I recently purchased a very pretty pink Bromolaid, the short kind. Unfortunately, the flower people only know how to arrange flowers, not how to grow them! What's the best environment for my newest pet, and how would I go about propagating it if I wanted? I am growing it indors, but have a full-spectrum light for my plant shelf. Thanks, Anne
First, when you say you have a pink bromeliad I am presuming you mean the flower is pink & the leaves are silverish or greyish green leaves. If so then you have Aechmea fasciata, also known as the Urn plant or sometimes call silver vase. If the leaves are pink then you have either Cryptanthus fosteranus (Earth Star) or possibly Nidularium which are both in the bromeliad family. What is confusing me is the fact that you said the short kind. I am giving you the information for the Urn plant though most of the information is the same for the other two types. Bright light is necessary. It can take full sun but not the hot sun during the summer between noon & 3. Full spectrum light on a plant shelf works well. If you are using halogen lights do not keep it too close or it will burn from the heat. Bright indirect light does work well. Always keep water in the vase or funnel. Let the soil dry a bit & never keep the soil soggy or too wet. The vase where the pink flower comes out of is called the mother plant. The flower or spadix can last for many months. Eventually the flower will fade & die & you can use it as a dry flower. Then the mother plant will die (this is very natural) but by the time the main vase dies you will have had several pups (offsets) begin to grow. Eventually they will also flower. You can either keep the pups in the same pot or when they are big enough you can separate them & plant them up in their own containers. Fertilize once a month using a week solution or bromeliad fertilizer. The plant must be mature to flower so be patient. If your plant is the Urn plant put the fertilizer (mixed with water) in the funnel. If it is the other two types put the fertilizer in the soil not the funnel. Trust this will help you along. Do check out other types of bromeliads, they are a wonderful plants & have a wide variety of flowers. Try Guzmania & Vriesea as well. Do Enjoy.
