# Bromeliad dying, HELP PLEASE



## i_am_bedford_falls (Nov 23, 2006)

This is a brom that I placed in a 10 gallon vert about three weeks ago. It has started to lose its outer leaves, and I am very worried about it. The viv has a temp range of 73-78, with it being about 76 where the brom is located. It is mounted in a film canister with coco fiber inside. 



















When I removed the brom, I discovered that it had removed itself from the stolon that was attached when it was shipped to me. Could this be part of the problem? 











At first I thought I was misting the viv too much, so I only mist every other day and it remains around 70% humidity. There is a partial screen on the door for ventilation as well. 

Here is the whole tank:










Any help would be greatly appreciated!


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## i_am_bedford_falls (Nov 23, 2006)

I know there are some brom experts on this site, or at least some folks with lots of experience. The sooner I get this problem fixed, the sooner I can get some new frogs. Please?


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

I'm no expert but I'd think that if you had it in an undrained canister its probably root rot. unsure if it'll survive. Antone?


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## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

Sorry, I’ve been trying to get a moment to post to this thread but the wife has been keeping me busy.

It looks to me like the bottom rotted off on you. Did you incorporate any drainage in the film canister? Bromeliads do not like to be constantly wet. Give the center leaf a good tug. If it comes out, the plant is toast (use it for leaf litter). If the center leaf stays, then place the plant somewhere where its base will slightly damp for at lest part of the day but not constantly wet. You might even leave the plant out of the viv for a few days so that it really dries out. Make sure that the rest of your Neos are not sitting in wet moss or anything like that. In a viv Neos can simply be mounted on the background or a branch they don’t need any substrate.


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## i_am_bedford_falls (Nov 23, 2006)

Ok, I already have it out of the viv to monitor it and no, the middle leaf is not loose at all. Could I just take a drill and drill some small holes through the great stuff and film canisters, because the film canisters are part of the great stuff background.


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## Frog10 (Oct 18, 2006)

I just poke a hole in the GS with a pencil and stick the stolen in there. But since yours doesnt have the stolen anymore, find a way to drain the film cannister


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## i_am_bedford_falls (Nov 23, 2006)

I might try just making sure it gets it's health back outside of the viv and then silicone it straight to the background.


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## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

I would leave the film canister open. The frogs may use it. Either that or stuff it with sphagnum so that you can’t see it anymore. To mount the broms on the background use bamboo skures (someone please tell me how to spell that word!). You can buy them at the supermarket. They are used to make little shish kebabs. Anyway, you insert them into the foam and against the brom’s base, so that they cross each other. This holds the brom firmly against the background. You can use side cutters to cut the extra lengths of bamboo. If there is sufficient moisture in the viv, you will notice that the bamboo will mold over within a week. This disappears in time so don’t worry. In a few weeks the bamboo will have taken on a dark appearance and you will not notice it anymore. If the broms don’t start throwing visible roots within two weeks the viv is too dry. If they throw tons and tons of fuzzy roots the viv may be too wet. One thing to look for is the drying out of the dead brom leaves. If the dead leaves remain wet and slimy the viv is too wet for them and they may rot away.

To mount broms on branches I use cotton thread. It rots away after a while but the brom will attach itself before this happens. I suppose there is some danger that a frog could become entangled in the rotten thread when it falls off the branch. Removing the thread at that point would solve that problem though.


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

If it were me, I would just bend a piece of wire or hangar into a "U" shape and pin it to the background around the base. Not only do bromeliads not like their bases to be soaked but Neo. pauciflora especially doesn't like too much moisture in general. Did you notice that it had that greyish powder over it? Thats sign that the species likes it a bit more arid than the others. Sorta like many Tillandsia.

Good luck.


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## i_am_bedford_falls (Nov 23, 2006)

Thanks to all of you for the help. I will try a couple of these strategies and hope for the best.


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## MartinShaver (Dec 20, 2006)

Whats the outcome of this story? Is the brom doing better now?


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## i_am_bedford_falls (Nov 23, 2006)

Yeah sure, I almost forgot to update this, thanks for reminding me. The brom is doing much better. I followed a combination of suggestions on this thread. First I moved all the broms around so I could put this one nearest to the top because it needs to be a little more dry. Also, I re-attached all of the broms to the background. Then I just gave it some tender loving care, and just last week I started to see some new white roots pop out of it. I want to thank you all for your successful advice!


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