Thanks for the response. This was a pup from a plant she received. It has not flowered. I had it almost a year. I think she has them in MG potting soil. I have some cactus soil and perlite to repot. Do I soak it or water it at repotting? Do I add fertilizer (what kind)? Can I separate the dead looking ones? Will the dead ones' roots come back? Sun or shade? I'm going to put it back in the same pot.

Hi everyone.

Cathy – Just to expand on what tj has already written; your
bromeliad is a Neoregelia and it looks very much like one I have called Neoregelia
‘Lambert's Pride' (See attached picture).

The place to start with your plant is to take it out of
the pot and remove all the old potting mix and give the roots a good wash with
the hose before cutting off any that are dead or damaged.

The safest way to remove any dead leaves is to cut them
off horizontally about 4” up from the bottom and then pull each half carefully outwards
and away from the centre. This will protect any dormant “eyes” which eventually
grow into pups. It’s very important that you protect these dormant “eyes”.

Once you get to this stage, trim up any live leaves that
have damaged leaf tips; if you make the cut the same shape as the undamaged leaf
tips it looks much better than just cutting them straight across.

Now this is all done, you are ready to pot the plant up.
Don’t make the mistake of using the old potting mix as this could contain insect
eggs, disease or weed seeds, far better to always use new potting mix.

I use a 2 to 1 mixture of commercial bark based “orchid
potting mix” (2 parts) and a general purpose potting mix (1 part). Anything is
suitable as long as it is open enough to allow excellent drainage, this is very
important.

When finished, give the plant a good watering to settle
the mix and ensure the water runs through the pot OK.

DON’T stand
the pot in a saucer of water as some do, because this will surely start rot.

The following link will take you to a site with good basic
bromeliad cultural information. http://www.bromeliads.info/bromeliads-care-and-culture-overview/

I hope this is of some help to you.

All the best, Nev

Neoregelia 'Lambert's Pride'

Thanks. This is my first plant like this. It's beautiful and I'm trying to keep it alive. I will repot it this weekend after I catch some rain water. I'll have to see what kind of orchid mix I have. Probably Miracle Grow. I'll also check out the website you offered also. Thanks again.

Hi everyone.

Cathy - I don't know what brands of potting mixes you
have in your country but the main thing is that it's an open mix which allows
the water to flow through and not remain as mud in the bottom of the pot as
some cheap mixes do.

The other thing to do is to only use a mix that is damp and
wear a dust mask. With a dry mix you run the risk of breathing in the dust
which contains harmful bacteria such as Legionella which can be fatal.

It would be in your best interests to first read the info
in the website from the link below”

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1755992.htm

The other mistake people new to bromeliads make is to
over water them. As a guide; I only water mt plants twice each week in the very hot weather
and once weekly during winter. If in doubt as to whether the plant needs
watering, put it off for another couple of days. More plants are lost by over
watering than under watering.

The other thing I would add is that by watering I mean,
water the "whole plant"; foliage, mix and everything until the water
runs freely from the bottom of the pot. That's the only way you know the mix
has sufficient water. It's OK to give your plants a misting over the foliage to
freshen them up daily, but "misting" isn't "watering".

Remember that in nature, these plants are epiphytes and grow
on trees with their roots exposed to the air; and when they get wet they don’t
remain wet for very long and quickly dry off. This is why you need a mix that
won’t keep your plant roots wet for long periods.

All the best, Nev.

Nev, I found that I have a little perlite, topsoil, seed starting mix and some cactus soil. Looks like I need to go shopping so I can repot my plant. The pot that it came in has small rocks in the bottom. Where are you and what type of soil would you suggest? It's already 80 degrees where I am.

Hi everyone.

Cathy - I live in New South Wales on the east coast of Australia in a temperate region and we're just going into late autumn here.

I'm not familiar with what is in your cactus mix, but I wouldn't recommend top soil or seed starting mix as they are too fine and likely to hold too much water. On the other hand Perlite is good as it keeps the mixture open and they say it's good for promoting roots as well.

In a mixture of bark based orchid mix and general purpose potting mix as I mentioned above, it would be OK to add a 5" pot full of Perlite to each three buckets of that mix.

The rocks that were in the bottom of your pot would have been put there to improve drainage, (Especially in terracota pots with just the one hole in the centre). With modern plastic pots with several drainage holes, these rocks aren't necessary as the mix I suggest is open enough to let the water flow though without clogging up he drainage holes.

I realise we live in different countries, and our seasons are reversed, however the one thing that never changes with bromeliad growing is that you must have a well drained potting mix. I have been using the above mix successfully for over fifteen years with good results.

If however you can't get the ingredients I mention, you would be best advised to ask the advice of local growers or a horticulturist in your local nursery.

All the best, Nev.

Nev, I will get the bark based orchid potting mix when I shop this weekend. I'll cleanup the plant and repot it. Do you think it will flower afterwards this year?Do I use fertilizer in the soil mix?

Thanks all.

Hi Everyone.

Cathy - It's hard to say if it will flower this year or
not, but anyway, Neoregelias are grown for the foliage colour and not the flowers which
are quite insignificant and inconspicuous, as they are down in the centre and
often covered with water. (See below)

Neoregelia flowers

As for fertiliser, Neoregelias will grow quite well without
fertiliser, however if you are buying an orchid potting mix, you will often
find it already has a fertiliser included in the mix, so check this first
before you give it any other fertiliser.

If you do choose to use extra fertiliser pick one that
has a higher Potassium component then Nitrogen.

This will be shown on the package as NPK (N= Nitrogen, P
= Phosphorous and K = Potassium). Beside each letter will be an accompanying
number indicating the percentage of that ingredient in the mix. For example see below:

A mix with higher Potassium content than nitrogen will
give better foliage colour while on the other hand a higher Nitrogen content
will give good growth and rob the foliage of colour.

A good general purpose seaweed “tonic” such as Seasol (or
something similar) will benefit your plant as it looks like it has been
neglected before you got it. This is not a fertiliser but is a great “Tonic”
to boost plants. http://www.seasol.com.au/home-garden/products/seasol/ I’ve been using it for years and can highly
recommend it.

I hope this helps.

All the best, Nev