Let me try this <iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Urk8L11cK1c?hl=en&fs=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Nope. That doesn't work either. I guess a link to YouTube will: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

fred

and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

fred

You have a beautiful garden and some really beautiful plants Fred, thank you for sharing those videos. I loved the small bromeliads in the trees, and the large ones in the ground are spectacular.

I don't need to know the precise hybrid name, I'm just looking for enough information to grow it successfully. I will definitely take your advice and not experiment with mounting the mother plant. As for watering, I can keep water in the cup but I'm wondering if I should use reverse osmosis water, I have that kind of water available, as the well water and city water here are both very hard, very alkaline with a high PH. My second question is if this type, it's what you are calling a Neo I think, is OK with less light. Where I have it now it gets bright light for a few hours a day and what I would describe as medium to heavy shade the rest of the day. It is open above it with only screening but it is a narrow opening so only in the summer is there direct sunlight and that's mostly over until next year. I can give it more light if needed but I don't want to burn it. If I can do well with this one, I now have a source to buy more. I want to have some success first though.

I would guess that your climate in southern Florida is similar to mine, a little colder in the winter. Mainly, do you get the heavy tropical rains we get in the summer and if you do is it a problem for the broms not to rot or get too much water? Our rainy season would be pretty much over now except that we are going to get a lot of rain from hurricane Rina. I'm guessing your generator has something to do with hurricanes so you know how that goes

Thanks for the help, I'm enjoying this new adventure as I haven't really noticed bromeliads like these before, they are around but I wasn't paying attention. The ones I've had have been smaller, less showy and more like an air plant as they were all "found" plants that were growing in trees.

I would use the reverse osmosis water with an occasional dab of micro nutrients. Not much, as they really don't need fertilizer but the pure water is not helpful for orchids and a little help might be appropriate here too. The fertilizer question seems to be a back and forth argument among the experts but in nature all they get is what falls from the sky and they've done fine with that. I guess they thrive on the struggle to exist.

We have lots and lots of rain during the summer. The last hurrah was probably last week when we got about 6 inches. Now Rina is supposed to push some more rain our way but in general our dry season is about to start. I will water my broms about once a week during the winter months and we'll see what happens. And yes, my generator is to protect us from power outages caused by a storm. I have a koi pond which needs water movement and the pumps have to run 24/7. I also have a well which needs power to function. Since we've installed the generator we've never had to rely on it. Go figure.

As to light - Neoregelias are typical shade lovers. They just don't like direct sun but will be happy in bright light or dappled shade. There are exceptions to the rule of course. I have Neo cruentas which love the sun. I would suspect that Mexico has its share of sun lovers as it is not really rain forest territory unless one goes way to the south. The neos I have in the sun were carefully chosen for those spots but even then they need to adapt as the growers have everthing under some kind of shade cloth. Neo johannis also loves sun and gets to be quite huge.

Thanks for all the information, let's see how I do. As for the generator, I've thought about getting one but we really don't have many power outages and here in Merida, hurricanes are pretty rare too. Over at our condo on the coast, not so rare. I don't keep many plants over there and all of them are able to handle periodic droughts and then deluges and some salt air.

Here in Merida, we're considered a tropical desert or something like that. Intense rainy season with daily afternoon deluges followed by months of no rain at all. Not a rain forest, they are lovely but not all that pleasant to live in unless you like mold and mildew.

Jonna,
I just went out and looked for broms similar to yours. Take a look. It might be Neo. Tricolor Perfecta.

The first shot is the tricolor


and a bonus shot of some pups I've grown. They start out green and get red inside as they age.

That certainly looks like mine, the striping on mine is mostly on the edges but a couple of leaves have it in the center as well. We got a band of rain from Rina this afternoon so the cup is full with rainwater. It's blooming now, the blooms are small and a purple blue. I tried to get them in focus but... I need to work on that a little.

I was at Living Colors Garden Center in Ft. Lauderdale last week and the Aechmea blanchetiana stopped me in my tracks. Envy tropical zones that grow them as perennials in the landscape. What a bold statement they make. Never knew a bromeliad could get so big and spectacular.

AHHHHHHHHHHH, my favorite nursery, Susan. Let me know when you are coming again and if I'm home, we could meet. Maybe do lunch.

Nancy

Susan, that's gorgeous! Thanks for posting such a vividly colored brom.

Nancy thanks for the tip, I had a wonderful afternoon there, took lots of pix. I have a friend who collects talavera and they had a really cool manatee & parrot talavera...only in Florida would we find such things.

Just scored a beautiful Billbergia zebrina, about to bloom, with 4 pups, for $ 20

just wonderful, this thread is great, all your bromeliads look just perfect!

I'll add some of mine if I may

Neoregelia johannis 'Fairchild' x cruenta



Aechmea bromeliifolia 'Rubra'



Vriesea saundersii



Aechmea nudicaulis



Aechmea maculata

Stunning!

GoneTropical, do you keep your broms outside? That Neoregelia johannis 'Fairchild' x cruenta
should get to be a really big boy. The cruenta are very cold tolerant but I'm not sure about the johannis just yet. The ones I have got hit by the freeze and I don't know if they'll struggle and survive or die on me. Below is what frozen broms look like

PS I don't stop in here enough as not much is going on but I guess I should just keep on babbling to myself if nothing else. :-)

yes Fred, keep babbling, I love broms! Hubby and I are members of mybscf, and I really have to work on fighting my addiction

to answer your question, yes, I keep my bromeliads outside, but mainly in one bed and we build a hoop house over it with a space heater inside for this time of year. The Bromeliads planted in the different locations will just be replaced after the freeze since as you know broms are very prolific and do grow very fast, so I treat them basically as annuals.

I just took a walk through my brom beds. Other then the ones I showed in the picture which were open to the sky, they all seem to be OK. Maybe they have a delayed reaction to cold weather. I don't know but as far as I can see now they are fine. The cover of the trees must give them enough protection to survive just fine. It's my first winter with lots and lots of broms. The ones I had in the past couldn't have cared less about the cold. That is why I went bonkers with many, many more. But I still wonder how these tropicals put up with a freeze and simply shuck it off.

No frost damage visible on Neo. 'Wally Berg'


or here or anywhere under cover: Neo. 'Tarheel'

Good to hear Fred. Don't forget - last year we had a prolonged cold spell. This time it was just two nights. And an overhead canopy is your best protection against frost settling on the plants below.

I agree, you being in zone 10 AND having tree canopies, all should go well :)
but yes, last year's frost damage took a while to show up on my plants, about 10 days.