Hello all and Happy 2026! I haven’t joined SOS in a while as it seemed there wasn’t very much of interest going on in the garden. Winter gardening in South Florida brings what everyone else knows as summer vegetables and cool season herbs. This is also the time of year for dividing bromeliad pups and moving orchids around. So, I have been doing all of that.
Winter is the dry season, so it has not rained in weeks. I am fortunate to have a lot of bromeliads and they only need to have their cups filled about every 10 days. Amazingly resilient plants. High temperatures are running 78F / 25C, the humidity is low and skies are deep blue with a magnificent range of clouds. The migratory birds are passing through, so it is wonderful spending time outdoors.
Winter also provides tropical fruit. This is the first hermaphrodite flower on the Nemesis Papaya I planted a couple of months ago. I am hoping for some fruit this year. Papayas produce male, female and hermaphrodite flowers that are self pollinating. Nemesis is a selected variety for that and I think the name reflects its resistance to nematodes. We have bad nematodes in Florida.
Billbergia bromeliads flower in winter. I think these are Billbergia amoena. Above are the rather impressive buds, I cut one of the flowers, they last a week in a vase and open with tiny cobalt blue flowers are the tips that look like curling ribbon.
Here is some of the wildlife passing through. This is a juvenile Red Shouldered Hawk. Hopefully looking for invasive lizards.
I have been harvesting Rangpur limes. These may not look like limes, but they are ripe. They are a cross between lemons and mandarin oranges. A sour orange, really, and used in cooking and baking. They make a delicious key lime pie.
More bromeliads in flower. These are ‘Candy’ Porteas. I think they are named after Good and Plenty licorice candy.
I use these as cut flowers, here is a closer view.
I believe I am over six pictures, so I will stop. Visit our host, Jim, at this link GardenRuminations to see more SOS posts.
The Shrub Queen 
Hopefully you have received the rain we have had the last two nights. I think the trees were happy to have the water. I’m sure your Rangpur limes are great in pies.
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Not a drop here, just fog in the mornings. I have seen those showers on radar. I think Wednesday is the next chance, fingers crossed. The Rangpurs have the most amazing floral zest. I like the pie with toasted coconut in the bottom.
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Sounds wonderfully tropical.
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Happy 2026 Amelia!
The last bromeliad is so pretty… are their flowers pollinated by hummingbirds?
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Hi Fred, Happy New Year to you. I am not sure what pollinates it. We get a few hummingbirds here, they go down the west coast of Florida. I may see three a year.
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Rangpur lime really is rad. I miss growing them. It will be quite a while before I am ready to grow another.
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The lime is soo thorny! I need to prune it. What did you do with the fruit?
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It was used like lemons. It is excellent for that, like a lemon with the flavor of a Mandarin orange. ‘Seville’ sour orange is nice also, but its tree is not as appealing.
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The bromeliad flowers are wonderfully dramatic. So colorful!
Your weather sounds perfect to me, I’m a bit envious!
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Thanks, Eliza. I think the flowers qualify as show stoppers. Give it 6 months I’ll be saying the same thing about the weather.
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You have more going on than I do. I always try to imagine a garden full of bromeliads.
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More and more of the garden goes to Bromeliads.. I’m moving them around and will post something when it’s done.
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The Limes look delicious, and your Bromeliads sure are bright and fascinating. That’s funny–I don’t think of Florida as dry, but I guess there’s a time and a season for various conditions.
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I can vouch from the chilly North that bromeliads have been foolproof as houseplants as well, but definitely not as happy as yours! I have a handful of calamondins this winter and seeing your limes I’m wondering if I could use them the same way. I’m sure a key lime pie can’t go wrong 😉 Enjoy the weather and being outside!
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