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Jul 12, 2011 12:45 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Fred Rump
Naples, Fl
enjoying what nature has to offer
Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Bromeliad Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge) Region: United States of America Tropicals
Ponds Orchids Region: Florida Ferns Enjoys or suffers cold winters
If you are interested in these plants please post here as the site admin would like to see interest before giving these plants their own forum. If there is not enough interest, well ...

I've had some broms in my garden for many years now but never gave them the attention they deserved. They were mainly prickly things that stuck you if not careful. This summer I've taken another look and started collecting these plants to landscape portions of my garden. I used debris from the hole dug to get a pool built as underlayment and then built this up some more with palm leaf mulch I had from the cleaning of 600+ palms on my property. On top of that went pine straw from my pines. The plants seem to love these elevated beds (so far I have 6 of them) and are thriving in the decaying mulch. I planted mainly pups from adult plants as the purchase of adult plants for the large area I was planning would have been prohibitively expensive. Bromeliads cost the same as orchids in adult size. My previous experience with these plants was not too good but I know now that I was drowning them. They need to live in an epiphetic environment where they get a chance to dry out. Only their cups always need water.

So far I've cataloged & photographed 54 different plants but I have many more to go as I planted about 400 bromeliads.

The picture shows a typical bed right after planting about a month ago. The second shot shows why there is an elevation during the tropical summers we have in South Florida

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I could show lots more photos but lets see if there is any interest at all.
Fred
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Jul 12, 2011 12:53 PM CST
Name: Jim Hawk
Odessa, Florida (Zone 9b)
Birds Master Gardener: Florida Hibiscus Greenhouse Charter ATP Member Garden Photography
Bromeliad Region: Florida Orchids Roses Tropicals Region: United States of America
Fred, yes, I'm interested. I have tons of broms as well. Your new beds look great!

I'm also interested in a thread on palms and cycads. I now have 27 different species of palms and 9 species of cycads growing on the property. There was no thread for them on cubits either.

Jim
"Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it." -- Steven Leacock
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Jul 12, 2011 1:19 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Fred Rump
Naples, Fl
enjoying what nature has to offer
Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Bromeliad Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge) Region: United States of America Tropicals
Ponds Orchids Region: Florida Ferns Enjoys or suffers cold winters
Jim,
I lost many of my palms. My royals barely survived and are just now coming out with some new and bigger fronds. All my Christmas palms died and some of the Foxtails also went down the tubes. The whole thing was pretty disgusting. If I didn't have my small baby palms under protection they all be gone too. I had some still in pots and moved them under a plastic shed where I had an electric heater for my phals.

Anyway, I'm over it and life will go on. We are all pushing nature to its limits by growing stuff that has no business being here.

I just hope my bromeliads will be OK under the trees if I protect them with a layer of frost cloth. At least they are readily protected being flat on the ground (most of them). It's not like trying to protect a palm or bush of some kind. My beaugainvillas all froze down to the bare wood stem. They are growing back nicely though. But how do you protect a giant beaugainvilla bush?

Here's a shot of a Protea 'Jungles' bromeliad that is just in bloom.
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Jul 12, 2011 2:33 PM CST
Name: Lin Vosbury
Sebastian, Florida (Zone 10a)

Region: Ukraine Region: United States of America Bird Bath, Fountain and Waterfall Region: Florida Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database!
Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Birds Butterflies Bee Lover Hummingbirder Container Gardener
I love the idea of a Bromeliad forum as well as a Palms/Cycads forum ... the more sharing of information on all plants is wonderful in my opinion.

Fred: Wow, your Bromeliad garden is absolutely gorgeous and that Protea bloom is really nice!

My sister and brother in law in Fort Lauderdale used to have some beautiful huge Brom's planted in their yard on both sides of the house. I loved those things and they ended up pulling them out and throwing them away! I would have loved to have one of them but at least I got a photo. This was taken in December 2009.

Aechmea blanchetiana:
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~ I'm an old gal who still loves playing in the dirt!
~ Playing in the dirt is my therapy ... and I'm in therapy a lot!


