Category Archives: Bromeliads

Regional sustainability

Cabbage Palm

There is a lot to read about sustainability these days, is it possible it is a local phenomena? It has to be. Given that the idea of sustainability is to save time, money and materials by using what is available locally – you have to find out what is around.

The LEED Initiative made popular by US Green Building Council (changing the way we think about building, they say) considers that any plant material grown within 500 miles of where you are building is locally sourced. I have to disagree with that 500 miles from where I am a greenhouse would be required to grow what grows outside here. I have learned a great number of new plants that I had never seen when I lived 500 miles north.

Florida may be different; but everywhere is different. Sunset Books made a great attempt to zonify America and came up with 36 named zones with added special zones for extreme climates?! The USDA seems to have 15 Zones. Who is right? Probably nobody.

So, I thought about what I can get here that is totally local and sustainable. Well, lots of things and these materials make my garden unique to my locale.

I can get great paving material from within 20 miles of my house, this is 3/8″ graded shell. Larger shell called white washed shell is available for more decorative uses.

 

Shell for surface of driveway

Shell for driveways, walkways, etc.

There is a place within walking distance of my house that makes stepping stones with shell in them:

Shell & Concrete Stepping Stone For Path to mailbox

Shell & Concrete Stepping Stones

Possibly a peculiarity of the area I live in; there are plant sales like garage sales almost every weekend. I rarely pay more than $5.00 for anything and talk about locally sourced. The downside to this is very few people know exactly what it is they are selling – its a Green Bromeliad. On the other hand, it is always a surprise when one of these treasures bloom. One of the joys of gardening.

The Mysterious Green Bromeliad

The Mysterious Green Bromeliad

Here is my latest purchase, a nice Chartruesy Green Bromeliad that supposedly takes full sun. That is the full extent of my knowledge, I can’t wait to see what it does. Gardening teaches patience.

Bromeliads in the Hood

Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss

I did my weekend garden touring at the McKee Botanical Garden in Port St Lucie, Florida. This is a surprising gem of a garden located on 20 acres in a suburban neighborhood setting. One of the interesting things about this garden, it is maintained almost exclusively by volunteers and  is beautiful. And they have lots of Bromeliads. I have no clue what that is above but Dr. Seuss almost certainly would have loved it.

McKee Botanical Garden

McKee Botanical Garden

This is an island in the driveway at the  McKee Botanical Garden, the tree is a ScrewPine underplanted with Blanchiata Bromeliads and Green Island Ficus. Pretty cool.

More Bromeliad pictures from my travels:

Burgundy Bromeliad

Burgundy Bromeliad

I have seen numerous Burgundy Bromeliads around here. Guess what, the foliage is Burgundy and people will tell you they need some sun. Some being the operative word. These are, as far as I am concerned, in nearly full shade and flowering. I have some slowly frying in my front yard, am going to move them.

 

This is a bromeliad currently blooming in my neighbor’s yard. I think it is a Quesnelia-please comment if you know? I keep calling these Quesadillas and it is making me crave Mexican food…

Quesnilla?

Quesnelia?

Tropical Ranch

I went on a mini garden tour yesterday to the Tropical Ranch Botanical Garden in nearby Stuart, Florida. This is a two acre garden owned by a local couple who are Master Gardeners; they live in the garden and open it every month or so.

The garden is beautifully maintained and available for events. Here are a few plants from my meander through the garden:

'Queen Emma' Crinum

This is a ‘Queen Emma’ Crinum – this plant is 5 or 6 feet tall.

Blanchietta Aechmea Bromeliad

Blanchetiana Aechmea Bromeliad

Another enormous tropical in bloom,  these are very popular around town and are available in Lemon, Orange and Raspberry. I am not sure which one this is but, I am guessing Lemon as the leaves have a yellow cast. The flower is almost 5 feet tall and out of this world. I have had these for a couple of years and mine refuse to bloom. One of the owners told me they used to have cows – maybe that is the secret.

 

Hala

Hala 

Hawaiians call this Hala, it is used for everything from hats to huts, not native to Florida it will grow here. Floridians tend to call this Screw Pine, not sure why, it seems odd – when I first heard the term I thought it was some weird tropical version of a Japanese Black Pine, not so. I have one in my garden, it is about 12″ tall, unlike this beauty.

And last but not least, another favorite, the Heliconia. I think it is some variety of Lobsterclaw. Another thing I am waiting for a flower from; I read the other day these shouldn’t be pruned or you cut the flowers off. That could be my problem – excessive pruning. But, the plant is seven feet tall. Gardening teaches patience, right?

