How do I tame this thing!

9 years ago

My bromeliads grows up the side and then half way down the back. Back side is newer growth so it looks OK. Front side is over grown.

I want to think it out, but when I pull on old plants clumps of young ones come along too.

I have tried to prune the leaves but that does not work to make it look lush again.

Little baby!

Featured Answer

splinter1804

9 years ago

Hi everyone.

The pictures posted here are just great examples of a bromeliad
doing "what comes naturally". Most of the popular bromeliads we grow
in our gardens usually grow on trees in their natural habitat and the fact that
some look lush while others look dead while yet others look somewhere in
between are just examples of the plant's natural life cycle.

As an example of
their versatility, sometimes pieces of these tree dwelling plants will get broken off and fall to the ground below and
here they will usually begin to adapt to their new environment and start growing
on the rocks or the soil on which they have fallen.

Many people assume that all bromeliads grow naturally in the
ground because they are always sold growing in pots; the fact is that most are epiphytes and grow naturally on trees; it’s just that we grow them in pots purely for our
own convenience.

Once mature, a bromeliad will flower (only once) and once it
has flowered it begins to gradually die. During this process it produces one or
more new growths known as “offsets” (or more commonly called “pups”). As these
pups grow, they gradually take over the space of the dying mother until they reach maturity
and flower themselves and then the process starts all over again. Meanwhile the
original Mother plant has died and disintegrated and the new plant has filled
its place.

I said originally your pictures are great examples of a
bromeliad doing "what comes naturally"; by this I meant they depict
the whole life cycle and show the plants at all of the stages of growth; from
the healthy flowering plants, to plants in decline and starting to die as well as some
examples of dead plants and even the new pup emerging from the old Mother plant
in the last picture.

Firstly one of the posts suggests, “Removing the older
plants that bloomed last year and leaving the babies” – Although some pups are
produced from un-flowered plants, the majority are produced after the plant has
flowered and removing these plants that have flowered will greatly reduce the
number of pups produced.

I agree with what “oldmangroot” says about the effects of
more light; light will give you lighter coloured leaves and will also increase
flower production and quality.

As Carol says, “You could replant the casualties elsewhere”;
this is very true as these plants are very adaptable and divisions can be
re-planted in the garden, in pots or mounted onto other trees. Just a little tip
about mounting on trees though; make sure they are firmly attached and can’t
move because if they can move, any new roots will be broken and won’t be able
to attach to the tree.

The advice the “Two Carols” give about cleaning
plants is also very relevant, especially the bit about removing leaves where “Carol
in Jacksonville” says “If a leaf doesn't come easily with a tug, leave it on”. I
would just like to add that as well as removing dead leaves it also helps the
plants appearance if you trim the dead and broken leaf tips making them the
same shape as the live ones as nothing looks more unnatural than a leaf cut
straight across. If you need to remove a damaged “green leaf” or any other leaf
that won’t come away easily, split it down the middle and then pull each half
outward away from the centre. This will eliminate any damage to any tiny new
pups which will be forming beneath the leaf base.

The other thing to remember when growing plants on trees is
that they require more water as they dry out much quicker than they do in a pot.
I totally agree with Laura, as experience has told me that mounted plants will
certainly benefit from foliar fertilising; unlike potted plants where there
is usually some type of fertiliser in the potting mix, mounted plants don’t
have this luxury. As well as fertiliser, an occasional drenching of one of the many “seaweed tonics”
on the market such as “Seasol” will also help with their vigor thereby helping
to resist diseases and better tolerate extremes of temperatures.

Incidentally, I think the plant pictured is Billbergia pyramidalis which is one of
the species very common to gardens here in Australia where I live. They can
sometimes be seen in clumps of several square yards in area and when in flower
make a wonderful spectacle; unfortunately the flowers are only short lived.

Just to finish up, I’m posting a couple of pictures of a bromeliad
called Neoregelia compacta growing on a very large tree at the entrance to
Paronella Park in Far North Queensland Australia. When this plant flowers, the
foliage turns vivid scarlet in the centre, (See the remaining few plants still in
flower toward the bottom in picture 1)

Unfortunately it wasn’t fully in flower at the
time the picture was taken but it’s still quite a spectacle nevertheless.

Neoregelia compacta photographed from the front

Neoregelia compacta photographed from the rear

All the best, Nev.

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Comments (25)

suncoastflowers
9 years ago
I would think you would thin it by removing the older plants that bloomed last year and leaving the babies that wil still bloom...but I don't really know.
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I thin out mine by carefully removing the spent leaves & plants. I find the truly dead leaves do come off @ the base, but I need to pull leaves off individually, or just a few @ a time. It's kind of a fussy job & a pair of pruners helps - as do thick long sleeves & definitely gloves.

If I accidentally uproot a plant, I just replant it.
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Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Ditto what Carol B said. I also do it that way - leaf by leaf - taking the truly dead ones that come off all the way at the base of the plant (at the stem). If a leaf doesn't come easily with a tug, leave it on. I also agree with wearing long sleeves and gloves. I do not use a pruners or scissors at all.

To me, your brom tree is absolutely beautiful. I'm a big brom fan. :)

Carol in Jacksonville
SweetMonkeyCheese Z9 Tampa
Original Author
9 years ago
Yea, I have pulled off many over the past few years and since it is a weird network mother roots on bark I never can get it back on the tree.
bea (zone 9a -Jax area)
9 years ago
Why pull any of it out? I think it looks spectacular!
SweetMonkeyCheese Z9 Tampa
Original Author
9 years ago
The color has drained, it use to be a richer color and so many of the plants leaves are ratty and tattered.

