Hi everyone.

Blackwillow - There are quite a few bromeliads of different genera which are easy to grow and recommended for beginners - Three that immediately spring to mind and which I easy to grow here in Australia are, Aechmea recurvata , Aechmea fasciata and Neoregelia 'Skotak's Sheba'.

Aechmea recurvata is a species which is fast growing and when grown in very strong light has magnificent orange coloured foliage when coming into flower. It makes a great feature when mass planted in a garden.

Aechmea recurvata

Aechmea fasciata is another species and was among the first bromeliads ever to be brought into Europe from South America. It is still among the most popular and commonly grown bromeliads in the world today.

Below is one of my Aechmea fasciata plants which is happily growing mounted in a Peppercorn Tree.

Aechmea fasciata

One of the easiest to grow Neoregelias is one called Neoregelia 'Skotak's Sheba'. I have several plants and although it can be grown in a pot, I find it grows best in the garden and will quickly grow into an eye catching clump as shown below. (The three foot rule shown at the back of the plant gives an idea of the plant size when the picture was taken some years back - It's now much larger).

If grown in a low light position it will remain as an attractive albo-marginated plant with green foliage and white leaf margins as shown below.

Neoregelia 'Skotak's Sheba' (Grown in low light)

Below is another plant of Neoregelia 'Skotak's Sheba'; this plant is growing in strong light and gets full unobstructed sun for part of the day. The higher light produces a pleasant pink flush through the foliage. The plant above and the one below are both grown from pups taken from the same original plant.

Neoregelia 'Skotak's Sheba' (Grown in strong light)

The next picture below shows the plant in the centre of the clump above and is just coming into flower and showing just how much colour can be obtained when it's grown in strong light and part time full sun. (The scratch marks on the leaves are from other plants rubbing on it during strong winds)

Neoregelia 'Skotak's Sheba' (Close-up the plant in the middle of the clump above)

All the best, Nev

Wow thanks Nev. Those are some amazing photos! Thanks so much for the recommendations. I think I've seen fasciata at the local grocery store that are in full bloom. I'll see if I can locate either of the Neoregelias. Thanks again. I've been bitten by the bromeliad bug lol.

A lot of Aechmea are fast growing (but not all), and Aechmea gamosepala is one of the fastest, and you can even buy it on eBay. People here use it as ground cover, and I am also doing that in parts of my yard. I have a lot of Aechmea fasciata as well, and it also grows quickly, as Nev suggested. I have some miniature neoreglia that grow fairly quickly, and I like them because they do not take up too much space - like some of the other neoregelia that I have. At this point I'm close to running out of space in my back yard and am having to get rid of things. Some I just throw into the front yard (which is north facing) and see what happens.

Thanks Lars. I recently got the gamosepala one. I look forward to seeing it fill in the pot. Of the fasciata is still there, I think I'll buy it. They were healthy looking and for a decent price. You're so lucky to live in a climate where you can plant them in the ground. If I could, most of my yard would be bromeliads lol.

Today I got an aechmea fasciata. It already has a pup on it too.