Same here, Scott. Mine are all under my big oak trees which do offer a little bit of frost protection.

I mostly only buy cold hardy bromeliads since we can have many hours and days dip in the 20's here in Central FL. I've never lost one, but have had damage to some of the leaves a few years back when we had some very cold winters. Most of mine are in the ground under oaks, some are hanging in baskets.

I've only had the one Cryptanthus overwinter and they were mild winters, my other three were just acquired since spring, so I'm not sure how cold hardy they are. I know I've left my Pink Starlight out last winter to 35 one night for a few hours and didn't faze it, but I did put it inside the next few cold nights to be safe.

My hoyas, and orchids go in my FL room, I've pushed some and lost some over the years, lessons learned the hard way.

My seemingly ever-blooming Billbergia pyramidalis 'Kyoto' is putting up a few more blooms this week.

Practically every one of my Billbergia Marbled Rainbow are beginning to bloom now. The first photo are what I am seeing now and the second is what they'll look like over the next couple of weeks.

Ooo, looking forward to that show, Ken. Take lots of pictures, and keep an eye on them because sometimes they come along very quickly if the weather's warm.

Mine all bloom twice a year, the Marbled Rainbows that is. These plants "pup" so easily. I just love them.

Mine seem to be kind of random, responding to changes in weather, and the tree canopy - light level - as well. I had a huge flush of blooms at the end of July, another few in September, and now this 5 or 6 blooms.

They also often bloom a few months after being divided if the pups are big.

Ken, Oh my, is so pretty! That's a new one to me and I love those mottled/spotted/marbled leaves as much as that bloom!!

I see we currently don't have even one photo in the database for that beauty; you should consider adding a few pics!

I will add some photos, Lin. I just assumed they were there.

Elaine, I never cease to be amazed how a certain variety of plant I have, and I could have dozens of plants, all bloom about the same time. How can the trigger(s) be so embedded in their DNA to cause every single one to bloom now (the Marbled Rainbow). Nature is so wonderful and mysterious at the same time.

I am getting a bit upset with my bils, none seem to be blooming. These are plants that have been in the same places for years and regularly bloomed before.

All of my are potted and for a couple of years, I kept some that were mounted too.

This is all I have left of the Marbled Rainbow plants. I had six until this afternoon, but a lady spied them and took one home. They all are about there, but need another few days to fully bloom. They all have pups too.

I was going to put in a few photos of the Marbled Rainbow, Lin, @plantladylin, but when I went to "Step Two", a statement came up that said the plant was already in the data base. I didn't know what to do.

Ken, go to this page and look on the left side of the page and click on Upload a Photo. It should work unless there's something going on site wide to disallow photos to be uploaded.

If you like really bright colors on your Bromeliad ...
Neo 'Groves Cotton Candy'

Holy cow, that one's got an eye in the middle, too. Spy plants!?

Scott, are you working for the CIA to spy on innocent gardeners?

LOL, it really does look like someone is peeking out. My broms are so full of acorns and oak leaves you can never see the middle.

Mine too, Alice. All that debris adds nutrients to the broms' urns, so that's a good thing.

Compost in situ????

[quote="Fred"]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 went and read this entire thread this morning while drinking my coffee and I think a forum for these remarkable plants is very much needed. I have read that the popularity of Bromeliads is growing fast.
Bromeliads have a lot going in their favor adding texture, color and are easy for even novice gardeners.
Grow great in the trees...





In the ground...



Potted...



Looks to be a type of Bromeliad for any use.