Soft-leaf Plant Discrimination

Right, so I was asked yesterday by a friend why I don’t write about “friendlier” Bromeliads, such as Tillandsias, Billbergia & Neoregelias.  This bothered me a bit because I love ALL Bromeliads!  I just haven’t had the best luck with these other Broms.  I’ve been experimenting with growing Tillandsias in the house in my master bathroom window and in my office window.  The side of the house that these windows face is North (not the usual recommended South, East or West).  I’ve mentioned before just how hot the Desert gets in the summer.  We also have a VERY HIGH UV index most days, even in December and January.  My Tilly’s seem to be thriving.  A lot of light comes through these windows. Probably because the sunlight bounces off our side-yard cinder block wall and gets directed and diffused towards the house.  Since they get a lot of light, I give them a good soaking in a kiddy-pool once a week (I put just a bit of Tillandsia food in the water–not much, just enough to soften the tap water a bit) and a light misting when I have the time.  The City of Desert Hot Springs has one of the best rated tap water in the country—for taste and clarity.  I guess my plants and I are lucky in that respect!

My T.Xerographica likes his Danish modern candle holder—good air flow!

I’ve since moved my Capitata Rubra outside to get the leaves to flush red.

This Rhodocephala was hanging in a slatted wood Orchid box till it got too long for it. Now he just hangs out in various positions in my office window.

Master-bathroom window “rainforest”

Hanging terrarium orbs for some of my Tilly’s (some have outgrown them already–guess I’ll have to get some smaller variety Tillandsias!)

Being a “Bromeliaholic”, I could easily have plants in every spot in my house!  But, alas, I share my living space with my Partner, who already thinks I’ve gone overboard collecting.  The back of our house faces West.  There is just a pair of french doors that let light into the house on that side.  Near that window I have an Ananas Comosus Variegata, an Aechmea Fasciata ‘Primera spineless’, and a Vriesea Splendens.  They seem to like the late afternoon sun spilling through the doors.

There is only one window facing South–the window over the sink (My BF has already claimed this window “Flora Non-grata!”) This house is actually pretty well designed for keeping the interior of the house cool.  Great for people comfort (and watching the Plasma TV during the day!) Not so great for Broms as a lot of light doesn’t come into the house.  Thats OK, though!  I actually prefer enjoying my plants outdoors.  That is the main reason I don’t focus too much on the house-plants.  My outdoor plants need very little attention.  Most are drought tolerant and can go 2 or 3 weeks in the summer without water—the exceptions being the Neoregelias and Billbergias.  Though VERY beautiful plants, I haven’t collected many because I get heartbroken when they fry or rot.  I haven’t been able to find much info on the net about how to care for them in the Desert.  So, I am “Beta-testing” a few varieties through the seasons before building a large collection of them.

Neoregelia Cruenta, Neoregelia “Hannibal Lector” and Billbergia Casablanca.

Other tank-type Broms I am also testing.  Achmeas and Porteas tucked under palms and amongst other tropical plants to help keep them from burning too badly!  Most aren’t looking so great because this was an extremely hot summer!!  As we get further into Autumn I’ll post some pics of these guys.

Aechmea Blanchiata tucked beside a White Bird of Paradise for a bit of shade!

I mentioned before about how some of my plants will SUPERSIZE with age…

One of my newly acquired Bromeliads is an offshoot from a gorgeous New Bigeneric genus: x Enchotia by Geoff Lawn.  It’s breeder is Ray Lemieux, an employee at Tropiflora Nursery in Sarasota, FL (one of my FAVE online Brom sources!)  He crossed Encholirium horridum with Hechtia rosea.

Don’t ask ME how they got a spineless hybrid out of these two “toothy” parents!!!  Like the Encholirium horridum, the xEnchotia is going to sprawl out given some time to mature.  I am VERY excited about it, as the plant itself looks very architectural in structure, like a Tillandsia Xerographica—with the recurving spineless leaves.  One of my favorite things about growing Bromeliads is waiting to see how the maturing plants grow & change with time, how they offshoot new pups and flush, blazing with color when they eventually go into bloom (sometimes not for many years–but, SOOOO worth waiting for!!)  😉

Photo of xEnchotia Mother plant provided by Tropiflora Nursery

My xEnchotia offshoot, freshly planted in pot w/ gravel and Orchid mix

Addressing my “Plant-Hoarding”

Today was a lovely day in the Desert.  Much less humidity than we have been experiencing for the last few weeks.  This summer has been the most humid that anyone I’ve spoken to out here can remember–I’ve lived here in the area since 2003, and it’s never been this bad. HOT & WET—NOT my favorite! 😦  It is always a welcomed blessing when we can turn on the evaporative cooler and turn off the VERY expensive forced air AC.  Plus, my indoor Tillandsias appreciate the added humidity from the swamp-cooler.

