Bromeliads Propagation Overview
Bromeliad Flower Family Propagation Information Overview
Bromeliads can be propagated by removal of “pups” or “offsets” from the “mother plant” (asexual) or by seed (sexual). Bromeliads slowly die over a period of a year or two after flowering. However, several pups usually develop during the flowering cycle and usually emerge from the soil near the edge of the container. The pups should be separated from the mother plant after they have developed a small rosette of leaves similar to the mother plant. To remove a pup, use a serrated knife, pruning shears or small saw. Coarse hacksaw blades may also be used for this purpose. Push the saw blade into the growing medium, between the pup and mother plant, and cut through near the base of the mother plant. The young pup may or may not have developed a root system of its own. Don’t be alarmed if it hasn’t. Add more potting medium to the area where the pup has been removed and transplant the newly cut pup into another pot. The mother plant, especially if helped along with a small amount of dilute fertilizer, will continue to produce pups until it dies. Pups should begin growing soon even though initially roots may be absent. Don’t overwater. These plants will normally flower in 1 to 3 years. Propagation by vegetative means (pups) is by far the best and most satisfactory method for home gardeners.
Seed propagation is a long and tedious method of producing large numbers of bromeliads at a relatively small expense. Seeds can be sown in pots or flats on a surface of moist sphagnum moss or finely screened potting soil containing 50 to 75 percent organic matter. Because seeds are sown on the surface, a glass cover should be placed over the pot or flat to maintain a high humidity and prevent the medium from drying out too rapidly.
Seedlings are usually left in the propagation container until they are 1½ and 2 inches tall and then transplanted directly to small pots. Plants grown from seeds normally require 3 to 6 years to attain flowering size.
Bromeliads Propagation Information
May 21, 2006
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Rick Trani posted on September 21, 2006:
Hello, recently I bought a bromeliad the type I think was testudo, it has frosty green leaves and a beautiful pink bursting flower in the center. I have fallen in love I think with these bromeliads and am investigating the several ways of propagating them. the pups haven’t yet appeared on my plant but I will keep an eye open for them. It is true that these beautiful plants require little care. I’m a beginner and I like to care for beautiful things. I’m recently the gardener at the church I go to, strictly voluntarily work but it does wonders for my frame of mind. thanks for your website, and if you have any short publications to send out I would be pleased to read them. thanks very much.
admin posted on September 24, 2006:
@Rick - Bromeliads are easy to care for. They need good light, well drained soil, and a little TLC. You should see the pups soon after the bloom dies. Good luck!
Paulette Weber posted on October 29, 2006:
Four months ago I bought 3 Bromeliads because they were in flower and I thought they looked nice. They don’t have names on them, I’ll have to go searching I guess. Now I find I am in love with them. They have THE most gorgeous deep rust flowers which keep opening up and surprising me more and more. They have flowered for months. This is how I am on your site - I want to find out more and more. My time is very limited and we have just built a shadehouse (we live mid coast NSW in Australia so the heat is great, drought worse,until it rains then we get a good soak, all in all it is a subtropical climate). I am a beginner so no talent only a keeness to have many more of these wonderful plants. The variety astound me. Will they do okay in the shadehouse, it is under two huge eucalypts which give shade, but 50% shadecloth is allowing light and some sun. Will I have to put them outdoors to bloom properly? You who have been with these beauties for years will think me naive or worse, I wonder why I not have paid them due attention before.
admin posted on November 6, 2006:
@Paulette - The shadehouse will be perfect. Most Bromeliads do not like direct sunlight. Keep the soil moist but well drained most of the time and add some pieces of old fruit to the base to trigger blooming after one year of growth.
toby posted on November 25, 2006:
I have a bromeliad that I’ve identified as being probably a guzmania. It was given to me in a glass pot growing in lots of small translucent beads. I’m new to keeping plants, but I think I’ve identified these as being Perlite.
The flower has been and gone and it now has a pup ripe to be taken off. It has also begun to grow a noticeable root system (when I received it appeared to have no roots).
I now have the issue of what to pot the pup in. At your best guess, do you think I should repot it in perlite like the mother, or in an appropriate soil? I’m also keen to do something with the mother, since the original beads are now looking green and sludgey, what do you think?
If you could answer my questions I’d be very very grateful. Many thanks in advance!!
Melinda posted on March 9, 2007:
I have a bromeliad that was my mothers that came from Florida. I am not sure what type it is. She had it for at least 20 years and I have had it for 4. It has never bloomed but has had lots of pups. I have it in a very large pot because it keeps growing larger and larger. What can I do to get it to bloom?
admin posted on March 9, 2007:
@ Melinda-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.
There are also chemicals such as “Ethrel” and “Omaflora” that are available and are effective for inducing flowering in bromeliads. However, these chemicals are tricky to regulate and may interfere with pup development.
Take a look at my Bromeliad Blooming Overview, and see if any of the information there helps.
Another route you might want to take is propagation. First refer to my Blooming Bromeliads Again article, and see if any of this applies to you. After you’ve followed the instructions in that post, refer back to my Bromeliads Propagation Overview.
