Two years ago (Maloy, 2011) described the success being achieved in the growing of vrieseas in northern New Zealand, so the announcement of the Cool Broms conference in Auckland got my attention a year later. Having just attended the 17th Australasian Conference on Bromeliads in March this year, I can confirm the aptness of the moniker. The mild and, by tropical standards, cool climate of the area makes the growing of fine specimens of Vriesea as well as Alcantarea and Neoregelia possible in both shade and sun. It was worth going there just to see them.
While placing emphasis on 'cool-broms', the conference covered the full range of plants and topics that can be expected from a major meeting on bromeliads. With a cast of international speakers the oral sessions provided highlights for the conference. Interesting and important as they were, they represent topics too diverse to be summarized here. Instead, we focus on the bromeliads being grown in the gardens and nurseries of greater Auckland and those exhibited at the conference.
In Gardens and Nurseries
New Zealand's North Island is subject to the tempering influence of the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean. In Auckland and further north the effect is particularly strong. Humidity levels remain steady, rarely becoming low. Winters in many areas are generally frost-free and summertime temperatures rarely exceed 30C (86F). Rain is plentiful, with 1250 mm (50 in.) annually in the Auckland region, and occurs in all seasons. Under such conditions many bromeliads thrive.
To get some appreciation of how bromeliads have adapted to gardens in those areas Dan Kinnard, Eloise Lau and I visited a number of them in the greater Auckland area, up to 100 miles (160 km) from the city center. Several were private and shown to us by their owners who grew the plants and did much, if not all, of the garden maintenance themselves. Two of them were public but one of these had been developed and tended by volunteers. Another of the gardens was part of a commercial enterprise. In addition, we visited the nursery where many new hybrids have been developed. It would have been enjoyable to have spent longer and seen more of the country. There were more horticultural treasures to be seen, for even in the greater Auckland area we came across unannounced gardens where stands of Aechmea species were used like shrubbery and surprises like Ochagavia carnea emerged from the undergrowth. However, we must not detour from the main path of our journey.
The Auckland Botanic Gardens was a useful site to get an impression of the range of flora, indigenous and exotic, that was cultivated in northern parts of the country. Native epiphytes, ferns and climbers were abundant in places, an indication that bromeliads might find a friendly home there but it came as a surprise to find a few of the native conifers (Podocarpus totara) bearing epiphytic neoregelias and aechmeas. Fortunately, and unlike so many of the plant species introduced to New Zealand,...