Gannett News Service
The entire bromeliad family, of which the common pineapple is a species, can be an attractive indoor plant.

Form a long-term relationship with a bromeliad

DIANE HEILENMAN, GANNETT NEWS SERVICE

Originally published Saturday, March 30, 2002

Looking for long-term commitment? Enchantment can be as close as the grocery. Here's how.

Go to the grocery. Buy a pineapple. Plant it. Mark your calendar for three years from now. Pencil in a pineapple-blooming party for the summer of 2004.

The entire bromeliad family, of which the common pineapple is just one of some 2,000 species, can be a fabulous and fascinating indoor companion for gardeners pining for a fresh start or a first start with blooming houseplants.

As in any relationship, a little thought in the initial selection process is good. Find a pineapple with a hearty topknot of green leaves. This leafy top is actually a "pup," a potential new pineapple plant that eventually will grow wider than most Christmas trees and throw up a 4-foot-tall flowering stalk in or around its third year with you.

Building the relationship is simple. After planting it and it roots, mist the plant daily, repot it annually and collect pineapple recipes for the party.

What's cool about bromeliads is that they are pleasant to be around even when not in bloom. The texture of spiny, stiff leaves is bold and architectural.

For instance, the tiny Bromialiodes that Kelly Goode of Louisville, Ky., nurtures has not bloomed in the 10 years they have been together. No matter. The little fellow is a charming pincushion of spikes.

Flowers may still happen, though. Many of the bromeliads can wait that long to go into high gear, after which they begin to die, having served their purpose of propagation, producing other small plants, the pups.

Tricks to happy living

If possible, collect rainwater to use. If you use tap water, flush out the cup periodically by tipping the plant upside down. This will help avoid mineral build-up and algae domination in the central cup, which is kept filled with water and can produce smells of the tropical rain forest that are not always appropriate.

-Do not overfeed. Once a month during active growing in spring and summer is plenty. Some people prefer to dilute the liquid fertilizer by at least half and use it as part of the daily misting. If your fertilizer leaves stains on the plant, swap to liquid seaweed fertilizer.

-Watch watering. Daily misting and even twice-daily watering may be necessary for plants kept outdoors in the summer, but in the winter, when growth slows indoors, misting and watering might occur only three times a week.

The tiny, dryish air plants commonly sold in shells and on rocks as novelty plants absorb moisture through exterior cells on the spidery, silver bracts and are not watered but submerged once a week in a fertilizer-laced solution.

None of this means the plants are demanding. You can walk off for a week and safely leave the bromeliads as long as they are not either waterlogged or dry as dust.

-Invest in a fan. Good air circulation indoors helps avoid rot and disease and makes plants happy.

-Try the apple trick. This is the famous folksy way to induce bloom on an appropriately aged bromeliad. Put the plant in a plastic bag overnight with a rotting apple. The apple emits ethylene gas, which might stimulate bloom.

-Watch for trouble. If bracts become narrow, the plant may be asking for more light.

-Plant bromeliads in an orchid-type mix or, when appropriate, fix them to branches, bark or other porous surfaces. Use wire and sphagnum moss to fix the young pups or, honestly, get out the glue gun.

Pot mixes can be homemade, mixing peat with perlite or peat with sand in a 2-to-1 ratio.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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