BromeliAdvisoryDecember 2011WEBPAGE: http://www.bssf-miami.org/

http://www.facebook.com/groups/BromeliadSSF/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bromeliad-Society-of-South-Florida/84661684279

President Carl BauerVP: Barbara PartagasTreasurer: Alan HerndonSecretary: Lori WeyrickDIRECTORS

Past Pres.: Robert MeyerDirectors: Nat DeLeon ‘10-‘11 Rhonda Herndon ‘10-‘11 Sandy Roth ‘11-‘12 Craig Morrell ‘11-‘12

EditorRobert C Meyer

Door Prize: Alan HerndonEducation: Nat DeLeonHospitality: Elaine MillsLibrary: Skye PalmerMembership: Moyna PrinceMember Plant Sales: Antonio ArbelaezRaffle: Mike MichalskiRefreshments: Patty Gonzalez

What Who

SalesTable

Antonio Arbelaez

DECEMBER 20, 2011 @ 7 :30 PM

SPEAKER:. None, PhewRAFFLE TABLE: No One – See Plant ExchangeFOOD TABLE: Everyone – contactmelodyluna@hotmail.com

Holiday Party and Its Rules

You are to contact melody to arrange for food –melodyluna@hotmail.com. You are to bring a smile.And, then there is a plant exchange. Rules; wrap it up.Deliver it to Corbin B. When the time comes, those whobring a plant are permitted to choose a wrapped goodie.Those who do not bring a plant, do not get to open awrapped item, including a wrapped piece of coal. Sobring the plant.

Inside this edition:President’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2In Case You Missed It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Extravaganza 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3Book Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4Garden Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5Events of Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Announcements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Murder in Corbin A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7

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President's Letter First. a big "thank you" to all of our membersfor their contributions to another successfulyear for The Bromeliad Society of SouthFlorida. As 2011 comes to an end, we havemuch to be proud of: 1. Our show last April was wonderful. Ourguests were treated to one of our best-everendeavors. For that, we have Chairman AlanHerndon and his large crew to thank.Congratulations to Josefa Leon, ourSweepstakes Winner. 2. Our membership topped 100 this year. Wemust be doing something right. 3. A college scholarship was established by theSociety and will be awarded at our Januarymeeting. 4. During a tough economic year we held ourown. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardenreported that all plant societies reported lowersales and attendance in 2011. We remain verysound financially. 5. Finally, we successfully moved ourlong-standing meeting night to the thirdTuesday of the month at Fairchild. Our last meeting of the year will be our annualHoliday Party on December 20th. See youthere! Carl Bauer, President

In Case You Missed Itby Robert Meyer

Umps were stumped. Often.

Extravaganza 2011by Alan Herndonby Alan Herndon

The Florida Council of Bromeliad Societies(FCBS) held their 2011 Extravaganza, The Artof Bromeliads, in Daytona Beach during thefirst weekend in November. By itself, theExtravaganza is typically an all-day bromeliadsale ending with a banquet and auction to raisemoney for FCBS activities. This year there

were additions to the typical Extravaganza.FCBS organized a show of bromeliad-themedart to run in parallel with the Extravaganza. Inaddition, the Cryptanthus Society staged theiryearly (judged) show in conjunction with theExtravaganza.

The Art Show was staged in a different site thanthe plant-related parts of the Extravaganza. Areception for Extravaganza participants,including an awards program for the artists whoparticipated in the art show. was held FridayEvening. This gave everyone an opportunity toinspect the different ways bromeliads weretreated by the artists. A majority of the workswere paintings, but other media (including fiber,photography and printing) were also utilized.Our own Urszula Dudek was well representedwith 4 paintingsin the show. Itwill come as nosurprise thatDudek’s work(specifically thepaint ing o fC r y p t a n t h u st h a t s h edisplayed at ourshow in April)was judged thebest-in-show.

W i t h t h eC r y p t a n t h u sSociety show present, many die-hardCryptanthus fans from far away were at theExtravaganza. One notable example was ourown Virginia Schrenker, now living in SouthCarolina, who we have not seen in several years.We hope she will be at our Show next April.

Plant sales held on Saturday were extensive,with over twenty vendors from throughoutFlorida, and one vendor from Louisiana. Plantmaterial ranged from gaudy Guzmania hybridsto stately Tillandsia species to the spinysucculent bromeliads to the esoteric speciesbeloved by a select set of discerning hobbyists.The Cryptanthus Society had their own salestables full of amazing species and colorfulhybrids. Mike Michalski was in the middle ofthe fray, selling plants from his booththroughout the day, but likely buying moreplants from other vendors than he sold. JosefaLeon, and her grandson, Anthony, alsorepresented southeastern Florida in the sales

“Cryptanthus” acrylic by UrszulaDudek

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room.

