I bought my first garden bromeliad, I have had bromeliads before but they were house plants, this one is for the garden and it is supposed to be winter hardy ! It is called fascicularia bicolor, it comes from Chili, it can stay in the sun, half shade or shade and is winter hardy till – 10 C°, wants sandy soil. I have never seen a bromeliad like this one, it is supposed to get a big red flower at the end of Summer. Has any of you experience with this plant? If so can you please tell me if it is an easy plant and is it really winter hardy ????
This is how it looks at the moment :
THE LEAFS ARE GREEN WITH A BIT OF RED
gwenniesgarden 
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Hey what happened ? I had sent you a lot of info from the net. You did not get it? apparently when this bromeliad is mature it turns a bright scarlet and then produces a central pom-pom that looked extraordinary in the online pictures. Google it! I now would like to have one for my indoor window-sill garden … but I wonder if it also goes all dormant, looking dead, after flowering like other bromeliads. That is when it takes a real dedicated gardener to be patient and wait for the plant to regenerate.
Hi ! I obviously didn’t get the info you sent me. Did you sent it to my e-mail address ? This plant of mine has several pups so I am going to experiment with them next Winter, keep some in the house frostfree and others in the unheated greenhouse, see what happens. I already looked at all the info and pictures I could find on the net but it is by experience you learn most I think.
Yes ! nothing replaces the hands-on experience.
I only got one a couple of years ago and it hasn’t flowered yet. I have grown Dyckia and Puya for well over twenty years as the seed was readily available and they certainly flower most years. It is supposed to be hardy isn’t but I am not sure I would chance it unless I had loads of spare plants. I look forward to seeing if either of us get flowers.
It is getting a lot of pups, so after Summer I want to divide it and leave some in the unheated greenhouse, others I will overwinter frostfree, that it if it doesn’t rot first from cold and wet weather !!!! I will certainly show the flowers if I get some !