Join A Local Bromeliad Society:

Want to learn more about bromeliads? Where to get different varieties? How to best grow them? Join a local Bromeliad Society - a fellowship of growers and hobbyists. Societies sponsor sales events, promote Bromeliad growing, provide information thru workshops, lectures, and discussions. Members often offer formal and informal garden tours for their members.

Here is a link to the FCBS Members List for current local Florida contacts, meeting times and dates. Many societies also have a news letter.

Bromeliad Society International (BSI) has a world-wide listing of affiliated societies.

Upcoming Events

Bromeliads in the Florida Public Gardens - Where to see them

Bromeliads have been a part of Florida's Public Landscape for many years. They can be found as part of the displays at most of the large theme parks, zoo's, and pretty much anywhere they needed a tropical splash of color. The Best places to view them though are the Botanical Gardens - Many unique specimens have been donated and acquired at these facilities with full-time staffs and many, many volunteers. Some of our Bromeliad Societies meet at their respective local Gardens. And the Bromeliad Identification Center (BIC) is located at Marie Selby in Sarasota.

• Leu Gardens - Orlando - Bromeliad Society of Central Florida
• Mounts Botanical Garden - Palm Beach - Boca Raton Bromeliad Society
• Selby Botanical Gardens - Sarasota Bromeliad Society
• Fairchild Tropic Botanic Garden - Miami -  Bromeliad Society of South Florida
• Florida Botanical Gardens - Largo, FL

Speaking of Bromeliads in the landscape - I went to the 4th of July fireworks display in Cocoa, FL by the old town area and down by the waterfront. I was heartened to see various Neoregelia Hybrids gracing the public plantings on Brevard Avenue and at the Riverfront Park. They really do work well in our landscapes.

Bromeliad Related Topix:

Joining my first Bromeliad Society I was handed a check list of interests that were hobby related - everything from hybridizing to showing to plant tours was on this list - abut thirty items on this obviously thought out list. For me, after figuring out the "how to" grow a plant it could get pretty boring just watching it grow. Though there is indeed an art of doing this well that is not my particular current interest. Seeing how others do it, where they are from, who did what to produce a hybrid - now that tweaks my curiosity. I've added these other links or pages that may end up being developed into their own category but for now - here they are.

• Bromeliad Glossary
• Botanists and Field Collectors
• Eco-Regions
• Collection Tour - George & Irene Aldrich - Plants-N-Things
• Collection Tour - Dennis & Linda Cathcart - Tropiflora
• Evil Weevil
• Collecting Seed
• World Bromeliad Conference

Showing Plants

• BSI Schedule of Show Classes

Binomial Lists

• Aechmea with Sub-genus List
• Canistropsis
• Canistrum
• Neoregelia with Sub-genus List
• Nidularium
• Portea