Do I just water in the colorful flowers?
0ft to light, direct
7” pot without drainage
Last watered 7 months ago
5
@LargeOrangezest hi Mary, welcome to Greg. Yes. Bromeliads naturally collect water in their central cup or urn. Fill the cup with water, but don't overfill it.
In warmer months, you may need to keep the cup about 1/4 to 1/2 full, while in cooler months, you can reduce the amount.
Flushing the cup with fresh water every few weeks can help prevent algae or bacteria buildup. I clean mine with a q-tip every month. You can water the soil as well but I find my plants flowers lasted longer just watering inside the cup.
In warmer months, you may need to keep the cup about 1/4 to 1/2 full, while in cooler months, you can reduce the amount.
Flushing the cup with fresh water every few weeks can help prevent algae or bacteria buildup. I clean mine with a q-tip every month. You can water the soil as well but I find my plants flowers lasted longer just watering inside the cup.
@Shells_Garden gotcha thanks! I'll fill each cup then with about 1/4 cup of water since it's still pretty chilly out. How do you flush the cups? Just clean the inside with a qtip sufficient? Do you put fertilizer too in the soil? Mine has oak bark I think. I'm new to planting.
@LargeOrangezest to flush the cup, just turn the plant on its side and gently spray water into the cup to remove any debris or buildup up then wipe the inside of the cup out with a qtip or cotton ball and add fresh water. I only water with filtered. If you are going to use tap water, let it sit out for 24 hours to evaporate the chemicals before pouring it into the cups. I use water soluble plant food instead of traditional fertilizer. I give my plants food once a month so yes, add the fertilizer to the soil not the cup.
@LargeOrangezest my mother plant died off last year but I propagated two of the pups that were growing alongside her. I also have a flaming sword bromeliad whose flower is dying off and she has 3 pups I’ll be removing and propagating soon. My baby plants won’t grow flower spikes for another year or two but it was a fun experiment and they are doing well so far!
