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My Bromeliad is so poorly.....

alisonR8AtzuXTalisonR8AtzuXT Posts: 7
in Plants
Firstly apologies if the pictue is sideways - I don't know how to fix it.  Anyway - hi all - I'm new to the forum and would love some advice on how to bring my Bromeliad back to life! My Dad got it for me from Asda about 3 years ago. It was previously in a conservatory but is now up in a bright room where it doesn't get below 20 degrees. It looks nothing like it did when I first got it so I'd really like some advice on how to revive it! I think it definitely needs repotting - what's the best type of soil for this? And I read that you should out water into the plant - is that true? If anyone could please help that would be great - it's hung on for dear life for so long that I really now owe it the attention it deserves. Thanks in advance :) xxx

Posts

  • thevictorianthevictorian Posts: 730
    Hi, was this in flower when you got it? Generally when you see a plant like yours the larger central plant is the mother plant which has flowered and the smaller side growth is a pup. If this is the case then the mother plant will slowly fade away after flowering (this can take a very long time) and produces pups. These pups then grow on before they flower and repeat the whole process. 
    This is important because once a plant has flowered it is on borrowed time and although can remain healthy looking it will be in its slow senescence.

    From the picture they both look chlorotic, pale, yellow. You could try a weak feed like you'd use on an orchid for instance. You can put this in the central cup of the bromeliads.  

    If you look under guzmania bromeliad you should find plenty of care info but this explains some of the basics

    https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/growing-bromeliads/#:~:text=Add a house plant fertiliser,moist gravel, or mist regularly.
  • msqingxiaomsqingxiao North LondonPosts: 408
    Agreed with above. The pup seems to be a decent size already so if it was me I'd pull it off and pot separately. The way to water bromeliads is a bit unique, as described in the article in the link, to water the centre of the rosette.

    I've got two bromeliads grown from pups but I haven't managed to get them to rebloom yet... 
  • alisonR8AtzuXTalisonR8AtzuXT Posts: 7
    Hi both - thanks for the advice – it's really useful! And thank you for the link about how to pot them. I will repot the pup and give it lots of TLC. Thanks once again! :)
  • alisonR8AtzuXTalisonR8AtzuXT Posts: 7
    Hi all - a follow up question on the above! I've brought the plant up to a warm, bright room and it's looking healthier and sent up two pups so things are going the right way! However, I need to repot it but am reading conflicting advice - should I use peat-free compost or not? If anyone has advice about the best soil and any mixes to use I'd really appreciate it :)
  • msqingxiaomsqingxiao North LondonPosts: 408
    alisonR8AtzuXT said:
    Hi all - a follow up question on the above! I've brought the plant up to a warm, bright room and it's looking healthier and sent up two pups so things are going the right way! However, I need to repot it but am reading conflicting advice - should I use peat-free compost or not? If anyone has advice about the best soil and any mixes to use I'd really appreciate it :)
    "If you want to repot it, a 50:50 mix of peat-free, multi-purpose compost and orchid compost is ideal." - from the GW webpage somebody pasted in earlier posts
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