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Bromelia Contactgroep (BCG)
P/a Botanische Tuinen
Budapestlaan 17
3584 CD Utrecht

ABN-AMRO IBAN: NL66 ABNA0421855185 tel.030-253 9281

Newsletter 86 - November 2016

Report of the Autumn Meeting on Sunday, October 9, 2016.

The meeting took place at the big bromeliad nursery of the Cornelius Bak family in Assendelft and was attended by 41 members, including guests.

 

Fig. 1 & 2The meeting at Peter Bak's firm photos Roel Tomassen

1. Opening, announcements and correspondence.

After all participants had arrived and enjoyed coffee and goodies, all those present were welcomed by the Secretary, Roel Tomassen, and the Treasurer, Piet van Beest. Roel started off by thanking Peter Bak, the host and director of the nursery, for his hospitality and his help with this Autumn Meeting. He then announced that the Chairman, Eric Gouda, could not be present as he was obliged to attend an important sporting event. Jeroen v. d. Steen and Uwe Scharf had also written to make their excuses. Roel conveyed their greetings to the members.

 

Roel referred to the programme laid out in the invitation to the meeting (Newsletter 85): firstly,a house-keeping meeting (see the invitation for the agenda). Then Peter Bak would tell something of the history and current nature of this big firm. Then everyone would be able to enjoy the lunch our Group had provided. The tour of the firm would then begin.

 

There were three items of correspondence: a letter from the North-Holland North Orchid Society (Orchideeënvereniging Noord-Holland Noord) concerning our participation in their jubilee exhibition (see point 4 in the agenda), a letter from our member Jasper van den Driesche over developing a BCG account on Facebook (see point 5) and a memo from our chairman, Eric Gouda, about making a financial donation to the BSI fund (see point 7).

2. Report of the Spring Meeting in Utrecht on March 20, 2016.

There were no comments or criticisms, so the report (see Newsletter 84) was therefore approved. The Board hoped that the reports of meetings were still valued by the membership. As a small society we (unfortunately) are not able to maintain our own magazine but the reports give as complete a picture as possible of what topics were covered, how the meetings went, what was discussed and what was in the afternoon programme (lecture, journey to South or Central America). The reports are illustrated as attractively as possible with photographs taken during the meetings together with ones of various, interesting, flowering Bromeliad species.

3. The Treasurer's announcements

Piet says that a few members do not manage to pay the yearly dues of 5 euros in anything like good time. Members will be requested by email to transfer the money to the Dutch-Belgian Bromeliad Society. If this has not been done after a third reminder, the relevant membership will be considered to have ended on the first of July of that year.

Fig. 3 & 4 In the company's greenhouses photos Roel Tomassen

4. The Orchid exhibition at Intratuin in Heerhugowaard

The Orchid Society North-Holland North will be celebrating their Golden Jubilee in the big garden centre, Intratuin, in Heerhugowaard. As discussed at the previous Spring Meeting, our Group will be helping with this event. First of all, thanks are due to Peter Bak who is leading the setting up and decoration of the bromeliad stand with a variety of bromeliads. In addition, our members Ina and Ed Brinkkemper, Hans Willems, Gerard van Heusden and Piet van Beest will be contributing much appreciated assistance, in particular by manning the stand and by providing interested people with information. Piet displayed information flyers made for this occasion and for later promotion of our Group. These were designed and produced by our Chairman, Eric Gouda. A total of 2,500 were printed. Naturally the members could take one with them. Peter Bak took a number for the bromeliad stand. The exhibition ran from Friday October to Sunday 30 October, 2016, and was, of course, heartily recommended to our members.

5. Development of the BCG account on Facebook.

Jasper van den Driesche pointed out to the Board that it might be both useful and fun for us to open a Facebook account for the Bromelia Contact Group (BCG). There are already various Bromeliad-lovers on Facebook who are actively posting Bromeliad images, sharing experiences, asking for information about cultivation and determination, supplying information about coming events and so on. In short, there certainly seems to be a need. Jasper further explained some aspects to the meeting. Joining (registering) this Facebook account would require prior membership of the BCG. Jasper, after being invited to do so by the Board, offered to set up a - closed (!) - group account on Facebook. He would act as account manager. Members were invited to follow the developments on Facebook.

6. Settling the dates for the 2017 meetings.

The following dates were fixed: the Spring Meeting on Sunday the 19th of March 2017 and the Autumn Meeting on Sunday the 8th of October 2017.

