# Bromeliad help



## chibisan713 (Dec 8, 2017)

I bought a few pups from Joshs Frogs about 2 weeks ago now, two are seeming to do fine but I'm worried about the other two. It was cold when they arrived, I work from home so they didn't sit outside, but they were rather cold to touch when I got them. I did also do a bleach dip to them before putting them in my new viv.

One the stolon completely pulled off after a few days in the viv, so I'm just waiting for that one to die honestly, I don't know if it just couldn't handle all the stress and is slowly rotting or what. Now one of the others (all are mounted on the background with toothpicks) is starting to leak and dripping down the stolon, so I'm worried that one will start to rot too since the water is leaking and sitting on the stolon. 

Are they supposed to ALWAYS have water in the center, or should I allow them to naturally drain the water and then refill, so they may be slightly dry periodically? I try to make sure they don't have standing water on the leaves, but was continually filling the center. So I'm not sure if I'm killing them with kindness? 

I have a beamswork snakeye LED on the tank, and like I said all are mounted with toothpicks forming an x around the base. I just bought a few more so I'm hoping to not kill those too when they arrive!


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## kimcmich (Jan 17, 2016)

Greetings,

Unless they were frozen, a little cold would not harm your broms during shipping. The pup may have been damaged in packing, transport or placement so losing it is not necessarily a sign of worse to come.

As for the other plant, merely having water on the pup/stolon will not hurt things. All my broms have water in their centers 24/7, 365. Broms do best in well drained soil - so their roots are happiest in a substrate that dries a bit between watering.


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## Andrew Sullivan (Aug 5, 2017)

From personal experience I have always put a light sphagma Moss under the roots and misted few times a day. They were always pretty wet and never drained and always thrived.


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## kimcmich (Jan 17, 2016)

@ASullivan,

I find Broms to be fairly bulletproof - and a few of the ones in my viv are certainly growing in always wet media and are none the worse for it. They are tough plants and many species are used to alot of moisture.

Still: the only reliable way to get a Brom to rot is to keep it in water-logged media so that's why I recommend against it. In a properly misted viv, a Brom should not need sphagnum to have sufficient root moister but, as always, individual mileage may vary.


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## Andrew Sullivan (Aug 5, 2017)

You’re correct, I put it under the roots so not touching the stem. I find it helps for establishment. You can remove wants new roots start to grow.


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## Encyclia (Aug 23, 2013)

chibisan713 said:


> I bought a few pups from Joshs Frogs about 2 weeks ago now, two are seeming to do fine but I'm worried about the other two. It was cold when they arrived, I work from home so they didn't sit outside, but they were rather cold to touch when I got them. I did also do a bleach dip to them before putting them in my new viv.
> 
> One the stolon completely pulled off after a few days in the viv, so I'm just waiting for that one to die honestly, I don't know if it just couldn't handle all the stress and is slowly rotting or what. Now one of the others (all are mounted on the background with toothpicks) is starting to leak and dripping down the stolon, so I'm worried that one will start to rot too since the water is leaking and sitting on the stolon.
> 
> ...


Can you describe the bleach dip procedure you used?


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## chibisan713 (Dec 8, 2017)

Encyclia said:


> Can you describe the bleach dip procedure you used?


I followed this, I wasn't 100% sure what my bleach concentration was, but the bottle said concentrated so I did 3/4 cup in a gallon of distilled water.
NEHERP - Vivarium Plant Processing Procedure



Good to know that having water in the centers at all times is not my issue. I did not put any sphagnum moss on them where the toothpicks are holding them on, I had read that may lead to rot so I just put the brom against the foam back and created an X with the toothpicks. Only one of the pups that I got had existing roots, the other 3 had no roots at all, just the stolon from cutting it off the mother plant. The one with roots is doing okay it looks like, it was two others that were looking worse for wear. One got all mushy looking so I took it out and pulled gently and the stolon completely pulled off with ease. I did stick it back in the tank just to see if it would die or miraculously survive anyways. So far it's slightly browning near the base but hasn't completely died. And the other was leaking down the stolon so I was just worried that if the stolon stays moist it would also rot. There's a bit of white mold on the stolon today, but as I said my tank is really new so perhaps that is normal.


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## Encyclia (Aug 23, 2013)

chibisan713 said:


> I followed this, I wasn't 100% sure what my bleach concentration was, but the bottle said concentrated so I did 3/4 cup in a gallon of distilled water.
> NEHERP - Vivarium Plant Processing Procedure
> 
> 
> ...


It sure sounds like you did things the same way I would have. I use NE Herp's processing procedure all the time. It is still too harsh for some delicate plants, but should be fine for broms. You might be right about them having gotten too cold. They could also have been too small to have been cut from the mother plant, I suppose, but that is less likely.

Mark


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## Cakers (Sep 10, 2017)

I'm the Brom killer apparently. It has taken a long time to sink in not to put them in dirt. I only have two growing in ABG and doing well. Finally i quit being stubborn and used floral wire or toothpicks and they are actually living now. Most of the time I put them in net cups with good drainage but the died anyway. Frustrating to read how easily they grow on fence posts and the like in wild.


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## Cakers (Sep 10, 2017)

I just now read the NEHearp plant processing guide and as I read it broms are not to be bleach treated. They explain these plants are too sensitive and advised rinsing and soaking overnight in purified water.


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## Encyclia (Aug 23, 2013)

Cakers said:


> I just now read the NEHearp plant processing guide and as I read it broms are not to be bleach treated. They explain these plants are too sensitive and advised rinsing and soaking overnight in purified water.


Sounds like I need to read more better  I use their protocol for broms all the time and haven't lost one, but maybe I have dodged a bullet! Thanks for the info, Cakers.

Mark


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## jarteta97 (Jun 13, 2014)

I use a 10% bleach solution for all my plants, even some delicate cuttings. I usually rinse out as much of the soil from their roots as possible, and soak them in the bleach solution for 10 minutes before pulling them out and rinsing them thoroughly once more. 

I have only used this method with two hardier species of orchid, but I imagine I might have to rethink it for more delicate species that I have planned for the future. 

The bromeliads all come out completely fine after this, and even gentler marcgravia cuttings.


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## chibisan713 (Dec 8, 2017)

Yeah, I'm in a couple dart frog facebook groups and it was suggested, and they used it on their broms too, so I am thinking it wasn't my bleach dip that caused them to look so bad and the one to fall apart. 

Here's hoping my ones that arrive this week will fair better as it is a bit warmer this week so hopefully they won't get as cold during shipping. 

I was worrying that I was over watering them by filling their cup in the middle whenever it started getting low but that doesn't sound like it is the case and I'm okay doing that.


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