I know that winter isn't technically over yet, but here in Florida during a La Nina winter, I'm 99.99 percent sure that at least I won't be dealing with any hard freezes. Besides, most of my bromeliads are pretty tough in the face of cold weather and have even endured last year's even colder winter..
I finally got out in the garden today, and am now covered in rashes and scratches from handling some of the spikier bromeliads. Worth it! This is just a small part of my collection, but you can take my word for it... they're fine. Earlier in the year I gathered up most of my bromeliads and grouped them all in a bed against the house for easy covering, but it would appear that many of them needed no protection whatsoever!
I left a few brommies outside: some of my aechmea gamosepala hybrids, aechmea distichantha, all of my bilbergias, and my 'red planet' dyckia. None were damaged, some are putting out pups, and my distichanthas are about to bloom!
I've honestly lost way more plants to vase rot than I have to freezes. Oh, and here's a neat little sidenote: I left some rooted rhipsalis cuttings outside... and they're doing great. I'm definitely planting some in the ground this year. Have any of you made any surprising discoveries in the realm of cold hardiness this winter?
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Hey, Steve. Lovely arrangement of broms with the ferns and (Chamaedorea?) palms; it's very inviting and lush. Aside from the vicious prickles, the other big problem with broms is skeeters. Do you tackle that issue? I try to throw some mosquito bits into the central cup after it's rained, but I don't know how effective it is.
ReplyDeleteMy gamosepalas look very good but my B. pyrimidalis have some damage, good thing new pups are shooting up from around them! Thanks to your blog Im trying a slew of new bromeliads out this year.
ReplyDeletevery lovely.
ReplyDeleteHey, check out my vertical gardening.
Thanks to you, I got inspired to do one experiment. Guess it doesn't look as good as yours but its something to start with.
Steve,
ReplyDeleteYour broms are all looking really good and you got pretty cold up there. The only broms I had damage on (and just the tops)were a few that were full out in the open. The rest of mine did great this year and even last year with that extended cold we had. They are tough plants!
Great news, Steve! I think they look fantastically healthy.
ReplyDeleteSteve, I've yet to find out what the damages from the winter are. My plants are under several inches of snow yet. Some are under 2-3 foot drifts! It's amazing that you can grow these in the ground. What different worlds we live in! Glad that yours made it just fine!
ReplyDeleteHi Steve...Glad to hear your broms weathered the winter well. Now, you can plant them to your heart's content.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely surprise. Your brom collection is indeed looking terrific and most definitely looking none the worse for the cold winter conditions.
ReplyDeleteYour plants seem to thrive no matter what you throw at them - I think they have become acclimatized.
ReplyDeleteBromeliads are the best...
ReplyDeleteSo glad to see your broms thriving through all the seasons. The B. pyramidalis and A. fasciata are my most cold tender. Even they do better if clumped together. Only the lonely seem to be badly affected. I'm going to be on the look-out for that variegated matchstick!
ReplyDeleteWell done! The only bromeliad that can survive here permanently planted out is Fascicularia bicolor ssp. canaliculata.
ReplyDeleteTerra:
ReplyDeleteYup, chamaedorea and lady palms! Oh, and as far as skeeters are concerned, The swamp behind the backyard makes those bromeliads look pretty insignificant! :)
m.krishna:
ReplyDeleteMy pyramidalis were luckily against the house and got no damage! I hear differeing reports on their hardiness: there are very old clumps here in Jacksonville, yet some people in south Florida report them to be 'tender'.
James:
ReplyDeleteI LOVED your vertical garden, and the birdsnest fern was a nice touch! Is it fastened securely? Looks like it could get heavy...
Meems:
ReplyDeleteI was planning on leaving them all unprotected and letting the tender ones be damned, but luckily my dad was kind enough to cover them in my absence. The neoregelias and nidulariums are proving to be tough, and my bilbergia "striata"s had no damage either!
Kylee:
ReplyDeleteThinking about all of my bromeliads buried in snow just made me die a little inside. :(
NanaK:
ReplyDeleteMy bilbergia pyramidalis striata was undamaged and left out in the open with nothing but a little leafless tabebuia for protection! The ta got hit, and the billbergias were unfazed.
Mark and Gaz:
ReplyDeleteHave you seen some of the Neomea hybrids? There is one... "strawberry" I think with bicolor as a parent. I hear its pretty cold hardy! Also, pinguin bromeliads are tough as hell.