Good luck, and happy growing!
Joe Terkaly posted on March 30, 2007:
In your response you say to ” throw some old fruit around the roots to promote blooming.” What do you mean by that, what is old fruit?
Thanks
admin posted on March 30, 2007:
@Joe Terkaly. Well actually it doesn’t have to be “old” fruit. I just meant the remains of what you didn’t eat, basically. You could use a ripe apple (slices) or several apple cores if you wanted.
Check out my post Caring For Bromeliads - Fertilizer. Here you’ll find a more detailed response!
Happy Growing!
Savana posted on May 24, 2007:
Please help! I have had a bromeliad for over a year and she is starting to die off. There are two pups on her but i am not entirly sure how to cut them or where i resoil them. Would i just put them in new soil? And do i only cut the pup off of the mother plant? I really dont want to kill them in the process.
admin posted on May 26, 2007:
@ Savana. It’s important not to remove the pups to soon from the mother plant, because the offsets feed off of the deteriorating tissues of the parent plant. Check out my post on Caring For Bromeliads - Propagation! This post should give you all the information you need on what to do with your new bromeliad pups!
You may also want to take a look at my post on Blooming Bromeliads Again for tips and suggestions on what to do as your bromeliad plant is beginning to die, and it’s new pups are beginning to grow!
I hope these posts help! Happy Growing!
Jane Poole posted on June 20, 2007:
My bromeliad plant is in a shaded are but keeps growing and growing. I now have about 5-6 pups, as you call them - but they are very mature plants the size of the “mother”. Can i dig them up and move them to another location, or will they be all right to just keep multiplying in the same location? I live in Central Florida.
admin posted on June 22, 2007:
@ Jane. First off welcome to our small community, I hope you find the posts here helpful! As for your pups: you should definitely separate the pups from the mother plant. If you leave them to continue to grow where they are, they’ll just continue to feed off of the mother plant, leaving it to slowly die. Plus it sounds like you’ve accumulated some great new plants that; within about a year to a year and a half of growing, should bloom!
The mother plant sounds pretty healthy so it may put out even more pups for you! Check out my Blooming Bromeliads Again post for more tips on what to do with the mother plant and her pups!
Make sure that the pups have developed their own roots (at this stage in growing, I’m sure your pups have roots of their own, just be sure to keep them intact when removing from the mother plant), then you can pot them in pots of their own. For more info. on which soil types to use check out my post on Caring For Bromeliads - Soil.
For more suggestions on potting your pups, see my post Caring For Bromeliads - Repotting.
I hope some of this informations helps! Happy growing!:)
Heather posted on November 2, 2007:
How do I remove the pups that grow from the center of the mother plant?
I have had tons of success with the type that grow from the side, but I have two variegated broms with large pups coming from the center of the mother - HELP!
richard trani posted on December 5, 2007:
I’m trying to figure out what kind of soil is best for propagating pups.
The bromeliad I have was bought from Home Depot, is thick green white frosty covering the leaves. Produced a lot of pups. Doesn’t root that well and I’m using cactus/palm/citrus potting soil presently. The blooms are beautiful pink with spikes shooting out from the bloom. wow!
Jodi Allen posted on February 21, 2008:
I have I believe a Guzmania variety. The bloom has recently died and 1 pup is starting to grow. I see that it says to remove the pup when it is 2/3 the height of the mother plant. Do I include the flower in this measurement? The flower is all dried out now but the leaves on the bottom are still green. is it ok to cut off the dead flower? or should I keep it intact. My pup is about 5″tall. How do I get the mother to grow more pups? Any help would be appreciated.
Patricia Gould posted on April 4, 2008:
I have found this web very interesting, I have a Bromeliad (aechmea). The flower has died, there are two pups almost the size of the mother plant. I’m going to transplant them in a cactus soil. I noticed that the mother plant is looking kinda sickly and I thought I was watering it wrong. I was just watering by pouring the water into the center of the plants and then I found out that the soil isn’t suppose to be dry, so I started to put a little water there too? Am I giving it to much TLC? This is when the mother plant started to look sickly. I would appreciate your help on the watering technique. Thank you Patricia Gould
Sarah posted on April 17, 2008:
The pup on my bromeliad has been growing for about six months and is about ten inches long. Is it too late to cut it off from the mother plant? Thanks!
Sarah posted on April 17, 2008:
Never mind my last post. I found the answer with a more careful read of your answers to past questions. Thanks so much for all the great information on taking care of these plants!
bobby benton posted on May 5, 2008:
I have had my Bromeliad for one year. Name? The foliage looks like green leaves with grayish green tiger strips and has one flower shaped like a long red
feather. Sides of the red flower also have little yellow sprouts. I have it indoors and appears to be in good health. I try to keep water in the base of the foliage and the plastic pot has very good drainage although I do see some of the tips of the green foliage turning brown.
My questions are:
How do I get it to produce another flower?
What type fertilizer should I use?