After killing our first set of bromeliads, I gamely attempted to try again. I bought three rather smallish ones, and Ivylad and I transplanted them each into their own pots.
We’ve kept the center watered, but for some reason, the leaves are fading? dying? I don’t know, but they’re slowing turning from a rich green to a faded yellowish gray.
We planted them in Miracle Gro Potting soil with a sprinkle of Ironite at the bottom.
The flowers look fine, but the leaves don’t.
Have we inadvertantly murdered more bromeliads? Please help us save our plants!
The problem is there are somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000 species of bromeliad, depending on which source you trust. Do you know which species you have?
Just a WAG but, too much sun, perhaps? Most bromeliads require lots of bright, but not direct, sunlight. Too much direct sunlight may result in the fading you mention.
It’s also possible that they’re getting too much water, if they’re epiphytic bromeliads (also known as “air plants”). They’re usually rooted in moss or soil that has very poor water retention. The Miracle Gro you have may not be the right “formulation” for them. I’ve made that mistake, before. They don’t like their roots to stay wet.
Those are the two things I know of that tend to cause yellowing.
Well, I got them at Home Depot. (Yeah, I know, big help.)
I thought they were tropical plants, and that they could tolerate direct sunlight. I was also told you had to keep the “cup” made up of the inner leaves filled with water.
I don’t think they’re “air plants” since they were sold at Home Depot in regular plastic pots with soil.
I have two with an arrowhead-shaped “flower,” one is red and one is yellow. The other one has a beautiful deep purpley-pink flower with spiky leaves.
My step-mom mentioned they might be getting too much water, so I will move them out of the sun and not water them for a bit.
Sorry, I lost track of this thread. I believe it is good, or at least okay, to keep the central cup of leaves full of water. It’s the roots that may be too wet. If the potting soil you bought was intended to hold a lot of moisture, it may actually be “too good” for bromeliads. I believe that’s why they evolved that cup, in the first place. They also don’t get much direct sun, because the trees block almost all of it.
But, it sounds like the steps you plan to take should help. Sorry, I can’t identify the species from the descriptions.
I’ve grown them indoors in NZ. Dry, poor soil and we kept the ‘cup’ wet. Now I’ve got them growing outdoors here. Still try and keep the ‘cup’ with water in it but I don’t saturate the surrounding soil. They do seem to like filtered light as opposed to bright sunlight but I have no idea whether that translates for indoor conditions.
One thing I wonder about and I don’t know the answer, maybe Davebear does, but do they die after flowering? Mine seem to but it doesn’t matter in the garden because they’ve sent out shoots so I end up with more plants. I know my indoor one died after flowering.
Good luck. I’ve got one enchanting specimen which has red on the outer leaves and tiny little mauve flowers. Shame you’re not closer so I could share cuttings.
The dope is Ivy, they are a type of air plant. My wife and Ihave a variety of Bromeliads, and there are a variety of ways to take care them. They love, love, love CO[sub]2[/sub]. A quick way to revive them and keep them healthy is to give them an Apple Bath… Whats an Apple bath you say? Well take a nice Red Delicious Apple, place it in a large clear plastic bag, along with the bromeliad. Seal the bag with a twisty, and watch the metamorphesis infront of your eyes over the next 3 days. The flower gets really bright (to what ever color it was) the leaves perk up, and the plant is healthy again.
Most people don’t have greenhouses where there is copious amounts of CO[sub]2[/sub] all over the place, so the apple trick works wonders.
I’m working on a green house now, that’ll be attached to the house. I’m psyched.
Well, yes, they do, but it shouldn’t happen immediately. And, they definitely shouldn’t die while they’re flowering, as Ivylass’s seem to be doing. They usually live another year or two, after flowering. Not knowing what your feeding/fertilizing schedule is, perhaps if you fed them during the flowering, they’d last longer? Probably not worth it, for the outdoor plants, as they’re reproducing nicely, but if you have an indoor one you want to keep around, you might give it a try.
Interesting. I knew apples gave off ethylene gas, but hadn’t heard about the CO2 outgassing, before.
Here’s a really good link to bromeliad care info. It’s a good balance between too little and too much detail. It even mentions the apple trick, although they recommend it for forcing blossoming.
yes that’s what it is essentially for. Forcing a blossom. However, we have noticed a change in the overall plant as well. So I can not say it emits copious amounts of co2 but it does change the reactions with the plant.
If they are in direct sunlight and are not doing well, then take them out of the sun. They may be tropical plants, but many species live in the tropical rainforest. Not a lot of direct sunlight in the jungle.
