Need help with culture and blooming

Hello everyone!

I purchased a couple of bromeliads about 6 months ago. Their blooms were well past their prime but they were cheap so I thought I'd give a shot at reblooming. I've heard something in the distant past about putting them in a plastic bag with an apple wedge. Can someone please tell me what to do and timing.....for instance, is now a good time to do this, and how long till it will put up a bloom head?

One more thing.....I read something that said bromeliads have fleshy leaves. The ones on these plants are pretty thin. Nothing that would even come close to "fleshy". I water them only when the potting mix is dry and I make sure all the cups have water in them.

I appreciate any help or advice!
Thanks!
Sharon

These look like Guzmania hybrids, the kind you always see in airports (at least in the south) and hotel lobbies (because they stay in color for months.) Guzmanias don't have fleshy leaves.

The "mother" plants that have bloomed will only bloom again from a new offset (a pup). These form in the leaf axils and can be removed when 1/3 to 1/2 of the size of the old plant (you can leave them on and grow on as a multiple, you just won't get as many pups). On Guzmanias you can almost always remove them by hand by bending the pup away from the mother plant and pulling side to side. Just be sure that some of the more woody base comes away with the pup. They root easily - just don't plant too deeply.

The apple trick will work only on a reasonably mature plant. Guzmanias are strong growers that soak up fertilizer (relatively). I wouldn't let the pots dry out for very long and try to put only rain water in the cups. Municipal water is great for drinking but the calcium/magnesium will be left behind when it evaporates. This isn't desirable.

Have fun!
Dave

I don't have city water.....country well water hard enough to chew. LOL! Ok.....I use a reverse osmosis system for watering (I have orchids too) but I add fertilizer to it. Won't ANY fertilizer (salts of some flavor) leave deposits on the leaves? That said, I'm sure the RO water with fertilizer has a LOT less dissolved solids than my well water. There are about 4 or 5 "pups". I put in quotes because they are about the same size as the mother plant.

On a different note......do bromeliads like this have roots? My understanding is they do not...that they get their nutrients from the water in the cups. If that's correct how do they stay upright in the pot. Is it obvious that I know next to nothing about bromeliads?

While they are epiphytes in nature, most Bromeliads (except most Tillandias) adapt readily to pot culture and develop a strong root system that will stay that way as long as it doesn't dry out for long times. In nature with the barrage of nutrients available, the roots grow only for anchorage. There are quite a few terrestrial Bromeliads like the Pineapple but all Guzmanias are epiphytic (in nature).

So generally limit your fertilization to the pots. You can add a very weak fertilizer to the cup water.

RO water will be fine in the cups. I have a deionized water system I use just for misting. Our municipal water is only moderately hard (about 150 ppm) and I water with it in the pots.

If the pups are as large as mom they are capable of blooming. However, wholesale Guzmania growers treat their plants with ethylene gas (the same stuff given off by a ripening apple) often before natural maturity, so your pups may get quite a bit bigger before blooming on their own.

Keeping a pup upright is a challenge especially for plants like Guzmanias that usually have neither roots nor a stolon. One trick is to make a criss-cross of two pieces of masking tape with the center folded in on itself. Put the tape from outside of the pot top edge then the folded part around the pup, make a 90 degree turn around the pup and back to the pot. Put the other piece of tape on the opposite side as the first and the pup will stay nicely in place. If I remember, I'll post a picture as it will be much more obvious than my wordy explanation.