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.
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| The official greeter was lying down on the job |
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| The centerpiece of the greenhouse is a large water feature |
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| The "rock" walls (they may be cement) are festooned with bromeliads of various kinds and surrounded by tropical plants |
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| 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.
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| Trays containing different varieties of Tillandsias were arrayed all along the walls throughout the greenhouse space |
Here are a few examples:
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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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| The plants were organized by genus. Aechmea is perhaps the genus that most often comes to mind when people mention bromeliads. |
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| 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 |
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| 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'. |
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| 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. |
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| This may be my favorite Neoregelia ever. It's N. punctitissima. |
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| This is a hybrid Tillandsia: T. fasciculata x flabellata |
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| Even Vriesea that lack fancy foliage often produce very fancy flowers. This is V. 'Orange Gusher'. |
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| 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:
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| 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:
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| 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