In addition to the plant sales, there were a fewtables devoted to bromeliad art in the salesroom. Artists exhibiting in the associated ArtShow had a space where they could sell printsof their works. Prints of paintings by UrszulaDudek were, of course, wellrepresented alongside the worksof other artists from the ArtShow. At a separate table,Penrith Goff, the bromeliadartist (from Michigan if you canbelieve it) who is a frequentwinner of top awards in theArtistic Division at WorldBromeliad Conference shows,was also selling prints of his finepaintings. Steve Littlefield fromSaint Petersburg showed up withhis t-shirts sporting colorfulbromeliad portraits.

A series of lectures on variousbromeliad topics took placeduring the Saturday. Organizerswere savvy enough to delay thestart of the lectures until noon.That gave everyone enough timeto scour the sales room beforeheading in for an education atthe talks. I suspect quite a fewtook another round in the salesroom after the lectures also.

The judged show of Cryptanthus was also openfor inspection by the public on Saturday. Theentries were beautiful, massive specimens suchas I could never dream of growing. However,other local members of our society (RichardFulford and Barbara Partagas to name two)have recently developed an interest inCryptanthus. We eagerly await the day whenthey compete in, and win, such shows.

The auction, following the banquet onSaturday, was larger than usual because theFCBS and the Cryptanthus Society each had aseparate set of plants. This required carefulcoordination. Tom Wolfe, auctioneer for theFCBS would solicit bids on a few plants, thenLarry Giroux, auctioneer for the CryptanthusSociety would take the dias to auction a fewplants. Not surprisingly, the CryptanthusSociety share of the auction featured manylarge specimens of new or rare Cryptanthus,

both species and hybrids. At the time, it seemedthat these Cryptanthus were attracting thehighest bids of the night.

Robert Meyer, Sandy Roth and Urszula Dudekhelped replenish the coffers of FCBS throughactive participation in the auction. Urszula

seemed to be especially keen toacquire different kinds ofCryptanthus.

Money raised by the auction is theprimary source of income for theFCBS and goes to supportprograms such as the FCBSwebsite (www.fcbs.org). If youhaven’t visited the site yet, youshould do so soon. It contains awealth of information essential toany bromeliad lover.

Bromeliad Extravaganzas are heldat 2 year intervals, hosted bydifferent local bromeliad societiesin turn. You will have to waituntil 2013 for your next chance toattend an Extravaganza, butremember, next summer we havean even bigger show – the WorldBromeliad Conference – inOrlando.

If you haven’t given the WorldConference much thought yet,

despite the reminders you have been givenduring the past months, it is time to startconcentrating. We have to start work on ourown local show in January, and by the time weare finished in April, the opportunity formaximum discounts on registration fees willhave passed. Unless you prefer to spend moremoney than necessary, think about the WorldConference now. It will be an adventure farbeyond what we do locally.

Book Reviewby Moyna Prince

The World of Tillandsias is a book produced bythe Czech grower Jan Maruska. There are over90 pages with five to nine color photos per page,comprising approximately 180 species, varietiesand a handful of hybrids.

Another Dudek painting

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The photos, which are of excellent quality, arein alphabetical order. Captions include

b o t a n i c a lname, countryof origin, plantand flower sizeand growingrequirements( l i g h t ,tempera t ureand humidity).Not included isaltitude, ani m p o r t a n tconsiderationf o r S o u t hF l o r i d ahobbyists whogrow out ofdoors. Many of

the Tillandsias included are new to me and Isuspect are from high altitudes

You can see for yourself what the book lookslike by going to: http://www.facebook.com/p a g e s / W o r l d - o f -Tillandsias/119531598160114?sk=wall orhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAsSw4csbVc If you want to buy your own copy (about$90.00 including postage) contact the authordirectly.

This book will be a worthwhile addition to anybromeliad library, and we will have a copy ofthe book in our library in January.

Garden Notes - November 2011by Alan Herndon

The first real winter weather reached us at theend of the month. Temperatures fell into the50's overnight and did not reach 80 during theday. Of course, this only lasted two daysbefore warming up. Still, our daytimetemperatures now are in a comfortable rangefor all but the most strenuous activity.

