Oooo, I love 'Gunpowder.' I just got an Neo. 'Aurora' offset in the mail today, it's a nice yellow gold color. I'll post a photo after it is potted.

Tropiflora frequently makes comments about growing a "hard" in their plant descriptions. I always assumed it meant infrequent watering and fertilizer.

Well thanks all, I kind of figured that is what it meant. I've never fertilized bromeliads, however I have one that was under an orchid an A. Perez and it started looking bad from the run off, I moved it and it is looking better now, could have been too much water also. I figure all the debris from my oaks give the plants enough fertilizer.

My vriesea Annie is already starting flowers, usually doesn't until mid Jan.

This is one of the Broms that came with the property many years ago and I have no clue of the name. This Neorgelia has mature leaves 24" long on average. This one gets hit with dappled sun through the canopy of the tree it grows upon. Any ideas on a name?

While out in the garden with camera I snapped a shot of Androlepis 'Skinneri'



This little guy was photogenic and wanted his photo taken...

Aw, he's so cute, Scott! You Floridians have such cute frogs and lizards.

We used to have so many little green frogs but I haven't seen one in years. This is an old photo from 2007.

Gee, I'm loving all these Brom photos ... makes me wish I could have a yard full of them! Scot, the one in your earlier post reminds me of


Love that Bromeliad (Androlepis skinneri) with that chubby little frog!

Love the pics of frogs, I haven't seen a green frog in my garden in years. I still have a few green anoles, and the one that came in my bromeliad back a couple months ago is still living in it.

Check out what I saw right here in my own neighborhood walking, I'm pretty sure it is Tillandsia utriculata. I walk this path all the time and never noticed them, they are up pretty high, four on different trees in a block radius. This one is the largest and a good two feet tall and foot wide. I'm going to keep an eye for it flowering and get a picture of it when it does.

That is so cool, Sherri! I would love to see the bloom. I'm new to Bromeliads, but am getting very interested. I only grow outside plants and it was too challenging when I lived in Austin. Now that I'm in zone 9a, I have more options! I've gotten two Bromeliads from my new garden, so I'm trying to learn about them.

Wow, that is amazing. I can't wait to see it blooming.

Happy New Year everyone

Yes, Happy New Year to all and Welcome, Sondra! You're going to love your bromeliads, they truly are the easiest care plants you can grow.

My first ever experience with them was when a friend gave me (literally!) a garbage bag full of them. I had to go away on a trip and just left them in the bag for . . probably a month. Then when I found them again I figured they were all dead and sort of threw them on the ground in the back of my shady border. They all grew beautifully, and I still have large clumps of them that bloom at least twice a year:

Billbergia pyramidalis 'Kyoto

Happy New year to everyone

Welcome Sondra, there are a lot of bromeliads that do well in zone 9a, I'm 9b, but pretty darn close to 9a border.
I believe I posted this link before, it is helpful on cold hardiness of bromeliads.
http://www.fcbs.org/articles/c...


Actually that Annie Vriesea I pictured was my first Bromeliad... gifted to me. Sort of the same story as you Elaine, when the plant was turning brown I figured it was a goner, but put it outside in the ground just to see if I could revive it. Two years later it gave me three beautiful flowers and I was hooked from that point on.

Yep, Sherri @sunkissed, that's the T. utriculata Linnaeus, aka "Giant Air Plant". I hope mine will bloom this year.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Lin, It reminds me of Neo spectabilis, and that has been my thinking.

Welcome Sondra! Many Bromeliads should do great for you in your area.

Thanks Ken for the positive ID. I did some research and they aren't very common anymore due to the Bromeliad Weevil. Another interesting tidbit is they don't pup like other bromeliads, they reproduce by seed only.

Humm, I am not so sure of that, Sherri. Perhaps my eyes deceive me, but I am almost certain that my Giant Air Plant has a pup. I cannot get any better photos than these to show it, but I am almost certain the two plants were connected (as a mother plant and pup) when I mounted them 16 mo. ago. But I am only going by what I see, not having researched this particular plant. By the way, the large plant is around 20"x20"

Here is a excellent one for shade locations Billbergia 'Fosters Striate'. This is a fast growing Bromeliad and it comes into flowering a couple of times a year.







Will grow in full sun locations but looks a little ratty.

Multiplies fast!

Oooh, very nice!

Ken, I believe that is a pup. One of the four I see when hiking looks to have a pup also, at least it has another smaller plant right under it.

I did find this: https://www.researchgate.net/p...
If I'm understanding it correctlly the T. utriculata can produce offshoots, but mostly spreads by seeds. So I guess you got a pup producer
Anyhow it is quite an outstanding Tillandsia, and you have a very nice specimen. I would love to see photos of it as it continues to grow and flower.

I'm wondering if this plant I found on the ground right after the hurricane this past October may be a T. utriculata now? I found it right around the same area as all these plants, it is about five inches wide.

Sherri, I don't know much about the "Giant Air Plant", having my plants only because I wanted to collect all the varieties native to Florida. I now have 10 varieties. But in my opinion, you probably have the T. utriculata linnaeus. It is interesting that research seems to indicate that this bromeliad can reproduce via pups or via seeds, but not both. I don't have a clue how old a plant must be or how large a plant must be to flower.