# Bromeliad propagation prohibited?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bromeliad-propagation-prohibited/117425>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 5, 2002, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bromeliad-propagation-prohibited/117425 "2002-07-05T00:02:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bromeliad-propagation-prohibited/117425/1 "2002-07-05T00:02:24Z")

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Every so often, I’ll buy a potted bromeliad – for a black thumb like me, they’re very easy to maintain.

A few days ago, I bought a bromeliad at a local garden center. On the rear of the plastic stake containing information about the plant, there were very stern warnings in several languages, the English reading:

**PROPAGATION IS PROHIBITED**

So … why can’t I propagate a bromeliad?

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**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bromeliad-propagation-prohibited/117425/2 "2002-07-05T00:10:02Z")

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Someone else wants to make money propogating them and they don’t want the competition?  
See [http://bsi.org/main.htm](http://bsi.org/main.htm) and [http://fcbs.org/](http://fcbs.org/) for two organizations I found with Google which promote bromeliad propogation.

😃

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bromeliad-propagation-prohibited/117425/3 "2002-07-05T00:14:18Z")

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It may be a cultivar protected by the [Plant Variety Rights Act](http://www.defra.gov.uk/planth/pvs/default.htm) or your local equivalent thereof.

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bromeliad-propagation-prohibited/117425/4 "2002-07-05T00:16:15Z")

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Cultivated varieties of plants can be [patented](http://www.hgtv.com/HGTV/project/0,1158,GALA_project_36738,00.html) for 17 or 20 years, and while the patent is valid unauthorized propagation is prohibited.

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**Author:** ![Caught\_Work](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/919ad9/32.png) [@Caught\_Work](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caught_Work)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bromeliad-propagation-prohibited/117425/5 "2002-07-05T01:29:07Z")

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What if the plant repruces itself.  
Are you legally obliged to kill the offspring rather than ‘plant it out’?  
Do they mean propogation for commercial means?

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**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bromeliad-propagation-prohibited/117425/6 "2002-07-05T02:36:11Z")

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It is mostly for commercial propagation, greenhouses and nurseries can purchase the rights to propagate patented varieties, If you haven’t purchased the rights and are busted _selling_ patented varieties, you can get into trouble. Propagation of patented plants by the average person isn’t going to get you in any trouble, at least I haven’t heard of anyone getting busted. It would be very hard to enforce. Just don’t try and sell any! 😉