Houseplant of the month: Bromeliad
Get to know our August houseplant of the month – the brilliant bromeliad!
Dreaming of a summer holiday in the tropics? While we can’t transport you to an exotic location, we can help transform your home and bring the tropics to you with a new houseplant! Found in the rainforests of South and Central America, bromeliads are a striking tropical houseplant for your collection that’s sure to brighten any room with its vibrant foliage
Find out everything you need to know about this beautiful and unique plant, including our top care tips and fun facts you can share to impress your plant-loving friends
Popular bromeliad varieties
Bromeliads are a part of the Bromeliaceous plant family, which includes thousands of plant species. The houseplant variations are most popular for their unusual appearance. They have sword-shaped, pointy leaves and bright-coloured blooms, but there are many distinct species that come in a variety of shapes and shades. Here are some of the most beautiful bromeliads:
Ananas ‘Mi Amigo’
This plant is more commonly known as the pineapple plant, due to the miniature pineapple that grows from its centre! Unfortunately, this fruit is best left as decoration and not eaten, as it’s quite bitter. This variety is the most famous of the bromeliads
Aechmea ‘Primera’
This variety of bromeliad has a distinct rosette of green leaves with silvery-grey markings and a bright pink flower. The Aechmea variety is also called the urn plant due to the urn-like cavity that’s created by overlapping leaves, which gather rainwater
Guzmania Fortuna
This variety is all about the colour. Its star-shaped blooms range in vivid shades of red and yellow to purple and white. The appearance of the flower really stands out against its glossy dark green foliage, giving your room a stylish, exotic look
Aechmea ‘Blue Rain’
It’s not hard to figure out why we love this unique bromeliad variety. This plant has a magnificent spear of technicolour blues, purples, pinks and reds, growing out from its luscious bright green foliage
How to care for your Bromeliad
Bromeliads are known as being good for beginner plant parents. While they are easy to look after, there are some parts of their care that are quite unique:
Light: Bromeliads prefer bright indirect sunlight, although some varieties prefer different light levels, so it’s handy to do your research beforehand
Water: Watering a bromeliad is a bit different than your other houseplants. It takes in water via a central 'vase' in the middle of the rosette of leaves. Keep this topped with fresh water. Bromeliads can be sensitive to the chemicals in tap water. If possible, use rainwater, or as an alternative boil and cool tap water. You should also water the compost, but only very little - make sure it never fully dries out
Humidity: Being tropical plants, bromeliads love warm and humid conditions. Mist the leaves and roots, or stand the plant in a tray of damp gravel to keep it moist
Temperature: Keep your bromeliad in a warm room, at a temperature of about 20 degrees
Soil: This plant prefers a soil that’s a half and half mix of peat free multi-purpose compost and orchid compost
Feeding: You can use a houseplant liquid feed when watering the rosette. Use the feed at half strength and only feed it through the spring and summer, about once a month if needed. Stop feeding bromeliads whenever they begin to flower
Repotting: You’ll only need to repot your bromeliad when its roots completely fill the pot
WHERE SHOULD I KEEP MY BROMELIAD?
Bromeliads thrive in conditions that mimic their natural habitat. Place them in a warm, humid environment, such as a bright steamy bathroom or busy kitchen. They can also be put in a conservatory, however, watch out for the leaves burning during very sunny days
Fun facts about bromeliads
Pineapples we would buy and eat from the shops are part of the bromeliad family too! Sadly, the fruit from your pineapple houseplant won’t grow as big
In the wild, frogs will raise their young in the middle of a bromeliad’s water-filled rosette
While bromeliads can be grown outdoors, it’s better to keep them as indoor plants only, as they hate cold temperatures and aren’t likely to survive a UK winter
In their native habitats, bromeliads grow on the sides of trees where they can reach better sunlight
An unusual characteristic of bromeliads is that the central rosette will die back after its bloomed. However, they produce new plants at the base which can be divided, potted and grown into new plants. They’ll take a few years to flower again, but it does make a fun growing project