THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 12, 1995 TAG: 9503110047
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G13 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: WEEDER'S DIGEST
SOURCE: BY ROBERT STIFFLER, GARDENING COLUMNIST
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
THEY CALL HER Detective Thelma. An internationally recognized authority on bromeliads and begonias, Thelma O'Reilly gets clues and tracks down begonias all over the world to properly identify them.
O'Reilly, who was raised in Norfolk and now lives in San Diego County, says there are 1,200 named species, cultivars and hybrids. She has visited places as far-flung as Malaysia, Thailand, South America, the Netherlands, the Philippines and the Missouri Botanical Garden to identify new cultivars and give them identification numbers.
She also does identification for the Smithsonian in Washington, and, on those visits, she sometimes visits her brother and sister-in-law, Emil and Jo Serlich of Virginia Beach.
O'Reilly moved to San Diego 32 years ago after she married a Marine and traveled around the world with him. Now her La Mesa backyard is a glistening paradise of tropical plants, a lush, fragrant garden reminiscent of Hawaii.
From her patio, miniature varieties coyly peek out from their small pots while larger specimens line a sloped path like so many soldiers. In all, she has about 3,000 bromeliads, 1,500 begonias and a host of ferns.
It all began with a simple request - to preside over the installation of the first president of the newly founded San Diego Bromeliad Society.
Before that, O'Reilly had never seen a bromeliad. ``By the time I left the meeting, the group stuck a plant in my hands as a thank you for what I did - and I've been at it ever since,'' she said.
O'Reilly says she was always interested in plants but became involved in research and nomenclature when she volunteered with the American Begonia Society, soon after she settled in California.
O'Reilly says people often bring seed in from tropical countries and grow new begonias or bromeliads that lack identification. There are even such things, she says, as ``chameleon begonias'' - those that have the same roots but different blooms.
It saddens her to see so many species being wiped out in the rain forests. ``What's happening in Central South America is very sad,'' she said. ``The forests are being burned, and collectors are stripping the land of large bromeliads.''
In 1993, she presented a seminar to the Victorian Begonia Society in Australia and has been invited to be in Brisbane, Queensland, on April 15 to present another seminar on ``Bewitching Begonias.''
``I fell in love with Australia,'' she said. ``It has the most varied and wonderful plants in the world. And everyone has a love for flowers.''
That same year she was awarded a Sweepstakes at the World Bromeliad Conference for winning the top award in 24 of 25 classes.
O'Reilly recommends you read up on begonias and bromeliads before trying to grow them. Some need sun but want a cloud cover. If they need humidity, raise them on gravel. A lot of them grow best where there is water nearby.
She always puts a sprinkle of lime on the soil for begonias before planting. She says you can can use standard potting mixes available in garden centers, but she adds extra perlite to provide better drainage. O'Reilly uses plastic pots and says they work just as well as clay, but you must be careful not to overwater. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Thelma O'Reilly examines a ``Don Miller'' begonia in her garden.
by CNB