Bromeliads in SF Bay Area gardens

[bahia]

Some photos of how I use cool growing bromeliads in landscapes here in the San Francisco Bay Area, a USDA zone 9b/10a climate. I've found that a lot of the Aechmea ortgiesii group of bromeliads from southeastern Brazil's Mata Atlantica(states of Espirito Santo,Rio, Sao Paulo, and Santa Catarina), do very well here, with minimal need for protection during freezes.

Trejo Garden in Albany, Rear Garden by David Feix Landscape Design, on Flickr

Overview of rear garden upon entering from the street

Aechmea 'Burgundy' in Trejo Garden by David Feix Landscape Design, on Flickr

This hybrid Aechmea, A. 'Burgundy', is another favorite for the rich foliage color, and the infrequent blooms are rather showy as well. It is a relatively slow grower here, and prefers warm shade for best appearance. Unfortunately, gardening in Berkeley/Albany, warm shade is not so common with daily late afternoon coastal fog...

Aechmea ornata v. nationalis in bloom at Trejo Garden by David Feix Landscape Design, on Flickr

One of the most dramatic variegated accent bromeliads for our climate, this one seldom blooms here in cultivation, but my clone obviously loves this spot

Bromeliads at Trejo Garden by David Feix Landscape Design, on Flickr

A mix of various Aechmeas in the ortgiesii tribe, with the odd Neoregelia thrown in for contrast

[bahia]

Neoregelia hybrids and Aechmea recurvata v. benrathii in hanging basket by David Feix Landscape Design, on Flickr

Aechmea recurvata v. benrathii and Neoregelias in a hanging basket

Portea 'Jungles' at 28 Vallejo St Garden by David Feix Landscape Design, on Flickr

The various Portea species and hybrids aren't the easiest genus to get to bloom in cool SF Bay Area locations, but this hybrid 'Jungles' and P. petropoliteana v. extensa are two that I've gotten to bloom here. Warm shade and regular feeding to push growth help, but 80*F summer days would help even more...

Alcantarea imperialis v. rubra in Alameda, Ca. gardenIMG_0207 by David Feix Landscape Design, on Flickr

Alcantarea imperialis v. rubra is actually quite easy to grow here in the SF Bay Area, but may need a tarp thrown over it in winter if temps drop much below 29*F if you want to retain that perfect looking foliage.

Vreisea platynema variegata and Cussonia paniculata by David Feix Landscape Design, on Flickr

Various of the larger growing Vreisea species are good candidates outdoors for milder SF Bay Area gardens, and this species, V. platynema is a particular favorite for bold foliage impacts.

[JD in the OC]

Wow, very nice. If i didn't know any better, i'd say that was a Florida garden! It's more tropical than most of the gardens here in SW Florida. Bravo!!

[bahia]

Thanks, but it really shouldn't be a big surprise that a tropical look is easy to achieve here in northern California. The difference being that we can't really grow the heat loving subtropicals or anything that needs warm nights, so that means there isn't a great deal of overlap between sw Florida plants and here. There are an awful lot of high elevation montane and cloud forest plants that thrive here with our cool foggy summers and relatively mild winters. The main concern is the occasional bad freeze which skews the climate towards a 9b rather than 10a from time to time, and being conscious of the need to conserve water. I find bromeliads in particular a good plant type to use in low water use gardens, because they can easily get by here with just once a week short misting applications, if planted in some shade. They can also easily go 3 weeks without any irrigation at all in summer if forced to. So I generally try to use them judiciously in gardens and minimize lawn area to reduce summer irrigation requirements. Given that we have a 6 month long dry season, it really isn't possible to use most bromeliads and subtropicals here without some summer irrigation.

Here's one more large clumping foliage bromeliad I use a lot of, even though the foliage isn't anything colorful. It can easily get 5 feet tall by across here, and is a great tropical looking backdrop for softer leaved plantings.

Aechmea distichantha hybrid by David Feix Landscape Design, on Flickr

Aechmea distichantha hybrid in bloom by David Feix Landscape Design, on Flickr

Another favorite Aechmea ortgiesii group member, typically blooms in spring here:

Aechmea kertesziae in bloom and berry by David Feix Landscape Design, on Flickr

I love the red/blue combination of this A. purpureorosea, but it is a bit shyer to bloom than some of the others:

[Jeff Searle]

  On 2/8/2012 at 8:04 PM, JD in the OC said:

Wow, very nice. If i didn't know any better, i'd say that was a Florida garden! It's more tropical than most of the gardens here in SW Florida. Bravo!!

I second that! The outcome turned out beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

[fastfeat]

Very nice designs, installations!

[gilles06]

i love theese photos,

thanks.

[bgl]

David,

Great looking bromeliads in a very beautiful garden!

Bo-Göran

[bahia]

Thanks all! While I wish we could also grow some of the larger blooming more tropical/tender growing bromeliads that you can grow in Hawaii and south Florida; there are still hundreds that can do well here, including many cloudforest types that wont survive in your areas. I've probably trialed over 300 hundred different species over the past 30 years in my quest to grow cool hardy landscape bromeliads here in the San Francisco bay area. If you're interested in the topic, check out photos of various SF bromeliad society members gardens and collections on our web site, at www. Sfbromeliad.org. some great photos of various garden tours of member's gardens.

[Gonzer]

Just now saw this Dave, your work is exceptional.

That planting of A. distichantha would certainly ward off any unwanted visitors.

[ExperimentalGrower]

Definitely a quest I’ve embarked on for my SF Bay Area garden. Super impressive.