Hi everyone,

Larassai – There are several things that can cause
bromeliads to lose some of their foliage colour.

Firstly there are some that lose colour every year during the
shorter days when there is less light; this is a natural seasonal thing that
happens to some bromeliads (including Cryptanthus) but not all.

Secondly, if a plant has suddenly been moved from a place
where it was previously growing in good light to a place of low light it will
often lose foliage colour as well. An example would be a plant that was
previously nursery grown under optimum conditions with good natural light and
then taken home and put inside the house away from natural light.

Thirdly, if a plant has recently been fertilized with a fertilizer
high in Nitrogen, that will also rob the colour from the foliage, or you may
just have re-potted a plant in a pre-packaged
potting mix which without you knowing has a high amount of nitrogen added to it
which could give the same result.

Different fertilizers do different things and it’s very important
to read the labels on fertilizers and potting mixes to see what they contain.
All reputable producers of fertilizers and potting mix should at the very least show the content
of the three main chemical elements on the package.

These will be shown as a numerical ratio known as N:P:K

N= Nitrogen

P= Phosphorous

K = Potassium

An example could be N 19%, P 3%, K21% or any other series of numbers depending on the contents - The remaining percentage is made up of trace elements and other ingredients such as binders and fillers.

To promote good foliage colour you need a fertilizer
where the Potassium is higher than the Nitrogen.

I won’t give examples of what these numbers are because
here in Australia they are measured and written differently to the way they are in the US, so you need to speak to a horticulturalist in your local nursery and ask
them to explain.

I hope this didn't confuse too much.

All the best, Nev.