Plant Care Guides / Indoor / Moderate Care
Bromeliads are the exotic-looking plants with a rosette of stiff, often patterned leaves and a dramatic flower spike that rises from the centre. The spike can last for months, which is part of their appeal. This covers both the Aechmea (with its striking pink or red spike) and the Vriesea (known for its flattened, sword-shaped flower), which need the same care.
Here is the thing about bromeliads that catches people off guard: the parent rosette flowers once, then slowly dies. But it produces offsets, called pups, around its base before it goes. Those pups can be separated and potted up once they are about a third the size of the parent, and each one will eventually flower in its own right. So one bromeliad becomes many over time.
Bright, indirect light. They tolerate lower light, but flowering is less likely and the leaf colour dulls. Avoid harsh direct sun, which can bleach or scorch the leaves.
Water both the soil and the central cup (the natural reservoir formed by the rosette). Keep the cup topped up with fresh water and flush it out every couple of weeks to prevent it going stagnant. Keep the soil lightly moist but not wet. They appreciate humidity but cope in normal household conditions. In winter, reduce watering and let the cup dry out occasionally.
Feed lightly. Once a month through the growing season, add a very dilute liquid fertiliser to the central cup or the soil, not both. Bromeliads are not heavy feeders.
They have small root systems and rarely need repotting. When potting up pups, use a fast-draining mix, orchid bark mixed with standard potting soil works well. A small pot is fine; the roots are mainly for anchorage.
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