I recently had to take an objective look at my plant collecting (thanks to my Partner, for asking me to slow down a bit—Not to stop, just take some time to tend the plants we have in the garden now & see how they manage through the winter).  It IS a good idea!  Plus, many of the Terrestrial Bromeliads I have recently picked up will be HUGE in the next few years!!  If I get too compulsive about my need to have new, rare plants arriving every week—we MAY have to move to a home with more land!!   I may look into trying to buy dwarf varieties as well as smaller species & slow growers.

There are a lot of responsibilities here on our property.  We have a large in ground pool and spa.  An above ground portable spa and two large areas of grass for our dog.  My BF mows and edges the lawns, I’m responsible for the pool and spa maintenance.  Lately, I have been letting the pool get dirty and haven’t been doing the chemicals accurately because I’ve been spending lots of time online searching for my next ‘WOW’ Brom acquisition.  Right! So now that that is off my chest, I can move on with blogging about some of my fave plants and why I love them!

Hechtia epigyna close-up.  Bought plant from Dutch Vandervort many years ago.

First flower open – Puya Mirabilis

Puya Mirabilis in bloom

Puya Mirabilis throwing up flower stalk

Photos: Dyckia ‘Cherry Coke’

Rants, raves & pics of pain-inflicting plants to come!

Gardening in one of the hottest & arid climates in the Southern California Desert:
Specializing in rare and strange plants from far out Central & South American locales, this is the ongoing story of an obsessed “Bromeliad Hoarder” in Desert Hot Springs.

Here’s hoping more folks will be inspired to create unusual, exotic gardens in the hillside city on the north-western tip of the Coachella Valley!

My on-going fascination with fierce Flora…

My Bromelia Balansae currently in bloom

I’ve been growing and collecting plants for many years (more than I’d care to admit at this point in my Blog!!)  I was born in Honolulu, Hawaii & from a very young age was drawn to plants that looked harsh & evil but then would eventually produce the most flabbergasting colorful blooms!!  My parents and I lived in a small area called Ewa Beach.  Our little cul-de-sac was surrounded by dense wooded areas as well as commercial Sugar Cane & Pineapple (Ananas Cosmosus, a terrestrial Bromeliad belonging to the subfamily Bromelioideae, originating from Brazil.) fields.  My Mom was obsessed with Pineapple motif decor and I soon became intrigued with the Pineapple plant and wanted to know everything about it (Of course, this led to me DEMANDING that we take a tour of the Dole Pineapple Plant which bothered Mama, because ‘Only tourists do THAT!’).  Keep in mind, at this point in my life I was 6 years old.

Today, I live in the Southern California Desert—Desert Hot Springs, to be exact.  The summer months here can be pretty brutal, but the rest of the year is spot-on GORGEOUS!  We have sun here about 97% of the time, and I have found that you can grow almost anything here with the right micro-climates in your yard or indoors by bright windows.  I’ll try to stick with this blogging thing.  It is kind of new to me–I’ve only ever done 1 other private blog and that was basically just a photo sharing tool for myself and a friend of mine on the East Coast!  I decided to give this a ‘GO’ because I haven’t found many folks such as myself here in the Desert who are into collecting and growing Bromeliads.  When I lived in Los Angeles, I met MANY.  Perhaps it is due to the milder climate/higher humidity there.  When I relocated to Palm Springs in 2003, I sadly left many prized plants behind because they were so happy in their landscape spots in & under tall trees and rock gardens, I didn’t have the heart to dig them up or cut them down just to potentially fry them in the hot & dry desert climate.  It is a good thing, too—For the KEY to having your Tropical Broms thrive out here in 120° heat is microclimates.  Both houses I have lived in here in the Desert were on empty dirt lots with just pools when I bought them.  I had to do extensive landscape plantings in both cases to create the right environments for my collection of plants.  So, I brought with me my most desert geared plants: Terrestrial Bromelia, Dyckia, Deuterocohnias, Hechtia, Puyas—as well as Agaves, Aloes, Cacti, Cycads & Yuccas.  Sure, if you are in the Desert and have the time, $$$$ and space for climate-controlled Shadehouses, you can get right to it growing soft-leaved varieties of Bromeliads.  My next house, I would like to have a couple of shadehouses with irrigation, misters and rows and rows of Neos, Guzmanias, Vriesea and Cryptanthus.  I the meantime, I do what I can with what I have to work with!!

Stay Tuned!! 😉