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61. KRULIK, GERALD, INVISIBLE INFLUENCES, PUP TALK (Saddleback Valley Bromeliad Society), 16
(4), p. 4-5, April, 2009.


INVISIBLE INFLUENCES        
By Jerry Krulik

It is spring, and the thoughts of the young, or not so young, inevitably turn to baseball, of course.
But a close second is gardening. (Your 3rd, or maybe 1st guess, should be a year-round activity).
The early days of spring, after a cold and blustery winter, with temperatures below 40F on bad days
here in southern California, are very welcome. There are many obvious chores, from fertilizing,
repotting, and pruning bromeliads, to removing winter-killed plants, and weeding out unwanted
plants to make space for the new acquisitions.

Then there are the less inspiring chores. I know that there must be a Latinized phrase which
means “Re-doing the gravel pathways in your yard every 15 years, whether needed or not”, but it
slips my mind right now. I have been procrastinating for the past 2 years, though I proudly bought
many new rolls of black water permeable garden plastic long before any price increases.

As I bored (as in, bored to death) through the interminable shoals of pebbles, I was raking them
into piles preparatory to laying a new layer of plastic on the ground. I found that this was not as
easy a job as I had thought. The top layer of coarse gravel was easily raked aside. Underneath was
a more daunting challenge. It appeared that the whole of the gravel pathway was underlain by a
half inch thick layer of muddy silt in which the pebbles were firmly embedded. This layer had to be
carefully broken up and dislodged from the old plastic sheet so not to tear it too much, and to
allow the new plastic to lie smoothly on top.

I codgertated long and hard (the past-was-perfect tense used by older people; cogitated is used
by youngsters) on this matter. I had thought to find some soil, in odd places where pots were
dropped and broken, and at the edge of the cement patio where sweepings and run-off
accumulated. This was different. There was no way this very even layer could have accumulated
from watering or rain run-off. It was too uniform, and the barely visible soil beds around the paths
are choked with rocks, cacti, bulbs, and other plants. Maybe I have made a connection to
something familiar to bromeliad growers, at least those with outdoor collections such as ours.

I have been drenched often with the black stinky muck from the chalices (or tanks) of water-
holding bromeliads. I have never noticed much in the way of dead insects, rotting worms, or cat
collars, in this watery collation. I began to wonder as to the origin of this mess. Could there be a
connection with my silt layers on my walking paths?

Normally we speak as if ‘air plants’ such as many bromeliads, exist only on sunlight, air, water, and
the occasional boon of fertilizer. But if this is true, what is the source of the stink water? An
ethereal diet of only air and water should produce clear drinking water on the plants.

I remembered that after every fire, my cars are covered with caustic potassium-rich ash. I have to
wash them regularly to remove this very visible deposit. At other times the Santa Ana winds attack,
depositing thick layers of dust ten feet inside the house if the windows are not closed. Right now
my cars have a yellow tinge, and the joints in my cement driveway are half filled with yellow pine
pollen. Also, being only two miles from the ocean, even our fog and mist is a dilute solution of
seawater, containing salt, plus magnesium, sulfate, and other plant micronutrients.

As I slowly raked my away around the yard, I noticed that the leaves of the tank bromeliads had a
decidedly yellow cast from the deposited pine pollen. I had previously seen the ash and dust on
them too. I believe that such wind deposited material is the main source of the mucky deposits in
our bromeliads. There is evidently far more of this material than I suspected. I think that most of
the half inch of silt that has accumulated in 15 years on my gravel paths has come from just such
sources. These mostly invisible deposits accumulate with time and are a prime source of nutrients
for my plants. Terry fertilizes her bromeliads; I believe in the law of least effort for my plants.
These windy deposits would seem to justify my position at least in part.

What other invisible events might influence our gardens? You might think that you own your
landscape and are the master of it, unless of course you have a resident hummingbird. These cute
creatures are fearless and always seem to regard you as an interloper on their territory. Plus they
get up far earlier than I, and work in the heat of the day too. Few bromeliad or other flowers
escape their probing and cross pollination. I wonder why I have not yet seen hybrids of Vrieseas
and Pelargoniums, Aloe X Tillandsia, or Giant Bird of Paradise with Aechmeas. Of course there are
also many types and sizes of solitary bees, diurnal butterflies and nocturnal moths, honey bees,
wasps, bee flies, and regular flies, to wander through the blossoms.

Other birds flit freely through my little jungle, taking small insects, spiders, worms, caterpillars,
and other creatures, seeds, and fruits, in their brief and mostly unseen encounters. My yard
lizards dine on many things, as long as they are moving. Some wind-blown shorn tufts of my hair
were surprisingly appetizing looking to one lizard until he tasted them. Spiders, centipedes,
parasitic wasps, and predaceous insects jostle one another in our bromeliad jungle, searching out
tasty mealie bugs, ants, pill bugs, snails, millipedes, invisible eggs and tinier creatures. Many of
my tender plants get infested with mealie bugs and scale when grown indoors for the winter.
These pests magically disappear once the plants are returned outside.

Bigger creatures also do not respect my yard boundaries. Rabbits loved to graze many of my
choicest bulbs until I put up secure fencing in my yard. Ground squirrels and digging rats continue
to plague my yard and are hard to keep at bay. I dread the mornings when I find freshly excavated
holes in my yard, though I almost never see the pests. They evidently investigate almost
everywhere. I left a whole banana on the back glass patio table one night. Somehow the rats found
and enjoyed this choice item, maybe climbing the stucco walls of the house to get to it. Raccoons
knock over pots and chew succulent spineless plants, so I know when they decide to visit at night.
Ditto for the possums that also eat the snails and dig for grubs in soft soil. Birds often nest in our
hanging bromeliads, and the bromeliads appear to grow more enthusiastically with their detritus.

So unless you grow your plants in an absolutely sterile and closed-off greenhouse, I submit that
your plants are subject to far more interactions with the wider biosphere than you might imagine.
Whether you are there or absent, other living things use and affect your plants, for good or not,
day and night. Invisible influences are everywhere!

(If you have missed any ‘Ask Jerry’ or other articles, please visit my website at www.aecphotos.
com, to read all of them.)
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