Was that not answered HERE?

tj

Not really. Considering the conflicting advise on that post, I thought I would rephrase the question. Thank you so much for bringing it to my attention.

Ok I may only cause more confusion with my post but here goes.....I consider a couple of factors when removing pups. Number one being the time of year. If its close to being winter time I DO NOT remove the pups at 1/3 size or any size. I repot mom and pup in one size larger pot and wait until spring. Secondly it depends on what genera. If they are med size sun lovers I wait until they reach almost 50% of mothers size. Aechmea struggle at 30% size ..so I take pups in mid spring. Guzmania are generally tender to cold and direct sun. I pot in spring when I see root nubs form on the pups. When the soil warms up you can take healthy pups at 30% but make sure if they dont have any roots do not over water them...they will rot. Clear as mud?

By golly, I think I got it. According to your advice, my pup isn't coming off til spring (that is if I read correctly). I hoping, if I'm not blind that I saw another pup coming. With all that being said, I want to thank you for your down to earth through advice. We beginners love that. Ha ha. Thanks again.

All growers have different ideas largely based around their growing conditions. The following is just the way I grow my plants: I definitely agree that your pup's far too small to remove.

I don't necessarily agree with the 1/3 rule either and have found the bigger the pup the better the plant it will turn into. You will get less pups but they will be far better plants.

I never remove pups smaller than 1/2 the size of the mother plant and prefer to let them get to 3/4 in size.

As for time of year, like all plants I think spring is definitely the best time when things are starting to grow and the weather's warming up; however this isn't always possible if you have a very large collection and some large growers have to take pups all year around.

The climate you grow them in is an important factor also, I live just one street back from the sea and have a maritime climate which is often reasonably high in humidity from moist sea breezes. Some would see me as being over cautious, however the higher humidity also causes a lot of rot with pups if removed too small.

All the best, Nev.

So, we meet again. With keeping all that in mind, I won't be touching that pup any time soon plus I think there's another one coming up, I wouldn't want to hurt it. Since the mother isn't dying, do I continue to care for them as I am now? Thank you for the advise. I'm sure they'll be more questions coming.

Those are beautiful. I'm leaning more towards leaving it alone. I may just get lucky with and have a great plant to last me many years. Thanks

Hi everyone.

Rhonda - Leaving them to clump up is indeed another option which I didn't mention as I didn't want to add any more confusion to the discussion, but thanks for mentioning it Lars as it's another very important option.

This is how they grow in habitat; the plant flowers, it produces pups (sometimes several) and as they grow they draw nourishment from the declining mother plant who eventually dies and leaves the pups to grow and fill the space where the mother once was.

I personally like to let all my brom's clump up as I think they look more natural and it's certainly less work and as Lars says, doesn't take up as much space. As far as work required, all that's necessary is the trimming of a few dead leaves occasionally.

All the best, Nev.

That's awesome. I certainly think they look great that way. I only hope my baby will one day be as large. Thanks

This is an old thread - but hoping someone might be able to help. I have one mother plant with two pups. Could I theoretically repot only ONE of the pups and leave the other one attached to clump? Would that simultaneously encourage the mother to continue to produce pups AND not affect the pup that I haven't removed? It's getting into Fall, so I'm thinking maybe I shouldn't remove any of them, but it would be nice for the Mom to continue to make pups by next spring!