A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 Need tropical flower ID and info

Hi! Some good friends of mine dropped off a wonderful huge tropical plant here on their way out of town.

It is very large, has whorls of long, blotchy grey-green broad sword-like leaves with serrated edges, and as I recall, each plant blooms only once, but makes smaller plants frequently. There is one large, pink flower on it, which looks like a spiky finial atop a long stem.

I have admired this plant at their house before, and they said that they'd give me one, so I think this is meant as a gift. I'd like to know how to take care of it properly.

Thanks!

Hey Bess haven't seen you recently. I just wanted to stop by and say high. Good luck with your new plant.

Bess, is it a bromeliad? There are several types that you can search....

Dianna

Your Aechmea fasciata is in the Bromeliad (pineapple) family. Keep yours in a small 5 or 6 inch pot even though it may look too large for a small pot.

If you provide lots of bright light, the flower will last for as much as 6 months; 2 to 3 months in lower light.

Water the soil as soon as the top inch of soil feels dry. This plant is reasonably forgiving of watering lapses. Some sources will tell you to water it by keeping water in the cups. This is no longer regognized as a good practice.

Oh, what nice responses! (and Hi back atchya, Hoop!)

Dianna and Bill were right, it's an Aechmea fasciata of the Rio bromeliads. And Will, your information is priceless, as when I went to look up further information, I found lots of conflicting advice about keeping the cups full. Looks like my friends kept the cups watered, I can see it down there. But I'll take your advice and water the soil, instead.

What I have here is a 12-in. pot with four plants in it, one of which has the spiky pink flower head with the purply buds which stands almost two feet from the rim of the pot, or would if it wasn't leaning to one side. I have just watered the soil, maybe that will help it stand a little better? Or should I try to support the flower head?

Do you think it's okay for me to go ahead and seperate the individual plants and re-pot them in smaller pots? It's going to take gauntlets to avoid being scratched by those serrated edges, but I'll do it. Is it safe to mess with the blooming one, or will I be risking the flower?

Also, we're expecting lower temperatures this weekend, perhaps dipping into the low fifties (F) at night. Should I take it in off the porch?

Hi Bess,

The confusion about where to put the water stems from the fact that in their native tropical environments, Bromeliads grow in the crotches of tree branches where their cups collect water from the daily rains. However, when potted in a loose, porous soil, then their roots adapt accordingly and require that the soil get water when dry.

You have an unusual specimen, thanks to your very generous friend! I am not sure if you have one flowering “mother” plant with three surrounding “babies” or offsets or whether you have three separate plants with only one in bloom. If you could post some photos or send them to me at wcreed@HorticulturalHelp.com, I might be able to tell what you"ve got and how to proceed.

In the interim, I would advise against separating them as that might upset the flowering cycle. Those serrated edges can be nasty, so caution is advised!

The flower spikes are naturally wobbly and will always lean one way or the other. Just go with it and don"t try to correct it.

Temps that gradually move down to 50 degrees should not pose a problem. Move it inside when temps start to drop below 50 degrees.

More questions?

Thanks, Will! I will attempt to post a photo as soon as I can manage it. I've been having some trouble with my computer and have spent a maddening amount of time trying to correct it. If only I could just re-pot it!

Repotting a faulty computer almost always works! Just make sure the new soil is not contaminated with a virus!

Haha! Well, we'll see if the leaves drop off my Apple when I try to post this photo of my plant:


I hope you can tell if it's several pups and a Momma. There seem to be three or four whorls of leaves coming up from a common root system.

Also, the buds are looking much wearier since I took this photo a few days ago. Does it need more light? More water? Should I let it dry out between waterings?

That really is unusual! It s hard to tell from the photo, but I think you may have all adult plants. Can you tell if any of the others have ever flowered - any remnants of a flower spike inside the cups? Do any of the non-flowering plants look weak with lower leaves starting to deteriorate?

What buds are you referring too?

Wow! Gorgeous plants, Bess!

Thanks!

The buds I'm referring to are the rows of small pink things inside the larger spiky pink bract (if that's the proper term). They appear a little darker than the bubble-gum pink of the larger ...er, pink thing. I think my friend said they get little purply blooms. I could be wrong. It wouldn't be the first time.

I've been looking at the smaller whorls and it looks to me as if a few of them are hollow, as if maybe my friend snapped off the bud stem when it was done. But there is a small whorl that is a fresher, paler green than the others.

Hi Bess,

You seem interested in terminology. The whorls are called rosettes. The entire flower is called an inflorescence. The bubble gum pink portions are bracts and the flowers are small and blue.

The lighter green rosette is probably an offset.

What a wonderful picuter!! Good luck with it!!