Lilith

It sounds like rot to me. Root rot to be exact. Like maybe your soil is either too compacted in that area, or there isn't adequate drainage for some other reason.

I see you are in 10a Florida. Is your yard or subdivision perhaps built on top of a coral layer?

Bromeliads planted in the ground like your green and white variegated one need a lot of drainage. If they get too wet around the base, they will rot like yours did, because that type of bromeliad is an epiphyte and doesn;t even need soil, really. Soil is for YOUR convenience, not the bromeliad's.

Pineapple bromeliads, on the other hand, are terrestrial and do need soil.

The other possiibility is, that your bromeliad had bloomed, and after it bloomed, it died, which is 100% natural. Bromeliads only bloom the one time, then they make a new plant to carry on fir the future. The decline can take a long time, or a short time, depending on the species. It sounds like you may be describing a Neoregelia, without photos its hard to know. There are a lot of green and white striped broms in several different genera.

Your palms just may have been sensitive about being planted too close to the foundation of your house. You don't say what type of palms they were...some palms are just extremely sensitive to having their roots disturbed, even if you didn't think you were disturbing them. For whatever reason, it sounds like your palms just didn't re-root...again, could be drainage issues, root damage, soil conditions...its hard to know.

__________________
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10/2009 Marine Corps Marathon, DC, 26.2--457
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