October Meeting
in Balboa Park, Casa Del Prado room 104
10:00 am, 10/10.

Be on the lookout for details... Our speaker will be by Dylan Zoller who will give a presentation on the Tepuis from a recent trip taken from northern Brazil. Dylan is an intrepid botanical explorer and a dynamic speaker, so this will be a presentation NOT to miss.​

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our October speaker, Dylan Zoller

Our opportunity table will be filled with more selections from the World Conference -- plants you may not find locally!​

Our September Meeting held on Sept. 12th was fun one!​

One of the the stars of the Show-n-Tell table was a lovely, HUGE Portea with a strikingly colorful pink inflorescence and lavender blue flowers. Guillermo brought it in labeled as Portea Pink, and Cristy said that she researched the internet and found that the plant most closely resembles the hybrid named Portea Jungles. It's a variety of Portea petropolitana var. petropolitana -- compared to the more common Portea petropolitana var. extensa.

The specific cultivar name 'Jungles' for this variety of the Portea genus of bromeliads refers to Raymond Jungles, a prominent American landscape architect who collected and imported these plants from the famous gardens of his mentor, Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx.

Thanks, Guillermo, for not only bringing in a fantastic show-n-tell plant, but for donating one for the opportunity table!
​"Bromeliad Adventures in the Venezuelan Tepuis" was a our feature presentation given by Cristy Brenner.  Cristy regaled us with an encore presentation of her 2007 expedition to see unusual bromeliads in Venezuela. 

Opportunity Table Plants ​from the World Conference collection were snapped up!

August Summer Picnic
highlights in photos

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Guess who?
Selected bromeliad photos - August 2026

July 11th meeting

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Quesnelia alvimii, Award of Merit at Aussie Broms - exhibited by Nigel Thomson
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A spectacular Vriesea from the 2025 Aussie Broms conference

WBC  - April 2025 ...

Above: the San Diego Bromeliad Society display at the 2026 World Bromeliad Conference in Costa Mesa
​Back in April... the April Presentation Rocked!
Òscar Llovera from Barcelona, with over fifteen years of experience cultivating bromeliads gave us a delightful presentation on growing in Catalonia. He shared his use of Tillandsia and other genera within the Mediterranean climate of Catalonia, where these plants are rarely used in landscaping projects. 

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

We were pleased to hear from 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. Epiphytes have an  important role in golden lion tamarin conservation and consequently, the Atlantic forest as a whole. 
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.

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.

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.