• To study the culture of bromeliads under local conditions.
• To strive to use the correct scientific nomenclature for bromeliads.
• To study the use of bromeliads in landscape and home gardening.
• To aid in civic projects involving bromeliads and promote protection of native species.
• To aid and give assistance to educators, to the members, and to the general public, thereby furthering the knowledge of bromeliads.
- If you are interested in Bromeliads, you are invited to join our Society.
- Novices Are Welcomed! Prior experience with Bromeliads is not required.
- Annual dues for One Member: $15.00.
- Annual dues for Two Members having the Same Address: $ 20.00.
- We use the same Form for both New and Renewing members.
- Download the Application/Renewal Form Here.
- Print the blank PDF form on a sheet of 8½ by 11 paper.
- Fill in the required information. Please print legibly.
- Refer to the Membership Fee Schedule above.
- Make your check payable to "The Sarasota Bromeliad Society".
- Mail your form and the check to the address on the form.
- You will Learn How To Grow and Flower Beautiful Bromeliads.
- Our members can use our Library of Reference Books.
- You will gain access to our “Members Only” Website Area.
- We have fun Monthly Meetings with Informative Programs.
- Our meetings feature Door Prizes and A Raffle Table.
- Sometimes we have Plant Give-Aways.
- You can attend special Workshops addressing specific Bromeliad issues.
- We enjoy interesting Show and Tell presentations.
- Members receive our monthly Newsletter full of useful information.
- We provide you with a laminated Bromeliad Society Name Tag.
- You'll receive the Bromeliad Society International Cultural Manual.
- You will also receive the Quarterly Newsletter published by
the Florida Council of Bromeliad Societies. - We have an Annual Show featuring the "Best of the Best" Bromeliads.
- We organize Plant Sales where you can buy plants at Low Prices.
- We arrange Garden and Nursery Tours for our membership.
- Members can Volunteer to participate in Selby Botanic Garden Sales.
- You can attend an "Extravaganza" Sale and
Rare Plant Auction
sponsored by the Florida Council of Bromeliad Societies. - Members can buy Quality Polo Shirts With Our Logo on them.
- You will Make New Friends within our group of Very Nice People.
President ..............................................David Glosser
Vice President ..........................................Ken Phelps
Secretary ................................................Kathy Knuth
Treasurer .................................................Royal Bruce
See telephone contact information for officers here.
Membership: Bob Stickney
Programs: David Johnson
Workshops: Ken Phelps
Refreshments: Traude Wilson
Newsletter: Maureen McCracken
Show: Ken Phelps
Publicity: Inez Dolatowski
Historian: Patsy Worley
Librarian: Susan Stobo
Greeter: TBA
Raffle: Nick Mavrickas and Bill Timm
Sunshine Lady: Shirley Evans
Garden Tours: Nick Mavrickas
Supplies: Ken Phelps
Fla. Council Reps: TBA
See telephone contact information for committees here.
The Sarasota Bromeliad Society had its first organizational meeting on December 5, 1976 at the Church of the Redeemer.
The Club was welcomed as a member of The Bromeliad Society Inc. (now known as The Bromeliad Society International) on February 4, 1977. The 1977 officers were President — Rita Roehr; Vice President — Doris Pearce; and Secretary–Treasurer — Evelyn Hutchison.
The 1978 Club Roster listed 78 members.
In 1979 Club members Ralph and Hazel Quilhot held an Open House/picnic at their home in Ellenton. In November the club held the First Annual Bromeliad Show at Selby Gardens.
A World Conference in Orlando was held in 1980 and our Club put in a display. Later in the year the Club held our own Show in a tent at Selby Gardens.
For several years we held our Shows in the tent on the lawn. Then in 1983 the Club decided to hold a special event called the Sarasota Bromeliad Society Show & Festival. We had arranged for Bus Tours to local nurseries; special speakers and on Friday night we were to have a dinner and dance on the Selby lawn in the huge Show tent that was being provided by the Old Heidelberg Castle Restaurant. Attire was to be evening gowns, jacket & tie. That night when we arrived at the Gardens we were met at the gate by staff telling us that there had been one of our famous Florida downpours at the Gardens and there was 1 to 2 inches of rain on the tent floor. They had contacted the Heidelberg and they had graciously set up a special area for us and moved the entire dinner & dance to their large restaurant. Thankfully, we had displayed the Show plants in the tent on raised mounds of mulch we had put down, therefore most of them stayed above water.
In 1985 Selby had constructed a new Green House and at the time of our Show the structure was completed, but not the interior, so they let us use it for our Show. It was pretty warm inside, but no rain. We used it again in 1986, but then they finished the interior and we were faced with the outside again.
During this time Selby did not have an enclosed building large enough to hold our shows, so they were held on the covered walkway by the Display House, which puts us at the mercy of the weather again. One year, a night rain blew so hard it came across the walkway and wet all the tables, plants and entry tags. Unfortunately a number of our members had used ink to fill out the entry tags and the next morning the Judges were faced with many tags containing large ink blobs rather than names and entry numbers, etc. The Judges managed to work through the mess. From that time on, we required entry tags to be done with pencil.
Today the Society enjoys having meetings and shows in the Selby Gardens Activities Room.
Patsy Worley, January, 2010.
Please visit our special page devoted to Media Resources where you will find the HTML code for linking to our website and several different versions of our logo that you can download.