How to Take Care of a Bromeliad Plant

Bromeliads create dramatic blossoms right before they begin to produce pups.

Bromeliad plants, which are part of the pineapple family, are cold-sensitive, tropical plants native to South American rain forests. With more than 2,000 varieties, they grow as landscape plants and houseplants, and also appear in floral arrangements. This plant consists of a compressed stem and leaves sprouting from a vase-shaped rosette. The arrangement of the leaves allows the bromeliad to catch and hold water. Bromeliads are available in two types: the epiphytic, which grows on a host plant, and terrestrial, which grows on the ground. Both are suitable for potting.

Things You'll Need

• Clay pots
• Water
• Soap
• Bleach
• Peat moss
• Shredded bark
• Sand
• Bromeliad plant
• Tray
• Pebbles
• Spray bottle
• Fertilizer

Instructions

1. Wash two clay plant pots in soapy water and rinse them in a mixture of one part bleach and nine parts water. Use a 2- to 3-inch pot for small bromeliads, or a 4- to 6-inch pot for large plants. Fill the plant pot with a mixture of equal parts of peat moss, shredded bark and sand.

2. Plant your bromeliad in the pot. Pour water through the soil and let it drain out the bottom. Place the small plant pot into a larger clay pot to provide stability to the top-heavy plant. Set your plant on a 2- to 3-inch deep tray filled with pebbles and water to increase the humidity around the plant.

3. Place the bromeliad and tray in an area with bright, indirect light. Always check the light requirement for your variety of bromeliad, since some need low light. The best growing temperatures for the bromeliad are between 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit at night.

4. Pour water down the center of the bromeliad plant whenever the soil starts to dry out. This will refill the leaf rosette, which should not become dry. Mist the plant with water daily to keep the humidity at a high level.

5. Feed the plant a 10-10-10 slow-release fertilizer once a month. Spread 1 teaspoon of fertilizer evenly across the soil surface and then water well. Do not allow the fertilizer to spill into the leaf wells, as it can cause salt burn.

6. Remove the pups with a sharp knife once they sprout their own roots. Pups form after the mother plant blossoms and right before the bromeliad dies. It can take up to three years for a bromeliad to flower. Pot the pups and enjoy a new generation of bromeliads.

Tips & Warnings

• The water-holding leaf wells of the bromeliad commonly serve as a swimming pool and drinking fountain for small animals in their native habitat. Some animals never leave the high treetops of the rainforest because they use bromeliads as a water source.

• Do not use regular potting soil to pot bromeliads. Potting soil retains too much water and holds onto moisture for too long, which causes root rot in bromeliad plants.

References

• Smithsonian Institution: Bromeliad Fact Sheet
• University of Hawai’i at Manoa: Bromeliad
• University of Florida IFAS Extension: Bromeliadss