Here it is:
This is my first bromeliad
and I've had no expierence with broms before. I'm following the few directions given on them in The Savage Garden By Peter D' Amato. It is currently under the same flourescent light as my vft cuttings from fall and I'm giving it the same distilled water.
Here is where my questions start. The plant looks like the description of a Guzmias, but what kind I can't tell, can anyone identify it? At the base of the plant (in the picture below) you can see offshoots known as pups forming into minature versions of the mother. There is about five in total. I don't know how to safely remove and transplant them.
If I do remove the pups I need to know a few things. What is the best kind of soil or mixture for the pups? The parent is in some sort of dark half soil half bark with perlite. What kind of fertilizer/rooting hormone, if any, would I use? Should I wait till they get bigger or will that start to drain and kill the mother plant? It says in the book that some broms die after they flower and leave behind offspring, does that mean this one is near the end of its life or just going through a cycle?
What is a normal brom lifespan? Is their anything else I should know like a certain special need of the plant? Is it okay to have it in the same conditions as my vfts? How often does it flower?
Any input appreciated.
This is my first bromeliad
Here is where my questions start. The plant looks like the description of a Guzmias, but what kind I can't tell, can anyone identify it? At the base of the plant (in the picture below) you can see offshoots known as pups forming into minature versions of the mother. There is about five in total. I don't know how to safely remove and transplant them.
If I do remove the pups I need to know a few things. What is the best kind of soil or mixture for the pups? The parent is in some sort of dark half soil half bark with perlite. What kind of fertilizer/rooting hormone, if any, would I use? Should I wait till they get bigger or will that start to drain and kill the mother plant? It says in the book that some broms die after they flower and leave behind offspring, does that mean this one is near the end of its life or just going through a cycle?
Any input appreciated.