Bromeliads in general are one of the easiest house plants to care for. However, most of the disease problems come from the result of "less than ideal" growing conditions.

Low temperatures (in the 40’s) and over watering as is the case of most house plants can cause the crown to root. The leaves may be tough but mechanical injury can also lead to disease problems or just an overall "unhealthy" look.

Bromeliads can handle a wide range of light exposure and intensities… everything from low light to full sun depending on the variety.

Your bromeliads will look much better when they receive the proper light levels. The “perfect” light level varies depending on the Bromeliad variety.

For example, Tillandsias and Aechmeas often carry a hard, thick gray-green coloring with “silver” or “fuzzy” hair-like scales on the outside. These varieties can withstand higher light levels than varieties like Guzmania with soft green leaves.

In your home, a window with a southern, eastern or western exposure should provide satisfactory light for a Bromeliad, but “watch out”… most varieties used as house plants must not be exposed to the direct sunrays.

Your Bromeliad will “talk” to you about the current state of the light it receives… if the plant leaves carry a yellowish or pale green look, the light level is most likely too high. On the flip side a darker than normal green with elongated or open leaves may mean the light level is too low.

Much of the light needs depend on variety. Thick, hard leaves will handle much more light than soft dark green varieties.

This past week I was in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a weekend seminar. Whenever I visit places checking out the use of plants always ranks up high on the list… both indoors (house plants) and outdoor landscape.

Down a few of the hotel hallways you would find various places to sit and have more private conversations with other seminar attendees. Decorating these areas were both live and artifical plants and flowers.

There were several Bromeliad arrangements  displayed  on  "hall tables"  with some type of artwork above the flower arrangements. Getting feedback from a friend who traveled in from Canada proved to be interesting.

Immediately she saw the Bromeliads and remarked how nice it was to see "fresh flowers" after traveling from the cold, freezing north! She was very surprised when I showed her the Bromeliads in the picture were actually  artifical.  The quality is amazing. I ALWAYS prefer live plants over artifical but do understand their need and use.

Watering is probably one of the top questions I receive on house plant care… and bromeliads are no different. Hopefully this information will provide some help in watering your bromeliads.

In their natural surroundings, bromeliads grow under many different conditions. My general rule on watering most houseplants is as follows. Water well, allow excess water to drain, allow to dry out before watering again.

Filling up the Bromeliad!

Most bromeliads you find in the stores today come with their own water tank, or”tank type" bromeliads. The reason for this name is because of the “cup” or “vase” formed as the rosette of leaves come together.

The plant holds water in this “tank.” Plants with cups should be filled, and not allowed to remain empty… however; inside they can run a little drier.

Tank Maintenance

Water should never “sit” for very long or it becomes stagnate and smelly! I like to flush the bromeliad tank out periodically with plenty of fresh water.

There are a couple reasons for this:

• The stagnate water I just mentioned
• Salt build up in the cup or vase as water evaporates

One problem with bromeliads outside is when the temps fall into the 30’s and water sits in cups… you may notice some damage from possible freezing water.

Some people (with plants indoors) mist their plant a couple time’s e a week in addition to watering because of the low humidity inside… however I don’t.

Water Quality

The quality of the water is important in my opinion with any house plant care. Tap water usually is fine for watering the pots and soil area. But for better results I prefer using rain, distilled or reverse-osmosis water for the tanks or cups. If you use city water, flush the plant and tank periodically to reduce chances of salt damage.

I know Bromeliads are considered tough and carefree as an indoor house plant, plus they provide long-term indoor color for months at a time. Most of the problems encountered with bromeliads grown inside are usually associated over watering causing rot. By following these watering guidelines:

Water well, allow excess water to drain, allow to dry out before watering again.

You should be well on your way to having a healthy bromeliad to enjoy for months and months.

Can you remember back when you were in elementary school or junior high and did some kind of science experiment? I can!

At times I wonder what planet I came from when I come up with a statement like… "Growers should offer some bromeliad plants without flowers!" Often I listen to growers talk about "how" they can increase awareness of the plants they work so hard to produce. Their solution usually comes down to coming up with a new variety or planting in a different pot or finding new customer… something "extreme" like that.

Bromeliads are known for delivering great color both as house plants or in the landscape. In case you are not aware, probably about 99.9% of all the bromeliad  varieties  sold in the chains like "Home Depot", "Lowe’s"  and "Walmart"  find themselves "forced" into flower.  Once the plants reach a size the plants then "get gased" which forces them into flower about 6-12 weeks later depending on the time of year, light, heat and other factors.

So where am I going with all this?

A great way to "grow" some consumers is by bringing together the growers and big box retailers. How you say? I’d love to see one of those retailers … or all of them… use bromeliads as a way to teach some science and get kids interested in house plants.  They can do this "creating" a bromeliad science experiment.

You may want to try this for yourself, if you have a nice size but old "unflowered" bromeliad around.

You can be the "grower" and force the plant to flower! It’s not that hard to do!

Simply take a mature bromeliad (Aechmeas and Guzmanias are great for this) put the whole plant, pot and all, into a large plastic bag. Now toss in a ripe apple  and set the "bagged" plant in a low-light place and out of any direct light. Leave the plant in the bag for few days, and then pull out the apple and plant. This should force the plant to "flower". Put the plant back into it’s usual growing area.

Remember to give it some time… 6-12 weeks minimum to see some bloom happenings.

Although this science experiment is simple to do, the problem lies in students, in fact most people do not have any option to pick up an unflowered bromeliad to do the experiment.

My hope is that somewhere along the line one of these retailers will take the idea and run with it.