Winter species are beginning to bloom amongthe bromeliads. More clones of Aechmeanudicaulis are joining ‘Telephone Hill’ inbloom. ‘Telephone Hill’ is still following thepattern that was established during the summer

of producing 1 bloom each month. Aechmeaorlandiana and it’s hybrid offspring, Aechmea‘Bert’, started bloom towards the end of themonth. Members of Aechmea subgenusOrtgiesia also started to bloom, led by Aechmeaapocalyptica and Aechmea gracilis. These weresoon joined by Aechmea kertisziae with manyother species to follow soon. Aechmeamexicana started blooming in October, butmany more plants came into bloom duringNovember. In the meantime, Aechmeaalopecurus continued to bloom into Novemberalong with two members of the Gravisiacomplex: Aechmea blanchetiana and Aechmeaamicorum. Aechmea fendleri finished its toobrief appearance on the flowering list. Ourdependable crop of Aechmea chantiniicontinued to produce a few plants with openflowers.

Different Billbergia species and hybrids arebeginning to bloom now in a foretaste of thewinter season. Billbergia pyramidalis andBillbergia ‘Poquito Mas’ were conspicuous withmany rosettes flowering at the same time.Billbergia ‘Hallelujah’ also produced a fewinflorescences during month. We can expectmore species in bloom over the coming months.

Cryptanthus warren-loosei was seen in flowerthis month. As usual, there were other speciesin bloom when I wasn’t looking, so they werenot recorded. This is probably the month whenCryptanthus look their best. Next month we canexpect the first front with sufficiently cool anddry winds to toast the leaves on the plants thatlook so beautiful right now. Of course, you canprotect the looks of your plants by moving themto sheltered locations right next to your house _or by growing them indoors.

Guzmania minor and Guzmania sanguineacontinued to bloom throughout the month,although in both cases, the flowering period ofan individual rosette is much less than a month.As one plant has finished blooming, a new planthas taken its place.

Hechtia rosea began to bloom this month _ andfinished quite quickly. However, theinflorescence was fully colored _ a brightorange-red _ for a few weeks before the firstflowers opened and a week or so after the lastflowers closed, so you get a good show for atleast a month. In my case, another rosette in thesame pot put out an inflorescence several weeks

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after the first, so I had a brilliant displaythroughout November and can expect it to lastwell into December.

Hohenbergia pennae indeed continuedblooming well into November, but it appears tobe finished before December reaches us. Thissame plant has been flowering since May _ sixmonths ago.

Few species of Neoregelia are blooming now.Among the small species that bloom more thanonce a year, mostly during the summer months,a plant of Neoregelia ampullacea ‘Midget’ anda few plants of the red leaf form of Neoregeliapunctatissima produced flowers. In Neoregeliacompacta, however, a period of massblooming, as opposed to the scattering ofrosettes in bloom during the past severalmonths, is just starting.

Several Orthophytum species are still in bloomalthough the peak flowering season has clearlypast. A new plant of Orthophytum zanonii hasrecently come into flower while Orthophytumalvimii and Orthophytum lymaniana continueto bloom. After a brief period withoutflowering activity, some new plants ofOrthophytum disjunctum have also started toflower.

Pitcairnia xanthocalyx, with nearly whiteflowers, bloomed early in the month whilePitcairnia flammea floccosa, with bright redflowers, began to flower towards the end of themonth.

Several clones of Portea alatisepala are juststarting to bloom or in late bud now. If youhave large clumps of these plants, you canexpect a mass flowering where virtually everyrosette in a clump produces an inflorescence atthe same time. I also have Porteapetropolitana petropolitana _ a different plantfrom the one blooming earlier this year _ inflower.

We expect (or hope) that clumps of Tillandsiaionantha will be in full color just in time forChristmas, but Tillandsia ionantha ‘TallVelvet’ and Tillandsia ionantha vanhyningihave been flowering for me for the past fewmonths. It will be interesting to see whetherthese plants will color up during Decemberalso. It is possible that the flowering I haveseen to date represents the flowering of a smallproportion of rosettes in a clump of ‘Tall

