# Bromeliad pups



## LexisaurusRex (Aug 8, 2013)

Will a brom produce pups more than once? I just finished cutting pups off a couple plants and I'm not sure what to do with the mother plants now.
I know they throw off pups around flowering and only flower once. Does that mean they only produce pups once?
I thought that's what that meant, but I have a black mystic crypt that produced 5 pups that i pulled about a month ago. I figured Id keep it because its still a cool house plant, now I see a new pup starting to come up? 


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## SnorkelWasp (Feb 19, 2009)

Not an expert but I have had broms throw pups repeatedly. I know tillandsias usually flower then pup but have never heard that of broms.


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## frogmanchu (Feb 18, 2011)

Some broms will died after they throw all the pups it will

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## VenomR00 (Apr 23, 2010)

Most broms will pup a few times as long as it hasn't flowered. If the mother plant flowers then it will usually rapidly die while throwing off a few more pups. As long as the mother DOESN'T flower you will keep getting pups.

However some broms will flower and still take years to die, you just won't receive high pup "production"


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

Yes, sometimes you'll get multiple "rounds" of pups. Sometimes the mother plant will produce one or 2 pups at a time over several months to a year. I recently cut 3 nearly full size pups off a brom on my porch. This brom had already bloomed. So now a month later, another round of pups is forming. 

Sometimes broms begin to pup prior to blooming, and other times the brom will bloom first, then begin to pup


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## LexisaurusRex (Aug 8, 2013)

Oh I see so pretty much hang on to them until they die to see what happens haha 
My black mystic wasn't flowering last time it made pups but did immediately after I took them out. It's still has some flowers popping up randomly. Maybe ill get 5 more  haha

Any one know about bivittatus specifically? I have some taking up a lot of space that have already flowered and produced at least 5 pups each. 


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## Groundhog (Dec 17, 2006)

Time out--it depends on the bromeliad.

--Some bromeliads, the mom plant dies after flowering, while the pups grow (a few tillandsias, some aechmea and canistropsis);
--In others, the mom will persist after flowering, and even look robust for a while (several tillandsias, and I have seen guzmanias and cryptanthus pup repeatedly off the "dying" mom plant);
--A few are _monocarpic_, meaning mom dies after flowering--no pups;
--Alcantarea sp. produce "adventitious offsets"--these look like little grassy tufts that grow if the main plant is damaged (for example, eaten by a sloth bear). These can be gently removed and pampered until they look like bromeliads.

With vrieseas and neoregelias, what I sometimes do is leave one pup, and be patient. 

P. S.

For those who do not know: in some "primitive" bromeliads, i.e., some pitcairnioids, the mom plant does not die after flowering. In Dyckia, for example, a plant will flower seasonally--but from between the upper leaves, not the central "cup."


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Groundhog said:


> Time out--it depends on the bromeliad.
> 
> --Some bromeliads, the mom plant dies after flowering, while the pups grow (a few tillandsias, some aechmea and canistropsis);
> --In others, the mom will persist after flowering, and even look robust for a while (several tillandsias, and I have seen guzmanias and cryptanthus pup repeatedly off the "dying" mom plant);
> ...


Our Alcantarea produce the grass pups only as young plants but not necessarily bc of being damaged. They won't pup once they reach a certain size. 

Thanks for mentioning the Dyckia and Pits. I think here, people are generally asking about Neoregelia but it's important to note the differences in other genera.


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## LexisaurusRex (Aug 8, 2013)

You're awesome groundhog thank you!

My black mystic didn't look like it was doing too hot after I pulled the last set of pups, but upon closer inspection I saw she's actually starting at least 3 new pups! 


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## Groundhog (Dec 17, 2006)

Gee, thanks--but when it comes to neoregelias and related genera, FrogtoFall is the man here (and JasonD knows his stuff as well). Have fun with your pups!



LexiandScott said:


> You're awesome groundhog thank you!
> 
> My black mystic didn't look like it was doing too hot after I pulled the last set of pups, but upon closer inspection I saw she's actually starting at least 3 new pups!
> 
> ...


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## Groundhog (Dec 17, 2006)

Antone: So it is not Just a stress reaction? Rather, a mechanism to reproduce prior to sexual maturity? Interesting! Have you tried propagating the grass pups? 



Frogtofall said:


> Our Alcantarea produce the grass pups only as young plants but not necessarily bc of being damaged. They won't pup once they reach a certain size.
> 
> Thanks for mentioning the Dyckia and Pits. I think here, people are generally asking about Neoregelia but it's important to note the differences in other genera.


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Groundhog said:


> Antone: So it is not Just a stress reaction? Rather, a mechanism to reproduce prior to sexual maturity? Interesting! Have you tried propagating the grass pups?


In my personal experiences, the only "stress" they would have is sometimes growing a little "hard" but that would be it. The grass pups are typically the only way to propagate these things since many of them have to be so many years mature before they bloom and then on top of that, you'd have to pollinate the flowers and wait for seed which takes even longer. I suppose they could be tissue cultured too but ours are done by grass pups.


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