You don't have to put the roots into the ground at all, actually. YOu can just lay them on the ground, and they'll find a way to root into the ground. I had some large broms I put into a large terracotta pot with no soil just to hold them up. They actually rooted to the inside of the pot, and when I moved, I had to leave them and the pot behind because I couldn't get them out of it without tearing my arms up from the thorns.

Ah OK Thanks!

so if they don't need to have the roots buried into the ground, then I need to just find a way to stabilize them, such as taking a plastic pot and cut them into "rings" say 4" tall, put them where I want them, sit the bromelaid into the middle of the ring then just gently fill some loose soil into the ring to help stabilize it?

Also, I kept reading once they bloom the mother bromelaid dies off. So now that I have divided these plants does it mean the original mother plant will die out if they have already bloomed or are in the middle of a bloom? Should I plant only the large pups and not the mother plants if they are going to die out quickly?

Yes, just stabilize it. I've been known to put stones around them to hold them in place. I don't feel like four inches of pot is going to be enough to keep those upright without stones or something heavy around them, but you can try.

The original mother plant, since it's been separated from its babies, may make one last ditch effort to put out pups. I've gotten a lot of beautiful broms by taking home the dead mothers of plants I worked on at a garden center where I used to work. The larger brom mothers take a long, long time to die out, so I wouldn't worry about it. Just put it wherever you want to. My Aechmea blanchettiana mother never did die out. They all just kept on putting out more pups. That's the one that grew into the terracotta pot. The large ones act differently than the smaller ones. They won't ever bloom again, though.

Hi everyone.

Dirty gardener - In my response above I forgot to answer your question about what you should plant in those four concrete blocks instead of the bromeliads.

I would suggest that because your bromeliads grew so well, that you stick to bromeliads but just grow a smaller type such as miniature Neoregelias. Although these aren't grown for their flowers they do look spectacular with their multi coloured foliage which give colour for much longer than flowers. To give an example, some are shown in the pictures below which are all about six inches in diameter.

Neoregelia 'Bevvie Bee'

Neoregelia 'Break of Day' (About six inches in diameter)

Neoregelia 'Flirtation'

Neoregelia 'Africa' x 'Gold Fever

Neoregelia 'Domino'

Neoregelia '24 Carat'

Neoregelia 'Fanfare'

Neoregelia 'Donga'

Neoregelia 'Kiwi Kamelot'

Neoregelia 'Small World'

I hope this helps in some way.

All the best, Nev.

splinter1804, thank you for the comments and suggestions.

"Your plants look very well grown and the fact that they flowered
indicates that the growing conditions you created are to their liking."

I originally planted four of these, one in each concrete block. I noticed the one receiving the most shade grew the biggest and produced the most pulps. So it must like shade more then light.

I also noticed when I first potted them (3rd picture of post #1), the bromelaids were red/burgundy. Now they are mostly green. I wonder if this is due to age or whether the color change was from a change in environment.

I came to realize, that my putting them inside these 16x16 concrete blocks, I was actually doing what dirtygardener said, put them "on the ground" but "supported". The concrete blocks supported the plants on all sides and kept it from having wet feet. Although I did that not because I knew better, I did that to make them look better LOL.

I am not sure if all the plants (old and newly divided) can be planted around the tree and be supported to stand up. I will try it next weekend and report back. I hope it will work, if not then I might have to look for some rocks and stones, or pots to help.

Hi everyone.

Miami Cuse - You say, "I am not sure if all the plants (old and newly divided) can be planted around the tree and be supported to stand up." The thing is, if this is the case, have you thought about mounting some of the pups on the tree itself?

The main thing to remember is to tie them directly on the tree so the heel of the pup (where the roots come out) is in direct contact with the tree itself. Don't put any potting mix or sphagnum moss between the pup and the tree or the roots will grow preferentially into this and not onto the tree itself.

Most importantly, the pup must be tied firmly so it cannot move. If it can move, new roots will continually keep breaking off and won't attach to the tree. It can be attached to the tree using old stockings or cable ties, but it MUST BE TIED FIRMLY.

The other thing to remember is that plants mounted on trees will dry out much quicker than those in pots and so will require more regular watering. Because they dry out almost immediately, they can be watered every day without any harm to the plant.

Some years ago I planted a pup of Aechmea fasciata in the fork of an old Peppercorn Tree in my back yard, it has since grown into a large plant which flowers regularly every year and couldn't be happier.

Aechmea fasciata growing in Peppercorn Tree

All the best, Nev.

These are some of my bromeliads under my olive tree in Fort Myers Florida! I think that you will have great success putting them under your tree again. They really love it there.

Happy bromeliads in the lanai!

Hi everyone - I have found that brom's will grow almost anywhere as long as it is well drained and doesn't get excessive degrees of heat or cold.

As well as all of the various garden situations, and being mounted on trees, I also successfully grow mine in pots under 70% beige shade cloth in a shade house on benches and hanging from the roof timbers and other pots as well as beneath a 50% green shade cloth garden covering.

All the best, Nev.