Velvet’. (Regrettably, I have not taken the timeto examine the clumps closely.) Since theTillandsia ionantha vanhyningi are separated, Ican tell, even on casual inspection, that onlyscattered plants are blooming any month. Inother words, the majority of rosettes in clumpsof ‘Tall Velvet’ may still color up togetherduring December to give us our typical stunningholiday display. Of course, other Tillandsiaspecies are blooming now too. Tillandsia Xcorrealii continued to flower into earlyNovember. Tillandsia chiapensis, now that ithas started to flower, shows no sign of finishingsoon. We can only hope that the inflorescenceretains its frosted pink color throughout theflowering period. Tillandsia vernicosacontinues to bloom. The first plants reported inflower earlier this year finished blooming someweeks ago, but new plants have replaced them.Tillandsia cyanea bloomed during November.Flowers are open for a relatively short period inthis species, but the inflorescence takes arelatively long time to develop and remainsquite attractive during that period. Two speciesfirst seen flowering in November wereTillandsia didisticha, a species closely related toTillandsia vernicosa, and a clone of Tillandsiafasciculata from Abaco (Bahamas).

As we creep ever deeper into the winter months,we will see again the steady progression ofspecies in bloom. Aechmea weilbachii clonesare now lying in wait for the proper moment toopen their large buds. We can also expect manymore members of Aechmea subgenus Ortgiesiato show up on the list soon. With any luck, wemay have the odd plant that hasn’t bloomed forme before (although it is more likely that Isimply missed previous blooms.)

Until we have a freeze bearing down on us, thisis the best time of the year to be outdoors, soenjoy your plants and the lovely weather. Bestwishes for the Holday Season and for goodgrowing conditions through the winter.

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Events of Interest:

Fruit and Spice ParkRedland Heritage FestivalJanuary 21 & 22, 201224801 S.W. 187th AvenueHomestead, Florida 33031

New Directors

Welcome the new directors Urszula Dudekand Lenny Goldstein. Two years of theirparticipation in our board for the years 2012and 2013. Welcome aboard.

ANNOUNCEMENTS WORLD CONFERENCE

Although it is about one year away, theWorld Conference is still a large task whichwill require your efforts. Interested partiesm a y c o n ta c t A la n H e rn d o n a tAlanherndon@aol.com or Mike Michalskiat pgonza7782@aol.com.

Want to know what the schedule lookslike? Go to: http://fcbs.org/WBC12ScheduleofEvents.pdf

SPRING SHOW

This matter is coming to use rapidly andmuch will be demanded of the society.Interested parties may contact AlanHerndon at Alanherndon@aol.com.

Ideas for the SpeakersBarbara Partagas invites anyone for suggestionsfor speakers for the 2012 year. Contact her atbpartagas@bellsouth.net or just walk up to herwith a friendly suggestion.

Murder in Corbin A© by Robert MeyerP R E V I O U S C H A P T E R S M A Y B E S E E N I N

http://www.bssf-miami.org/

36.Boss, when the door slammed behind Marlene,thought less of the story rendition than the fact thathis liaison with Linares would be affected by thismoment. To put it bluntly – the Captain had been

a real buzz kill to whatever libido he would have thatevening.

The story was correctly and thoroughly delivered bythe three officers to the Captain. Marleneoccasionally ruined the tempo of the story bycorrecting pronunciations of a few species whichBoss referred to – he was a book learner of the itemswho did not know the unique manners ofpronouncing the predominantly foreign words of thespecies of this plant world – and in the end there wasa simple grunt from Captain.

Grunts from Captain came in a few varieties. To ablind person they were all the same – it was theposition of the hand that would change the effect. Ifhe was mildly upset, he held his right hand inclenched fist with thumb extended out at his adam’sapple. If more upset, the same hand position wouldbe at his lower lip. If really upset, the hand wouldtouch the tip of his nose as the grunt emanated fromthe same area of his face. To everyone’s relief, thiswas an adam’s apple moment.

When they left, Boss and Rodriguez looked at theirwatches while Marlene looked at her phone for thetime of the day. Each had their respective duties orengagements, and with little discussion went theirrespective directions. Boss, in an attempt to retrievehis romantic mood, went to his favorite liquor store,bought a very expensive bottle of champagne, andwent from there to Linares’ home.

When he arrived with bottle and a street-vendor-purchased bouquet of flowers, he rang her bell andwaited with a mildly large grin on his face. As thedoor opened the smile vanished.

Linares was dressed in ugly drab clothes more likelyto be worn when cleaning than anything else. Hereyes were red. She had been crying, and her cheekswere showing signs of the same. He voice wascoarse and deep. She welcomed him in, but couldnot understand what had happened.

“My ex was pulled into the police station today. Hesaid it was about a plant deal he did with a midget.And, he was told that if he did not squeal, the midgetwould. So, he spoke and the midget went to jail.Then I asked him what the midget looked like, and hetold me. That is when I began to cry. Youunderstand.”

