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Based on his experience with the Signal
Corps he was hired in 1954 as a “telephone maintainer” with
the Atlantic Coastline Railroad. Soon afterwards, Ernie
moved his family to Punta Gorda. It was the
responsibility of a "telephone maintainer" to keep the
telephones operating properly in the train depots. In the
beginning, Ernie’s territory covered train depots from Ft.
Meade to Naples and then later from Arcadia to Boca Grande.
In 1955, Ernie who was always
interested in plants; decided to start a nursery on his
property on Cooper and Myrtle Street. He first began growing Dracena Marginatas, then Ixoras, and eventually expanding to
annuals in his nursery. He then leased about an acre of land
from the Airport Authority and established a second location
for Bryant’s Nursery. It was at this second location where
he grew and sold poinsettias for many years as well as his
annuals and other exotic plants.
Ernie found himself facing
retirement in 1995. Not being a person who can sit still for very
long, he decided to invest his time in plant research. Ash
Robertson, a good friend of his gave Ernie his first Desert
Rose. Ernie was so intrigued that he chose to devote the
rest of his life to researching this beautiful and unusual
plant. Ernie has created hundreds of Desert Rose hybrids by
cutting, grafting, splicing and cross pollination. Today his
research facility, the Adenium Research Foundation,
include his office, laboratory, a seedling incubation area
and four greenhouses at 531 Myrtle Street.
The Desert Rose is a succulent member
of the Oleander family from Arabia and Africa.
The Desert Rose flower is usually made
up of five petals but at times may have six. The blossoms
vary widely in their shape – tubular, smooth, double blossom
and ruffled. The colors can be solid or variegated and are
traditionally pink, red and white. The leaves are a smooth,
single leaf type .The plant usually produces two elongated
seed pods but it is not uncommon to see a third pod develop
on Ernie’s plants. The pod will split upon maturity thereby
releasing their featherweight seeds in the air. Plants
raised from the same seed pod can actually produce entirely
different blossoms. In fact, “Pink Gift” produced a seed pod
that resulted in a different flower for every plant grown
from the mother plant.
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Ernie is a soft spoken, unassuming man
whose eyes sparkle beneath his bushy eyebrows whenever he
speaks about plants. His sense of humor will keep you on
your toes. He is very interested in rare and uncommon
plants; such as the Square Plant (Tibochina Granda Flora)
which has a purple blossom and actual square shape
stems. Another is the Wild Poinsettia which does
not resemble the typical red variety that we see
during the Christmas holiday season. The Wild
Poinsettia has soft large |
| orange thorns on the underside of
its long dark green leaves and a small purple
blossom. The seed pod actually forms on top of the
elongated leaves. |
One of his prize plants is the
Pachypodium Madagscar, a large specimen of the Oleander family.
Ernie had a magnificent collection of these prior to
Hurricane Charley and he is happy to report many of them
survived the storm.
Over the years, Ernie has become
something of an inventor born out of necessity. In order to
move plants from one area to another he took old lawnmowers
and mounted wooden platforms over the engine area and
created a sturdy movable cart. In 2000, Ernie developed a
Hydroflats Seedling Tray that enables him to plant the
hundreds of seeds he collects from his vast collection of
Desert Rose. His flats are designed to grow plants much
faster than normal open flats. The bottom of the Hydroflat
is enclosed which allows water to be held at the bottom of
these tiny pots. Roots grow out of the bottom of the pot in
total darkness which prevents the growth of algae. A
reservoir is provided to allow feeding soluble fertilizers
and systemic insecticides.
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Ernie designed a screened device that
slips over the seed pod on the Desert Rose plant to catch
the seeds before they fall to the ground. He has also
developed a unique way to cut or splice the stem of the
Desert Rose. In addition, he also designed a vertical seed
board that allows one to observe the seed as it begins to
grow.
Ernie has extensively experimented with
the base of the stem (caudex) of the Desert Rose. He
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| was able to determine that he could manipulate
the fibrous stems by twisting and tying them into
knots. The stems are smooth and a gray green in
color. Ernie removes a certain amount of soil in the
pot to raise and expose the root surface which
results in his Caudex enhancement. |
Ernie spends most of his waking moments
cultivating the Desert Rose. He has developed a beautiful
hybrid aptly named “Punta Gorda Beauty” which he will
introduce this year. He also has developed by cross
pollination, the “Red Ruffles” Desert Rose, which is the
only one in the world.
Ernie loves working with his plants and
only wishes he wouldn’t have to take time off…. even to
sleep. 
Adenium Research Foundation
E.W. Bryant
531 Myrtle Street
Punta Gorda, FL 33950
941-637-9553
www.fatplants.com
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