# explain bromeliads to me



## back2eight (Dec 19, 2005)

Some are air plants and some grow in the soil? Is this right? I have never seeon one that was not planted in soil that was kept moist, but I read about them being air plants on this and another board, so I'm confused.


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## elmoisfive (Dec 31, 2004)

Some bromeliads such as Neoreglias can be grown either as epiphytes or as terrestial plants. The ones you see at stores have been adapted to growing in dirt in a pot. Others such as Tillandsia are pretty much epiphytes and will rot pretty quickly if kept too wet. Cryptanthus (earth stars) do well in terrestial mode. 

Broms are a very diverse group of plants so it is hard to make broad generalizations about any individual species. It is easier to keep most broms as epiphytes in a frog viv, mounted on wood or other surfaces than to have them root in the substrate as terrestials although I've had success with both methods. 

There are a lot of good brom experts on this board (I don't count myself among them 8) ) who can answer questions about individual species, etc. 

Bill


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## oahupdffreak (May 31, 2005)

*BSI*

Check this out. Good info, good pix. 
http://bsi.org/


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

Broms really are an expansive group of plants, and I agree with Bill, generalizations are next to impossible. I've been doing a lot of work with categorizing them for the plant site, so I hope this stuff helps you understand the group of plants better.

*Epiphytic* - These are what most people think of as the "traditional" brom, most people think of as the type used with PDFs, and show off the adaptability of the plant world. When you see pics of the rainforest, and broms growing on trees, this is what they mean. They "Grow on" other surfaces (usually trees) so while they are relatively small plants, they can get up to the sunlight in the canopy. 

Their roots, instead of being used for nutrient absorption like more typically thought of plants, are used pretty much only to anchor the plant to the surface its growing on. These plants have adapted to their environment by pulling nutrients out of the air and rainwater. That's why most broms collect water in their leaf axils. A few broms have even taken the leaf axil for nutrient absorption to the extreme, and could actually be considered a canivorous plant - they actually digest bugs like a pitcher plant would (fun facts to know and share). Due to their position in the canopy, they tend to have very little covering their roots, and good airflow, so the roots are suseptible to rot. Planting in soil is a garenteed way to rot them, and these guys, when potted, are in mixes that are mostly stuff like firbark (barely holds moisture, lots of air flow, etc). They are best mounted to something, usually by pinning or glue/tacking the plant to the surface they are being mounted, until the roots anchor the plant securely.

Most _neoregelias_ in the hobby are epiphytes.

*Terrestrial* - These are not seen as much as they tend to be very large (4+ feet in diameter on some of the large ones) and also very spiney. The few in the hobby are usually _Vriesea_ sp and cultivars, _Vriesea splendens_, while a bit big for the average tank (but small compared to relatives) is a good example. Pineapples are another good example of a terrestrial bromeliad - but they have very nasty spines, and grow larger than would be suitible for most tanks, except for the mini variety (with little mini pineapples! so cute!). Cyrpts are also wonderful terrestrial broms, but they are also from somewhat arid regions so they like a drier, high drainage soil compared to their rainforest relatives.

If you have a good soil mixture (moist, not sopping wet, good drainage and air pockets) then these are good plants in a big tank. They don't rot out nearly as easily as epiphytes, but a bad soil mix will rot any plant.

*Tillandsia* - I stick these in a seperate group for a couple reasons. They are usually what is referred to as "air plants", tho any epiphytic plant, bromeliads or otherwise, could be called that too (confusing isn't it?). They are called Tillies for short. I'm explaining them seperately because their care is a tad different than the typical epiphytic brom - this group is generally adapted to extreme dryness. They either come from very arid regions, or live in arid niches (cliff sides, or the very top of the canopy of the rainforest). The very top of the rainforest canopy is actually arid (thats why tropical _phyllomedusa_ sp. secreate that waxy substance, to hold in moisture in the arid canopy - the canopy acts like the top of a greenhouse, holding in the moisture so the layers below have very high humidity). Due to these conditions in which they are adapted, they need to be kept much drier, and with much higher lights, and only a few are really suitible for terrariums (sp and cultivars from more humid areas).

Any bromeliad with the silver/grey "dusting" on their leaves, like most tillies and a couple other arid type broms have, do better in lower humidity, higher air flow, and high light situations and aren't really suitible for the sopping wet tanks we keep our PDFs in, except for a few very specialized tanks, where the tillies might do ok near the lights where fans are blowing relatively dry air into the tank (lower humidity, higher air flow, and high light).

Hope that clears some stuff up.


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## Guest (Feb 5, 2006)

How long does it take for a brom like neoregelias to anchor themselves?
Will they anchor themselves to things besides wood, or does it have to be a piece of wood??


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

They will anchor to anything with a rough enough texture for their roots to grip, or wrap around. Branches, rocks, roughed PVC piping, Epi had epiphytic orchids rooting to terra cotta piping, tho I'm not sure if there is enough for grip for a water full bromeliad, or if it would have to stay secured on. In tanks, treefern and coco panels are good backgrounds for them to be mounted on, I'm not sure how well they would mount to GS, but I imagine the coco fiber mixed in for surface texture might help.

