Comments from a lecture given by Bob Hudson of the Cairns Bromeliad Study Group at “Brom-a-Warra”. Conference 2001.
Bob states that his biggest advantage is living in Cairns where the humidity and warmth suit the growing of bromeliads.
Many growing media have been tried including coconut fibre, cork bark, cork floor tiles, rope, tree fern slabs, polystyrene pieces, but he now grows the seeds on framed fly screen mesh, placing the seed on the mesh and spraying them with water as he goes to stop them blowing away. The roof of his growing area is covered with white solar weave and is misted every 40 minutes for 10 seconds until the seed germinates and leaves appear. They are then shifted to another area where they do not receive so much water. Bob has a great deal of success with tillandsias, but has grown vrieseas and guzmanias the same way. There is more information in this reproduced lecture about fertilising and mounting Tillandsias in the Brom-a-Warra conference proceeding book which is available from the SCBS Inc. lending library.