Hi everyone.

Stan - I don't want to appear "picky" but your
plants in the Ash appear very dry. I found when I planted brom's in my old
Peppercorn tree they dried out very much faster than plants in the garden or in
pots and it wasn’t until I noticed the leaves “cupping” that I realized I had a
problem with insufficient water.

When we mount plants in trees we often forget that with
the increased air circulation around the plants they will dry out very much
quicker than they do when planted in the garden or in pots.

When a leaf “cups” (The edges turn upward) it is Mother
Nature’s way of getting the plant ready to trap more water with its foliage
because it is unusually dry. Alternatively, when the plant is too wet, the edges
of the leaves will recurve, i.e. Turn
downward slightly to shed any excess water.

It’s a problem that’s easy to rectify fortunately by just
applying more water and watching your plants for these “tell-tale” signs.

All the best, Nev.

I think its the Billbergia that might look too dry- but its some strange variety that ALWAYS has wavy leafs. I bought it at a UC Berkeley sale over a decade ago. Nobody seems to have the ID,they will tell me its too dry...but I can tell you even when I had it in a warm wet tropical greenhouse? Did the same thing. Its one of a kind so far with scrolled leafs.

As far as Aechmea pinliana minuta..its grown harder to bring out the color. Its still grown quite bit since May when I put it up there.

The Platyceriums are just planted pups.

The Vresia Nev, THAT might be too dry.. I had a big clump to use and already some of it has been pushed near sideways. I might have to do some thinning. Next year.

Its a new thing and I have used some tough plants..no delicate ferns or orchids since I do water by hand every couple of days. I knew that was never going to grow moss.

Overall..makes a plain generic Ash tree interesting. Better then before..and I have yet to see it in winter when the tree is bare. Fun!

Hi everyone.

Stan – You really have me interested by what you say about your
Billbergia. It’s often possible to pick up unusual plants at sales and
sometimes even plants that are quite rare and which are being sold at “give-away
prices” simply because the seller doesn’t know what they are. Have you had this
Billbergia flower yet and if so do you have a picture of the flowers and if possible
could you provide a picture and also one in close-up of the leaves?

The fern you have in with those plants is commonly called an
“Elkhorn Fern” here in Australia or to give it its proper name platycerium
bifurcatum; it is one of two types
commonly grown and the other which is more spectacular is known as the “Staghorn
Fern” (Platycerium superbum).

I was once a regular visitor to a specialist fern nursery in
my area and the owner grew these ferns to perfection with lush dark green
foliage, and when I asked the “cultural secret” he said the secret to all fern
growing was to grow them in a low light area and water them every time you walk
past them.

On the contrary, I also had a friend who grew two massive “Staghorns”
on two old tree stumps in his back yard in the full sun. The main difference
between these and the nursery grown ones was that the foliage on these was
light green in colour compared to the dark green ones in the nursery. However
the watering advice was much the same and my friend said he watered his plants
twice a day every day seven days a week. So whatever way you chose to grow it,
it seems that large amounts of water is the requirement.

All the best, Nev.

Ive been growing various Staghorns for decades Nev!..those are just two pups the cats knocked off a big one that I started in 1978..it sits in a Podocarpus tree in the backyard. I also have a large P,.superbum..much easier to grow then I would have thought,lucky enough. The Staghorn with the curly leaved Brom is a P. vetchii that I hope will get silvery as it gets larger.

The Unknown brom in flower. I might have better photos someplace..but these I could find now.

Btw,the perfect straight leaves are from a different the brom to the right Foster's something.

I had to thin out the curly leafed..it was taking over. Strong grower.

Ah- no problemo Nev. I have a hand in everything that looks tropical..so I never did specialize in one area.

Also- that bloom on the curly Brom hadn't opened fully..its a blend of red and blue and typical Billbergia looking.

I do know it also had no name when I bought it. It must have been donated to the Berkeley botanical garden for their plant sales. It was a technically labeled, Brom sp. -lol.