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Yes I think @Motlife is our go to brom Gurru! 🙏

His last words to me where take the native bees and the bromeliads are yours. And that I did, curse you cancer!

It's great that your old man's collection lives on Richard, and that we can all still get to appreciate it. I've been trying to get my daughters interested in climatically unsuitable plants for years, to no effect 🙃

After a quick bit of research, that looks like a good call from @Motlife

Hey Scott, strangely enough I just bought an orange form blanchetiana a couple of weeks ago, it's safely tucked away in my greenhouse for now, so I can't comment yet on whether they're tough enough for us sub-subtropicalos. My plan with the broms in general is to grow them in luxury till I get a few pups then start testing them outside. Similar to NZ, Tassie suffers from the tyranny of distance, so it doesn’t pay to be too cavalier.

At least there’s plenty of soil moisture in winter!

The garden is loving the cool temperatures, summer is nice, but the change in season brings a different perspective for the garden.

A nice wet winter day with the sun coming out in the afternoon.

I think that's the point here. Parajubaeas and Jubaea can definitely survive periods of hot weather 40c/100 f plus temps, no probs for a few days, but if that's the average temperature for three months...?? It's a pretty big ask I'd say. And edit...but if no one ever tries, we'll never actually know!

Whoa we a problem child here, it looks overpotted and overwatered. But you say in the container for the last 3 to 4 years. If it’s been indoors most of the time, has it been putting on new growth and growing quite well over those 3 to 4 years. Possibly overwatering and it may have gotten too much fertiliser. Let it dry out, rest outside in warm shaded area. Mucking around repotting while it’s not happy is not a good idea. It may lead to more problems. Rest outside and dry out may be your solution.

Thanks, it would have been a prize in my father’s collection!

They love there water, as suggested above. Your little palm has been on the dry side of life. In habitat they thrive in wet gullies creek beds, almost cool temperate conditions in dark shaded areas. They break through the canopy and take all the sun they can get, while there root system is in dark forest wet conditions. They dislike drying out.

Parajubaeas transplant relatively easily...it's a bit of a myth that they don't, at least as young plants. I've dug out maybe 20 over the years, some already pinnate, some still with strap leaves, and lost a total of two, both through carelessness with the tractor bucket. I had good germination success with torallyi and cocoides by sowing them in styrofoam boxes of perlite/peat like Richard uses with a light covering of sphagnum moss, then potting up in individual pots when the radicle appears. When you pot them up, just sit the seed on the top of the mix, use a free draining mix, and a reasonably deep pot, like a tree tube. @Tassie_Troy1971 recently germinated some P t microcarpa in some crazy short period, like 9 weeks or so. I think he had them at constant 24c or similar. Most of mine germinated in around six months but were still coming up three years later, so be patient.

The Chambeyronias throughout the garden are pushing new leaves, a welcome bit of winter colour!

Spotty one looks to me like it could be Billbergia 'hallelujah' Richard, or possibly a similar cultivar. There's some stunning flowers coming out! Out of curiosity Jonathan, have you tried A blanchetiana? They're very hard to find in NZ as apparently we're too cool for them, but I'd love to try one in a hot sunny spot!

A new one the collection this Alpinia, it seems to be handling the cool weather quite well! I might even plant it in the ground one day!

Thanks for the I’d, they were my fathers broms and the spotty one would have been a special one in his collection!

The spotty guy I have no idea but the bottom one I'm pretty sure is Aechmea blanchetiana, maybe orange form?

I'm just learning as we go Richard! I think that one might be Aechmea cylindrata 'blue cone'.

You have them in your nypa swamp, the aliens! Good gosh you guys get up to to some strange stuff in sunny warm Tazzy, and I thought I was strange on the full moon, I guess what happens at sea stays at sea I suppose!

You won’t be saying that when we come a get you in our space ship 🛸

I think the police call it full moon fever, or is it the blue light with the phosphorus in the rocks that creates those strange lights in the bush at night. Either way iam up for a bit of full moon fever fun 👍

A few more floating around the garden, and once again no idea as to what varieties they are. Over the years you get so many of them given to you. You have as l these broms in the garden that I never paid any attention to, now iam starting to get a brom addiction, thanks @Jonathan, the seller you get your ones from is just around the corner from me, and had a stack of great broms!

A right little bromeliad mine field of information @Jonathan. Hers another one for you to I’d.

The utilis a garden favourite of mine, this one is around 26 years old, endured many a dry spell and heat along with seeing temperatures around 2 degrees celcius. It’s proven itself in my garden as a nice exotic palm that’s super tough. Catch them at the right time and they have a glorious colour to their new leaf. There aren’t many palms that split their trunk dichotomous is the word I think. A lovely palm with a few strange traits.