It also seems to bloom later each year I think they are so crowed they are not getting as much light.
SweetMonkeyCheese Z9 Tampa
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
How it look summer 2013.

I will say now that it has so many plants it does put out more blooming stalks.
oldmangroot
9 years ago
Getting lighter might mean it's getting more light, not less. My bromeliads turn lighter the more light they get. The increased blooming implies that too, possibly. have you trimmed the canopy at some point? Or lost some during a storm?

for trimming, get a string and loop it in a circle. Hang it and use it to decide the border of what you want the clump to look like. Then trim.
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10
9 years ago
You could replant the casualties elsewhere...
Laura F (z9FL)
9 years ago
fertilizer might help perk them up.
Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
9 years ago
SMC, I hope you don't mind my calling Nev over from the Bromeliad Forum. I knew he would come through - and boy did he, in a big way! He is such a wealth of bromeliad knowledge. He is the pillar of the Brom Forum.

Carol
SweetMonkeyCheese Z9 Tampa thanked Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
SweetMonkeyCheese Z9 Tampa
Original Author
9 years ago
Great info and I appreciate it!

I too love how it grows up the tree. I just wanted to freshen it up by clearing the ratty looking ones, but had never found an easy way to do it.

We did have the tree trimmed in 2013 when we bought the house. It makes me feel better that the lighter color could be from more light and not that it is struggling.

Ideally, in my dream world (I dont see this being something that can actually happen, at least not with my limited talent) would love to clear out a few places and then get a few other types of bromeliads with different color blooms. Could you even imagine how pretty it would be with not only reds, but purple, pinks, and yellows!

I need to look into some seaweed ferts, I have so many plants that really could use a boost and miracle grow can only do so much. I dont recall seeing any at lowes, so I gotta start looking elsewhere. I am not sure if I have ever fertialized the broms and if I have it would have been in 2014!!!

That tree is Queensland is wicked!!! I cant believe how tall the Broms grow!!!

I wonder if I can find a pic of it bloom this last time.. might be nice to see the 1st year we were here compared to the most recent bloom. I cant take any credit for starting the plant, but would love to take credit for keeping it going and looking better with age!
splinter1804
9 years ago
Hi everyone.

Carol - Thanks for the compliment, however I don't see myself as "the pillar of the Brom Forum" as you put it.

I'm just an old bloke of 76 growing bromeliads and who's trying to give back some of the advice and tips I've learned from these forums and my own experience. After all isn't knowledge sharing what these forums are all about?

SweetMonkeyCheese - You say you would love to clear out a few places and then get a few other types of bromeliads with different color blooms.

Could I suggest you get some Neoregelias as these will grow happily under the same conditions as Billbergias. They can also be mounted in trees or if you prefer, grown in pots. If you prefer them in a garden just plant them (pot and all) - This way you can more easily move them to another location if required.

Although their flowers are tiny, they will give you a magnificent range of foliage colours that no other bromeliads can match. (See examples below)

Some of the different Neoregelias in my shade house

Finally a picture of a Billbergia to show they too can have attractive foliage colour - This is Billbergia 'Tarantella'

All the best, Nev.
User
9 years ago
I didn't realize that kind of brom would climb. They grow all over down here, are very cold hardy, so maybe I'll try growing one up the oak tree. Should be fun.
SweetMonkeyCheese Z9 Tampa
Original Author
9 years ago
Those are very pretty, love the sunset colors!!!
fawnridge (Ricky)
9 years ago
Here are three of my tree-climbing bromeliads. Rather than shed blood needlessly, I rarely clean these out.

Neo. Martin climbing a Yucca:

Billbergia pyramidalis, probably the same as yours, in a massive Rubber Tree:

I've forgotten the name of this one, but it's just finished blooming:

And since we're on climbing/vining plants, anybody notice the Chamaedorea growing as a vine in this same tree? There are two visible loops, the one on the right going over the top of a night-blooming cactus, that's also climbing this same tree. The fronds are on the left, below the two thick limbs. The white wires are fishing line that's supporting a large wind chime:
SweetMonkeyCheese Z9 Tampa
Original Author
8 years ago
I could not take it any longer..... I might have gone overboard!

There are still several red buds still attached to the tree, so I am hoping it will fill back in over the next few years.
SweetMonkeyCheese Z9 Tampa
Original Author
8 years ago

Some are attached and some I took off a mother plant I yanked, I just kinda shoved them.between some roots to make it look attached and hoping they will take the hint!
SweetMonkeyCheese Z9 Tampa
Original Author
8 years ago
Finished the rest, dang it was a lot!
suncoastflowers
8 years ago
One of my neighbors has them surrounding and climbing his oak tree. I didn't even notice it until it was blooming one day. It was spectacular.
SweetMonkeyCheese Z9 Tampa
Original Author
8 years ago
I really like the look, but with so many old one crowding the tree it was taking so much longer for the blooms to arrive and the old plants were shades of pale green, yellow,and brown.

I am really hoping it revives them and I can watch it grow over time. I loved it so much 4 years ago when it was so nice and shapely!
User
8 years ago
Ouch... you might have killed them
SweetMonkeyCheese Z9 Tampa
Original Author
8 years ago
I was afraid I had bc the lil red ones are no longer red, but I think they are starting to grow!

I see new green growing!
Tim Aquino
5 years ago
mine I pullout of its spot every 2 years they grow like crazy I think there 7 varieties maybe more. so pruning sheers cut clean remove and replant on top of leaf I live in Central FL.