialis seeds.
If you can spare some fosteriana rubra seeds that would be good - I dont need any V philippo-coburgii seed as I have enough of them via pups.

Regards
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geyornis
Beiträge: 23
Registriert: Mittwoch, 5 Oktober 2005, 14:43
Wohnort: Newcastle

Vriesea Seed

Beitrag von geyornis »

Andrew,
Hav been thinking about your statement regarding problems with raising vrieseas. I have some success with them - my problems are with other species. Fungus attack is pretty obvious, seedlings just going brown is not what I have found. What method(s) to you use to grow Vrieseas from seed?
Regards
Andrew
Beiträge: 20
Registriert: Mittwoch, 12 Mai 2004, 13:23

Vriesea Seed

Beitrag von Andrew »

Hi,

Yes, I am interested in the gigantea's .....do you know hat it was hybridised with....??? also very interested in the Alcantarea, but would like to know what type it is, as it is a long term investment, and I would like to know that it is a species I do not currently have.

I also have a gigantea X poelmanii hybrid, green foliage, but a nice branched flower sike. Last summer I hybridised this plant with V fosteriana rubra and V fosteriana seideliana. The pods look almost ripe, so could send some your way if interested.

When growing this type of seed, I use a 120mm diameter plastic container, with a 50/50 mix of palm peat and perlite. I grow these on in little aquariums under fluro lights, then put them into a basic plastic house when they are big enough to not require additional heat. They are then just potted up as they grow.

Regards,

Andrew. :thumbl
Gast

Vriesea Seed

Beitrag von Gast »

Hi Andrew.
I was given the Gigantea seed and at this stage I dont know what it was hybridised with. When I find out I will let you know. Likewise for the Alcantarea seeds - I am waiting for my friend to send me details and/or a picture of the mother plant. We did talk about A. Imperialis, however the seeds I have received do not look like Imperialis seeds - they appear to me to be smaller. As soon as I receive information on this plant, I will let you know.
My interest is in foliage plants. To me V Polmanii is a sort of characterless plant. Nevertheless the cross with V fosteriana sounds interesting- if the cross obtained the best qualities of Polmanii (vigour, & to a lesser extent flower) with fosteriana ( leaf patterns) it would be really interesting, and I would be most interested in getting some seeds to find out.
The big problem with growing vresia seed is fungus - it sems that best seed is only available to strike over winter, takes so long & so is at the mercy of an eventual fungus infection. The method I am using now is to strike seeds on paperbark, the tannins or whatever in the bark seem to keep fungus infections at bay. I have not made my mind up at this stage whether seeds sprout quicker on perlite/peat mix or on paperbark - its great advantage to me is seeds are protected to some extent from fungus.
Regards
Craig

Beitrag von Craig »

geyornis, what method are you using for the Aechmeas and Neos?
They grow much faster from seed than the Vriesias and Tillies.
I place mine on coir in a yoghurt tub, then cover with glad-wrap (saran wrap, cling-film, plastic wrap). They are left like this, no holes in the base of the tub for about 6 weeks, at which point they are about 1cm high. The wrap comes off and they are left in a semi-shade position with bright light and several holes are put in the base of the tubs. They are then watered regularly and weakly fertilized once a week or so. At about 3 months, they are put into a communal tray till they are big enough to be potted up - usually another 3 months or so. they are fertilized once a week or so at this time too. This is in fairly heavy sun, just semi shaded for a few hours in the middle of the day.
Using this regime, I've grown these Aechmea lueddemanniana to this size in about 14 months
Bild

And these Aechmea bracteata to this size in about 10 months
Bild
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