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Jul 12, 2011 5:22 PM CST
Name: Jim Hawk
Odessa, Florida (Zone 9b)
Birds Master Gardener: Florida Hibiscus Greenhouse Charter ATP Member Garden Photography
Bromeliad Region: Florida Orchids Roses Tropicals Region: United States of America
Fred, you are asking the wrong guy about protecting large beaugainvillas as mine is in the compost pile right beside yours. I do have another one however that is doing well and was not protected. It is called a thornless tree beaugainvilla and produces tons of purple, fragrant blooms. Let me repeat: grows like a tree, has minimal thorns, seems to be hardy and is fragrant. The only place I could find it was Logee's. It came in a tiny pot but three years later it stands about 6 feet tall. I recommend this plant.

Jim
"Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it." -- Steven Leacock
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Jul 12, 2011 5:51 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Fred Rump
Naples, Fl
enjoying what nature has to offer
Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Bromeliad Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge) Region: United States of America Tropicals
Ponds Orchids Region: Florida Ferns Enjoys or suffers cold winters
Jim, I actually didn't lose any beaugainvillas. Just many years worth of growth. Sad We cut all the dead branches down to the stems and they sprouted nicely from scratch. Just no flowers. I had several plants trained on a wire trellis and these exposed branches all died. New stuff is coming though. Should be OK next year for a nice bloom. I also have one trained across three palms and after we trimmed and wounded ourselves it's looking good again. This picture is past the major flowering I have better shots somewhere but you get the idea.


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Jul 12, 2011 6:02 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Fred Rump
Naples, Fl
enjoying what nature has to offer
Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Bromeliad Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge) Region: United States of America Tropicals
Ponds Orchids Region: Florida Ferns Enjoys or suffers cold winters
Linda, those Aechmea blanchetianas would cost a bundle to buy. I was just quoted 60 bucks for one but then a fellow FB user traded me two pups for two Bromelia balansae 'Variegata'. These balansae were growing in my shade garden and had long roots under the ground with four plants interconnected. So we each got two. These babies are like razor toothed wires and are used in the tropics as natural fences to keep animals on someone's property. I put mine in out of the way places but in the sun so they can bloom. I've never seen them bloom where they were. Here's a pic of Bromelia balansae 'Variegata'.


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Jul 12, 2011 6:16 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Fred Rump
Naples, Fl
enjoying what nature has to offer
Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Bromeliad Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge) Region: United States of America Tropicals
Ponds Orchids Region: Florida Ferns Enjoys or suffers cold winters
Under the heading of bromeliads - I was expecting a shipment today from http://www.michaelsbromeliads.... via USPS. They are in Venice and normal shipment should only take a day to Naples. I waited in vain until my wife went out to get the mail and there was that dreaded pink slip in the mailbox that a delivery confirmation signature was required. We have a gate with a call button that rings our phone and the UPS and FedX folks know how to press that thing, but not the good old USPS. They don't even try to get in. Been in the house all day waiting. Grrrrr.

Tomorrow I head to the PO to pick up my package and then I'm off to visit with Michael and Donna Kiehl at their nursery in Venice. I could have picked up my package directly. I'm looking for some special plants hybridized by Chester Skotak in Costa Rica. Just finished reading his book: 'Searching for Miss Fortuna' and since I'm in touch with him on FB I sort of feel I know him personally and want some of his creations. Here's one of his works which I'd love to own:


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Jul 12, 2011 6:44 PM CST
Name: Lin Vosbury
Sebastian, Florida (Zone 10a)

Region: Ukraine Region: United States of America Bird Bath, Fountain and Waterfall Region: Florida Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database!
Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Birds Butterflies Bee Lover Hummingbirder Container Gardener
Beautiful ... love all the colors in that one!
~ I'm an old gal who still loves playing in the dirt!
~ Playing in the dirt is my therapy ... and I'm in therapy a lot!


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Jul 12, 2011 7:53 PM CST
Name: Jim Hawk
Odessa, Florida (Zone 9b)
Birds Master Gardener: Florida Hibiscus Greenhouse Charter ATP Member Garden Photography
Bromeliad Region: Florida Orchids Roses Tropicals Region: United States of America
I have a blanchetiana greeting folks by the front door.

