Bromeliads 
By Victoria Padilla 
LONG TIME -- WILL SEE 
For a plant that stays a long time in bloom 
one will have to go far to find one that sur- 
passes the Aechmea. Not only for weeks is 
it an arresting sight, but for months its color- 
ful spike attracts attention of all who see it. 
The writer has one species, Aechmea ful- 
gens, discolor. that has maintained a perfect 
spike of brilliant red for the past six months. 
and her Aechmea fasciata, a favorite in the 
old world because of its lovely flower head 
of soft pink and blue, will last equally as 
long. Because of their long-lasting qualit- 
ies these plants are popular in Europe as cut 
ion, however, they may be grown successfully 
are comparatively unknown in this country. 
The Aechmea is related to the Pineapple 
in that it is one of the members of the Brom- 
eliad family. Native to Brazil where they 
grow on trees alongside orchids, they are 
almost entirely epiphytic. Under cultivat- 
the botanic gardens or growers here; second- 
in pots, baskets, on moss walls, attached to 
logs, and in the open ground. They prefer 
a sheltered location in part shade, a light 
porous soil of leaf mould and sand, and a 
moderate temperature that will not fall much, 
below 35 degrees Far. They like plenty of 
water during the summer but like to be kept 
dry during the winter. They are comparat- 
ively free of disease and pests, although 
snails love to live in their center cups. They 
make ideal plants, for they will thrive where 
it is quite dark; and their handsome inflor- 
escene adds much to indoor decor. 
Aechmeas consist of a leaf cluster or ros- 
ette, out of the heart of which comes the 
bract and flower head. The plants vary in 
size and coloring. The flower may be brill- 
iant red and blue, orange and purple, pink 
and blue, yellow and black; whereas the 
leaves may be a soft glossy maroon, green 
with yellow stripes, gray banded with white, 
greenish gray and purple, or just plain green. 
No matter what color combination, all are 
highly decorative and very fascinating. 
Some plants bloom faithfully once a year, 
while some bloom once every two years. 
After the plant has flowered, it sends out 
offshoots, and after a time the original plant 
will die. Propagation of Aechmeas is chief- 
ly by their offshoots, which are best cut off 
the mother plant when they are about 5 or 6 
inches high. They may then be planted in 
a small pot and very shortly will form their 
own root system and grow rapidly. For the 
average person, raisingAechmeas by seed is 
not to be recommended. In the first place, 
seeds are very scarce, and the only source of 
supply are growers in Europe and a few of 
in winter, generally around the holiday sea- 
ly the seeds are not too easy to germinate; 
and lastly, the plants take a long time -- a 
period of years which varies with each var- 
iety -- to flower from seed. 
There are many delightful varieties which 
the amateur will enjoy owning and which 
are easy to flower. Aechmea fasciata, the 
“Urn Plant,’ mentioned above is highly 
prized. Aechmea Foster’s Favorite is high- 
ly desirable because of its lovely, smooth lac- 
quered wine-red leaves. Its drooping berry- 
like flower stalk with dark blue flowers bloom 
stunning yellow flower head add much where 
son. Aechmea caudata variegated is a fav- 
orite in Southern California, for it is easily 
grown out of doors. It is a large plant and 
ORCHID SEED YEAR AROUND 
We can supply the following ORCHIDS all 
during the year. In some cases it may be 30 
days in making delivery but usually the seed 
will be in stock. 
Orchid seed is as fine as dust and is not 
easy to grow; we will try to have some art- 
icles on them in future issues. 
The listing will be corrected later to the 
latest botanical classifications; in many cases 
of foreign classifications, the old botanical 
names are still used. 
PRICE: $1.00 per Pkt; 5 for $4.00. 
AERIDES longicormu. 
—odoratum. 
—racemeformis. 
—vandarum. 
ARUNDINA bambusaefolia. 
BULBOPHYLLUM Leopardium. 
CALANTHE alismaefolia. 
—hbiloba. 
—brevicornu. 
—herbacia. 
—puberula. 
—densiflora. 
CIRRHOPETALLUM gutulatum. 
