In winter water when dry and make sure there is good air circulation and as much light as possible.Plastic drip pans are one way sold in most box stores here(Lowes and Home Depot). I water in the kitchen sink if I have plants inside....drain them good and place on a drip pan. Most of mine remain in the greenhouses but seedlings are inside

I am assuming that you are American (given the names of the stores you mentioned). Do you live in an area that has defined seasons (4 x 3 monthly)? I do where i live, altho the temps have been crazy in the last month - last week we had a solid week of 35 - 40C (quick conversion: Double the C value and add 30), so translated, it equals 100 - 110F. Since then, temps are 9C - 18C. I have stopped buying from Queensland as any new broms would die of shock!

Our seasons are reversed,, Its spring here now but our summers do get to 100+ F for weeks at a time,,,hardly no winter at all here maybe four weeks...rare to freeze here

It is technically Autumn/Fall over here. I am spending time prodding out excess leaves from my neo tanks at the moment. Given the weather in the last few days, i have moved my broms into their final winter positions. All are protected from frost (under the back verandah or under the eaves and under the branchs of established deciduous trees. All will receive any winter sun. Some broms will get wet in the rain, others i will water when necessary. As a newish newbie, i have yet to learn to be disciplined and not water so much. I have lost a couple of broms to rot....sigh

My broms are indoors at the moment and it is a bit of a struggle to keep them from drying out every year.
Since I have central heating and a lot of wood in my house, humidity is very low most of the time.

I water them weekly with demineralised water (0 hardness). I flush the cups so some water will get at the roots. I fertilize once a month. With the daylight they get they still give me some growth.
My broms are indoors foor 5 months with 2 months of very low daylight.

The mounted broms get flushed in the sink.

Some of my smaller neos that do not hold that much water dry out completly and curl up their leaves a bit. But every year they restore themselves quick when they go out again. That should have been last week but we still had frost and even a bit of snow so a bit more patience is needed.

All the 'blushers' are green by now and the 'tanners' are very dark. The colour wil restore when I put them in the sun again.

The Vriesea's seem to hate the dry the most and get some extra (tap) water in their pots.

This way my broms survive. It is not the best way to keep broms though. A higher humidity would help. But since my heating is under my windows where the light is they have to put up with warm superdry air and cold from the windows at night. That is a bigger problem than the low light.

Sander

Sander, i admire your dedication! We don't have much humidity at all in my part of Oz - and on the odd occasions that we do, the whole of Melbourne has a collective sook.
I try to keep my broms in clusters to try to maximise any humidity. I recently learned that curled leaves is symptomatic of low humidity. I understand that misting is of benefit in raising humidity levels but I also learned that I water too much!! I am trying the "minimalist" option at the moment - "if in doubt, don't (water). I recently took a couple of unknown neos from an abandoned house - they have had no water whatsoever for months and plenty of direct sun - and are amazingly healthy - golden colored but not burned.

Hi Ozvon

In the past I also have drowned some. It is best to let the pots dry out before you water again as long as there is water in the cups.
In the summer I keep the pots of my neos as dry as I can. Grow em hard and you get the best colour. In summer the humidity is never much below 50% over here.
I also keep broms in my terrarims, 60-70% by day and 100% by night. These broms allways do better.

It is hard to find the right balance but growing conditions are everything. Search for conditions on the forum and you'll find out.

Sander

Thanks Sander.
It is very much a balancing game. I have read so much conflicting advice re watering regimes. It is interesting to me that you keep your pots dry in summer - i thought i was supposed to do this in winter! Mind you, the broms that are out in the garden get wet in winter if the rain happens to be blowing in their direction and none of them have died, even when it is cold AND wet. Most of the info i have read suggests that this is death awaiting.
Come to think of it, I am actually trying some different mounts to avoid the broms-in-a-pot watering problem with, i think, excellent results. Effectively, it is reproducing the environment that you are recommending - ie dry root base with water in the cup!
BTW, i just found a site called DendroBoard which has some brilliant pics of broms in vivariums. You might know it already.

And then it also depends where you are, how much light, temperature differences, sun, shade and maybe even more...

Wait untill you start reading the gardenweb about fertilizer, that one can really drive you nuts.

So there is no exact rule, it all depends on many factors.
Maybe I should not reccomend to let the pots dry out completely but that works best for me under my adverse conditions.

At the end of summer my broms got a lot of rain last year, the quick draining soil saved them.

I think if you keep your broms from drowning, cooking or freezing you should do fine in Melbourne.

Any Melbourne brom lovers with answers out there??

Sander

Hi Sander,
That last part of your post made me cackle like a chook!
"if you keep your broms from drowning, cooking or freezing, you should do fine"......That is spectacular! Short and sweet - but says it all :-))
I have met a few Melbourne brom growers. Robert (whom Kerry T mentioned in another post) lives not far from me (he is responsible for my leap into addiction!) He has a brilliant large garden that is 98% broms - all growing pretty much exposed to the elements. Of course he has taken advantage of palms and tree ferns and also the eaves of his roof to offer protection as best as possible. But, he also seems to accept that some of his broms will be smashed with hail stones, cooked in the sun or blackened with frost. Robert grows for aesthetic appeal - no hot houses or shade houses.
That approach to broms appeals to me, being a lazy gardener.

Dont forget the few bug battles along the way too..hehe