Bromeliads are wild and exotic houseplants that can be found almost anywhere! They are reasonably priced and ready for you to give them a try!
Common Names: Bromeliad, Urn Plant
Plant Varieties:
Amazonian Zebra Plant (Aechmea chantinii)
Urn Plant or Silver Vase Plant (Aechmea fasciata AGM)
Variegated Pineapple or Ivory Pineapple (Ananas comosus var variegatus)
Queen's Tears (Billbergia nutans)
Starfish Plant or Earth Star (Cryptanthus bivittus AGM)
Scarlet Star (Guzmania lingulata)
Cartwheel Plant or Blushing Bromeliad (Neoregelia carolinae f tricolor)
Flaming Sword or Painted Feather (Vriesea splendens AGM)
Sun Requirements:
Each variety may vary slightly but overall, the more light you can put Bromeliads in, the better! This means placing the in bright, indirect light or direct light is best. In my resources the Silver Vase Plant and Queen's Tears were varieites that could do well in Medium light but still do best in bright, indirect light.
If you need any guidance to understanding light, or are in need of a grow light to help increase your light, check out the links!
Water Requirement
Watering is VERY unique and actually sounds contradictory to many of our other loved houseplants! Most Bromeliads that have very structured urn like leaves want you to fill the center of those leaves with water. It is recommended to refill the water when it disappears about every 10 days. You also want to keep the soil fairly moist during the active growing season and allow the soil to dry out in between watering in winter.
Most of these varieties need at least moderate to high humidity to thrive. I use a humidifier and I do mist the leaves sometimes.
Different ways to increase humidity...
Placing a humidifier near by
Misting the leaves with a spray bottle
Placing a tray of water and pebbles below the plant (you can use a larger saucer for this)
Placing you plant in a mini Ikea greenhouse or green house cabinet (there are more sizes and color besides the like I provided).
Propagation
Bromeliads form offsets from the mother plant that you can divide and repot. I would recommend waiting about 4-6 months after they form off the mother plant because dividing them.
Other Facts
All part of the Bromeliaceae Family (Spanish Moss, Air Plants and Pineapples are apart of this family too
Native to tropical Americas and Western Africa
Most bromeliads are usually considered epiphytic or lithophytic.
This is because the derived their nutrients from water and decomposing organic matter.
Most bromeliads are known for their long lasting blooms. Many plants only live to push out that one flower and start to die after it is done. The offsets can almost almost always be found so you can bring life to the plant again when it dies! The mother plant survives for about 3-4 years.
These are non-toxic toxic to pets and people! If you are interested in learning about more pet friendly plants, check out Podcast Ep#31 for more info or the corresponding blog post!
Instagram Q&A
I always ask followers if they had any specific questions, opinions or hot-takes I can address in this podcast and blog. Here are what people told me and and my answers for this topic:
"Just got a huge pot of several varieties. Looking forward to some car tips!"
Luckily most varieties can tolerate about the same care so you should be good following the basic guidelines I lined up above!
"Are they tropical in origin? Looks like it!"
They most definitely are! They were introduced to Europe in the 1500's as the Pineapple but the Bromeliads as we know them now, didn't gained popularity until the Victorian era. In the 19th century, breeders started hybridizing them creating all the wonderful varieties we see today!
"Can they survive indoors and be planted outdoors?"
Only in tropical areas can they survive year long outside. You can definitely bring them outside during summer months when the nights are consistently about 55 degrees F.
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Always written with extreme plant passion!
Love, Holly (Owner & Creator of Houseplant Homebody LLC)
Big credit to my resources this time! They all had LOTS of information, history, reliable information...
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