Splinter1804 do you sell your bromeliads? You have quite the selection!! I wish I had more room for mine. Most of my yard is sunny and am looking for some new ones that can take the summer heat.

Splinter1804, wow you have a BIG collection. Very nice. I wonder whether you get your arms all scratched up from handling so many bromeliads?

You mentioned in an earlier post that "I'm unable to positively ID your plant, but just looking at the growth
and the inflorescences, I would say it's either an Achmea or a Portea
but without seeing a close up of the actual open flower it's hard to
say." I have taken some pictures of the flowers, of the same kind but different plants. Would these be helpful to try and get an ID of what I have?

This is from the biggest plant. It's flowers has a much paler color.

Close up.

In addition, Splinter1804 suggested "The thing is, if this is the case, have you thought about mounting some of the pups on the tree itself?"

I have not, as these pulps are already fairly large in size. From these four plants I ended up with fifteen individual plants, some with small pulps still attached. I am still leaning to having them go around the base of the tree.

However, your suggestion prompted me to get a ladder and put two pulps up at two crotches of the tree. They are about 10 feet from the ground. I just put the roots into the existing depression at the crotch and added in some loose soil. Lots of shade up there, and well drained, so they should thrive?

So this weekend I spent some time clearing away all the weeds and ferns from the base of the tree and planted nine bromeliads around it. It was a bit tricky as I have to dig out all the "valleys" between various big roots and placed the bromeliads inside.

I hope they are able to stay up. If one or two falls over, what are some ways I can help stabilize them?

They'll probably be fine around the tree. I just check mine every day until they get established and prop them back up if I need to. They'll settle in quickly now that it's getting warmer.

The ones in the trees may actually fall out from the weight eventually as they get larger. Usually, it's the smaller broms that go into trees.

I used to have all three of those broms. I miss them so much.

well, I added another four broms around the tree. The big one kept falling over due to I didn't plant them deep at all. It stands up fine then when it gets windy it fell over.

I put some left over reclamed chicago bricks around it for now just to hold it up. Trying to think of something else I can put there. Would a wooden stake driven at an angle be less visible?

Hi everyone.

Frankginakay – Yes I do sell some of my brom’s. Although I don’t have a professional nursery I find that by selling a few, I have money to buy other plants as well as potting mix and pots. Like any hobby, it’s always good if it pays for itself.

Miami Cuse – Yes I do get my arms scratched; I think this is the distinguishing feature of all bromeliad growers. I did however buy some long gloves which come right up to my elbows and protect my arms from scratching; the problem is, I don’t remember to put them on until I see my arms bleeding from all the scratches.

In the pictures you posted, none are of the flowers; they are either of the buds before they open or after the flowers have finished and the seed capsules are forming. But looking at them all, especially the last one, it looks like it is a plant that self-fertilises as every flower seems to be growing into a seed capsule, but apart from that I still can’t ID it for you.

You say, “put two pups up at two crotches of the tree”, they should grow fine here, but just like any other mounted plants, they must be firm and unable to move otherwise any new roots will be broken off and won’t be able to attach to the tree.

You ask, “Would a wooden stake driven at an angle be less visible?” I regularly use stakes on any of my plants that aren’t firm in the pot or the garden. It’s most common to use three stakes placed at equal distances around the plant. Once in place, you can cut them shorter to make them less obvious as long as they still support the plant. Remember they are only there until the plant grows sufficient roots to support itself; after this they can be removed.

The same applies to the mounted plants, they must not be able to move; they must be tied firmly so the new roots can grow without being damaged by plant movement. Whether they are tied or staked doesn’t matter as long as they are firm and can’t move.

All the best, Nev

LOL at getting your arms scratched. When I had all my huge broms, I would go out armed for battle with long sleeves, long rose gloves, and jeans with long socks pulled up over the bottoms. The more cold-hardy varieties are definitely more spiny, but much smaller, so long sleeves and gloves are just about all I need, unless I'm wandering into a bed of them, then I wear jeans.

The way I planted these broms around the tree, I just realized if ever we get hit by a storm (hurricane) and like in past storms lots of debris, tree branches accumulate around the bottom of trees - in the past I have had the neighbor across the street his house shingle tiles were peeled off like a deck of cards by hurricane Wilma and the tiles came across the street and hit the tree and my walls repeatedly so much debris I could not open the front door. If I have to clear debris around the tree, those broms will really cut me up unless I wear leather coveralls LOL.

@splinter1804, thanks again. You asked if what I showed in the pictures are buds before or after flowering or seed capsules. I know they are not seed capsules. I have several broms in different stages of this "flowering".

Early on these are white/creamy in color. Like this.

After a while, sometimes a long while, could be a month or two. The color turns more pink/reddish and less spherical. Like this.

At this very moment, I have flowers emerging from two of these "bulbs".

A close up. I am waiting to see what the full bloom will look like,

Hi everyone.

Miami Cuse - I never expected to see your plant with white flowers.

Although the flowers are one of the main distinguishing features when trying to ID a plant, I'm afraid I still don't know what your plant is; sorry.

What ever it is I wished I had one in my collection as it's a very nice plant.

All the best, Nev.