One morning this week I read the coldest temperature seen during my tenure in South Florida. 37 degrees Fahrenheit or 2.7 Celsius. Brrr. The best time of year to move Bromeliads is between November and March, I rarely make all the changes during the proper time.
With the cool weather, it was a good time to don a sweatshirt and clear out the thorny Bromeliad beds. Asian Ferns have overrun the beds and require a bit of patience to pull out. I am usually wearing sandals and a tank and apprehensive about what is living in the jungle below, though the scariest thing so far has been a cockroach.
On the other side, the Zebrina groundcover has run amok, tumbling over the Bromeliads.
Things are looking better now and the plants have a bit more breathing room. I am eyeing a few to move to a sunnier place…need more cold weather.
I found some Bromeliad buds and blooms during the course of my clearing. This is a Quesnelia testudo, a tropical tulip substitute. It should flower in a few weeks, usually in February.
This is a Little Harv Aechmea bud. A very sharp (in both ways) plant – this will be a yellow and pink flower resembling a sea creature. I moved Little Harv away from nearby walkways as he has stabbed me more than once.
This is a Hallelujah Billbergia Bromeliad flower. A very funky thing, the foliage is purple spotted with white and green – and then, the flower… Hallelujah!
There! my Six for this Saturday. To see more – visit http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com
Happy Gardening.
The Shrub Queen 
I always like seeing your exotic Bromeliads. The ground cover looks a lot like Wandering Jew and hard to keep in control.
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Thanks, I am working through the tropical garden and will post more pictures. It is Wandering Jew, the hanging basket houseplant. I haave started composting it, will see if that works..
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I found that “houseplants” like the warm climate and have set too many free. I have found no way to kill some of them.
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You should see the snake plants.. yikes.
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The Bromeliad flower is striking. Like a blaring trumpet. The combination of crimson, white, and purple is fetching. I assume that you grow your bromeliads outdoors? My one attempt to grow bromiliads as house plants ended in root rot and tears.
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Thank you, Bromeliads fascinate me as they are well, weird! I ive in South Florida below the frost line. They are all outside in the ground growing in sugar sand with irrigation – the sand doesn’t hold water!
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Oh those bromeliads! How beautiful they are! I will have to check and see if they will grow in my garden! I always look forward to your posts! Weatherman says we may get a tad of SNOW! OMG!
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Thanks, I am in Zone 10..some will take 25 degree temps. Snow OMG!
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Exactly my thoughts ! I am zone 7 b
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Oh, Bromeliads = houseplants there. Frozen precip really freaks me out…
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Even here in Ireland there’s some snow forecast over the coming week. We just are not used to snow.
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Me too
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I’m always amazed to see our puny tropical houseplants when I visit places where they grow naturally and exuberantly. Wandering Jew has a lovely texture/color, but I bet it can take over fast. Is it easy to remove? I bet the ferns are a bit more of a challenge. While I like the look of bromeliads, I wonder if I could deal with their ‘teeth.’ I have few roses here because I hate dealing with the thorns!
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Well, the Wandering Jew is easy to get rid of..just mass quantity. The ferns are a curse, I fear. Bromeliads are not as bad as roses, though you need a sweatshirt to prune in comfort with some varieties. Amelia Grant Garden Designer and Author Blog address theshrubqueen.com
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Is Zebrina considered to be a weed, or are the other plants that it might overwhelm just as aggressive?
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Not sure..zebrina appears in moist places that are shady hot sun prevents it..
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Zebrina makes for such colourful ground cover! I’ve got it as a house plant, and in the summer it goes outdoors and does a good job covering the water but. That Bromeliad flower is absolutely fabulous.
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Thank you, I pull out bags of the Zebrina, and have just started trying to compost it..that may propagate it!
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Wonderful bromeliads and, as others have said, wonderful to see the zebrina ‘running wild’. I can see it’s a pest, but presume it’s easy to pull out?
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Thank you, the zebrina is very easy to grow and get rid of, I just pull it out and throw it away or throw it where I want it, all it asks is a little shade and water.
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