Thursday, June 19, 2008

Bromeliads the perfect tropical plant

Over the years, I have become a big fan of Bromeliads and consider this plant perfect for the tropical gardener. Needing very little care, Bromeliads grow in most soil conditions as long as it is well drained with no pest problems.
The best part about Bromeliads, are the offshoots the mother plant produces before it dies, making sure the plant goes on living forever.
This past weekend I finished my second bed of Bromeliads in the front yard.
These Bromeliads were offshoots from mother plants of my garden, except for the one with the red flower that I purchased at the local nursery.
This is my first Bromeliad bed. It got me thinking about collecting these fascinating plants.
Here are some of the other Bromeliads I have around the garden.

This yellow Bromeliad has been with me for several years and every year it gives me this beautiful flower that last throughout the summer.

If you look closely, you can see the little blue flowers in the center of this one.
This is an older picture. These Bromeliads will not bloom until the end of the summer. The blooms last until Christmas.
I had this plant around the pond and every year I get a couple of flowers.

These are called Fireball Bromeliads. They are small but grow in bunches and are great for ground cover. It does not grow any flowers but when exposed to full sun, the color is magnificent!
This was a gift for my birthday. For now, it will beautify the inside of our house but later, it will take its place in the garden.
Lastly is this chocolate-colored plant, a gift from my dad's garden. It doesn't look like much in the picture but I assure you the color is stunning.
I want to buy more plants for my collection. I also need to buy a Bromeliad book so I can identify each one correctly. If anyone knows of a good book, please let me know.

6 comments:

My Little Family: said...

Wow! I am in such awe that I don't know what to say. Vickie

Meems said...

As you probably know already I am a huge fan of bromeliads even though I'm not great with the names of each of them. I have many of the kinds you have photographed here.

The one with the purple blooming berry thingies in the first photo will get really large- the plant will multiply quickly but the good thing is you can just keep dividing them and making more beds. There isn't a single thing I can say about them that I don't like AND there are so many sizes, shapes, colors, textures... can you tell I love them? I have them everywhere I need to fill spaces --I love them for ground covers.

I must see about getting some of the smaller variety you feature here... don't have any of those.

Cheryl said...

Hi Rusty....they are beautiful and I so envy you being able to grow them outside. Inside only for us. I love the look of the chocolate one......

Anonymous said...

Beautiful bromeliads.
Re a book....you can identify most bromeliads from the Florida Council of Bromeliads website. It has a huge number of pictures
http://www.fcbs.org/pictures.htm

Danielles Garden said...

i looooove your broms. The bright red one is the best and is displayed wonderfully.

Anonymous said...

These are beautifu. I enjoyed your pictures and comments. Do you have these plants in shade or do they get any full sun?