[GrowRR] Anyone got a Navia?

[Mttoptrekker at aol.com]

Hi Chris,
  Am also interested in Navias, having obtained a N. igneosicola from Michael 
Kiehl (Michael's Bromeliads) during the last world conferrence at St Pete. 
I'm not sure if he grows them on a regular basis, but you might contact him for 
further details.( see ad in BSI journal)
 Also you might try Eloise Beech ( see membership directory for e-mail 
address ) as I'm aware that 
Angel had gotten a N. arrida from her some time ago. ( she grows all sorts of 
neat unusual stuff) Also you may try Dutch Vandervoort ( 
dutch at buycycads.com). I'd contacted him about Ortophytum amoenum some time ago, & he'd mentioned 
that he had a couple of Navs & was waiting on pups. Unfortunatly he had'nt 
gotten back to me & did'nt elaborate as to which ones he was growing. Another 
source might be Tropiflora. They've offered some in the past, & if you get on 
their VIP list will be notified if any become available. If enough interest in 
them is generated, perhaps they might just import some from one of their numerous 
foreign contacts, like Enrique Graff or Pedro Glucksman in Caracas.
  As for my plant, it had Bloomed nicely here in southern Connecticut, in my 
summer shadehouse(60%) & had set seed which had been donated to the seed bank. 
Brought indoors under grow lights for winter it proceeded to set two pups & 
was returned to the shadehouse in summer ' 03 where the pups grew on, but 
had'nt matured enough to bloom.
 Whilst preparing their winter quarters, we'd experienced a freak cold snap & 
the temps plummeted one night to 35f. Having brought them indoors immediatly 
thereafter, they still aborted their leaves, which were promptly removed & 
their stems while remaining green, are only now showing signs of regeneration. 
This being said, I can only offer the warning that these are VERY cold sensitive 
& I would'nt recommend them for year round outdoor growing excepting those 
with the mildest of winters. Also as they naturally occur at middle & upper 
elevations, hot summers may also be a problem, though we don't get them here. In a 
brief conversation with Bruce Holst, he'd mentioned Selby Garden's plans to 
erect a "cool" house on some recently aquired property to showcase Navias & 
other high elevation broms like Lindmannias, Cottendorfias, etc., though I'm 
unsure if or how this is coming along.
 Hope all this has been of some help. Feel free to contact me if I can be of 
any further assistance, or if you get lucky finding any sources.
                                                                              
        All the Best,
                                                                    Kevin 
Becroft, aka- mttoptrekker at aol.com
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