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tillandsia Journal

Congratulations Virginia on your retirement

8/29/2022

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​When Virginia Azevedo repotted her first orchid at Bird Rock Tropicals in 1998, she had no idea where her new adventure would lead. At that time she didn't know she would be shipping plants all over the world every week, or that she would be trusted to care for some of the world's most rare and exotic plants. She also didn't know she was starting a 20+ year adventure that would lead her to managing one of the most well known and well respected Tillandsia nurseries in the world. On August 31st, that adventure comes to a bittersweet end as Virginia retires to enjoy camping, traveling, gardening, and family time.

A few years after giving birth to her youngest son, Virginia was ready to jump back into the workforce, but wasn't sure what she wanted to do. After having previously worked at Stewart Orchids in Carpentaria, she returned to the nursery for one of their events. A little nursery called Bird Rock Tropicals was a vendor at the event, and that is when Virginia first met Pam Koide (now Pam Hyatt). Pam encouraged Virginia to come check out the nursery as she and her family were living not too far away in Oceanside at the time. After the two of them chatted for a bit, they both realized they had found a good fit.

Virginia spent several years separating and repotting orchids, which used to be a major focus at Bird Rock. Eventually Pam found out Virginia had some office skills and experience, so she was recruited to help with admin tasks. As the team continued to evolve, Virginia became a vital part of the operation, learning the ins and outs of international import and export, and eventually around 2012, she became the full time manager. One of Virginia's challenges in her time at Bird Rock has been the same challenge a lot of small businesses face; Virginia was a sales rep, and head of shipping, and she watered, and separated plants, and worked on spreadsheets, and the list goes on and on! It can be a challenge to balance and manage a lot of tasks at once, but through this experience Virginia learned to prioritize tasks, say no when she needs to, and stay organized. While being on a small team can be a challenge, Virginia also enjoyed that, as a team, they could pretty much try anything and if it didn't work, regroup and try it different!

Through all of the different things she has done at and for Bird Rock, handling the plants is still Virginia's favorite part of the job. Virginia takes time each day to enjoy the beauty that the plants around her possess, which is so important because it's easy to get distracted by the work and miss it. Over the years, one plant has shone above them all in Virginia's eyes; Tillandsia eizii. Bird Rock had a pair of them bloom many years ago, and they put on quite a remarkable show.

After starting her working life at 13 years old picking string beans, Virginia can hang her hat up and hold her chin up high knowing she had a meaningful and lasting impact on many. Virginia has a bright and cheerful demeanor that is a pleasure to be around, and the absence of it will certainly be felt. She is kind to all, fun to chat with, and an incredibly hard worker.
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Virginia can now look forward to more bike rides, more walks at the beach, more camping, and more gardening. Here's to you Virginia, thank you for everything you have done for Bird Rock Tropicals, this place would not be what it is without you!

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Tillandsia ionantha var. vanhyningii - not   Tillandsia vanhyningii

7/26/2022

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Update December 2022: This blog post was posted in July 2022. At that time the name change had been accepted for more than six months by the authorities who maintain the Bromeliad Taxon list of current names (http://bromeliad.nl/taxonlist/?), and Tillandsia vanhyningii was on that list.  In October 2022, those same authorities decided that this variety should not have be elevated to species level, and the name reverted to Tillandsia ionantha var. vanhyningii.
​Original post:
​Someone got promoted to SPECIES status! Tillandsia ionantha var. vanhyningii was first described by Mulford B. Foster in 1957. Foster discovered the now Tillandsia vanyningii (pronounced van-HIGH-nin-gee-eye) in the Sumidero Canyon of Chiapas, Mexico, growing along steep limestone cliffs in large formations. At first glance, Foster was sure it was a new species, but after blooming and observing the plant, it appeared they have the same composition as many other forms of ionantha. In a paper published last year, Carlos Beutelspacher and Roberto Garcia Martinez argued for the reclassification of Tillandsia ionantha var. vanhyningii by elevating it to species status due to the caulescent growth habit not observed in other varieties or cultivars of ionantha. The name change was accepted, and so Tillandsia vanyningii ​is born. The name, which can be difficult to say honors long time Tillandsia collectors, the Van Hynings.

Tillandsia vanhyningii
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CORK: A NATURAL RENEWABLE PRODUCT

4/7/2017

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Cork has been used for mounting orchids and bromeliads for years. Tillandsia airplants grow best when attached to cork bark. The uneven surface is perfect for finding just the right spot to attach them to. They will quickly root and become permanent. ​
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I just returned from tens days in Portugal and spent several days in Alentejo, walking in some old cork oak forests. ​Alentejo is in south central Portugal and is where the majority of the cork trees are farmed. 

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Most of the farms have been operated by the same owners for many generations. They tend to stay in the family, as it takes 43 years for the first viable crop of cork to be harvested.

Once the tree is planted, the first harvest is twenty five years later. This first harvest is the “virgin cork”, the same type that is used for mounting plants. The bark is thick, rough and uneven. The bark is then harvested every nine years. The second harvest is less rough, but not acceptable for cork stoppers. This harvest is ground up and used for other production such as flooring. It is not until the third harvest, (the tree is now 43 years old) that the cork quality is the type that can be used for making cork stoppers.



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Tillandsioideae Subfamily Undergoes Taxonomic Changes

1/6/2017

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Pseudalcanterea grandis - the new name for Tillandsia grandis
Get ready to change the labels on many of your plants, but don't remove the old name. You never know when that name may be resurrected. 