Jim

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"Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it." -- Steven Leacock
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Jul 12, 2011 8:15 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Fred Rump
Naples, Fl
enjoying what nature has to offer
Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Bromeliad Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge) Region: United States of America Tropicals
Ponds Orchids Region: Florida Ferns Enjoys or suffers cold winters
That's a healthy looking specimen plant Jim. Does it bloom for you and you get pups?
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Jul 12, 2011 8:24 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Fred Rump
Naples, Fl
enjoying what nature has to offer
Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Bromeliad Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge) Region: United States of America Tropicals
Ponds Orchids Region: Florida Ferns Enjoys or suffers cold winters
I have mostly Neoregelias. My bed design was to have these spread and build a carpet of color, a virtual kaleidoscope. It will take weeding and maintenance but that's what this is all about, right.
The colors will cover the rainbow. This is Neo. 'Scarlett Charlotte' and it is red.
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Jul 13, 2011 4:30 PM CST
Name: Sandi
Austin, Tx (Zone 8b)
Texas Gardening
Forum moderator Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Ideas: Master Level Plant Identifier Master Gardener: Texas
Region: Texas Tropicals Plumerias Ferns Greenhouse Garden Art
I'm really enjoying seeing all these bromeliads. They're just gorgeous. I have quite a few, but I think I've only ID'd about 5 of them. I just like 'em and don't care if they are properly named! Maybe one day... if I want to enter them in a plant show..I'll get serious about there names.
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Jul 13, 2011 5:33 PM CST
Name: Jim Hawk
Odessa, Florida (Zone 9b)
Birds Master Gardener: Florida Hibiscus Greenhouse Charter ATP Member Garden Photography
Bromeliad Region: Florida Orchids Roses Tropicals Region: United States of America
Yes, Fred, both blooms and pups. I throw a blanket over it during cold nights. Nice Neo.

Jim
"Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it." -- Steven Leacock
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Jul 13, 2011 6:45 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Fred Rump
Naples, Fl
enjoying what nature has to offer
Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Bromeliad Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge) Region: United States of America Tropicals
Ponds Orchids Region: Florida Ferns Enjoys or suffers cold winters
My wife and I drove 90 miles to Venice, FL today to buy more plants at Michael's Bromeliads. Isn't that what we do? I loaded some pics to my FB page. Don't know if that is visible from here: http://www.facebook.com/media/...

Try it. Here's my haul for the day.
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Jul 13, 2011 6:49 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Fred Rump
Naples, Fl
enjoying what nature has to offer
Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Bromeliad Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge) Region: United States of America Tropicals
Ponds Orchids Region: Florida Ferns Enjoys or suffers cold winters
Well, it's part of my haul anyway. Most of these plants are young and not showing their true colors. Prices for young plants range from 8 to 15 dollars. That's much better then the normal price for a fully grown plant. They'll grow up fine here. .
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Jul 13, 2011 7:14 PM CST
Name: Jim Hawk
Odessa, Florida (Zone 9b)
Birds Master Gardener: Florida Hibiscus Greenhouse Charter ATP Member Garden Photography
Bromeliad Region: Florida Orchids Roses Tropicals Region: United States of America
Great haul, Fred. Those are beauties.

Jim
"Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it." -- Steven Leacock
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Jul 14, 2011 9:25 AM CST
Name: Carol
Santa Ana, ca
Sunset zone 22, USDA zone 10 A.
Bookworm Charter ATP Member Region: California Hummingbirder Orchids Plant Identifier
Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge)
I agree Those are beauties! If I had more room, these would become a new obsession.
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Jul 14, 2011 9:44 AM CST
Name: Jim Hawk
Odessa, Florida (Zone 9b)
Birds Master Gardener: Florida Hibiscus Greenhouse Charter ATP Member Garden Photography
Bromeliad Region: Florida Orchids Roses Tropicals Region: United States of America
Here are a few bloomers but I'm not sure of the names:

Jim

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"Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it." -- Steven Leacock
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Jul 14, 2011 9:48 AM CST
Name: Jim Hawk
Odessa, Florida (Zone 9b)
Birds Master Gardener: Florida Hibiscus Greenhouse Charter ATP Member Garden Photography
Bromeliad Region: Florida Orchids Roses Tropicals Region: United States of America
Here is a look at the blanchetiana bloom.

Jim

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"Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it." -- Steven Leacock

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