Andrew Devonshire
Andrew has been growing bromeliads, collecting bromeliads and hybridising bromeliads over the last 20 years. He has also been a member of the Bromeliad Society of New Zealand since 2002.
While alcantarea were the plants that introduced him to the world of bromeliads, it is neoregelia that have become his primary focus and he is best known for his mini to midi sized neoregelia hybrids.
Andrew’s hybridising programme is carried out at his home, a residential site on Aucklands North Shore. This approach requires a focus on space allocation and therefore the smaller sized neoregelia hybrids have proved to be ideal for this style of propagation.
Hamilton in the Waikato Region of New Zealand was Andrew’s place of birth in 1965, he moved to Auckland in 1972. Andrew has always had a fascination with plants and animals. He kept and bred axolotls (Mexican walking fish) from an early age, had a range of aviary birds including the NZ native parakeet (Kakariki) and was a member of the Avicultural Society of New Zealand.
Andrew also built up a large collection of tropical fish, native freshwater fish, native salt water fish and invertebrates. He was actively involved with the Auckland Fish keepers Association and a member of the North Shore Aquarium Society for many years.
Andrew is married to Delysse, he has three
daughters McKenzie, Taylor and Casey and a granddaughter, Kaia.