My ACE Hardware has an excellent selection of odd sized pots and I know there is an ACE with a large garden section in Port Charlotte. It is on the corner of 776 and Biscayne.

gardenersdetective said:I've been experimenting for a year and have become Obsessed with Sun Bromeliads. I have some large Vietnamese ceramic planters and I want to put in shallow bowls then plant Sun bromeliads. Or a 16" plastic round shallow container or plastic 16" hanging baskets to drop a pot in a pot. I am having trouble finding a 16" size. I live in Punta Gorda, FL. Ok bromeliad addicts do you have any recommendations for me? Thanks

16 inch hanging baskets are pretty large, might be seasonal but Home Depot and Lowe's carry metal coco lined baskets of all sizes. Check Old Time Pottery also, there is always Amazon.

Esperanza said:

Yes, that's the place. This was ten or so years ago. I need to go check it out sometime. I have not been back since I worked there. Here is another brom piece I made. I would love to make another large one like this again some day for myself. It was really very heavy though. I had to attach it by a very heavy duty chain and wrap Spanish moss around it hide it.

Was this started with two round baskets put together into a ball shape ?

Esperanza said:

Yes, that's the place. This was ten or so years ago. I need to go check it out sometime. I have not been back since I worked there. Here is another brom piece I made. I would love to make another large one like this again some day for myself. It was really very heavy though. I had to attach it by a very heavy duty chain and wrap Spanish moss around it hide it.

Was this started with two round baskets put together into a ball shape ? Andyjohns

Wow, what a beautiful basket of broms,! I'm feeling inspired to make something like that when I get home. I have a nice big basket all ready, too.

I'm in Utah on grandma duty until the end of the month. Have to be in Northern Gardening mode for a couple more weeks.

I'm inspired too, I actually have a huge wire basket that was given me.
@Andyjohns to answer your question, it looks to me like it is one wire basket with several bromeliads planted into it.

Looks like there are three varieites. Probably five Neoregelias in the middle layer and at least seven on the bottom layer and three Vrieseas on top. Won't be an inexpensive project but it sure is striking.

I'm just thinking of combining a bunch of what is around my garden and see how it looks. I've never grown any of my broms in pots, they're all on the ground and have multiplied.

I do have a number of colorful things to choose from. Should be fun.

I wonder how often it needs water? My garden gets a good breeze normally and it can get downright windy. I am always afraid of hanging baskets back there because they need to be watered too often.

I'm betting they'd need water at least once a day, and possibly more than that. I have the same problem here with high winds drying things out quickly.

When I get home, my Vandas will be moved out of the cage, and set up to be misted daily in a sunny spot. I'm thinking maybe a brom basket could hang under them for some shade and get regular water that way.

Or it could hang in the mango tree, which also gets daily water when it's fruiting. Very deep shade in the tree, though.

I have quite a few bromeliads in hanging baskets, I mostly let the rain water them. At times like now when we are in a drought I give them a spritz with the hose. Some are in wire baskets with coco liners, some in orchid wood baskets, some in clay pots. Heck I have some that all the soil and orchid mix, and coco liner have disintegrated over time, and just roots of the plant are left, and they're still growing LOL. All mine hang under trees so they get filtered sun. The largest problem with the wind is they can really swing around sometimes, so hang them far enough from other branches that they don't get banged up.

Elaine, bet you can't wait to get home, hope grandma is doing okay.

I solve that "swinging" problem by wiring all the baskets together. They will still move some, but not nearly as freely if allowed to hang unconnected.

That's a good idea Ken, I have not used any baskets here because they would smack the tree trunks. Now I have to figure out how best to do that.

You can begin the wire at the tree trunk, spacing the wire according to the separation you want, and just continue doing this down the line of baskets/pots. Simple but effective.

Andyjohns said:

Was this started with two round baskets put together into a ball shape ?

Awesome!

I live in South Africa, on the coast of the Eastern Cape. And I am obsessed by and addicted to bromeliads and specifically neoregelias! Was thrilled to find this thread 😋

Welcome to NGA, @Jeanca.

Jeanca, feel free to post pictures of yours. We would love to see what varieties are available in your part of the world.

Hello Jeanca! Glad to see another brom addict here.

I'm tickled pink this week. We had a small tropical storm go by last week, and all my Billbergia variegata 'Kyoto' have jumped up with blooms. They're not quite fully open yet, but I couldn't walk by them them with my camera, they look so nice. Several clumps.