Spotlight Corner: Blooming Bromeliads

Bromeliads may an excellent burst of color amidst green foliage plants.  In nature they can be found growing in extremely diverse environments: deserts, rainforests, mountains and even beaches. They naturally grow clinging to rocks, trees or shrubs, but take their nourishment from the air and not the plant they cling to.  The leaves have a thick cuticle and their bases are covered with scaly hairs, which enable water absorption. Once the plant blossoms, it will slowly die over a period of a couple of years. During that time, with good growing conditions, it will produce three to four baby plants growing from the base of the mother plant. These are commonly called “pups.”