SEATTLE — Most bromeliads are grown for their spectacular blooms which can last for up to three months in the home, but some species such as Aechmea, Vriesea, and Crypanthus rarely bloom and boast such colorful leaves. They’re often grown for the beauty of their foliage rather than the flowers.
It’s easy to keep your bromeliad looking great and blooming for months in your home. The flowers last longer if you can find plants that are just starting to bloom.
Locate the plant in a brightly-lit location away from direct sunlight. Keep the central vase section of the plant filled with water at all times, but water the soil in the pot only when the surface feels dry. Mist leaves regularly, and feed the plant once a month by adding a quarter-strength soluble fertilizer into the spritzer bottle and misting it onto the leaves.
Once the flower fades, the mother will begin to die but offsets or pup plants will appear at the base of the plant to take her place. If the plant has attractive foliage wait until the pups are about one-third the size of the mother plant, cut each off and firm the base of the pup in a shallow pot filled with seeding soil. Keep the soil moist and the offset will quickly root to become a new attractive plant. If the foliage is nothing special, throw the plant away. It’s almost impossible to get the pups to ever produce flowers again in the average home.
Segment Producer Suzie Wiley. Watch New Day Northwest at 11 a.m. weekdays on KING 5 and streaming live on KING5.com. Contact New Day.