I am an outdoor hosta gardener but my daughter got her first job and they had a question to me - apparently I am a gardener so I know everything...lol - they want to know what to do about this plant. What is coming up in the soil and do they remove the yellow dead looking leaves!
The bromeliad is post-bloom, and if there is no pup, it is a sure goner. All bromeliads die after blooming, and the pup(s) are necessary to continue having a viable plant.
Ken
Looks like a jade plant coming up. If there is a jade plant nearby a dropped leaf may have rooted. Never heard the term, "pup" used about a plant before.
Pups are tiny plants that grow from the base of the "Mother" plant. They get their nourishment from that (dying) mother plant and at a point, they can be separated from that mother plant and grow on their own. These baby plants are also called "off-set plants" and perhaps go by other names as well. I just call them "pups". Lots of tropical plants grow pups - staghorn ferns are ones that do but not all varieties of staghorns will have pups.
The vast majority of bromeliads found in the big-box stores will not have pups. The typical commercial grower speeds up the growth/flowering to get the plants to market, and those plants won't have time to grow their pups. Always look for a pup when purchasing a bromeliad.
The first photo shows a mother plant with three large pups and the second photo shows two pups, with the youngest pup being on the right side of the mother plant.
Ken
P. S. I never sell a bromeliad that does not have at least one pup.
Pups/pupping is common language for plants that produce young plants (clones more or less). Lots of succulents, bromeliads (earth stars), begonias, and so many more plants can pup and do have pups.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pupping
Back to the photos in question - it seems like planting a bromeliad with succulents would be a problem since bromeliads should be kept somewhat moist or wet (especially their cups). I wonder if that is one reason this has not "pupped". Also more light for all the plants in the pot would be beneficial. Both succulents look like kalanchoes which are easy/semi-easy to start by leaf.
So long as the urn (cup) has water, it matters little what the base of the bromeliad is sitting in. I mount a lot of my bromeliads and needless to say, there is nothing there to keep the base of the plant moist. The pictures you see are plants that are mounted. These mounted plants produce pups just like those in pots. I do agree that succulents should probably not be grown along side epiphytes. Their growing needs are vastly different.
Ken
That's true Ken. I only have two bromeliads (and lots of earth stars and a few air plants). Forgot about seeing all the bromeliads in trees in Belize - so accustomed to seeing them in the ground in FL where they are usually watered very well.
Do you need some more? I have several hundred....................LOL
Ken
I used to have a couple dozen at the last house but they froze one winter when the &^% kerosene heater fizzled out after I lit it for the night. I am going to pass on that since I have several hundred begonias to tend to in winter (and summer).
Well I learned something new today. Now I know what a pup is.
We never stop learning, regardless of our year's of experience. I have been growing tropical plants for over 40 years and still learn new things about these plants.
Ken
What a beautiful setting, hcmcdole!
Thanks Cville...
What is amazing is seeing how the rich (Palm Beach) grow their plants. This was the largest private garden (I think it was six acres) on Palm Beach and his annual plant budget (not including his four full time gardeners) was $100,000.
I can't relate to that. lol.
I wished I could relate to that...
