Bromeliads are attractive plants that make a strong reminder of the exotic plants of the tropics. Most of us are at least somewhat familiar with bromeliads as exotic tropical plants that show off beautifully as house plants in our climate. If not, it is sure that you will know of one edible member of this family. The pineapple, Ananas comosus, is one of the 3000 species in 56 genera of Bromeliads.

Other bromeliads look like grasses or aloes or yuccas. One surprise cousin to the pineapple is the Spanish moss that hangs in the trees of the Southern States. The plant is an impostor & it is neither moss nor Spanish.

The bromeliads most of us know grow thick, heavy leaves in a whorl forming a cup in the center of the plant. Blossoms surrounded or mixed with brilliantly colored bracts may emerge from this open center for a dazzling flower show.

Light is the limiting factor but if you can provide enough, they are relatively easy to grow, require little care. As they grow, many put out beautifully colored leaves and their crowning achievement is their blossoms. They may grow as tiny miniatures or giant plants.

All but one of the 3000 species are native to the Americas. The only other species is native to Africa. Before Columbus introduced pineapples to the Old World in 1493, bromeliads were unknown there. It took only 50 years before they were cultivated in India and other Old World countries.

Nearly 300 years passed before any other bromeliads arrived in Europe. For centuries, domestic versions were pretty much confined to the private greenhouses of the wealthy in northern climes, but during the past 100 years, they have become popular with the masses. More varieties are available now than ever before and new species are still being discovered. Plant breeders continue to develop even more.

The pineapple is the only bromeliad cultivated for food, and the stems contain an enzyme, bromelain, which makes a good meat tenderizer.

Several species of bromeliads are cultivated for fiber, while Spanish moss has a tough wiry texture. It was once used to stuff upholstery.

Remember that there is no such thing as a true house plant. All plants grow naturally somewhere but only mold grows naturally inside houses. For healthy indoor gardens, try to re-create the natural conditions of any plant you grow. Bromeliads grow in the tropics and subtropics at altitudes from sea level to more than 14,000 feet. Their habitats range from hot, dry deserts to rainforests to cool mountainous areas. But most that we grow indoors are tropical.

Many beautiful specimens are epiphytes that grow naturally on plants, usually trees. They obtain their nutrition and moisture from the air and the moisture and debris that drops down from above.

Other species may grow on rocks. The bases of the leaves of both these types overlap to form cups that can collect water and leaves or insects that land in it. They do not have to rely on their roots for nourishment as the contents of the cup help nourish it. Instead, the roots act as anchors to hold the plant safely in place.

The bromeliads that grow in the ground do rely on their roots to take up moisture and nutrients.

You may notice that the leaves bromeliads look fuzzy. That “fuzz” is actually tiny scales called trichomes that help capture and absorb water. In desert species, they also reduce water loss and shield the plant from the sun.

The flowers form in the center and may be long or short, erect or pendulous. Many of the flowers have beautiful leaf-like bracts that attract pollinators.

Most houseplant bromeliads require a sunny exposure for 12 to 14 hours daily. If you grow plants under lights, place six to 12 inches below a four-tube fixture. Maintain night temperatures of 60 to 65 degrees and daytime temperatures should be 70 degrees or higher.

Humidity will be the limiting factor here, so place them on a pebble tray or use a humidifier to keep air moisture up to about 50 percent.

Pour water into the center of the plant’s leaf rosette and add water to the growing medium only when it feels dry when pinched between your fingers. Too much water in the growing medium will rot the base of the plant.

Avoid the grow, slow, grow, slow, grow cycle by fertilizing weekly with a water-soluble balanced fertilizer at one-fourth the recommended strength.

To encourage flowering in mature plants over a year old, put the plant, pot and all, in a large plastic bag with a ripe apple and set it in a lower-light place. Leave it for several days, and then remove the apple. This will force the plant to set blossoms.

Most often the plants flower only once at the end of their cycle & then they quit making leaves. The good news, however, is that they send up side shoots & “pups” or “offsets” & most often around the base of the plant. The mother plant provides sustenance until the small ones are large enough to send out roots and survive on their own. The mother plant may survive long enough to start a generation or two before it finally dies.

Sometimes the pups are produced on top of a flower spike. That crown-like top on a pineapple will act as a pup and is capable of starting another pineapple plant.

If you are interested and have a couple of years to tinker with it, you can grow a pineapple at home using one you purchased fresh.

Get the leafy crown from the fruit by twisting it free. Put it in a dark place for a week to let the bottom end harden. Put an inch of coarse gravel over small stones in an eight inch, porous terra-cotta pot and fill it with a good, light potting soil. A good bromeliad mix for this or other plants of this family is at the end of this article.

After the pineapple roots, place the pot in a sunny window. Water the soil when it becomes dry to the touch and fertilize with household plant food about every three months or add a very dilute solution more often.

The plant should grow in the eight inch pot for about a year. Then transplant it into a 12 inch pot using the same methods. Excellent drainage and a sunny location are essential.

When the plant is about 18 months old, a bright red cone will sprout. If it hasn’t happened by the time it has been growing for 20 months, put the plant, pot and all, in a large plastic bag with a ripe apple. Tie it closed and move it to a less lighted place for three days. Remove the bag and apple and put the plant back in the sun. The red cone will appear in about two months. Masses of bright blue flowers emerge from the cone over a period of two weeks. The flowers dry out, and then the fruit begins to develop. It takes about six months for the fruit to develop color and sweeten up enough to eat.

Tips for the week

Bromeliad mix

1 part perlite

1 part vermiculite

1 part sphagnum peat moss [www.tooeletranscript.com]