Bromeliads in my garden started putting up their colorful bracts in December and they just keep getting bigger and brighter. 
I'm growing them directly in the ground under the oak trees because they make an easy clustering ground cover. Unless they get frost damage. Which they did not this year... wait... I DID already say that.
Planting them under a tree with lots of big roots is easy. They need very little dirt to live in. Some of them can live completely without dirt. I'm experimenting with some of the epiphyte types that don't require any soil. (More on that in a later post).
The maintenance requirements for them are almost zero when placed in the right environment. In my experience they do well with well draining soil. Bromeliads multiply all on their own by making pups or offsets and spreading faster than you realize until you are reminded by a photo occasionally.
The vivid and exotic colors are eye-catching and, in this case, add some spice to the brightly lit edge of the shady areas.
I hope you are getting the most out of spring in your garden. I am in love with the Florida weather this week! Happy weekend... Meems
Beautiful effect, I tried this a couple of years ago in the UK.
ReplyDeleteThe result was spectacular in the shady areas. I must do this again this season.
Paul
Yes! I am a big fan of Bromeliads and there are some that are quite cold-hardy for me near Gainesville. I add to my collection every year at the Kanapaha Spring Garden Festival, where the local Bromeliad Society has had a booth the last two years...
ReplyDeleteLove all of your broms and now I'm itching to do something with some of mine after seeing your photos. They do need dividing.
ReplyDeleteWe've had a wonderful winter spring, and the weather this week has been perfect.
Have a great weekend ~ FlowerLady
I was just gifted about 100 bromeliads for my daughters garden and I am using them as ground cover.I hope they look half as good as yours next year.
ReplyDeleteThey are obviously growing in perfect conditions. They look fantastic. In our garden they are one of the few plants that will grow under palms because they don't mind the mass of roots and lack of soil they create.
ReplyDeleteAmazing! I am jealous! For me, it's an exotic plant.
ReplyDeleteI may plant some of those under my oak tree..how much care do they require? What would be some good companion plants with them?
ReplyDeletealso, does the standing water in them attract/breed mosquitoes? I love their tropical look.
You can't go wrong with Bromeliads in a Florida Garden.
ReplyDeleteI love them, they are slowly taking over my garden
You have some broms w/ really pretty blooms. I love all bromeliads and have many different patches of them under the oaks. Some w/ highly visible flowers like yours and some that just color-up in the center. They make a great ground cover in areas of big roots and not much soil. I have some I got from you that are doing well and multiplying in the front garden. :)
ReplyDeleteMy absolutely favorite shady groundcover!!! Gotta love the broms! My nephew just bought his first house, a 1960s fixer-upper, and situated right in the front yard is an enormous grandfather oak with nothin' but compacted dirt under most of its canopy. He asked his old aunt what on earth he should plant. Bromeliads, of course, I told him. We are gonna have sooooo much fun over there!!!
ReplyDeleteThey are just so gorgeous. You are lucky to have a climate that you can grow them. The ones in your garden have the brightest beautiful foliage. What eye catchers they are. Have a lovely weekend.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous color, Meems. Would they do as well under a deciduous tree?
ReplyDeleteThanks for helping me grow as a gardener.
You have some really pretty ones. I especially like the one with the long spike. I just re-did an area of the garden and needed some fillers, and whacked off a couple of pups and suddenly the area was filled in, just like magic!
ReplyDeleteHi Meems...It is amazing how everything is blooming so early this year...hope we get another mild winter next year. Broms are one of my favorite groundcovers, too.
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