A Great Houseplant

Bromeliads

Originating from the tropics and found in the rain forests of Brazil, there are over 2,000 species of bromeliads. Some are grown for their flowers, others for their foliage, and contrarily to popular belief are not difficult to grow in doors. Most bromeliads are epiphytes (air plants) and in their native habitat grow suspended from trees and on rocks, gathering moisture and nutrients from rainfall and the air. (They aren't parasites on trees like mistletoe, only requiring support.)

Bromeliads may be displayed in pots, hanging baskets or 'mounted.' If you decide to pot them, be sure to use a light soil that drains easily and keep the soil just barely damp. Over potting and overwatering is fatal to their small root systems. You can also mount them on tree branches. Wrap the roots with moist sphagnum moss and secure the moss to the branch with plastic-covered green wire. Keep the moss moist by spraying it with water. The rosette of leaves molds into a cup which in the wild collects rainwater and holds it in reserve until it is needed. When it is grown indoors that cup must be kept filled with water, preferably rainwater, at all times. Also, in the wild, that vase of water attracts insects. As the insects are caught, they die and decay and release small amounts of fertilizer the plant needs. Now it's not necessary for you to keep a ready supply of dead flies on hand! A couple of drops of houseplant fertilizer into the cup once a month will do the trick. (I keep a bucket outside to collect rainwater, which attracts insects and use this to keep my bromeliads and all my other houseplants happy.)

The issue of light gets confusing. One book tells you it needs indirect light and cannot tolerate full sun; another says it needs lots of sun and high temperatures to bloom. I do know that excessive cold will kill it. Common sense tells me that filtered sunlight is best, imitating the exposure it would receive in the wild.

If you are having trouble getting your plant to bloom try placing it in a plastic bag with a ripe apple for a few days. The ethylene gas from the apple will initiate buds. When the plant stops flowering, and sometimes the flowers will last up to six months, the rosette enters a slow dying process that can last as long as three years. During this period new offspring will develop at the base of the plant (similar to the agave plant). When the baby rosettes are about 8-10 inches tall divide them from the mother plant, replant, and you will have an endless supply of bromeliads that bloom year after year (and make great gifts!).

Bromeliads-a houseplant that you should get to know.