# tips for growing broms



## goatdude (Apr 24, 2009)

anyone have any tips for growing broms. i can't seem to get any broms to stay without dieing. they are all pined to the wall with tootpicks with moss around the roots. i've tryed everything even 2 different tanks. still not having any luck


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## boabab95 (Nov 5, 2009)

remove the moss, IME, it makes them prone to rotting. also, make sure you fill their cups... what's the humidity in the tank?


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## goatdude (Apr 24, 2009)

got one set around 90. the other red eye tree frog tank is aroun 75. and yes cups are full


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## Vermfly (Jun 6, 2010)

I've never used moss around the bases. They tend to root well without it and I haven't had any broms rot yet.


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## Mworks (Mar 23, 2008)

How much light are they getting? Could be a factor.

Regards
Marcus


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## therizman2 (Jul 20, 2008)

What type of broms are you trying to use?


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## Saviorself (Jun 29, 2010)

boabab95 said:


> remove the moss, IME, it makes them prone to rotting. also, make sure you fill their cups... what's the humidity in the tank?


 When you say fill the cups are you saying inbetween the leaves?


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## MeiKVR6 (Sep 16, 2008)

Lose the moss, keep humidity @ 75%-90%, BRIGHT 6500K lighting to bring out some color, and keep the cups full... You should do fine. If you are trying to root pups it's a little more difficult in my experience.

Edit: What type of bromeliad?


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## bricespice (Jan 4, 2010)

I've had the same problem, then i went on vacation and when I came back I found they looked better. I stopped watering the broms every 2-3 days and switched to 1x/week.
And when I watered I barely misted the roots and filled the inner cup with about 1tblspoon of water. now, it works like a charm. but everyone has their method, just need to experiment and see what works best for you.


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## Jarhead_2016 (Jan 7, 2010)

im going to join in with everyone else and say remove the moss mine do great without the moss they are probably rotting out
-scotty


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

When you say you have them pinned with toothpicks, you don't mean that the toothpick goes through the brom, right?


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## therizman2 (Jul 20, 2008)

Id like to add that you can plant them with sphagnum, just dont use a lot of it. A little goes a long way. All of my broms that are attached are planted with sphagnum and I have never lost a single brom including a lot of really rare stuff I got from Antone at one point when he was still in business.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

While it is possible to have success with broms using sphag, it is totally unnecessary. Roots on a brom are not for water uptake like with other plants. They are for support. They get their water from the cups. Therefor, since sphag can cause rot in vivs with less ventilation and moist conditions, you are generally better off without it.
Doug


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## JaysPDF (Dec 29, 2010)

I have them setup both ways. Some I let grow on the wall with no sphagnum and others that have roots exposed I wrap with a small amount of sphagnum. Both methods have worked for me. You just want to let your sphagnum dry out and avoid hitting it with the misters.


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## goatdude (Apr 24, 2009)

after reading everything i have to say maybe i got a few people confused. not every brom has moss around it. tryed different things. no the tooth picks aren't through the brom. 

as for what broms. i've tryed a few different kinds. neo franca, aechmea calyculata x recurvata(that's what they are labled) and a few from walmart and home depot.(i know those aren't the greatest) there is a bunch more with no labels i got from a local swap. 

lights 12x12x18 zoom med 15w 6500k compact bulb
45gal 2 15w 6500k compact bulbs and 1 t8 6500k 4 foot fish tank light(you'd think that would be enough)


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## MeiKVR6 (Sep 16, 2008)

I'd switch all the 15W CFLs for 26W models... The 16W units we've got in the store aren't cutting it for us.  We're switching to 26W, too and we no longer sell 16W models on the site.

Your aechmea species are less prone to rotting than Neoregelias in my experience, so that's good. Otherwise depending on which types you grabbed from the 'depot that could be a reason they aren't thriving for you. Vresias and Guzmanias are very common @ the big home improvement stores and in my experience almost all of them get enormous. 

The "Bromeliad" (Bromeliaceae) family is misused on here a whole lot to represent Neoregelias only.  Quick thing:

_Family > Genus > Species_
Bromeliaceae > Neoregelia > Fireball
Bromeliaceae > Aechmea > Fasciata
Bromeliaceae > Vresia > Splendens
Bromeliaceae > Guzmania > Carine

Run a google search to try and figure which Genus you've got from home depot. Each genus requires a little different care.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Small compact flourescents are rather low on lumens per watt. Up them to 26 watt models and it will make a world of difference. You are only running about a watt per gallon. That's pretty low wattage for anything besides pothos.
Doug


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## goatdude (Apr 24, 2009)

Pumilo said:


> Small compact flourescents are rather low on lumens per watt. Up them to 26 watt models and it will make a world of difference. You are only running about a watt per gallon. That's pretty low wattage for anything besides pothos.
> Doug


ah but you'd think 2 and a t8 light would be enough. and speaking of pothos can't seem to transfer any into the big tank either. but new store bought potho's work just fine. weird

but going to upgrade the bulb and see how that helps


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

This may sound a little bizarre...but has anyone ever tried to superglue the broms to cork, etc....I'd think that would really give them a chance to put out their own stabilizing roots....if its good enough to close small lacerations in people and animals, you'd think that plants would adapt as well...just a thought...


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## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

I've heard people use a dab of glue stick from a hot glue gun.....


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Judy S said:


> This may sound a little bizarre...but has anyone ever tried to superglue the broms to cork, etc....I'd think that would really give them a chance to put out their own stabilizing roots....if its good enough to close small lacerations in people and animals, you'd think that plants would adapt as well...just a thought...


Hey Judy, I can tell you that as an ex coral farmer, I have gone through massive amounts of super glue to attach live coral fragments to plugs and pieces of rock. They grow right over it quite readily. It does heat up while setting so we quickly dip the frag in water to cool it. So if you were to try it, you may want to have a misting bottle handy to quickly cool it after attachment.
Doug


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## goatdude (Apr 24, 2009)

Pumilo said:


> Hey Judy, I can tell you that as an ex coral farmer, I have gone through massive amounts of super glue to attach live coral fragments to plugs and pieces of rock. They grow right over it quite readily. It does heat up while setting so we quickly dip the frag in water to cool it. So if you were to try it, you may want to have a misting bottle handy to quickly cool it after attachment.
> Doug


my next step is try the planters i have in the gs background. and maybe glue them on in the other tank. was hoping to stay away from that but i guess not


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

goatdude said:


> my next step is try the planters i have in the gs background. and maybe glue them on in the other tank. was hoping to stay away from that but i guess not


I still think you need more light. Those little bulbs just aren't very bright.


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## goatdude (Apr 24, 2009)

Pumilo said:


> I still think you need more light. Those little bulbs just aren't very bright.


so 23w? or bigger


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## epiphytes etc. (Nov 22, 2010)

aechmea calyculata x recurvata is a very high light plant, i have them outdoors in near full arizona sun. in shady wet conditions, they quickly etiolate and the core will eventually rot out. great flowers though.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

goatdude said:


> so 23w? or bigger


Well on the small viv, it looks like your viv is 12" wide. It's harder to get bright lights on something that small. If you can go an inch over on either side, and put a 14" light over it, you might try this. 14" "Nano Ballast" 28W Retrofit Kit It would be WAY brighter than what you have now. It is a retrofit light so you would need to mount it in a small hood. Problem is it comes with a 10K bulb which is usable for plants, but replacing it with a good 6500K would be brighter.

I would need to know dimensions of your bigger Viv if you want to know what I might put over it. I would probably suggest T5 there because you'll have more length to work with.
Doug


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