February Presentation
February 14th, 10 am Balboa Park
​Casa del Prado Room 104

Restoring bromeliad populations to improve living conditions for wild golden lion tamarins in Brazil:

We are pleased to introduce our speaker of the month, Laila Mureb. She is the technical director for Associação Mico Leão Dourado The NGO was the recipient of the 2025 SDBS Conservation Award. Our donation helped fund an important project where bromeliads were reintroduced to a restored habitat area for golden lion tamarins in Rio de Janeiro.

The science of ecological restoration is an evolving field, and this is the first project to target specifically epiphyte restoration in the Atlantic forest. We will hear about the important role that bromeliads play in golden lion tamarin conservation and consequently, the Atlantic forest as a whole. 

​Because the SDBS meeting will take place during the Brazilian Carnaval holiday, our conversation will be pre-recorded. 

Parking Update on 2/10: For our meeting in Balboa Park on February 14th, there will be free parking FOR ALL at Balboa Park per Mayor Gloria's weekly newsletter where he said "A grace period for enforcement is still in effect until further notice."

February Plants
We will have some tempting plants on offer. A few desirable Neoregelia hybrids from Florida will hit the raffle table, and there are multiple genera represented. There will be a couple smaller-growing Dyckia, an Aechmea, a xPortmea, and a couple of Cryptanthus.

​There will be a small offset of the rare Alcantarea nahoumii, which is named after Pedro Nahoum. This Alcantarea gets over 5 feet across, and its inflorescence (eventually) can get ten feet in height!

  A few of the opportunity table plants are highlighted below.

A couple large Aechmea Cranberry Frost will be on the table. Cranberry Frost, as described by Bromeliad Paradise, is a cross of two cultivars of Aechmea nudicaulis. Although not considered a hybrid because both parents were cultivars of nudicaulis, Cranberry Frost is a great example where the end result is greater than the sum of it's parts. More robust and slightly larger than a typical nudicaulis, it is especially distinguished by it's bright red coloring. This beauty likes strong filtered light for best color and form. Averages about 18" tall at maturity. It grows quite well in San Diego, and it will get a nice slivery "frost" on it, in addition to the ruby undertones.
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Aechmea Cranberry Frost

Want to help put together the
San Diego Bromeliad Society display at the World Bromeliad Conference in April? Scott and Juliana are organizing a display that will be installed in the Hilton during the conference. Perhaps you can help by loaning some fabulous plants, or by helping to transport materials, or by helping to setup/teardown? Scott has a preliminary plan for the 8 ft. x 15 ft. area. Contact Scott or Juliana at the February or March meeting -- or by email! 

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Can you contribute to the SDBS display?
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Neo's at a SDBS show display from a few years ago

January 10th Meeting in Balboa Park

Our first meeting of the New Year 2026 featured members of the Saddleback Valley Bromeliad Society. Cristy Brenner presented some pictures of previous WBC events and discussed the hotel layout with its diagrams, along with Chris Bruce and Patti Dunn.

Michael McGuire is the noncommercial vendor liaison with Jerry Robinson of RainForest Flora. Contact Michael if you want to be one of the "homegrown" vendors at the Plant Sale. 

Yes, 2028 will be in Thailand.

The World Bromeliad Conference will be in Costa Mesa this April.
​Register now! See below for early-bird savings....

Scroll below for more information...

November Meeting

Back on Nov. 8, we heard an interesting presentation by Sandy Valone about her recent trip to Hawaii and interview with David Fell.
The October presentation was informative, and it transported us to habitats worthy of conservation.

Bromeliad Diversity in the Andean Páramo
by Dr. Julián Aguirre-Santoro

This talk presented an overview of the diversity in the páramo, a humid alpine biome of the northern Andes that harbors exceptional species richness.. Bromeliads are found throughout the American Tropics, and the high-elevation ecosystems of this region are no exception. The presentation addressed pressing conservation issues and the importance of protecting páramo bromeliads within this globally significant ecosystem.

Plan ahead for World Bromeliad Conference
to be held in SoCal, April 14-18, 2026
at the Hilton Hotel, Costa Mesa, California.

The World Bromeliad Conference will be hosted by our nearest neighbor affiliate, the Saddleback Valley Bromeliad Society in Orange County. Our neighboring BSI affiliate welcomes us at their regular meetings, and many of us are members in both clubs. Saddleback Valley is extending a huge welcome to San Diego bromeliad enthusiasts. We are so lucky to have this huge event next year so close to us.
Now, we can go to the Conference Corner webpage on the BSI.org website for details on speakers, exhibits, seminars, tours and all the fun.
Can't wait. 
Hit the link below and register soon.

September's meeting was a fun return to Balboa Park.
​Our own Todd Johnson gave a talk on Australian bromeliads, based on his recent trip Down Under., and we feasted on auction plants, raffle opportunities and yummy treats.

SDBS Auction Plants for September include Vriesea Chocolate Glyphs (left) and Vriesea Glow Plug (right).