Fig. 5 & 6 The huge production greenhouses photos Roel Tomassen

7. Donation to the Bromeliad Society International.

Eric Gouda, as Chairman of the Contact Group, has provided further written explanation of his proposal to donate 1,000 euros to the Bromeliad Society International (BSI). The BSI encourages young researchers, among others, to do studies on members of the Bromeliaceae. A fund was set up which was primarily given out via Selby Gardens. This was also used to support projects for the protection of vulnerable bromeliad groups, such as tillandsias, where a number were threatened by insects from the south of the US (Evil Weevil). Since the worldwide financial crisis, the yield from the money in the fund, that had previously been sufficient to finance the above projects, dropped to almost nothing. Furthermore, the BSI has many so-called 'Life Members' who paid off their membership with a single lump sum. This money no longer provides any yield. As a result, the BSI sees its capital rapidly decreasing. If the BSI manages to obtain guarantees for 25,000 dollars for the fund in the long run, a (generous) anonymous donor will double this amount to 50,000 dollars.

 

After having taken notice of the foregoing and then hearing from the Treasurer, Piet van Beest, that the finances of our Group would reasonably allow it, the members agreed with the proposal.

The members did advise the Board to press the BSI to abolish the option of 'Life membership'.

The members then warned that the financial reserves of our Group should be kept at a sufficiently high level to deal with possible, unexpected, (adverse) financial consequences. For example, some societies have heard that they will in future have to pay higher fees to rent premises for meetings.

8. Any other business and close

Cees Fransen announced that he wanted to dispose of much of the bromeliad-related literature he had collected over the years. He had put out the entire collection on one of the tables and any of the members who were interested were able to buy the books from him for an enthusiast's (low) price.

 

Jannes Munneke informed the members that he had various bromeliads at his nursery in Midwolda for which he had no room in his greenhouse and would therefore like to give away for free. These were plants with little attraction for the general public but that could be very interesting to the avid enthusiast. Anyone interested was to call Jannes on 0597 552531 for further information.

 

This ended the house-keeping meeting.

Corn. Bak bv.

 

Peter Bak described the origins and the further development of the great production and propagation company. At first the accent was on the Bromeliaceae but for some time the firm has been concentrating further on Medinilla (Melastomataceae), Dionaea (Droseraceae, carnivorous plants), Hydnophytum (Rubiaceae) and Syngonanthus (Eriocaulaceae). Among other things, Peter showed us a Hydnophytum (from Hydnon = truffle and Phytum = plant) which forms a tuber at the base of the stem. This plant from South-East Asia is an epiphyte and grows in symbiosis with ants. Peter also showed us a Syngonanthus chrysanthus ‘Mikado’ plant that drew a lot of attention. It was very attractive to look at with a coronet of small leaves from which a number of thin stems grew straight up, each crowned with a golden inflorescence.

Peter ended his story with a request to everyone not to touch any plant during the tour, let alone to pick one up! There were plants and cuttings of Tillandsia capitata and T. venusta for enthusiasts to take away with them.

 

Fig. 7 & 8 So colourful it reminds one of the bulb fields, photos Roel Tomassen

 

 

After this the members were invited to enjoy the well-chosen lunch, arranged by Piet van Beest assisted by Hans Willems and Gerard van Heusden, to all of whom many thanks! Peter Bak's guided tour of the firm was above all a delight for everyone. The circuit led past the propagation greenhouses where the plants described earlier develop from (tiny) plantlets, to then be transplanted and grown on to a particular size for dispatch. The selection greenhouses were a fantastic spectacle, mostly consisting of hundreds of flowering bromeliads. This was where the seeds were collected and where selective breeding took place. Here were also to be found various special botanical species, whose growth and inflorescence development were the subject of continuous monitoring and research. The circuit also traversed the Tillandsia gallery, a long covered corridor between two cultivation greenhouses with one side covered with very many epiphytic Tillandsia species growing on taut mesh. They were so arranged that varieties were easy to locate.

The tour ended in the cafeteria at about 3 pm., where the participants could enjoy a last cup of coffee. While handing him a personal surprise gift, Roel thanked Peter, on behalf of everyone for his hospitality, for his help with this successful day and, last but not least, for his enjoyable tour of this wonderful firm.

 

This brought the Autumn Meeting to an end. Roel thanked all the members, on his and Piet's behalf, for taking part in this meeting and wished them a safe journey home.

 

On behalf of the Board,

 

Eric Gouda, layout.
Roel Tomassen, report.

 

Translation: MaryRose Hoare