Any Bromeliad growers?

[Paul Mc]

I just got about 10 or so starts from a family friend in Florida, yet while I have 5 already, I don't know much about them.

Also, I have a "hair brained" idea for growing/displaying them, but would like to see if anyone knowledgable with them is here to see if they think it might work and what considerations for culture I might have. If anyone here knows much, I will post a pic of the kind of project I am thinking of and the bromeliads I now have to see what considerations go into it

Thanks!


Paul McMahon
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[littlefrog]

I have at least 400... Need some more? *grin*

Rob

[MrHappyRotter]

Definitely post pics so we know what kind you've got. The bromeliad family has a lot of variety...some grow big, some stay small. Some are terrestrial, others are epiphytic. Even light requirements can be pretty variable in terms of what certain plants prefer.

I don't have tons of them, but I do love them. I also don't have anywhere near the knowledge of broms as I do with orchids, so I don't know many of the names other than I know the genus. Mostly I've got tillandsias. Mine are all small growing varieties so I can tuck them in amongst the other plants. I've also got some cryptanthus, a billbergia, some dykias and a couple of neos.

Everything gets paph/phal level light, except the dykias which get high light so they keep their dark, reddish leaf color.

[Paul Mc]

Interesting, I didn't know they could be terrestrial as well. In fact, all of these were planted in the ground when he picked then so perhaps my idea won't work after all.

Here are pics of the 5 I own, 2 are duplicates.




Here are the 11 new ones:







Here is what I was hoping to do with them:



Paul McMahon
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[MrsSky]

I love the brom tree too. Maybe you could do a small mount to see how it works for your location and the plants you have now.
I recently picked up Canistrum triangular and Neoregelia ( x ) 'Caviar'. I haven't researched their care yet.
Good luck with the "tree" and please post pics if you do a mount.

[Ferns Daddy]

I like the brom tree, but I don't have the room to put some thing that big. I have around 30 brom right now, this spring I want to mount a few to see how they do. most of them don't mind spending they winter under light in my basement.

[Paul Mc]

Thanks MrsSky!

Fern, we will see what happens.

Given that someone commented on the fact that some are epiphytic and others terrestrial, I am thinking about putting then in pots and building a tree potting station for them. We'll see, lol...


Paul McMahon
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[littlefrog]

From a quick perusal of the pictures, you don't have anything that is strictly epiphytic or terrestrial. Most bromeliad genera (in my experience) will do well either mounted or in pots in what would seem to an orchid grower to be a very dense mix... In other words, they are very adaptable. Tillandsia are the major exception, I wouldn't grow those in a pot. Cryptanthus are reputed to be hard to grow on mounts, I've really not had that experience but I might keep those mounts wetter than the others.

I prefer to mount my bromeliads (on cork or whatever, really), using a small amount of sphagnum moss around the stolon. No more than a golf ball's worth. But I grow a lot in pots too. One thing that growing on mounts gets you is that the plants will stay more compact. No matter how little you fertilize (and as orchid growers we don't fertilize a lot, right?), it seems that in pots they just get way too much nutrition. I've been told by my local bromeliad specialist growers that I grow plants on steroids... This isn't really good, you want them to stay compact, they grow too damn fast as it is.

If anybody really wants to try, I can get you as many as you want, far cheaper than you expect... Winter is coming, as the Starks might say. Really, as many as you want... If you want more than I have, you aren't right in the head.

[Paul Mc]

LOL, Littlefrog! You made me chuckle a few times!

Thanks for your insight. I am actually considering an alternative to the original tree idea since finding a suitable "tree" will be tough in the Midwest. I am considering getting a tall metal frame that holds multiple pots and use that in place of the wood inside a large base pot where I would plant a few of the larger ones. We shall see though.

In the meanwhile, Winter is indeed coming, so I must pot them up today and get them inside before the frost hits this weekend. YIKES!


Paul McMahon
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