Hi everyone.

Carol - Yes it's another of Mother Nature's wonders - "The cycle of life".

Bromeliads are very, very resilient plants and that's why you should never toss one out if it has seemingly died from rot, as more often than not it will manage to reproduce itself with a new pup or two from what appears to be a dead plant.

All the best, Nev.

Nev, I remember reading your wise words a few years ago when I first got into broms. From you I learned to not be in a rush to throw them away. For that reason, I developed a "Sick Bay". Well, they're not really sick - let's just say they're very, very tired. :) It's a spot where I stick broms that are looking ragged, torn, wasted, dead or ugly. I don't want visitors to think that's how I grow them (!) ... but I'm waaaaay too frugal to toss them just yet. I tuck 'em away over in Sick Bay where I hope to wring one or two more pups out of them. Kinda sadistic, right? (evil laugh) But it usually works!

I've pulled numerous pups off of both of the broms in the photos above. That big purple one has give me four nice pups already... it's the one you helped me with here.

Carol

Here's another hot mess, not fit for public viewing, but still of great value to me. Pulled her out of Sick Bay to snap these photos. I know all the experienced folk around here have seen hundreds like these, but these photos are for anyone new to broms.

Just a mess of a brom, tattered and torn:

Dead in the center:

Ugly as heck:

Carol in Jacksonville