"...plants are quite large none have roots..."

Depending on what they are, that could be a problem. Do you have pix or know what kind of broms they are?

tj

Hi everyone.

Len – First of all I have a couple of questions for you –
You say, “The plants are quite large none have roots”; did you remove the roots
or were they like that when they came to you and have they already flowered or
as yet un-flowered?

Were they a gift or did you purchase them and did the person
you got them from give any reason why there were no roots?

You also say, “Just planted an assortment of bare rooted
single Bromeliads”; what genera were they, Neoregelias, Aechmeas, Vrieseas etc?

I have heard that some people prefer to remove the roots
from single plants but it’s never been made clear to me why they do it. My
thoughts are that when transplanting any plant, the more intact healthy roots
you have the less amount of transplant shock the plant suffers.

There are only two occasions I ever plant brom’s without
roots; firstly, if the roots are dead or rotted, (in which case they need to be
removed) and secondly; if they are freshly cut pups that haven’t yet made roots………...
But why would you remove healthy roots?

I find this time of the year here where I live (and the same
would apply to you) is the worst time of the year to plant brom’s as it’s the middle
of winter and plant growth has slowed right down. Personally I prefer spring
time when the weather is starting to warm up and growth is starting up again
after winter. However with a large collection like I have, I’m re-potting all
the year around as I don’t have the luxury of being able to re-pot all that
need re-potting in the warmer months, there’s just too many.

During the colder months I mainly just “pot on” (moving
plants that have out grown their pot into the next larger size pot and disturbing
the roots as little as possible).

I have found that if I plant pups at this time of the year,
they just sit and “sulk” and roots won’t start to form until spring time anyway.
If I have been given a pup and I must plant it during winter, I wrap the “heel”
(where the new roots emerge from) in fresh Sphagnum Moss before I plant it in
my normal potting mix, and I find when growth does finally start, pups treated
in this manner grow roots much quicker than those without it.

Another important point to remember is that if the plant or
pup is top heavy, and can move within the pot, don’t be afraid to stake it;
because while ever it can move, any new roots it produces will be broken off.
The same thing applies to pups that have been mounted on trees; they must be
firmly attached and unable to move for the same reason.

Finally, as tsugajunkie asks, do you have any photos of the
plants we are discussing?

All the best, Nev.

Thanks for the replies. I purchased the plants via the Internet and plants were sent via the post in a polystyrene box. Realise probably not th best time to purchase or plant bare rooted plants but it's all a learning experience. Will try the spagnum moss around the base in future. I've had to dog proof my plants using gutter guard and cable ties and staking the plants using wire coat hangers.here are some of the photos. Given that I've planted them and basically made them bomb proof would it pay to spread some sphagnum moss on the surface rather then uprooting the whole lot or just let them be?

Hi everyone.

Len - Although you said that the plants are quite large, some
of the ones in the first picture just look like pups to me. What size are we actually
talking about (height wise) as this is important when giving advice.

The other important fact is where the plants came from,
were they from your own state or from Queensland or some point north where the
climate is warmer. If this is the case you also have the problem of acclimitisation.
It’s best to only bring plants from a warmer climate to a colder one during
summer.

The other thing I see from what you wrote is that, you
are staking the plants using wire coat-hangers.
You need to be mindful that wire coat hangers are galvanized and the
zinc in the galvanizing can also sometimes damage leaves where they make
contact. If the wire is plastic-coated then there’s no problem.

To avoid this problem I usually stake my seedlings and pups
with wooden skewers or chopsticks by placing three equal distance around the
plant. If the plants are larger I use bamboo orchid stakes cut to the height of
the plant.

As for the Sphagnum Moss, that’s just what I do; but now
that your plants have all been potted up, I wouldn’t take them out and do them over
again unless you really want to, just stake them securely so they can’t move. I
wouldn’t put Sphagnum around the top of the potting mix either, as it might keep
your potting mix too damp and stop any air from entering it which isn’t a good
thing in cold weather either.

Below is a picture of a few seedling showing how I use wooden skewers for stakes

All the best, Nev.

Thanks Nev ,

purchased the plants locally as in Victoria. I must admit I tried the wooden skewers but my mini Foxy took a liking to skewers. I'm hoping I can remove the wire supports in about a year. Just hoping they won't kill the plant. Thanks for the advice. I tried bamboo stakes and the dog liked them as well. If the plants look a bit sickly I can always try plastic stakes.The warmer weather can't come around quick enough. The chap I purchased them from lives in the Dandenong Ranges where its get quite cold. The plants are probably in a warmer climate down here on the Coast.Thanks again for all your help