An ongoing study of Bromeliaceae, by a group of cooperating scientists, has lead to proposed new reclassifications for subfamily Tillandsiodeae. Using DNA sequencing, in combination with morphological characteristics, they determine which species have common ancestors. The authors are proposing further taxonomic splits to a number of genera to form monophyletic classifications.

Herb Plever, Editor of Bromeliana, has done an excellent job explaining all these changes. For more in-depth (and scientific) explanation, see Herb Plever's original article here in Bromeliana newsletter.

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Tillandsia  mauryana removed from CITES

10/13/2016

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This year, the Conference of the Parties (CoP) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), concluded its 17th Conference on October 4th 2016, in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The CoP meets every two to three years to review the implementation of the Convention. During the two-week conference species are added or removed from Appendix listings. In 2013, three 
Tillandsia species were removed from CITES. ​


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Classification of Plants

1/8/2016

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Have you ever wondered how and why plants are named? I stumbled upon this BBC Series - A Botany A Blooming History. This series "tells the story of how people came to understand the natural order of the plant world". This quest to discover how plants grow uncovered the secret life of plants on our planet.  

Part I of this series explains classification which is based on morphology and reproductive biology, and has existed for more than 300 years. All this is changing as a result of DNA sequencing. This video not only explains the history of traditional classification but also shows how DNA sequencing is explaining plant relationships.

Grab a cup of tea and enjoy this nearly hour long video.  
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Easy Macro photography with your mobile device

11/22/2014

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Macro images of Tillandsia tectorum, purpurea, usneoieds and argentina. Macro trichomes
Top, T. tectorum, trichomes, T. purpurea. Bottom, T. usneoides, T. argentina, and water drop on T. usneoides
You will be surprised at how easy it is to use and at the quality of the images. The best part is that it is very inexpensive and you can easily carry it so it is always with you.

Easy Macro has a new KickStarter project.  They are going to expand their line.   Currently they offer only one lens, 4x. They will be creating a 2x and 10x magnification lens.  I like the product so much that I am a backer.  If you want to get one now, use my link to order yours.  It makes a great stocking stuffer. Check out their KickStarter project here.
(FYI, Affiliate links in this post)

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Watering during a drought

8/29/2014

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This Summer has been one of the hottest yet!  And to top it off in California we are experiencing our  longest drought.  Sprinklers are reduced to 10 minutes per station, only 3 days per week.  All the lawns are starting to turn brown.  At the nursery we can continue to water, as we have always done our watering by hand and that is not restricted. 

We always use, and recommend using, the Fogg-It Nozzles.  They are available in 1, 2, and 4 gallons per minute.  We use the 2 GMP on seedlings and the 4 GMP on everything else.  The nozzles produce a heavy spray that feels like it's raining, which makes your tillandsias happy too!  They also add additional moisture in the air, which is beneficial during periods of low humidity. And these nozzles work great for watering large clumps and balls.  They have enough pressure to get the ball spinning so you are able to water all plants and all sides quite easily.

During the long Summer days, I recommend watering either very early in the morning or very late in the afternoon, just before sunset.  This allows the moisture to settle on the leaves for a longer period of time, thus allowing the water to pass into the leaf tissue.  If you water midday you are wasting water and time, as the plants will dry off long before any of the water has been absorbed.

If you are growing under shade cloth, one trick you can do on extremely hot days is wet the shade cloth as you are watering.  This will cool the temperature of the air as it is passing through the shade cloth, almost as if you have turned on an air conditioner.

Here are two short video showing how the Fogg-It nozzle "rains" on your plants.


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FUN WITH FLOWERS

6/23/2014

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Flowers of Bromeliads
Summer is a great time to have some fun photographing all the different flowers of your bromeliads.  I took these photos today during the "golden hour" when the light is perfect.  Using other plants as the background I let the natural light highlight the blur and create something different.  With all the different shapes and colors of the bromeliad flowers you can really be creative.  Practice doing this, all in camera, no tripod, flash or post processing.  Can you recognize and name these flowers? 
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TREE GARDENING

6/1/2014

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Tree gardening is an easy way to create a micro climate for your tillandsia collection.  If you live in a zone that will allow you to grow your tillandsias outside all year, then this may be for you.  This tree garden was created in Goleta, California by Ted Umbour.  He attached each tillandsia to a piece of cork bark and then secured the cork to the Jacaranda tree.  Cork makes a perfect host for most all tillandsias.  Cork is not prone to fungus and retains just enough moisture to encourage root growth.  No need to use any moss with the mounting, as that would keep the base of the plant too wet.  

The tillandsias are secured to the cork with a double strand of 20 gauge coated steel wire.  The wire is wrapped around the base of the plant and then twisted together on the back of the cork.  You will need to drill two holes in the cork to get the wire to the other side.  Twist and tighten the wire so the plant is held firmly.  Be careful that you do not damage the plant when tightening the wire.  Once attached to the tree the tillandsias are easy to water with a hose.  All the moisture that the tillandsia receive will add to the humidity in tree canopy.  The added benefit is that the plants will get plenty of dappled light and air movement, just as they would in their natural habitat.  Your tree garden will do better with more plants than with fewer.
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    Pamela Koide HyattPamela Koide Hyatt
    Horticulturalist & Explorer Specializing in the Genus Tillandsia.

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© Pamela Koide Hyatt , Bird Rock Tropicals
Photos used under Creative Commons from cm195902, ggallice