Bromeliads Galore

As mentioned in my last post, I attended a bromeliad show and sale last weekend.  It was held at Rainforest Flora, a tropical plants nursery in Torrance.  When I lived nearby I used to pop in there periodically, usually to buy gifts, but I haven't been by often since we moved out of the area 5 years ago.  I put the event on my calendar after Denise of A Growing Obsession posted about it but I still dragged my feet about the 30 minute drive and delayed my visit until mid-afternoon on Sunday, just a couple of hours before the show was scheduled to end.

Upon arrival, I popped into the first greenhouse which serves as Rainforest Flora's retail space to have a quick look around.

The official greeter was lying down on the job

The centerpiece of the greenhouse is a large water feature

The "rock" walls (they may be cement) are festooned with bromeliads  of various kinds and surrounded by tropical plants

Here's another hanging Tillandsia creation akin to those shown in my prior post

I spent some time checking out the wide variety of Tillandsias offered for sale.

Trays containing different varieties of Tillandsias were arrayed all along the walls throughout the greenhouse space

Here are a few examples:

Top row, left to right: Tillandsia brachycaulos, T. bulbosa 'Gigante', and T. capitata 'Marron'
Middle row: T. elongata, T. 'Issac Jouges', and T. segunda
Bottom row: T. tricolor, T. 'Upper Class', and T. xerographica

You can view the Tillandsia growing area from the retail area.

I used to think the plants on the lower level were also being grown for sale but now I wonder if they aren't used to heighten the humidity around the Tillandsias above

Next I headed toward the back of the property to the greenhouse housing the South Bay Bromeliad Associates' show and sale, passing an outdoor display of bromeliads and other tropical plants.

There was even an agave in the mix, with a huge bloom spike yet

As the back greenhouse space clearly serves as a shipping and receiving area, it wasn't a fancy setting for a show but the plant specimens made up for any omissions there.

The plants were organized by genus.  Aechmea is perhaps the genus that most often comes to mind when people mention bromeliads.

These Billbergia were far more ornamental than the sorry B. nutans I have, which is badly in need of thinning and only impressive when it blooms

I have a tendency to think of Dyckias as succulents, even though I know they're classified as bromeliads.  The 2 here are: D. 'Mary Ellen' and 'Tina Wallace'.

This is Guzmania sanguinea.  I've read that Guzmania is a common form of bromeliad but this is the first time I can recall seeing anything in this genus.

This may be my favorite Neoregelia ever.  It's N. punctitissima.

This is a hybrid Tillandsia: T. fasciculata x flabellata

Even Vriesea that lack fancy foliage often produce very fancy flowers.  This is V. 'Orange Gusher'.

And this was my very favorite at the show: x Neophytum 'Galactic Warrior'

After making the rounds of the show plants, I checked out the plants offered for sale by SBBA.  That's when the repercussions of my decision to delay my visit until Sunday afternoon became evident.  There were a lot of bare spaces that I'm guessing were filled with plants on Saturday when the show and sale opened.

I hadn't really planned on buying anything (please stop laughing!) but the show had whetted my appetite.  Bromeliads are pricey plants and although one woman commented that what was offered was a "steal," I still deliberated.  Here's a sample of what was available:

Clockwise from the upper left: A Vriesea I can't identify, Aechmea fantasia, Neoregelia 'Royal Burgundy', Orthophytum sp., a variety of Tillandsia mounted on driftwood, and V. hieroglyphica

But my absolute favorite was this one:

I stopped short when I saw this it.  It's Aechmea blanchetiana 'Orange'

However, my heart stopped when I saw the price tag.  It was just too pricey for me to justify but I did leave with 3 other plants.  I'd intended to show them here but, as this is already a long post, I'll cover my burgeoning bromeliad collection in next week's Foliage Follow-up post instead.


All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party