Walking to and from the koi pond several times last Sunday (we were busy building something...) I suddenly spotted something unusual on the clump of bromeliad growing epiphytically on our yew tree.
I saw something red and I became suspicious...
Grabbing the camera and stooping down to look my suspicion was confirmed, it was flowering.
And what a nice sight it was, that after several years this clump has finally flowered.
Fascicularia bicolor subsp. canaliculata is possibly the hardiest bromeliad you can grow here in the UK and other areas of similar climate. It is largely a terrestrial bromeliad although it can be coaxed to grow as an epiphyte too on trees and large shrubs with hit or miss success.
Fascicularia bicolor subsp. canaliculata
It will grow, bulk up, spread, and flowers much quicker and regularly when grown on the ground. As an epiphyte, with its roots having much more spartan access to nutrients and relying largely on humidity and rainfall for water the growth rate is much, much slower. And flowers very infrequently too, if at all.
