Bromeliads are in the same family as pineapples and Spanish moss. They are "monocarpic." That means they die after flowering. The death is a slow one, often taking up to 3 years. In the interim, 1 to 3 offsets (called babies or pups) are produced to carry on the species.

Keep your bromeliad in a small (5 to 6") pot and place it on a north or east windowsill where it will get lots of bright, mostly indirect light. If it is properly potted, a weekly thorough watering will be just right. The soil should be quite dry before watering. The customary practice of keeping the cups filled with water has been discredited because indoors, where air circulation is poor, the cups often rot. Keep the soil barely damp and it will not be necessary to water the cups. Fertilize at half strength during the warmer months.

The pups can be left on the mother plant or they can be severed and potted up separately. If you choose the latter, then wait until the pups are about one-third to one-half the size of the mother. This takes about 6 to 9 months.

Remove the soil where the pup attaches to the mother plant. Most of the time the pup can be pulled away from the mother with a firm but gentle tug. Otherwise, cut the pup low on the woody part of the stem that attaches the pup to the mother. Allow the severed pup to sit in the open air (out of the sun) for a day before potting it. Pot the severed pup in a small pot filled with a mix of peat moss and perlite. Keep this mix damp and place it in bright light away from direct sunlight. Keep temps above 65 degrees. You may want to place it inside a clear plastic bag to help maintain high humidity for the first month after it is potted up.

New plants can be forced to flower by placing a small slice of tomato or apple in the cup and covering the plant with clear plastic. The rotting fruit will give off ethylene gas and induce flowering.

For more information on Bromeliads, go to the Bromeliad Society International website at http://www.bsi.org.

Ok, if Aaron is correct, I can say for sure that mine is an Aechmea Fasciata. It has both the points and the white chalky banding. I have been keeping water in the cup (I've been using a stream spray bottle to help flush it out each time it's filled) but it seems to use up the water quickly. The roots are not rotting as I've checked, but one of the bottom leaves seems to be getting slightly brown on the edge. I'm not sure what this is from. Any ideas? The rest of the leaves look really good and seem to be healthy. Likewise, the dirt in the pot dries quickly. I have it in a small clay pot and it seems to drain well and dry quick. I'd always followed the... water when the top inch or so of the soil is dry... Though I'd say it gets dryer than that. How often should I water it? Also, I live in West Virginia and it's winter right now so it's pretty cold, I fear it would be too cold to sit in the window so it's sitting with my other three plants (a purple passion, a purple heart, and lucky bamboo) under a flourescent light. Will should this lighting be ok for now? I mean, it doesn't seem to be doing bad for the most part save for the one leaf.

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"I consider the day misspent that I am not either charged with a crime, or arrested for one." -- "Ratsy" Tourbillon

Savahnna,

Sounds like you are doing just fine. If it is located just below the fluorescent tube, then that should be good enough. You may want to move it to natural light as soon as it is warm enough. As long as the leaves are not in direct contact with a frigid window pane and there is no obvious cold draft seeping through, then the windowsill is probably fine.

I don't think that one edge of a single leaf has much significance. Ignore it or trim it off if it bothers you. Your Aechmea will lose some older leaves form time-to-time and often its starts with edge discoloration. Not to worry!