so I worked up a new bed today. I use a very rough mulch which contains lots of pieces of wood from branches and chips mixed up with dirt. I buy it for $15/yd and use it to build up my brom beds. They seem to love the loose woody mess I plant them in. I'm just spreading the pups around.
These are Billbergia pyramidalis and tomorrow I will continue to expand the bed to the left side of the tree. It's a lot of work and costs my a bit of sweat.