# how to make a bromeliad send off pups?



## klawfran3 (Jun 26, 2017)

So I have seven or eight species of brom in my viv, yet none have started to send off any pups. I heard that taking a bamboo skewer and scarring the inside of the cup can get it to send off pups but I don't want to hurt or destroy my broms. Does anyone have a trick to getting them to send off pups? All the other plants have started spreading like wildfire but the bromeliads just seem to only want to spread their leaves more.


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## Reece93 (Jul 24, 2017)

How long have they been in there and what lights do you have? Mine pup very quickly once they have rooted. There's some with 7/8 that have only been in there 6 months! 


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## kimcmich (Jan 17, 2016)

@Klawfran,

Broms - especially those in the hobby - tend not to be shy about pupping when they are satisfied with life. If yours are not pupping, you might not be keeping them as comfortable as they would like (or you might just need to give them more time to establish). I don't think your plants have "forgotten" how to pup and I don't think stabbing them with bamboo will be especially effective - and could introduce an infection that could kill the Brom (though most likely you'll just end up with some holes in your broms' leaves).


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## klawfran3 (Jun 26, 2017)

kimcmich said:


> @Klawfran,
> 
> Broms - especially those in the hobby - tend not to be shy about pupping when they are satisfied with life. If yours are not pupping, you might not be keeping them as comfortable as they would like (or you might just need to give them more time to establish). I don't think your plants have "forgotten" how to pup and I don't think stabbing them with bamboo will be especially effective - and could introduce an infection that could kill the Brom (though most likely you'll just end up with some holes in your broms' leaves).



Mine have colored up a lot since getting them and have gotten very large, but they just don't feel like throwing out pups. I guess they just need a little more time...

And I had read in an earlier thread that scarifying the inner cup simulates the death of flowering and tricks the plant into producing pups since it believes it's about to die. I was worried that scratching it would introduce harmful pathogens which is why I wasn't willing to try it.


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## Xan (Jun 4, 2015)

klawfran3 said:


> So I have seven or eight species of brom in my viv, yet none have started to send off any pups. I heard that taking a bamboo skewer and scarring the inside of the cup can get it to send off pups but I don't want to hurt or destroy my broms. Does anyone have a trick to getting them to send off pups? All the other plants have started spreading like wildfire but the bromeliads just seem to only want to spread their leaves more.


The solution is stronger lights. The broms in my tanks with strong LEDs produce pups all the time. They also color up quickly (revealing spots, pink/red color, etc). The ones in my breeder tank and froglet tubs stay dark green and produce no pups. That's seriously all there is to it. So I would say, invest in stronger LED lights, and possibly move your broms so they're closer to the light.

EDIT: I would also add that I have a Mistking nozzle in one tank and there is a brom right beneath it, so its cup is always full of water. It's freaking gigantic -- like 10 inches across -- and pups constantly. So maybe keep those brom cups wet.


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## Woodswalker (Dec 26, 2014)

Xan said:


> So maybe keep those brom cups wet.


Keep in mind that they like to stay wet, but they also like that water to stay fresh and not stagnant, so flush the cups frequently, like once or twice a week.


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## klawfran3 (Jun 26, 2017)

I'm running 5 rows of LEDs above the tank and give them a nice flushing evey so often, my mister runs for 30 secs in the morning and 30 sec in the evening, drenching everything. 

What's embarrassing is that a day after I posted this thread I take a good hard look at all my broms because I felt something was up and two of them (my Lilli Marlene and one of the Tiger Cubs) were actually throwing pups, they were just hidden among the leaves. I guess I was doing things right after all.

Thanks for the advice though, I've noticed the ones that get a regular flushing with water are the ones that color up the most too.


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