Bromeliad fertilizer?

Flowers · Sat Apr 11, 2015 9:13 pm

I read online that I should use bromeliad fertilizer for my air plants. What's a good NPK ratio for bromeliads (air plants)?

imafan26 · Sun Apr 12, 2015 3:01 am

I usualy just use 1/4 strength miracle grow once a week. Bromeliad patches need to be thinned once in a while. After the bromeliad blooms, it putsout pups. The mother plant will never bloom again so when the patch gets too big, it is best to separate and take out the older plants.

Flowers · Sun Apr 12, 2015 7:58 am

I don't use miracle grow. Do you know what I can use that's organic?

imafan26 · Sun Apr 12, 2015 12:14 pm

Fish emulsion but since the water sits in the bromeliad cups, it may stink a bit.

Flowers · Sun Apr 12, 2015 5:44 pm

I'm using it for air plants, so I don't think that will be a problem. Will that encourage them to bloom or is it too high in nitrogen?

ElizabethB · Sun Apr 12, 2015 7:59 pm

MANY years ago I stuck Bromeliads in the branch forks of the live oak tree. I did nothing to them. They got all of the nutrients needed from the leaves that had collected in the branch forks. They bloomed and multiplied. My idea of great gardening - Gardening By Neglect.

imafan26 · Sun Apr 12, 2015 8:09 pm

Normally a bit of leaves and a few insects will fall in the cups in the wild and they live on that. They do not require a lot of fertilizer.

On the other hand although they are air plants and don't really need to be potted for nutrients, mostly like orchids for support. They normally collect moisture and nutrients in their cups. The water can sit in the cups a while.