Caring For The Unexpected House Plant

A Happy Addition To My House Plant Collection ...

I got a Bromeliad for Christmas ... yes, I can hear the philistines amongst you saying ‘You need to see a doctor for that ... he’ll clear it up straight away’ ...

A Bromeliad (pronounced ‘bro-meh-lee-ad’) isn’t a medical condition, but rather an exotic looking plant of the Bromeliaceae family. Including over 3000 named species the one you’ll be most familiar with is the pineapple ...
distinctive leaves of the houseplant bromeliad, the leaves of this plant form a spiral or rosette
Distinguishing Features ...

All bromeliads are formed by leaves that grow in a distinct spiral or ‘rosette’ shape. The different varieties of bromeliads have leaves which grow closer or further apart, so that you’ll see some types whose leaves grow so far apart that they are formed from an almost flat, single spiral of leaves. Others have leaves which overlap so closely that little ‘pockets’ are created at the base of the leaves, which catch and hold water.

At the centre of this spiral of leaves the bromeliad will form its flower ... well, to be precise you can find a few species which are an exemption to this rule but most of the bromeliads you or I will see have their flower in the centre. The flower will either form on a long rigid stalk which holds the flower above the main foliage of the plant or the stalk bends allowing the flower to hang like a ‘pendant’ over the leaves. With other species the stalk is so short that it allows the flower to rest closely within the centre of the leaves.

a bromeliad in full flower, the stalk of the bromeliad is formed at the centre of the foliage
A Beautiful Death ...

Although bromeliads produce a colourful flower ... depending on the variety either a single flower or a number of individual blooms ... the flower predicts the death of the plant.

Apart from a few, rare exceptions, after the flower has been produced the bromeliad will no longer produce any new foliage ... instead it will concentrate its energy on producing new plants, ‘plantlets’ or ‘pups’.

The mature plant then acts as the ‘mother’ from which the smaller plants rely on until they are large enough to produce roots of their own. You’ll then have a small ‘family’ of bromeliads ... maybe to give away as unexpected house plants for Christmas!
the pineapple is one of the most famous bromeliad species, the green top of the pineapple is a 'pup' and would create a new plant

Oh ... if you recall the most famous bromeliad is the pineapple ...

you may or may not be surprised to know that the green leaves at the top of the fruit are a ‘pup’ that could become a plant in its own right ...

Air Can Be As Important As Water ...

With over 3000 species, you could expect to find an unusual mix of plants ... this is especially evident when you look at the different ways in which these plants are happy to grow.

Like most types of plants, bromeliads are happy to grow in soil ... making them perfectly content as house plants in a pot.
a bromeliad growing on another plant for support, the bromeliad gains moisture and nutirents via its roots from the air However, you’ll also find some bromeliads quite happy to grow and flourish without this comfortable environment ... in fact they will grow on rock, with their roots pushing into small cracks in search of water and nutrients to keep them healthy.

And finally, you’ll find some species that are happier living as a ‘couple’ growing on another plant. These bromeliads don’t feed of their partner, rather they simply use them for support and gain their sustenance (moisture and nutrients) from the air surrounding their roots ... these species are often termed ‘air plants’.

Very Little Care Required ...

Luckily for me, bromeliads are supposed to be very easy to care for ... with an unexpected house plant you don’t want to have gained a ‘high maintenance’ plant with little chance of survival ... bromeliad in flower, pink flower of the bromeliad in the centre of the plant on a short flower stalk
Instructions which accompanied the plant read ‘Keep the cup in the centre of the plant filled with water. Only water the compost if it dries out and never let it become waterlogged’... sounds easy eh?
All I need to do now is locate my ‘posh’ Haws indoor water can (still in a packing box somewhere I’m afraid ...) so I can get the water into the centre of the plant without drenching the surrounding area!

And in regards to preventing water logging, just before Christmas I bought a set of Water Slices. Designed to make watering simple ... and to stop me over watering which I’m inclined to do with my houseplants ... I’m going to cut one of the slices down to fit into the base of the watertight pot in which my bromeliad is residing.

Instead of watering the plant itself, all I have to do is keep the water slice topped up with water. With the plant pot containing my bromeliad resting on top of the moist slice the plant can take up as much water as it needs without its roots sitting in water ... no chance of failure then!

I’m Expecting A Bear For Breakfast ... the bromeliad is one of the favourite foods of the spectacled bear
My only worry with my new bromeliad is the fact that its one of the favourite foods of spectacled bears ... and I don’t mean Paddington wearing his reading glasses (we all know his preferred food is marmalade) ... although I think in Yorkshire I should be quite safe from a bear having brunch in my kitchen!

Apparently the spectacle bears like to dine on honey (relating to Pooh Bear I guess ... ), tree bark (maybe thinking of its fibre requirements ...) as well as sugarcane, berries, grasses and insects. But amongst their favourite food these bears like to much on fruit or bromeliads ... they have been known to spend days collecting fruit ... even building platforms to help them reach their desired diet ... lets hope they don’t get to hear about my bromeliad then ...