- • 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.
- President
- Marian Kennell
- Vice-President
- Jason Mellica
- Secretary
- Johanna Rehmani
- Treasurer
- David Denholm
- 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.
- You'll receive access to The List of Bromeliad Binomials, 12th Edition.
- We have fun Monthly Meetings with Informative Programs.
- We serve Refreshments at each meeting.
- 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.
- We give you a Membership Contacts Directory.
- 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.
- 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 from our group of Very Nice People.
- 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: $20.00 for individuals and $25.00 for couples.
- Dues are paid on a calendar year basis, with renewals due in January.
- 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 published above and on the form.
- Make your check payable to "The Sarasota Bromeliad Society".
- Mail your form and the check to the address provided on the form.
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.
Early 2016 Update: The Society's monthly meetings have been moved to the clubhouse of the Sarasota Garden Club.
April 2018 Update: The Society's monthly meetings have been moved back to the former "Activities Building" in Selby Gardens. The facility has been extensively remodeled and is now known as "Michael's On The Bay", a gourmet catering and special events venue.
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.