Bromeliad Blooming Overview
Bromeliad Flower Family Blooming Information Overview
Many factors cause bromeliads to bloom such as plant age, day length, light intensity, water and temperature. Some bromeliads bloom quite regularly while others do not. Research on the flowering process has shown that bromeliads can be induced to flower by exposing them to ethylene gas (a product of burning wood and leaves and ripening fruit and vegetables). After exposure to ethylene gas, the flowers appear, depending on the genus involved, within 6 to 14 weeks. A simple method that a home gardener can use to start bromeliads’ flowering is to place a healthy, mature plant with all the water drained from its cup inside a tightly closed, clear plastic bag for a week to 10 days with a ripe apple. During senescence (aging process), the apple releases ethylene gas that, in turn, induces the bromeliad to flower.
Chemicals such as “Ethrel” and “Omaflora” are available and are effective for inducing flowering in bromeliads. However, these chemicals are tricky to regulate and may interfere with pup development.
Ideal Temperatures for Blooming
To produce beautiful, long-lasting blooms, bromeliads must produce energy in the form of carbohydrates during the day when the temperature is high and store that energy at night when the temperature drops. This temperature fluctuation is necessary for orchids to bloom. Without a day-night fluctuation of 10-15 degrees Fahrenheit, the plants will grow plenty of healthy foliage but may stubbornly refuse to flower. A night temperature of 60-62 degrees F is ideal for optimum growth, but temperatures as low as 55 degrees F will not harm your plant. Daytime temperatures should range between 70 and 80 degrees F. Temperatures as high as 90-95 degrees F for short periods will cause no harm, however, as long as proper humidity and air circulation are maintained.
Blooming Considerations
In the world of the bromeliad, temperature, light and humidity work in conjunction with one another, and unless a harmonious relationship is achieved between them, optimum growth is not possible. In instances of low humidity, high temperatures can be dangerous; in the case of too much atmospheric moisture, the effects of low temperatures can be over-emphasized. A widely held misconception is that all tropical orchids need extremely high temperatures to survive. This is not altogether true, and to subject them to such treatment can be disastrous. In the very early days of orchid cultivation, many failures were due to growing orchids in the excessive temperatures of a “stove” house.
May 21, 2006
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Anne posted on August 8, 2006:
I have a very large (over 2 ft in height) bromeliad in my yard that I planted nearly 2 yrs ago it has never bloomed but this year it has produces a pup what do i need to do to produce flowers with this variety?
admin posted on August 10, 2006:
@Anne - Bromeliads only bloom once in their lifetime. The pups will bloom after one year of growth. After the pups have grown for about 12 months you can throw some old fruit around the roots to promote blooming.
Dorothy Ricciardi posted on August 13, 2006:
I have an indoor bromeliad plant. The single large flower in the middle was in bloom when I got my bromeliad. Now it looks like the flower and the stem have both started to die. Should I try to remove the flower and the stem? There are many pups growing around it. The bromeliad gets good light in the afternoons from my window. Thanks for the help!
admin posted on August 15, 2006:
@Dorothy - You can cut the flower and stem off, but it’s not needed for the bromeliad to stay healthy. You can transplant the pups and they will be ready to flower after one year of growth. The mother bromeliad will never flower again. Good luck!
Rick Trani posted on September 27, 2006:
On the care of my bromeliad, (pink flower in the middle) nice healthy frost-green leaves. If I remove the two pups now one large and one smaller one, will it end the bloom of my mother plant?
Elena posted on September 27, 2006:
I have an bromeliad plant in my office. It has a flower bud that hasn’t bloomed. I’ve had it like this for about 2 months. The bud was bright red when I got it, but now it’s not so bright. Is the something wrong? How long does it take the bud to bloom?
Rachel posted on October 31, 2006:
I am not sure that all bromeliads only bloom once. My mother has a bromeliad that has bloomed for the last five years. I have also been successful in forcing one of my bromeliads to bloom a second time.
Suzanne Fountain posted on November 15, 2006:
To promote my Bromeliad to flower, do I just throw an apple or the like near the base of the plant, or does the fruit have to be cut up or dig into the soil. Suzanne
Rosalinda Aguirre posted on June 19, 2007:
What kind of “potting soil” is best for transplanting the pups in a bromeliad. I have a beautiful potted one with 3 different varieties and each one has a pup. Want to transplant. Do you just pull them away or cut them off?
admin posted on June 20, 2007:
@ Rosalinda. It’s important not to remove the pups too soon. The offsets feed off of the deteriorating tissues of the parent plant. Also be aware that the offsets will die without rooting if the humidity is too low or if the pups are taken when too small. Even then the young pups may or may not have developed a root system of their own. Do not pot your pups until some roots have developed; with no roots to anchor them they can topple over. If it seems time to pot your pups, but their roots still look a little measly, for the first 3 to 4 weeks after repotting offsets, enclose them in a plastic bag to maintain very humid conditions (this should help the roots to grow more quickly). Check out my post on Propagating Bromeliads for more information on how and when to remove the pups.
