Growing Happy Bromeliads in Indoor Pots and Gardens

A common hardy type of gift plant, bromeliads are often tough plants that require little care. However, many types of bromeliads exist, so you have to ensure that you get a hardy variety like the Queen's Tears bromeliad. Above all, bromeliads are sensitive to overwatering and must be watered according to the needs of each individual type of bromeliad plant.

Common Gift Bromeliads

The common red-flowered bromeliad plant that is usually gifted through florists is called Guzmania. Along with the Vriesea bromeliad plant, the Guzmania plant is ideal for indoor growing because it tolerates environments with low light. The Zebra Star, a less common but more intricately patterned variety needs a bit more sun than Guzmania and Vriesea but can survive without direct sunlight, like in a living room with a window.

Bromeliads Get Nutrients From the Air

Bromeliads are epiphytic plants. Epiphytic plants pull moisture in from the air and from wetness that comes from falling rain, and do not collect water from the soil like your normal rooted plants do. Epiphytic plants by definition grow on the surface of something, and that something can be soil or other plants. Usually other plants. Orchids are epiphytic also. There are epiphytic plants in the ocean as well.

Even though epiphytic plants grow on the surface of other plants, they are not parasitic, meaning that they do not hurt the plant that they are growing on. Aside from bromeliads and orchids, another type of epiphytic plant is plain old moss.

Watering Bromeliads

Since they suck their nutrients from the air around them, colorful Bromeliads grow best in naturally humid rooms like bathrooms, and if the room is too dry, they need to be misted more frequently to keep them moist. Some bromeliads can tolerate lower humidity rooms like living rooms or bedrooms, but needs of specific plant types vary. Though bromeliads take water in from the air and from droplets on the plant, they do need a moist base of water. The frequency of watering depends on the bromeliad type. Understanding the needs of a specific type of plant is important in order to avoid overwatering, which kills the plant.

Keeping It Moist

If you have ever seen a movie in which a rich person keeps an orchid room, you probably noticed that the orchid room was separated from the rest of their home and was much warmer and more humid than the surrounding rooms. Because epiphytic plants like bromeliads and orchids take their moisture from the air, they either need a humid atmosphere or they need to be sprayed frequently to maintain the moisture in the plant.