I'm not really sure on time, I never really paid attention (I've tended to glue or tie on plants with fishing line which I rarely bothered to take off). Couple weeks to a couple months I guess.


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## Guest (Feb 5, 2006)

Thanks, these broms don't seem to be growing new roots, though I havent touched them so as not to upset things.




























I got them late November


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

I put a Neolegra Tropiflora in my breeder's tank some time around November and just recently have seen a few roots. This makes me want to say around 6 weeks, but I'm sure there are a whole slew of variables that will change that time. I've also had broms that didn't root at all and did fine, as in large enough to bloom. 

BTW, what's the varigated brom on the far left in the first pic you posted? Where did you get it? Very very nice plant.



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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

I don't see any variegated broms in those pics? Or are you referring to the plant on the far left with the red/maroon banding on the leaves?


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

Yes, that's the brom I'm talking about. Looks like the one on the right is the same variety. 

I'm not really a plant person, so the useage of the word in the hobby is probably different, but answers.com defines it as:


> 1. Having streaks, marks, or patches of a different color or colors; varicolored: “If they recall the Colosseum . . . it is only as a showcase for cats more variegated than any fevered artist's mind could imagine” (Michael Mewshaw).
> 2. Distinguished or characterized by variety; diversified.




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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

Ah, well, those bands are relatively common in neoregelia cultivars depending on parent plants and are not called variegated in the brom world from what I can tell. That one is probibly an ampullecea cultivar (there are multiple species varieties and its a popular hybrid species that are frog favorites due to being small, pretty, and spineless). 'Variegated' broms tend to have white markings or stripes down the center of the leaves (also called striated sometimes), albomarginated have white leaf edges.

If you like that brom, I'd recomend the ampullecea varieties, and ampullecea hybrids, I especially like Neo. 'tiger cub' and Neo. 'flare up' for those markings.


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

Thank you  Ah, I see why the distinction in the brom world. I forgot about the broms with the center stripes. Those broms are exactly what I like in a brom, green with cool/interesting red/maroon/purple additions. I'll have to keep those in mind for my next tank :twisted:

Upon further searching I just discovered that this is a ampullecea cultivar (link) And I just got one for my birthday.



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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

Yeah, there are also the ones that have the red spots all over them, like "Mo' Pepper Please" that I really like, and I've also got one that is red at the base with green spots, and transitions to green leaves with red spots, very cool. The neos really have a lot of the reds and maroons going on with certain varieties, tho some of the Vrieseas (sadly, the big ones mostly) have some really awesome patterns to them.


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## bluedart (Sep 5, 2005)

Erm, as to when broms will develop roots:
I had a brom in a tank for about 5 months before I tore the tank down. The brom was often disturbed for the first 3 months, but the let alone for the next 2. I thought it had NO root growth at all, until I tore the tank apart, and found that it had an expansive root system. I couldn't see the roots at all until the tank was apart. So, for all you know, you've already got roots.


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## Guest (Feb 6, 2006)

Uhm, I got all 4 from T & C terrariums.

The middle two are Neoregelia 'Midget'
and the outer two, the ones of interest are supposed to be these:Neoregelia lilliputiana X fireball

One of these has bloomed recently, but still no roots


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## Guest (Feb 6, 2006)

The best way to have a brom anchor it self well is to use pups that have just started to put out roots. I've had rootless broms take up to about 6 months to grow into wood. You can keep your broms how you have them the roots may anchor them selves after a good time no harm if not. When they push out pups you should see roots forming after 3-4 weeks when these are about a 1/2" or more you can remove the pup and mount it. It should be able to suport itself in about 2-3 months.


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## Auhsoj27 (Jun 3, 2005)

During my small amount of time in this hobby, I've seen that broms rooting is all about the plant being very happy. I had a crappy light to begin with, and for a couple months, nothing was sending out roots or even growing it seemed like. So I replaced the light. Half the plants boomed, vertical growth and roots too. The plants that didn't were replaced or moved. When I moved a non-rooting brom from one place to another, it seemed to be happier. Sent out roots within a week or two. So if you've had broms in the tank for more than a few months, and are not seeing roots, I would suspect that you would use A)more light, B)higher tank humidity, C)move the brom to a place where the roots can air out/breath more readily, D)try a different species.


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## Guest (Feb 6, 2006)

So, story of my life. I state an observation, I turn around, look again to show others, and boom, I am wrong. The broms have conspired to make me look bad. I looked today at them and their are roots all over the place. But I think this came about becuase I added a misting system. Before this there were no roots. In fact everything seems much happier with a misting system and fan combo I got going. Hope to see more blooms. Thanks everyone!


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## harrywitmore (Feb 9, 2004)

*Bromeliad Rooting*

Most epiphytic bromeliads (including most all used in this hobby besides Cryptanthus which are terrestrial) will root readily in a humid environment. But, for the most part the roots are hold fast type rooted and the plant takes most of it's nutriants and moisture through absorption and the central cup. There are of course exceptions to this since many of the bromeliads grow in limb crotches and not just attached to the limb. The reason you normally see them planted in a mix outside of an enclosure in the more temperate areas of the country is to help them maintaing moisture. Similar to keeping epiphytic orchids outside of a greenhouse. They love humidity and this helps to keep it high around the roots and plant.


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