After roots have developed your pups should be potted into a mixture of equal volumes of coarse sand and peat moss in a small pot, watered in and grown on in the normal conditions suitable for the type of bromeliad plant concerned. Subsequent watering is carried out at intervals and only when the compost is dry. There is no one potting mix which is better than any other, however, the following mixes are suggested:
* One part peat, one part bark, one part coarse sand
* One part peat, one part bark, one part perlite
* One part peat, one-half part leaf mold, one part coarse sand
You may want to check out my post on Bromeliad Soil for more info.
I hope some of this information has helped. Thanks for joining our community, and happy growing!
Sherri posted on October 9, 2007:
Once a plant has bloomed should the stalk be cut off?
Thanks,
Sherri
Maya posted on October 22, 2007:
I bought a bromeliad which had an unopened red flower sticking out of the middle cup. The only window I have to put it in doesn’t get any direct or bright sunlight. I never overwater and mist once or twice a day. But two weeks or so after I got it home, the beautiful red flower never opened and began to turn brown and died. So I pulled it out of the plant. Was this the right thing to do? Will it ever flower again? Also, I am getting brown, dead spots on a few of my leaves. PLEASE HELP!!!
Shannon posted on November 10, 2007:
I have a bromelaid that has already bloomed and there are no pups in the pot. Do I have a chance of seeing anything else, or do I just have greenery now?
rick trani posted on December 5, 2007:
The same bromeliad I reported in ‘06 had a total of six pups. The longer I left them on mom the larger the pups got. They have only been in their own pot for 4 months and I am trying the plastic and fruit thing. The first time I tried fruit around the root all it did was draw fruit flies (gnats). happily they were treated succuessfully. what are your thoughts?
pat posted on January 13, 2008:
Question for anyone…I got a bromeliad about 1 1/2 yrs ago, it never flowered, nor did it ever have a bloom! What should i do? the plant itself has grown but no shoots!
Shelley posted on February 1, 2008:
I have the same question as a previous post (that got no answer). Do I cut away or tear away the pups? Also, do I leave the mother plant alone or discard it…it’s not so bad off!?
Edna Searles posted on May 5, 2008:
I just purchased a bromeliad (bromeliac.cae) last Friday. Its leaves are turning brown at the ends. I repotted the plant last Monday and I have been keeping it in the living room,where the light is not bright. Please help me because I don’t know what is wrong.
Barbara posted on July 30, 2008:
I have 2 bromeliad the flower in the middle of both has turned brown. One of them looks like it has died the bulb is still in the pot. The other plant it still has green leafs but has some little one coming up around the bottom. Can I repot the small ones? I’m not real sure how to care for these plants. I just know the ones that I have seen are very pretty. I really would like to keep these for a very long time.
Evelyn posted on August 14, 2008:
My new bromeliad, given to me, was repotted about two weeks ago. Now the beautiful red bloom is turning green.
Help!
Donna posted on September 12, 2008:
Still hoping for an answer to how to remove the spent bloom. Anyone? Cut or tear or will it just fall off eventually?
Suzanne posted on December 27, 2008:
I would like an answer as to why the bloom of my bromeliad has turned green.
chevy peterson posted on January 18, 2009:
i have a bromeliad and left it outside last night and it got down to 27 i think it might have got frost bite how do i take care of it do i clip it or what all the help you can give chevy
Mary McGuinness posted on February 19, 2009:
I have a bromeliad which was bright scarlet when I bought it 6 months ago. The colour has faded and looks very dull. There are also three ‘pups’ which are empty and appear to be ‘crowding’ the mother plant. The mother has bloomed bright yellow flowers which I have removed. Should I remove the empty pups?
Shelly Hillman posted on May 12, 2009:
I purchased a Bromeliad for my office, one with 2 yellow spikes that fade into red. I noticed today that one of the sword-like blooms has small stamens suddenly growing out of it. Is this normal? Good? Bad?
Joan Spiegel posted on June 8, 2009:
What do we do after the bromelaid has bloomed? Do we cut it off? Do we continue with the watering? Is it dead? I keep it indoors. It was purchased two months ago. It has bloomed and the bloom is finished.
Janet Grogan posted on July 6, 2009:
My bromelaid is doing very well. However, the bloom is now very faded. It is an indoor plant. Do I cut the bloom or stem off. The plant has (2) pups on the perimeter of the plant. The plant looks very healthy. It is in a window with my orchids, east exposure. Thanks.jmg