Caring for Bromeliads

Bromeliads [Bro-MIL-ee-ads] are a family of over 2,000 tropical American plants that includes Spanish Moss and the edible Pineapple. They're commonly called "air plants" or "epiphytes" for their habit of growing up in the air on tree limbs and crotches, or in rock crevices, free of any connection with the ground beneath. (A few species grow on the ground, rooted in the soil.) Bromeliads are valued for the many forms, textures and colors of their leaves and for their showy, long-lasting flowers. As a bonus, they're among the easiest of indoor plants to grow and maintain. Popular bromeliads include Aechmeas, Neoregelias, Vriesias, Billbergias, and Cryptanthus.  Aechmea fasciata is a favorite and has been grown in Europe as a houseplant since the 1820s. 

About Bromeliads

Bromeliad species range in height from only a few inches to up to 30 feet (including the flower stalk). Most cultivated species are 2 to 4 feet tall and spread 2 to 3 feet wide.

Bromeliad flower spikes typically grow at the tips of stems that emerge from the center of leaf rosettes. They generally last 2 to 6 months. They may be blue, pink, red, yellow, purple, or white. Some flowers hunker down in the center of the leaf rosettes, others dangle from long stalks. Often the flowers are outshone by even more colorful "bracts" or modified leaves that protect them. All bromeliads flower only once, then send out new young plants ("offsets") from the base.

Individual bromeliad leaves are usually straplike and stiff, with smooth or toothed margins, and are often striped or spotted with white, yellow or red. Leaf surfaces are covered with a bloom of fine white scales, which absorb water when wetted. They frequently form a stemless rosette, or crown, which in many species serves as a catch-basin for water.

Caring For Bromeliads

Light and Temperature - Bromeliads with soft leaves and mostly green coloration do best with indirect light, as from a east, west, or southwest window. Those with thick, tougher leaves generally need bright but indirect light, as from an east or west facing window. Bromeliads also do well under flourescent lights, if given at least 200 to 300 foot-candles. Use a grow-light or a combination of daylight and soft-white tubes to provide the optimum light spectrum. These plants like normal indoor temperatures (60<198>F. at night, and 70 to 80<198>F during the day).

Watering and Humidity - In the wild, most bromeliads subsist on the rainwater they catch in their tightly cupped leaves, or on the moisture their leaves absorb from the air through their scales. Cup-forming bromeliads grown in pots must have water in their leaves all the time. Renew this with distilled water or rainwater once a week. Avoid filling the central cup from which the stem emerges with water because this may promote rot. Mist bromeliads grown on plaques of tree fern fiber or wood with their roots exposed 2 or 3 times a week. If possible, maintain 30 percent humidity around the plants with a humidifier, or with trays of damp pebbles.

Soil, Potting and Feeding -Almost all bromeliads in flower are in the proper size pot and do not need to be repotted.  If you want your plant to be in a decorative container it is best to leave the plant in it's original pot and place that pot in your special container.  If you must change pots try to disturb the root mass as little as possible.  Many different soil mixes will work as long as they are very well drained and allow air to reasch the roots.  One good mix is 1/2 perlite and 1/2 Canadian sphagnum peat moss thoroughly mixed.  Pots must have drain holes to drain water. Some plants may need staking.

Bromeliads normally live on the scanty nutrients their roots obtain from tufts of rotting leaves and other debris that collects around them.  Feed bromeliads with a solution made from any standard houseplant fertilizer, or fish emulsion, mixed half-strength. Add this to the plants' leaf cups or mist the leaves with it once a month.

Propagation -A plant that has been growing for about a year can develop small offset shoots which can be separated to become new plants. When offsets are at least 6 inches long, carefully cut them away from the base of the parent plant with a clean, sharp knife. Plant them in pots containing a mixture of 2 parts peat, 1 part perlite and 1 part sand, kept moist. They'll take root in a few months, and with optimum growing conditions may bloom in 1 to 2 years. Bromeliads can also be grown from seed, but they take 2 to 10 years to reach blooming size.

Month to Month Care for Bromiliad

Using Bromeliads In Design

Many bromeliads make breathtaking container plants for indoor residential and office spaces. They can be moved outdoors in warmer regions where temperatures seldom dip below 20F. Design Considerations. Use bromeliads as centerpieces, as container plants, or mixed with other strikingly colored foliage plants, such as dracaenas. A bromeliad collection is especially effective when arranged on a "tree" made from an old branch or stump.

