Rick, your Andro looks superb, as does that BT.

Hi Rick,
Great looking Ae. Androlepsis and great colour in the Blushing Tiger.

Is that a Callistomen you have lopped back with the Blanchetiana mounted on it? It seems the bark of these is well suited to broms.

A friend of mine in our society has a terrific specimen with lots of Tillys and mini Neo's growing all over it.

The Tillys seem to love it, and they regularly drop their seed which produces lots of seedlings along its branches and make it a great example of a brom. tree.

Thanks for sharing your pic's, all the best, Nev.

Rick you've got some great looking broms there showing some fantastic colours.

Rick

Love the brilliant pink on your broms. Wonder what's your weather conditions now?

Thanks everybody,

Nev - the tree was an Acacia/Aussie Wattle, the bark would be similar to a Callistomen - it was deforming the growth of two nicer trees a Firewheel and a Blue Quandong.

Lyndi - We have been averaging 6-20 degrees C most days, the sun is sitting lower in the sky and is burning a lot of my broms at the moment.

Cheers,

Rick

Looking good, Rick!
Your Androlepis skinneri is a beauty. There is confusion as to whether we have the male or female form in Oz - or both. According to Unc D., the only way to know for sure is by dissecting the flower and seeing if it has one ovary or two - see "Unc. Derek Says" on fcbs photo index under this brom. One ovary = male, two ovaries = female. Mine had already flowered before I read that, so I don't know which mine is.

Fancy doing some micro-surgery on one of your flowers to reveal its gender, Dr Rick?

I haven't forgotten your request to show some large broms mounted in trees. I must get on with that!

Cheers,
Kerry

Hi Rick, some great colour all round and especially that Androlepis! I wonder if it's worth me trying one down here? I usually only get down to around 6 deg C or so in winter, so maybe.....Hmmmmm.

Thanks for the pics, and the food for thought! Cheers, Paul

Paul,

I think an Androlepis would look good in your front yard, if my Adrolepis has a few pups I'd be happy to send one down.

Kerry,

I tried dissecting a flower, it was a lot firmer than I thought so I have mangled it. My medical experience thus far has been limited to the odd wooden splinter removal so I probably haven't quite earned the Dr title yet.

Any tips on the surgery?

I'm looking forward to your pics, I figured you have been occupied with your upcoming adventures.

Rick

Hi Rick,
Everything is looking terrific - lots of color and good form. Like everyone else, I particularly love the Androlepis - I had automatically assumed that it was Ae. Pectinata.
I don't have any knowledge about Androlepis - how cold tolerant is it? (We have the occasional frost here). How big does it grow?

cheers, Von

Rick,
I imagine a really sharp blade or craft knife, slicing through the middle of it vertically, might do the trick - similar to slicing an apple in half, from top to bottom, revealing the core and seed bits. I haven't done this before, so I'm only guessing. You need to view the cross-section of the whole flower. Look at the illustrations of And. skinneri (male and female) shown in the fcbs photo index to compare.

Paul and Von,
I get colder than you in winter Paul, without damage to mine if protected from frost. Trouble is, it colours best when grown in almost full sun, which might be too exposed in winter for me. I have to settle with not as much colour, and grow it under a light canopy for protection - if permanently planted. I suppose the logical thing to do would be to grow it potted, so it can be moved in winter. Mine also started flowering at this time of year i.e. early winter.
Von, it is quite a large plant - between approx. 65cm to just over a metre when mature, depending on fert and light conditions.

PS. Mine "melted" in the rare extreme of -8C, but did throw two pups afterward.

K

Hi Rick,
You can also buy disposable surgical scalpels from most larger chemist shops for less than a dollar each and these would certainly do the job.

All the best, Nev.

Hi Kerry,
Thanks for the info. I'll put my ear out and see if I can get one. I reckon I can find a suitable spot for one:-)

-8C!!! Bugger the brom - I'd go into "melt" down too! It is 8C at the moment and I am freezing - my feet are like ice blocks.....brrrrrr!

Mind you, in Feb this year, our temp rose to 47C - I hear that there are plenty of roasted broms in Victoria! I was lucky enough to move my few exposed pots out of the sun - the rest survived perfectly well under shade cloth.

Cheers,
Von

Hi Rick, Hi Kerry,
Thanks for your info - much appreciated. You've convinced me that I definitely need to get Androlepis skinneri for my front yard! If I can get one to colour up like that one of yours, Rick, it would be just fantastic. Thanks again. Cheers, Paul

Nev, thanks for the advice.

Von, good to hear from you again I hope your plants are surviving the cold weather down south.

Paul, the deers are crying out for a new addition, I've sent you an e-mail.

Kerry, I am growing my Androlepis in a pot, it doesn't seem to hurt it.

I have dissected a couple of flowers, I'm 90% certain that it is a female plant. It has an ovary at the base of the flower but doesn't seem to divide like the pictorial drawing suggests. I'm also confused why the male and female plants both have Stamen.

I'll try and post a picture of the jigsaw pieces later.

Rick