Bromeliads, inflorescences and plastic bags.

I'm taking you indoors today and I'm going to let you into a little secret of how to get bromeliads to flower again and it involves the use of a plastic bag. Intrigued? well read on.  

Guzmania and Vriesea bromeliads are favourite houseplants of mine and I love their brightly coloured inflorescences (flower spikes) especially at this time of year in the house.  

I think they bring a little richness and exotica into a room.

This photo below was taken with my old point and shoot camera a few years ago while attending a trade show at IPM Essen, Germany. They had the most amazing collection of bromeliads attached to bamboo canes hanging from the ceiling in one of the 16 exhibition halls (I had sore feet that day!).

Those of you that live in places where bromeliads grow outdoors  like Floridagirl from Peace in the Valley will have no problem getting your bromeliad pups to flower from one generation to the next but over here in the UK and other colder regions of the world its the "air tight plastic bag method" that makes them flower again in the home!  Rosey from Dung hoe will remember that many months ago I wrote what seemed like a blog post in her comment section about how to get a pup to flower and I said that eventually I would write a concise piece on my own blog about it as I've given a few talks on the subject........... so here it is. 

My Bromeliad has finished flowering......

Lets just say that the bromeliad you purchased many many months ago has now finished flowering and has lost most of the colour from its inflorescences and you ask "What do I do with it now?" 

Well firstly don't throw it away. Once your bromeliad has flowered for you it will never flower again from that same rosette of leaves as it's a monocarpic plant. You will notice that at the base of the rosette of leaves at soil level there are little offshoots growing - known otherwise as pups. It's from these pups that the new flowers will come from.  If they are not there don't worry as they will soon appear as the parent plant very slowly dies away.  

Vriesea in full bloom

Cultivating the Pups

Let those pups grow until they are at least a third or preferably half the size of the parent plant. The longer you leave the pups attached to the parent the quicker they will mature.   It's at this stage that the pup has matured enough to be able to survive as an independent plant.  

You can either tease away each pup from the parent plant and re pot or else leave all the pups to flower in the same pot and cut away the parent plant at the base.  

If  you have difficulty teasing the pup away from the parent plant you will need to cut it away with a sharp knife and let the cut dry for a day before re potting.  Its best to grow these pups in a very free draining compost like a cacti and succulent one. 

Since they don't have a proper root system that absorbs nutrients but has anchors or hold fasts instead a pot similar in size to the one the parent plant was grown in will suffice.  

It probably takes on average 12 months to reach the mature plant stage and then you can force it to flower (which is what the commercial growers do except we're going to be doing it au natural).

The air tight plastic bag method

All the tools you need for this are:

1. A mature bromeliad pup not in flower.
2. A  clear plastic bag that has no air holes in it. (Garden centres or pet stores that have an aquatics department will normally have large clear bags and if asked might let you have one).
3. Some ripe fruit like an apple, kiwi or banana.

I wish you could see the looks on peoples faces when I tell them what tools are required - it always brings a smile to my face and sometimes they don't even believe me at first.

The Technique

First empty the water from its funnel/vase, then place the plant in the plastic bag along with a ripe fruit. 

Remember all those fruits that you are told to keep away from flowering plants - its those types that you need as we are going to use the ethylene gas that these fruits give off naturally from their skins to force the bromeliad to flower. 

Make sure the clear bag you use doesn't have any air holes at the sides as many bags have some as a safety feature.  Tie the bag well at the top with a tight knot and leave it for about 7-10 days which should be enough time for the gas to build up inside the bag and to stimulate the plant to flower. 

Then take the plant out of the bag and within 6-14 weeks hopefully you should have glorious coloured bromeliads in your home again.

Guzmania

Looking after a bromeliad

If you've never grown a Guzmania or Vriesea before then here are some cultural instructions on how to look after them.

In their native habitat which is in the tropical rain forests of South America and the southern states of the USA they are epiphytes clinging to the branches of trees or lodged in rock crevices collecting rainwater in their funnels.  While here in the northern hemisphere they are normally grown indoors in pots of compost or else mounted with wire onto wood and covered in sphagnum moss.

Bromeliad water funnel/vase

Their Features

• Bromeliads just like orchids will outlast a bunch of flowers any day - so are good value for money.
• They are resilient and very adaptable houseplants.
• They have health benefits as they give out oxygen during the day and absorb lots of nasty toxins around our homes during the night.

Light Levels

• They don't mind growing in shadier areas around the home but filtered light is best.

 Watering

• You keep their funnels/vases in the centre of the rosette of leaves filled with water during Spring, Summer and Autumn months while during the Winter you keep the funnel dry but add a little water around the compost so that it doesn't dry out completely.
• Change the water in the funnel every so often and when watering let the water spill over the vase so that it moistens the compost as well. Soft water or rain water is best.
• Don't water again until the top surface of the compost is dry to the touch as too much water around the roots will encourage root rot especially during the winter.

Temperature and Humidity

• They grow best at 55°F but can take shot periods less than this. They love to have their foliage misted especially if temperatures exceed 85°F as they love hot humid air rather than hot dry air. Misting is also beneficial during the winter months when its funnel/vase is kept dry.

Feeding

• They only require 1/4 or 1/3 strength of balanced fertilizer during Spring and Summer months added each month into the funnel/vase. They don't absorb nutrients from roots.
• Avoid high nitrogen feeds as they elongate the leaves.

   ............

Tell me who else has a love for bromeliads and how do you treat yours after flowering?

If you would like to read some more tips on inducing the flowering of Bromeliads you can read this post from AutumnBelle from My Nice Garden where she induced the flowering of a shop bought pineapple.

For more hot, loud and proud blooms this month please pop over to Noel at A plant fanatic in Hawaii.

Thank you for taking the time to visit today.

© 2010 on all text and photographs by Rosie at www.leavesnbloom.blogspot.com
First photo on this blog post taken from Curtis's Blotanical magazine 1848 - public domain 

"Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse." Romans 1:20

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