Story: Bromeliads
Episode: 7
Presenter: Trevor Cochrane
Air Date: 27th September 2025

Bromeliads are giving your garden a tropical feel. Few plants are as versatile, varied and easy to maintain. Trevor gives us a few good reasons for why you might want to consider Bromeliads at your home.

• The ephiphyte varieties may be the easiest plants in the world to grow. Simply cut a pup off, or ease clumping plants apart and simply replant them. A light liquid feed occasionally will do. They are best kept in semi-shade, and this is a perfect example of the right place to grow them, under the canopy of a tree where nothing else grows.
• Not all Bromeliads are epiphytes, though. Some are terrestrial, like the giant Altiplanic Puya raimondii.
• They are amazing feature plants, adding structure and colour to a garden.
• The huge vase top acts to catch nutrients and moisture and uses that to sustain itself.
• The colours of these plants are predominantly in the foliage, and there are over 3000 species, making them one of the biggest families of plants. Part of their success is that they are so easy to grow.