Join us for two special bromeliad tours arranged for conference attendees. Both tours are optional and may be reserved for an additional fee ($50 per tour). To attend, add one or both to your cart during registration. Lunch is included. Reserve early to secure your seat(s).
Tour transportation is by bus. Boarding will occur at the hotel lobby main entrance. Please arrive to the lobby at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time.
Note: All seats for both tours have sold out. In the event that a few spaces may become available due to cancellations, please add your name to a waiting list (specify which tour you are interested in).
Tour 1 — Bird Rock Tropicals
Thursday, April 16 • 8:30 am – 12:00 pm
This Tour Is Sold Out
Founded by Pam Koide-Hyatt in 1981, Bird Rock Tropicals is renowned for its extensive collection of tillandsias and other exotic bromeliad plants. Pam has traveled widely throughout Mexico, Central America, and South America in search of tillandsias, and has created more than 3,000 hybrids. She is recognized internationally for her expertise and lectures frequently around the world.
Your journey will take you south along the coast, passing through Camp Pendleton with stunning ocean views along the way. The nursery, located near the Pacific Ocean, benefits from the region’s cool breezes, coastal fog, and low clouds, all ideal conditions for growing bromeliads and tillandsias.
Upon arrival, you’ll have the opportunity to stroll through the nursery grounds and explore the diverse plant collections. Lunch will be served on the lawn beside the scenic pond, offering a peaceful and picturesque setting to relax and enjoy the afternoon.
Tour 2 — Rainforest Flora and Residential Garden
Saturday, April 17 • 7:45 am – 12:45 pm
This Tour Is Sold Out
Rainforest Flora was founded in 1976 by Jerry Robinson and the late Paul Isley III. It features a beautiful retail showroom dominated by rock walls and waterfalls. The ponds throughout are filled with koi and turtles. Tillandsias of every variety adorn the rock walls. You will walk through the showroom and see plants and accessories on display and for sale. The sale display also includes landscape bromeliads, staghorn ferns and other exotics that can grow outside in Southern California.
After leaving Torrance, we will visit a residential garden in Fountain Valley. Here you will see how a typical suburban lot was enhanced in a myriad of creative ways. See the bromeliad collection displayed on the owner’s skillfully created and artistic metal supports and frames. Lunch will be served before our return to the hotel.
