Hi everyone, I am kind of new to bromeliads, but I would love to start using them in my gardens. I have had queens tears for years and a couple of aechemea in the past.
I am looking for suggestions on what types would thrive in a coastal garden. ( zone 8) It does freeze in the winter, ( although rarely below 25, so I am sure they would have to be taken inside )but what are the best varieties to use for color and in sunny or shady areas. Also, are any hardy and what are some of the best suppliers. I love these plants.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks a bunch,
Ibartoo

I've been taking my bromeliads in every winter, but I found this article on hardy broms. Some of them may be able to be planted outside and survive!
http://fcbs.org/articles/cold_...

Thank you so much, I have much to learn.

You're welcome. We can all learn so much here. I didn't own any bromeliads until I found the forum and saw all of the beautiful photos. Now I'm hooked!

I was given one years ago and had no clue what it was ( it turned out to be an aechmea).Then I inherited a pot of bilbergia from my grandmother and another variety of bilbergia from her sister. I was still clueless as to what they were. I actually just put the pot under some shrubs until I saw them bloom the first time. Since then I have loved them and now I have decided i need others.

Great article Karen!

Welcome to the forum Linda!
I have had Bromeliads out in the landscape for 20+ years. They have experienced some freezes over the years without damage under canopy.

Hi Linda, I just moved to FL from outside Beaufort so I was just a tad warmer than Pawleys. I always left my broms out year round and the only time I had trouble was that nasty ice/snow storm we had in January of '18. I did cover them with a blanket but the the snow did not melt for a week that time so I had lots of burnt tips but all lived! I have mostly Neoregelias and they look great mounted on Live Oaks if you have any around. However I did have an issue with squirrels or raccoons "removing" them from the branches. I also have some interesting Billbergias but, other than the Queen Tears, not all of them were hardy in SC.

A lot of us buy from Tropiflora, sign up to be a VIPP on their site and you will get an email each Monday morning with that week's specials. Other places I have ordered from are Bromeliad Paradise, Michael's Bromeliads and Vintage Green in HI, their shipping is actually quite reasonable. Surely others will chime in with suggestions.
https://tropiflora.com/
https://bromeliadparadise.com/
https://www.michaelsbromeliads...
http://tom-piergrossi.squaresp... (this is Vingtage Green Farms)

You will find many broms change color depending on their bloom period or the season/temp. I keep my phone handy and google plants - if they have a name - to see pictures of them so I have some idea of the colors and size. Have fun......

Welcome Linda, You're certainly in the right place to ask about bromeliads. I'm in zone 9b, many temps down as low as mid to upper 20's here, frost cloth over most is good enough protection. I do keep my most cherished in pots so I can bring them into protection.

Here is a good chart of cold sensitivity of bromelaids...hope it can help. I refer to it often when protecting mine from the cold temps. It is pretty accurate, I have many on the list.

http://fcbs.org/articles/cold_...

I have read that Neoregelia Sheba can take temps down to the mid 20s as long as you do not let frost settle on the leaves.
My Sheba beginning to blush grown under canopy.

Billbergia Pyramidalis that appears in the cold Hardy column on the chart puts on a great quick flower show in late summer.


And Billbergia Kyoto..

I agree Scott, both of those have survive upper 20's for several hours and nights in a row here in my garden, only protection was the overhead trees. Very cold hardy.

Thank you everyone! I can't wait to add some of these to my collection as well as learn more about them. Do each of the parent plants die after flowering? I don't have a lot of greenhouse space for the winter, so I will have to be very selective as to which varieties I can keep. I do grow lots of Epi's and Rhipsalidopsis, so usually by December greenhouse space becomes "prime real estate". I lost a lot of my plants due to the past 2 hurricanes and an ice storm, but I am slowly recovering my collection.

Hi Linda, I just got into bromeliads about 2 years ago. Most were purchased in bloom, and so far none of my parent plants have died. They will, but it must take quite a while. Each one is putting out multiple pups. I don't have much greenhouse space, but I take some of them into the house and let them winter by windows. It's still freezing here, so I can't wait to be able to get them outside for the summer.

Hi Linda, most bromeliads are monocarpic, so yes the mother plant will eventually die after blooming. But they will hopefully do offsets before they go.

Often they will contine to produce pups long after the mother pIant appears to be dead. I have tossed expired plants in the compost pile and come back to find pups forming on any remaining stem/root that might have been part of the plant I tossed. These bonus plants make good trading currency as they will grow almost anywhere so they do not need a lot of greenhouse shelf space.