Wow, being new to bromeliads, I never knew you could grow bromeliads onto to tree trunks. May I ask what that beautiful red bromeliad is on the bottom left hand side is. Thank's for showing the great picture!!

Hi Emery,

Yes, many Broms grow very well on trees, have a look at some of kerrys posts over the last month, she has turned trees into works of art, using bromeliads as her paints.

That red bromeliad is Neoregelia Morris Henry Hobbs. They do well growing in the tops of ponga, and will display their best colour when grown hard.

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Thank U for the information, I hope to find some Neoregelia Morris Henry Hobbs hopefully on the internet. I love the idea of planting bromeliads on trees and I will do so as well as I have about 4 dead trees from people poisioning them for valley views about a year ago. The trees were too expensive to remove, so half the stump are left and now I can brighten up my garden with the beautiful colours and add life into my garden as well. Once again thanks for showing the photos!!

Devo, what about some small neo's like Gorrion, lilliputiana, ampullacea, Punctate to brighten those 'tree trunks' up. Not much though. Just one or two per trunk and at different heights! They are beautiful as is, but could enhance the forresty feel if there's some else also growing on it. I do not know how your climate is, but a bird's nest fern looks stunning in that setting as well - but on top, not at the side.

Japie

I would guess that in Sydney you get enough summer rain and have high enough summer humidity that tree mounted bromeliads will actually attach roots to trunks and not suffer from too dry conditions. Here in northern coastal California, I find that tree mounted bromeliads really benefit from a supplemental misting irrigation system to keep them happy, otherwise they tend to get burnt leaf tips and fail to thrive. Of course, we don't get any summer rains typically from about mid May to mid October, so it is tough on bromeliads here without irrigation.

I find them even easier to grow as hanging basket plants suspended from tree branches, which allows me to plant them with some soil around the roots, and I even add a gravel filled margarine container within the soil basket to act as a reservoir for more water retention. I do much better with them planted in soil than just wired to trees, because we aren't humid enough or get enough rain year round here in the San Francisco Bay Area.

I would expect that in New Zealand's north island that the Alcantera's are going to thrive as you have planted them. Your garden looks like it never suffers much drought...

You are right Ponga is great for growing broms on. I use slabs of it to cover the walls in my terrarium. Broms root really well in it.
I am allways surprised how fast the roots grow when I plant one on fern root. Do you have that same experience?

When your Alcantarea's get to big just cut them off, plant them somewhere else an restart with a new pup.

I have a dead treefern stump in my garden that I'm taking out next summer to make a moveable brom trunk. So I nearly had the same idea, never thought about putting a big one on top, I'm stealing that. Thanks.

I like your cordyline's I think I have the same two species. My green one flowered this year which is pretty rare in my climate.

Sander

Devo, I love your alcantarea sculptures! Great idea, and I agree with your reasoning of success. As the alcantareas grow, the leaves should cascade below their base, and they will look like weird but wonderful miniature palms. I also really like the idea of them being portable, so they can be moved when desired. I also like Japie's suggestion of adding some small neos to the trunk - maybe on a couple, but leave some as is with the brom just on top? I find alcantareas like a fair bit of water in the warmer months, and those ones in the ponga hollows should retain moisture well.
Also, thanks so much for your kind words about my brom trees - the nicest description of my gardening style that I have ever had!....:) !!!!

Emery, if you look up the topic on previous page entitled "Extravaganza at Home", you will see many great photos of bromeliad gardens around the world, including some of my live bromeliad trees, and info on what I use to attach the broms. Those tree stumps sound ideal, as long as they are hard wood and have some texture to the bark for the roots to attach to. They (the stumps) will eventually rot, but you should have several years of epiphytic sculptures to enjoy. Sydney should be O.K. humidity-wise, but you will need to spray water/hose them maybe twice a week in dry, hot weather - water-restrictions allowing.
I have written an extensive article on growing bromeliads epiphytically in the sub-tropical home garden for the BSI Journal, May-June, 2003. I have it on my home computer, but don't know how to attach a word file on this forum. If anybody would like a copy, please send me your email address and I will happily send you one.

Cheers, Kerry.

Which Alcantarea is that, Andrew, and what is its mature size? I have a feeling they are eventually going to get very top-heavy unless, like your Neos, the spring weather forces them into bloom before they get huge. Could be an interesting experiment! Don't forget that water in the leaf bases will double or triple the weight of the plant. How are they anchored, or are they? You mentioned moving them around the garden, are they just leaning against something now?

Does the ponga break down over time? I used to volunteer in the bromeliad garden at Lyon Arboretum here and we used quite a few hapu'u (Hawaiian tree fern) trunks to mount bromeliads on. Nothing as big as an Alcantarea, though, mostly the little stoloniferous ones, as Japie suggests. Back in wet Manoa Valley epiphytic plantings grow easily, but the rainfall also causes the hapu'u logs to break down in a few years, or just get pulled over by the increasing weight of the plants growing on them. A live tree fern, on the other hand, is an idea epiphyte host, but then of course you don't have that hollow at the top to plant in.

I have used Alc Grace, odorata & regina, so they should not get as big as say imperialis would. I do expect that some may fall out of their mounts as they mature, but then I can employ Sander's suggestion, & just plant them somewhere else. At this stage, the ponga sections are wired onto a timber handrail. I will leave them there until they are established, then may consider moving a couple into the front garden....then I will have to work out how to anchor them into place...

The ponga I have used is Black ponga, which has a very tough outer layer. I would guess these have been in use as a fence for the last 15 or so years, & their outer layer still looks fine, so they should last at least another 5 years, giving me a nice display of "Alcantarea Palms"

Growing bromelaids on tree always fascinating me. Recently I have tried to put some excess Vriesea and Neoregelia on both live and dead tree fern trunk. But have no tree fern trunk big enough to put Alcantarea.

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