Fall Opportunity Plants - Highlights

Del Mar Fair 2025 
​Thanks again, Nancy Groves
and gang of volunteers.
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SDBS Del Mar Fair Exhibit 2025

the
San Diego Bromeliad Society Early Summer Sale Spectacular
at Balboa Park, June '25

Thank you, volunteers, for your participation that made this summer’s show & sale in Balboa Park a success!
​Check out the pictures below for the calm before the storm.

In May, we enjoyed a garden party. Thanks Ronee!!!

In April, veteran bromeliad grower Robert Kopfstein invited us to his home.
Wow was that fun?

March 8th Meeting      Juliana Raposo presented …  We dove into the captivating world of bromeliads through the eyes of three remarkable artists: Maria Sibylla Merian, Margaret Mee, and Marianne North. JR's presentation, "Telling the Story of Bromeliads through Art," showcased their stunning illustrations and the fascinating stories behind them. From the intricate life cycle of the butterfly Philaethria dido around the pineapple plant to the vibrant depictions of various bromeliads, the visual journey was a celebration of nature's beauty and the artistry that brings it to life.
February 2025  Plant opportunity table - Michaels Bromeliads by Dave in Florida.

February Speaker, Sejong Zhang, was well received.

Sejong’s work delves into the phylogenomics and phytochemistry of Tillandsia, 
January 2025:  Brazil
Rodrigo Freitas
We first heard from Rodrigo in 2023. At the time, he came to our attention for the captivating photos he was taking while on the job as a park ranger in Tres Picos State Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Since then, Rodrigo was the recipient of the SDBS grant, which he used to update his photographic equipment.

​In this presentation, Rodrigo showed us a fresh crop of material captured with the new lens -- with  bromeliads in up and close detail, and special appearances by the local flora and fauna. He described recent devastating fires that swept the park in July 2024.
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Pitcairnia flammea

Our December of '24 big plant sale was a success.
​Thanks to organizers and participants.

July 2024
​We enjoyed Andy’s Outside the Box Tillandsia presentation.

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Possibly the cutest bromeliad mascot you’ll ever see!

May ‘24  Garden Meeting in Encinitas
​We met at Tyrone Hall’s home in Encinitas and participated in the repotting and mounting clinic. We had a group of experts guiding how to best divide, repot or mount gnarly bromeliads! Hopefully we can repeat this kind of meeting in the future. Thanks To Tyrone and everyone who made it happen.

Looking Back at 2023...

​Vriesea hybrid plants, from the subfamily Tillandsioideae
Shiigi Hawaiian Vriesea hybrids
A-(Memoria Howard Yamamoto x Hamakua) x (Leina’ala x John Hirota) (10”-14” tall, 15”-18” across)
B-Dark Ninja F2 (9”-12” tall, 14”-16” across)
C-Kelci Shiigi F2 (11”-14” tall, 15”-18” across)
D-Hawaiian Ruby x Kilauea F2 (11”-14” tall, 14”-17” across)
E-Princess Annique hybrid (13”-16” tall, 14”-17” across)
​Neoregelia genus plants, from ​subfamily Tillandsioideae
​Hawaiian-grown Neoregelia
A-Kohala Mauka
B-Orange Crush x Wisteria
C-Dreamsicle 
D-Purple Star
E-Pemiento
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Cape Town garden of Japie Esterhuysen
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Tillandsia capitata 'Old Gold'
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“Bromeliads of Ecuador” presentation by Cristy Brenner as a highlight, September '23.

We have a videos page.

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In April of 2023 we were lucky to have plant explorer Guillermo Rivera as our featured speaker.
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Our speaker for January of '23, Pam Koide-Hyatt, gave a fun and educational talk on the Tillandsia tectorum complex.

Highlights from 2022...

a summer '22 brom video:

Check out these photos below of our Del Mar Fair exhibit in 2022.

May ‘22 Show-n-Tell
​Morlane showed us spotted and pink-toned plants from her collection (right). Eloise brought in some lovely plants (left).
Some of the plants that were on offer, December '21!

We have a sizeable library of bromeliad-focused videos for viewing on our Videos page. Check them out.

Remember ... our ​June 2019 Exhibition & Sale in Balboa Park?

 Bromeliads 
pronounced broh-MEE-le-ads

. . . flowering plants belonging to the plant family Bromeliaceae.
There are more than 3,000 species and hundreds of hybrids.
Join the SDBS: click here & download the membership form.

In a Nutshell: 

Bromeliads are members of a plant family known as Bromeliaceae (bro-meh-lee-AH-say-eye). The family contains over 3000 described species in approximately 56 genera. The most well known bromeliad is the pineapple. The family contains a wide range of plants including some very un-pineapple like members such as Spanish Moss (which is neither Spanish nor a moss). Other members resemble aloes or yuccas while still others look like green, leafy grasses.
In general they are inexpensive, easy to grow, require very little care, and reward the grower with brilliant, long lasting blooms and ornamental foliage. They come in a wide range of sizes from tiny miniatures to giants. They can be grown indoors in cooler climates and can also be used outdoors where temperatures stay above freezing.