cold hardy bromeliads

[DTS]

can anyone list some cold hardy bromeliads that are at least hardy to zone 9a or below? i might try them next year with protection as an experiment.

Edited June 29, 2023 by DTS1
Spelling errer

[Tomas]

On 6/29/2023 at 11:37 PM, DTS1 said:

can anyone list some cold hardy bromeliads that are at least hardy to zone 9a or below? i might try them next year with protection as an experiment.

I hope this may help 

https://www.fcbs.org/info.htm#culture

[Calosphace]

Most of those "matchstick" bromeliads like Aechmea gamosepela are pretty hardy and aren't too spiky and often small so they're easy to protect or move
various Dyckia
Aechmea recurvata might be hardiest Aechmea, tolerant even of prolonged cool temps (one of the few I see grown successfully in UK landscapes) there's some nice hybrids of it and neos (e.g. xNeomea Strawberry) that had no damage at 24 F in completely exposed site here
There's also Billbergia I think B. nutans and its hybrids might be hardiest of the group but all I have tried have been zone 9a under oak canopy.
Aechmea disticantha is probably zone 8b but it's the pokiest plant I deal with and I deal with many plants lol

The real hardiest is Tillandsia usenoides which has populations in zone 7b.

They all have to be kept dry during cold.

If it were me I'd try A. recurvata and a Billbergia I really liked the look of and I'd divide them to keep some inside as houseplants and others for the experiment