Heliconia

Heliconia

Bromeliad update – Matchstick and Aechmea idon’tknowwhatitis

Pink Bromeliad

Pink Bromeliad

This is a close up of an Aechmea Bromeliad I bought two years ago. Totally pink and as weird looking as these things are sometimes. I used this in a an article that never got published. Being a cooperative plant it put out a pup and the mother plant died after hanging around for a while. I waited for the thing to bloom again and set in the ground in a relatively shady, sandy bed with some Bromeliad friends.

A month or so ago,  it started sending up a stalk -yes, it looked like a girl power corn cob.

Second Generation Pink Bromeliad

Second Generation Pink Bromeliad

I am calling this Aechmea idon’tknowwhatitis because the guy I bought it from did not know either. And there are a zillion of these things and from this I guess that they are not clones from the mother plant.

Here is a close up of the flower from Second Generation

Pink and Yellow Bromeliad

Pink and Yellow Bromeliad

Curiouser and curiouser, this flower just stays pink and yellow and has been around for a couple of weeks now.

An additional Bromeliad note, the Matchstick Bromeliads I planted in nearly full sun have all burned up with the exception of one that looks great. So, take the ‘this one likes the sun’ advice with a grain of salt and try a little shade.

The Sustainable Garden: Perennial Thoughts

I perennially have thoughts about flowers. In terms of sustainability I am not sure the native ones are always best. Many of the natives are simply weeds with attractive flowers or characteristics we like. I have a deep respect for Black Eyed Susan from a previous experience – as in being nearly overrun by them. I used to live in their native habitat and had bought some “improved” Goldstrum Variety and they bolted back to their native selves and then ran amok on a well drained sunny hill. A recipe for landscape disaster. As beautiful as they were in full bloom, it took a long time to get rid of the Black Eyed Susans. I could not cope with their joyful abundance anymore. So easy on the natives and seek those that do well in your climate without too much water and too much abundance. Easier to take care of and maintain.

In South Florida irrigation is a big deal. We have a rainy season and a dry season. While there are many native plants this is a tropical climate and some of them can go wild. I have found some escaped houseplants in my yard going wild. Mother in Laws tongues is an invasive species. Many plants commonly grown here will not survive without irrigation. I chose not to irrigate my entire yard to save water and to save my sanity. The areas in lawn and vegetables are irrigated; areas with lower water perennials are drip irrigated and I have some unirrigated low maintenance areas that I still want to plant with beautiful perennials. I am just looking at things a bit differently. So, I am paying close attention to who I am inviting to live in my garden.

Beach Sunflower

The Beach Sunflower from Wikipedia

I am about to plant some Beach Sunflower in an unirrigated portion of my garden, I live on a sand hill and these are native to our area – I believe if I planted them in an irrigated area I would be overrun in short order. So, it is time for some more garden experimentation. The Beach Sunflower is going to look great with the existing Blue Agave, Red Martin Bromeliad and Painted Fingernail Bromeliad. Eventually providing shade is a native Gumbo Limbo tree; if that doesn’t get you in the mood for a Margarita nothing will. All these plants are extremely drought tolerant and will survive without regular irrigation. The Gumbo Limbo and Beach Sunflower are native, the Blue Agave is from Mexico, and the Martin and Painted Fingernail Bromeliads are Neoregelia type Bromeliads that originated in South America.

Painted Fingernail Bromeliad

Painted Fingernail Bromeliad

 

Martin Bromeliad

Martin Bromeliad

Blue Agave

Blue Agave

It seems strange to me that Bromeliads, in my mind a rainforest plant, would thrive in the sun with little supplemental water, but they do. The Painted Fingernail Bromeliad is a passalong plant around here and I have seen large masses of it planted around mailboxes on the side of the road. A great example of a not native plant working in a sustainable way. The result of my selection of plant material is an evergreen perennial bed that blooms or provides year round color while being very drought tolerant and using very little fertilizer or maintenance.

Sustainability is about more than native plants – it is about selecting the right plants.

 

 

 

Miniata Bromeliad-Aechmea miniata

Miniata Bromeliad flowers

Flowers

These are currently blooming in my garden and have been for a week or so. The flowers look a bit like a panicle of red hots with a few touches of periwinkle blue. In the realm of Bromeliads, these are terrestrial, which means they root in the soil, and they have tanks, botanically speaking, the leaves form a rosette creating a reservoir in the center of the plant that holds water and traps various insects and debris feeding the bromeliad. The image below is looking down into the tank. The foliage has a nice grey green variation and is attractive year round.

 Foliage and Tank

The tanks are a bit of a maintenance chore sometimes because they trap more junk than you would think. I have some tongs to fish debris out and then I usually put some BT granules in to discourage any mosquitoes from hatching out.

The plant itself ends up about 18 x 18″ , so it is a nice size for addition to a shady perennial bed. These have reliably reproduced one or two pups per year, so not really invasive, but they are living among friends now.