Boss knew that the flowers and champagne wererespectively going to compost and the fridge. Heasked that she sit down. When she sat, he told her hecould not tell her everything, but identified himselfand how he was investigating the murders of Bea andthe Judge. He was not doing anything but his job,

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but that when his investigation brought him toLinares, that she became the only good thing fromsomething so rotten. He also told her he would notapologize for what happened to Marin, he got whathe deserved. After all, Marin had sold a stolenplant for much more than its worth; and worse, hehad misrepresented its genus.

Linares was not going to accept the arrest or theselling the plant as being a crime – but themisrepresentation of the plant’s identity caught herattention. She knew that was wrong. And, sheknew that Marin would not make such an errorunless there was a reason.

“You are sure that Marin sold the plant as one type,but in reality it was another?” she asked in strongtone.

“Yes.” Boss quietly responded.

“The last time he did this, it was code. He is tryingto say something which he otherwise cannot say.”

37.When the Captain returned home after anotherendless day on toils and spoils, he reached towardhis wife of 32 years, received his daily dose ofmartini dry in a vintage martini glass, sat in hisleather chair which had become supple in all of theright spots, and sat down before his televisionwhich would turns onto his station, Fox News.

Almost as though in script, his wife would ask,“How was your day today honey?” And, usually hewould respond with “Great, a few less of the badguys walking on our streets thanks to yours truly.”But, today was different to the old codger. He wasnot about to think about bad guys on the street.Instead, he was focused upon the plant world.And, instead words flowed from his lips which hecould not stop, like a cascading water, theyemerged into his home’s television room andtoward his wife in the adjacent kitchen. “Greta, Ithink. Caught a penny pinching, widow thieving,tree hugging, conniving SOB who I learned todaywas involved in a trade of illegal plants with littlebig man. Yeah, the little lieutenant has becomequite a plant aficionado lately, and guess what hesold a little bromeliad for to this to-the-core dirtyrotten scoundrel?”

“I have no idea,” his wife responded, “they alwayscost about eight to 11 dollars for a guzmania atHome Depot.”

The Captain was a little amazed she knew the priceat Home Depot. He was even more surprised thatshe was aware of what a bromeliad was. And, he

was even more impressed or surprised that she knewthe difference between a Guzmania from any otherfuture compost producing foliage he would dig a holdfor in his yard.. But, he had started this discussionand wanted to finish it now that he thought about itand responded, “Nope. He got $500 for it. American.Cash in his hand. One plant. Not any bigger thanthose Goosemania things you see in Home Depot.Think about it. Five hundred dollars, a week’s salaryfor a rookie, for one piece of foliage which cannoteven be relied upon for a good bite.”

“Maybe it was a pineapple. You know pineapplesare bromeliads, right honey?” His wife did it again.When did she, the person who never finished highschool, know so much about the bromeliad worldwhich his little big man lieutenant, Rodriguez andMarlene touch in their investigation? Must be thatJohnson woman’s influence, he thought. Amazing, hethought, after all these years of marriage, she can stillsurprise me.

“No pineapple I ever ate was worth more than adollar. If it was pineapple, I am going to buy Dolestock tomorrow. Remind me to ask the guys if it wasa pineapple. Hold on, I’ll do it myself.” At this time,he rummaged about looking for his cell phone.Forgetting where he laid it, he thumbed all around hisentryway, until he saw it neck to his glock on aninterior table where he habitually placed his phoneeach evening. At this time, and unbeknownst to hiswife, he picked up his cell phone and called the Boss.

“Hello.” Boss answered immediately.

“This is your Captain speaking. Have a question foryou. Was that plant you sold for a king’s ransom apineapple?”

“No, sir.” responded Boss. “It is one of those rareplants that grow in the wilds and cannot make it toFlorida but for a prayer and a miracle. That broughtits price to the hundreds.”

“Any pineapple cost that much?” the Captain askedwondering if Dole still may be of some value.

“A few local hybrids by our growers cost a fewbucks, but they are ornamental, not for digestion. So,if you are thinking of buying stock in Dole, don’t.”

The Captain was stunned. How did this guy knowwhat he was thinking. But, this happened too oftenin his life. He thanked the lieutenant and hung up.

As he hung up his cell phone , Boss took the land lineand said his goodbyes to the Captain’s wife who hadcalled him just a few moments earlier when sheasked whether her husband should buy Dole stock.