Bromeliads: The Ultimate Collector's Plants

If you have an addictive personality, proceed with caution with bromeliads. These (mostly) treetop-dwelling rainforest plants are the designer shoes of the plant kingdom — and there are almost 10,0000 species and cultivars available, with exotic flowers and foliage in every color imaginable. Patterns range from pinstripes to blotches, splatters, blushes and polka dots.

Everyone deserves to have at least one bromeliad on a windowsill or in a garden. Get ready, because you're about to get hooked.

Botanical names: There are at least 50 genera in the bromeliad family, with at least 3,000 species and 6,000 cultivars. The most popular genera are listed here.

Common names: Bromeliad, vase plant, foolproof plant, queen's tears, air plant and more

Where it will grow: Hardy to 15 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on species (USDA zones 8b to 11, depending on the species; find your zone)

Moisture requirement: Most bromeliads don't require much water, especially those with leathery and spiky leaves. Fill the "vases" of tank-type bromeliads (most are tank types and have watertight leaves) when they dry out. Tillandsias, which are in the bromeliad family, may need occasional misting in drier climates.

Light requirement: Varies. Generally speaking, plants with leathery or spiky leaves handle the sun better. Many can be grown in different lighting situations; shade-grown plants take on greener colors and arching forms, and sun-grown specimens form tight and colorful rosettes.

Mature size: Varies, depending on the cultivar. The "hanging mosses" of the South are actually clumps of tiny air plants, while the enormous Puya raimondii can reach over 30 feet tall.

Seasonal interest: Varies; most have attractive foliage year-round

When to plant: Year-round where hardy

Feeding: Feed bromeliads with a diluted orchid fertilizer or slow-release fertilizer. Highly colored and mottled specimens look best when fertilized sparingly.


Bromeliads have more benefits than just good looks. Vase types attach themselves to trees with their roots but absorb moisture and nutrients from the water collected in their "cups" of watertight leaves; they can be grown in containers, attached to branches or planted in the ground. Tillandsias are so adept at treetop life that they absorb moisture from the air, and terrestrial bromeliads are adapted to life in the desert (or swamp or jungle floor) and are equipped with wicked-looking spines. As you can see, bromeliads are pretty diverse.

Bromeliad shows seem a bit like art galleries, with each specimen more unique and wild than the last. No matter what your favorite color combination or pattern, there's a pretty good chance that there's a bromeliad with your name on it. There is a handful of species commonly sold as houseplants, but those are just the gateway drug to a trippy journey down the fractal arrangements of the bromeliad's overlapping leaves and blooms. It's as if each spike of flowers is its own colorful blown-glass Dale Chihuly installation.

Planting and designing with bromeliads couldn't be easier. Since most have limited root systems, they're relatively easy to dig up and relocate as needed, which is especially useful for growers who experience freezes in winter.


Where to Grow Bromeliads

In containers. The majority of readers will be happy to know that most bromeliads are perfectly suited to growing in containers. You can grow them as houseplants year-round or bring them outdoors in the warmer months.

Collectors swear by their favorite potting mixes, but most bromeliads aren't too picky as long as the soil doesn't stay too moist and the roots have room to breathe. Amending the soil with orchid bark or perlite will both add drainage and increase airflow around the roots.


In a sunny garden. Bromeliads that can handle the sun have brighter colors, heavier markings and tighter forms when grown in the sun. Choose specimens that have already been growing in direct sun when possible, and slowly transition shade-grown plants to the sun so that they don't burn. The best bromeliads for full sun typically have leathery leaves, such as Neoregelia and some Aechmea. In the tropics, where sunlight is more intense, partial sun under a canopy of tall trees is preferable to avoid burning.


In a shady garden. Most bromeliads will grow in the shade, but those that are grown for their colors (Neoregelia and some Billbergia, for example) will develop long and arching green leaves instead. The best bromeliads for a shade garden include Vriesea, Guzmania and other bromeliads with glossy green foliage.


Shade-grown bromeliads collect leaf litter in their cups, and while leaves do provide natural fertilizer, the cups should be cleaned out periodically to prevent vase rot. Try attaching bromeliads to tree trunks for a naturalistic look.


Popular Types of Bromeliads

Aechmea. You may have seen Silver vase plant (Aechmea fasciata, zones 10 to 11) before as a houseplant, with its powdery sage leaves and light pink inflorescence, but it's rather boring compared to stunners like the neon-blue and pink-flowered 'Blue Tango' (zones 9b to 11, or the massive orange Aechmea blanchetiana (zones 9b to 11) that are frequently used in tropical landscapes.

Some of the cold-hardiest bromeliads are Aechmeas too, including 'Blue Cone' (Aechmea cylindrata 'Blue Cone', zones 8b to 11, shown here), spiky Aechmea distichantha (zones 8b to 11) and matchstick plant (Aechmea gamosepala, zones 8b to 11).