Occasional Problems

Leaves Too Long And Thin because of Insufficient Light

Lack of light may cause bromeliad leaves to elongate abnormally. This condition may also be caused by too much nitrogen in the fertilizer. Move the plant to a sunnier location or feed with a weaker fertilizer solution.

Brown Spots On Leaves because of Too Much Light

Most bromeliad species cannot take direct sun which is likely to scorch their leaves. Move the plants to a shadier location.

Leaf Tips Burned caused by Dry Air

If room air is excessively dry, leaf tips and margins may turn brown. Raise the humidity to about 30 percent with a humidifier, or with trays of damp pebbles, and by misting several times a day. Or, move the plant to a more humid location, such as a rack or shelf in the bathroom.

Leaves Wilted; Turn Brown At Base caused by Overwatering

Bromeliads don't like soggy soil, which can slowly drown the roots. If this occurs, the leaves lose their stiffness. Cut away dead roots and let the surviving roots dry out. Then repot the plant and and water sparingly.

Lower Leaves Turn Yellow caused by Leaf Aging

The oldest leaves are lowest on the plant, and these will lose color as they age and die. Carefully remove unsightly leaves with a clean, sharp knife.

Plant Fails To Bud, Bloom which may mean it Needs Stimulant

Induce flowering in a reluctant plant by enclosing it in a plastic bag with an an apple for 5 to 10 days. Ethylene gas given off by the fruit stimulates the flowering process, and a new bud should appear 1 to 2 months after this treatment.

Small Brown Bumps On Leaves are caused by Scale Insects

Scale insects appear as clusters of somewhat flattened, waxy reddish gray or brown bumps a bit bigger than the head of pin. The bumps are protective shells, under which the pests insert thread-like sucking mouthparts into the plant and suck the sap. Scale outbreaks can be triggered by pesticides used against other pests or by environmental stresses such as too much or too little water. Overuse of nitrogen fertilizer can encourage the growth of scale populations. Avoid this by using a slow-release nitrogen fertilizer. Scrape minor scale infestations off plant surfaces with a fingernail or cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol. Spray more heavily infested plants with a mixture of alcohol and insecticidal soap every 3 days for 2 weeks. Add 1 teaspoon rubbing alcohol to one pint of soap spray. Rinse the plant off with clean water after 24 hours.

Small White Powdery Ovals On Flower Stalks or Leaves are caused by Mealybugs

Mealybugs are 1/5 to 1/3 inch long, oval, flattened, covered with white waxy powder and adorned with short, soft spines around their margins. The diagnostic cottony tufts on leaves are their egg sacks. These small insects gather in white or grayish masses on bromeliad roots, stems, and leaves, sucking sap and reducing plant vigor. Honeydew secretions from their feeding encourage mold growth on the foliage and attract ants. Control mealybugs by spraying them with malathion or insecticidal soap. Rinse the plant off after 24 hours.

Leaves Pale, Shrouded in Fine Webbing caused bySpider Mites

Mites are about 1/50 inch long, barely visible to the unaided eye. They may be yellow, green, red or brown. Inspect the lowest leaves on the bromeliad plant for mites. If their surfaces are stippled with small yellow dots or red spots and the leaves and adjacent stems are distorted or swathed in fine webbing, mites are the problem. Start control measures as soon as these signs are visible. Spray affected plants with a forceful water spray to knock the mites from the leaves. Repeat this daily for 3 days. If that doesn't do the job, spray the mites with insecticidal soap every 3 to 5 days for two weeks.

Brown Patches, Streaks Or Holes In Leaves caused by Slugs and Snails (Plant Outside)

These small molluscs chew ragged holes in leaves and stems of plants left outside or in the greenhouse. They hide in darkness under garden debris or leaf litter during the day. These pests are always most destructive in shaded gardens and during rainy spells. The best way to control slugs is to trap them. Use commercial or homemade traps. A shallow container filled with 1 inch of beer is effective. Set it near the affected plant. The slug, attracted to the yeast in the beer, will climb in and drowns.

Central Leaves Die; Odor Present caused by Crown Rot

A bacteria sometimes attacks bromeliads. It turns their crown (where the root system is attached to the plant) to mush and is often accompanied by an odor. It begins as a few spots on the crown at first, and then spreads to the entire crown. The infection may then encourage growth of fungi on the leaves. The roots are blackened, rotten and covered with white fungal threads. There is often a bad odor about the roots. The whole plant dies in a few days. Remove and discard the infected plants and the soil immediately surrounding them. Do not compost infected plants. There is no permanent cure for crown rot. Check plants often to catch the disease early and prevent its spread.

• Bromeliad Inside Leaves Turning Red Along Edges