Plant fairs, like the ones recently held at Suan Luang Rama IX Park and Kasetsart University's Kamphaeng Saen campus, draw gardening enthusiasts from far and wide as they are usually good sources of new and improved varieties, as well as rare and not so rare plants.
Fitting in: Left, these colourful bromeliads can trace their origins to the jungles of South and Central America, but they have adapted well to Thailand's climate.
Another fair is coming up next month when the annual agricultural fair, popularly known as Kaset Fair, is held at Kasetsart University's Bang Khen campus, starting on Jan 30.
If you are a beginner and looking for plants to grow, try bromeliads, known generally in Thai as sapparot see. Sturdy and easy to grow, they are some of the most beautiful plants. When we began our now sizeable collection in the 1970s, they were rare and a plant cost hundreds if not thousands of baht. These days, you can buy one for less than 100 baht.
Natives of South America, bromeliads were first described by French explorer Charles Plumier in his book, Plants of the Americas, published in 1693. The most common bromeliad is the pineapple, found by Christopher Columbus on the island of Guadaloupe in 1492. He brought it to Spain where, by the early 1500s, it was grown for its fruit for the consumption of royalty.
In 1555 the pineapple was imported into England, and before the end of the century it found its way to France, where it was grown in the gardens of Versailles. Judging from its name, Batavia, the former name of Jakarta, the pineapple grown in Thailand must have come through Indonesia, where it was introduced by the country's Dutch colonisers.
In his book, simply titled Bromeliads, American author Jack Kramer writes that most of the early bromeliads were classified as either Tillandsias or Bromelias. They were described by Carl Linneaus in his Species Plantarum, published in 1753, but it was French botanist Jean Henri Jaume Saint-Hillier who gave the plant family its official name, Bromeliaceae, in 1805.
Comprising 57 genera divided into three sub-families, bromeliads began to be used as indoor decorations in Europe in the 19th century, but it was the Belgians who popularised them as houseplants — with the Belgian government even sponsoring horticulturists and explorers in their search for unusual plants.
Delicate: Below, Guzmania and other bromeliads with soft, thin leaves require diffused light or semi-shade.
By 1864 England's Kew Gardens had more than 100 species in its collection, and the plant family gained increased recognition when German botanist Carl Mez published his book, Bromeliaceae, in 1935. It was at about this time that the late Mulford Foster, who popularised them in the US, started growing and hybridising them at his home in Orlando, Florida.
Florida is the source of many of the bromeliads grown in Thailand, although many can trace their origins to the jungles of South and Central America. The largest number of species are found in Brazil, where I saw them growing in profusion on tree branches in the forests as well as on uncleared land along newly built roads that my train passed during a trip to Curitiba, in the Brazilian state of Parana, years ago.
Tall trees in front of the Curitiba city hall were festooned with different types of bromeliads that were growing there naturally. Readers can envision what it is like if they are familiar with the sight of wild orchids and ferns growing on old trees in Khao Yai National Park and in Phuket town.
Hardier: Right, as a general rule, the stiffer and stouter the leaves, the more light is needed to bring out the true character of the plant.
What is remarkable about bromeliads is that they are easy to grow, even easier than our native orchids and ferns — and they easily adapt to Thailand's climate. One must, however, know the nature of each plant and cater to its needs accordingly.
Plants in the genera Vriesia, Guzmania and Nidularium, for example, are less tolerant to the sun than Aechmeas, Neoregelias and Billbergias, and must be put in diffused light. On the contrary, that dark pink Cryptanthus will soon turn green if it does not get enough sun.
Nature must have spent a lot of time designing bromeliads, which come in various forms and colours. Most have leaves that are banded, striped or dotted, and form star-like or vase-like rosettes so attractive in themselves that I regard the flowers, brilliant though they are, only as a bonus.
The beauty of the plants, however, depends on the amount of light they get. Sun-loving bromeliads can survive in shade and shade-loving bromeliads can live in fairly intense sunlight, but neither will be at its best. When a bromeliad you just acquired begins to fade and its leaves become elongated, that's a sign that it needs more light.
In the wild, bromeliads grow under diverse conditions. Some species cling on tree branches where they receive filtered light; others live in the shade on the forest floor or on sun-lit deserts and hillside slopes.
So how does one determine the amount of sun that each plant needs? Look at the leaves. Bromeliads with soft, thin leaves which form a rosette that can hold water like a vase usually are natives of the jungle and require diffused light or semi-shade. Those with spiny, thick or succulent leaves covered with whitish, greyish or fuzzy scales prefer bright light to full sunlight.
As a general rule, the stiffer and stouter the leaves, the more light is needed to bring out the true character of the plant.
Another thing to remember is that the more prominent the leaf bands or stripes, or the more colourful the foliage, the less light is needed. There are exceptions to this, however; an example is the Billbergia 'Fantasia', whose silvery spots will disappear if the light intensity is too low.
Just as the light requirements vary, the potting medium also depends on the type of plant, which we will discuss next issue. n
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Tasty: Below, the pineapple is the most common bromeliad.