COELOGYNE cristata. 
—occulata. 
—flacida. 
—Fescescens. 
—corymbosa. 
—elata. 
—ochracea. 
—ovalis. 
CYMBIDIUM aloifolium. 
—Cochleare. 
—Devonianum. 
—elegans,. 
—ensifolium. 
—giganteum. 
—longifolium. 
—Whiteas. 
—pendulum. 
—grandiflorum. 
—gammeanum. 
—eburneum. 
—MDMastersii. 
—Lowianum. 
—trachyanum. 
—Simonsianum. 
—Zaleskianum. 
—lancifolium. 
—cyprefolium. 
CYPREDIUM insigne. 
—venestum. 
—Fairreanum. 
—hirsutissimum. 
—insigne Harefield Hall. 
—insigne Sanderae. 
—spicerianaum. 
DENDROBIUM amoenum. 
—chrysanthum. 
—aureum. 
—amplum. 
—densiflorum. 
—Gibsonii. 
—fimbriatum. 
—rotundatum. 
—longicornu. 
—peirardie. 
—Hookerianum. 
—nobile. 
—moschatum. 
—moschatum v. Cupreum. 
—transparense. 
—chrysotoxum. 
—crepidatum. 
—Farmerii. 
—primulinum. 
—Wardianum. 
—devonianum. 
—draconis. 
—falconerii. 
—infundibullum. 
—formosum. 
—formosum giganteum. 
—lituiflorum. : 
—Jamesianum. 
—ochreatum. 
—Jenkinsii. 
—nobilescens. 
—thyrsiflorum. 
—nobile alba......... 
—nobile Sanderianum. 
—nobile v. Amessiae. 
—nobile v. nobilius. 
—nobile v. Ballianum. 
—nobile v. Wallichianum. 
—peirardie v. Lantinifolium. 
—transparense v. album. 
—densiflorum aureo flavum. 
—densiflorum v. albiflorum. 
Pkt, $2.00 
Pkt. $3.00 
ERIA convallariodes. 
—coronaria. 
PHAIUS maculatus. 
—mishmehsis. 
—wallichii. 
—grandifolius. 
—wallichii v. Assamica. 
PLEIONE Hookeriana. 
—humilis. 
—maculata. 
— maculata praecox. 
RENANTHERA imschootiana. 
—coccinea. 
SACCOLABIUM 
—ampulaceum. 
RHYNOSTYLIS 
THUNIA aba. 
—Marshalliana. 
—venosa. 
VANDA coerulea, Dark Blue. 
—-—tLight Blue. 
—cristata. 
—pumila. 
—alpina. 
—Teres. 
—w—teres alba. 
—Roxburghii. 
—undulata. 
—Clarkei. 
—cathcartii. 
—Agnes x Joaquim. 
—teres giganteum. 
—teres Audersonii. 
—Parishii. 
——v. Mariottiana. 
—Denisoniana. 
Blumei. 
retusa. 
Pkt. $3.00 
The above list will not appear for anoth- 
er six months and it can be used for the 
entire year. We will add descriptive mat- 
ter in the next listing. 
PIONEER SEED COMPANY 
— DIMONDALE MICHIGAN 
its striped green and white leaves and its 
bearing large quantities of powder-puff-like 
tropical effect is desired. 
Aechmea Weilbachii should be in every- 
one’s collection. Its leaves are of a bronze- 
salmon and green, and its long flower spike 
ends in a stunning cluster of red berries top- 
ped by lavender petals. It has lived through 
freezing weather for the writer, which is un- 
sual for a plant that is native to the jungles. 
Rudis: ROO-diss; wild; not cultivated. 
GEORGE RUSSELL PASSES AWAY 
Continued from Page 145 
as we have planned; in the meantime, we 
would be pleased to have letters from any 
of our readers who have come in contact 
with Mr: Russel, their remarks would cert- 
ainly be interesting to add to what we 
already have. 
Our subscription price will be changed to 
$2.50 very shortly. We had hopes of keep- 
ing the present price till the first of the year: 