Billbergia. The most popular Billbergia is known as queen's tears (Billbergia nutans, zones 8b to 11) but old and interesting hybrids have been grown throughout the coastal South and tropics for generations. Most are characterized by arching stems of pink bracts and dangling flowers emerging from narrow and tubular rosettes, and the effect is quite elegant.

'Hoelscheriana' (Billbergia 'Hoelscheriana, zones 8b to 11) is an old hybrid with upright tubular rosettes of rosy mottled leaves, and many of the other hybrids are quite similar. Another popular one is Billbergia pyramidalis (zones 9 to 11), which has wide and glossy green leaves with a puffball of pink flowers in fall. It blooms only for about a week or two each year, but many other bromeliads bloom only once every few years. Also, thanks to their narrow and upright forms, Billbergias are ideal for small spaces or adding a vertical element to mixed plantings.


Dyckia. Most of the bromeliads here are epiphytes, but Dyckias are terrestrial — that is, they grow exclusively on the ground. You can sometimes find them sold with succulents at the garden center, but they grow best with a little more moisture than most other succulents require. Grow Dyckia bromeliads in full sun, where they'll achieve their best colors and put out copious blooms on tall spikes, ranging from yellow to red.

One such colorful Dyckia is 'Cherry Coke' (Dyckia 'Cherry Coke', shown here, zones 8b to 11), which has become popular enough to make its way into the displays at some big-box retailers. 'Red Planet' (Dyckia 'Red Planet') is such a deep shade of red that it approaches black, and 'Brittle Star' (Dyckia 'Brittle Star', zones 9b to 11) is notable for its narrow black leaves with white spiny margins, giving it the appearance of a creature you might encounter in a tide pool.


Guzmania. There are some very good reasons that Guzmanias are among the most popular bromeliads sold as houseplants: They thrive in shade, have smooth and glossy leaves, and make for long-lasting flower displays. Due to their familiarity, they aren't necessarily the most exciting bromeliads available, but they are some of the most resilient ones available for indoors.

Most of the hybrids available at retailers and florists owe their lineage to Guzmania lingulata (zones 10 to 11), but there are a few more worth seeking out. Guzmania conifera (zones 10b to 11) is one such plant, and its intense orange flower spike is one of the brightest in the genus. Guzmania monostachia (zones 10 to 11) is an exquisitely beautiful plant; it's native to the cypress swamps of South Florida.


Neoregelia. This is where bromeliads get really interesting. Neoregelias like painted fingernail plant (Neoregelia spectabilis, zones 9 to 11), shown here, have "insignificant" flowers compared to most other bromeliads, but the tight rosettes of Neoregelias come in so many colors and patterns that you'll forget that the entire plant isn't a flower in its own right.

Blushing bromeliad (Neoregelia carolinae) is the most common type, with deep green leaves that blush to a fire-engine red in the center before flowering. There are also variegated forms of this and others that have white bands down the length of each leaf. Some have blotches and bands too, such as the fiercely spiky and appropriately named Hannibal Lector bromeliad (Neoregelia 'Hannibal Lector', zones 9 to 11) with its blood-red-spattered bands.

Apart from cool names ('Grumblebum' and 'Sexy Pink' to name a few ) and infinite colors, what makes this genus so fun to collect is that many of the plants are quite small and will easily fit on a windowsill, like little pieces of sculpture. 'Wild Tiger' and 'Fireball' are a good start for a budding collector.


Tillandsia. Most bromeliads can live in the treetops, but Tillandsias do it best, with specially adapted scales called trichomes that absorb water directly from the humid air.

The most famous Tillandsia is hanging moss (Tillandsia usneoides, zones 8 to 11), which drapes down from live oak trees in the southern United States. You may have grown air plant (Tillandsia ionatha, zones 9b to 11) on a refrigerator magnet before, but you'll find that it does much better with more sunlight and humidity. Large species like cardinal air plant (Tillandsia fasciculata, zones 9b to 11) and Tillandsia xerographica (zones 10 to 11) make outstanding focal points when mounted on trees at eye level.


Vriesea. Like Guzmanias, Vriesea bromeliads are ideal for growing indoors or in shady gardens, and some of the more leathery-leaved types will also do well in sun. They are also hardier to frost than the Guzmanias, and many will sail through a freeze with no damage.

Some Vriesea species have beautifully marked leaves, especially the deep green striated bands of Vriesea hieroglyphica (zones 9b to 11) or the pixelated cream and dark burgundy bands of Vriesea fosteriana 'Rubra' (zones 9b to 11).

Others are grown for their flowers rather than their foliage. Vriesea phillipo-coburgii (zones 9 to 11) and Vriecantarea 'Inferno' (zones 9 to 11) both have impressive tall red flower spikes with yellow blooms. The Vriesea sucrei hybrid (zones 9 to 11) shown here has a similar inflorescence but on a smaller scale.

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