Plants that compliment bromeliads

Many types of plants combine well with bromeliads. It is best to combine plants with similar growth requirements – light, moisture, substrate or soil. Also consider colour combinations.

Plant types to combine

• Dracaenas and Cordylines
• Aroids eg Anthurium, Philodendron, Alocasia, Caladium
• Certain palms
• Cycads
• Deciduous plants eg Frangipani
• Begonias

Rules

• Plant background plants
• Use green or variegated plants to highlight dark bromeliads
• Use coloured plants to provide accent to green or light coloured bromeliads
• Use large bromeliads as feature plants and mass plant smaller bromeliads

Colours

• Green: Restful and tranquil
• Red: Physical colour, spot plants that draw the eye
• White: Fresh, luminous in the evening light
• Yellow: Cheerful colour that calms the mind
• Blue: Blue borders have a sedative effect, can be overused
• Purple: Sumptuous and restful, works well with white blue and pink
• Pink: Warm colour that draws people to it
• Orange: Rich, warm, happy colour, best used against a dark green background
• Six colours make up the colour wheel as adapted by Gertrude Jekyll whose harmonious planting ideas have influenced gardeners all over the world