She was all lonely and forlorn, sitting abandoned in the discount section of my grocery store, obviously very pregnant and very neglected! I just couldn't walk away. I doubt any of you could have either! I wrapped her up in a soft blanket I keep in the car, positioned her carefully so she wouldn't tip over, and transported her gently home where I knew I could keep her safe and cared for till her babies arrived. But...but she wouldn't leave unless I brought her sister home as well! And as they are so close, I really didn't have a choice. After all, I have room in my heart and home for more than just one poor, abandoned life! Can't beat the price! I know I'm corny, just couldn't resist having some fun with this! Seriously though, I think I can figure out how to nurture the orchid. But the other plant that's with it? I have no clue! I don't know what it is, why it's with the orchid to begin with, if it's even still viable. The "flower" part seems sort of dried out, though most of the leaves seem like they still have life in them even though they don't look or feel as lush as I would think they should be. I'm guessing I need to separate them, right? That mystery plant is VERY squished in there, the orchid pot is taking up most of the room. OK, but here's the next issue.....it appears that the mystery plant has had babies too, that look like they're approaching adolescence!!! Look at these photos. Here's the first one I noticed: And then when I was turning the pot around to get a better angle, I saw another shoot on the other side! This is the best angle I could find so that you you can just barely see both shoots, each flanking the mama plant. Stewies, HELP!! What do I do???? I am WAY out of my depth, here!
Great score Ronni! Here is a site with great info. http://m.wikihow.com/Care-for-a-Bromeliad. Good luck with your new babies
Well, at least now I know what the name of the mystery plant is....a bromeliad! Somewhat bewildered by the HUGE variety of bromeliads out there. And I can't find any that look enough like the one I have that I know what I'm dealing with. But it appears that no matter what, that Mama plant isn't long for this world. I'm not sure I'm going to have the courage to surgically remove the babies from Mama. That just makes me cringe.
Well, I did it. I didn't repot the orchid. It came in its own pot inside the decorative pot, so I just left it in there. I figured that until it flowers, it's best to leave it as much alone as possible. The roots don't look terribly healthy, so I hope it survives. I cut off the dead stalk, fed it orchid food, put it in its own decorative pot, and now we wait. There are 8 buds on the stalk, so if it does bloom, it's going to be gorgeous! I did some work on the bromeliad, too. It was just jammed in beside the orchid with virtually no room. Some of the roots looked rotten, and the soil mixture was soaked. There was a puddle of water at the base of the decorative pot. It looks really dried out and like it's starting to die, so I don't know how long it's going to last. I separated the two babies from the original plant, re-potted them separately, and gave the mother plant its own pot with a new soil mix. Everything I read told me to essentially treat a bromeliad like an orchid, so it and its babies are in an orchid potting mix, fed with orchid food, and given the same kind of light requirements as I give my orchids, which are all doing really well so I have hope that those babies at least will survive.
I thought the subject of your post was "ostrich"! And I was thinking... where on earth is Ronni going to keep an ostrich and what will she do with it's baby?? That's what I get for Stewing with tired eyes!
Dammit Cheryl you owe me a new keyboard! I just spewed my coffee all over mine! An ostrich?? Wow. Woman, I think you need glasses.
I must be doing something right! Mama must like what I did for her or sumthin, because those tight little buds are beginning to open already! Looks like she's making beautiful flowers!
Now I'm determined to pay a visit to my zoo, and see just how well I can have my way with an ostrich.....er......I mean, getting away with....no.....um.... Well. Guess it's pretty clear which one of us needs more coffee this morning.
Ronni, Congrats on that orchid, I wasn't holding much hope for it from your description of its initial condition. Maybe I can add a bit to your brom info. That link Jewell provided has pretty good info, except I would have to say never put water into the cup (tank, never heard it called that before) of an indoor potted brom. We've been using them in interior landscaping now for 20 years, and we found right away that indoors if you put water in the cup, they'll rot. You can reach down inside with some scissors and cut out the dying bract, and then treat the green part more like a succulent, and it might stay green for several years. It will be interesting to see how the pups do. It can take 2 or 3 years before they bloom, if they do. Many of the modern hybrids aren't so good at reblooming. By the way, yours is a "vreisia" type
Thank you so much for this information! I appreciate knowing what I have as well, so many in the bromeliad family look similar and I really couldn't make a definitive decision as to which one I have, at least not from the pictures I saw. Even though the bromeliad babies don't look like they've done anything yet, at least they haven't shriveled up and died since their replanting, so I'm crossing my fingers that perhaps they'll pull through. The Mama doesn't seem to have changed at all. In comparing photos, she seems pretty brittle when I see other bromeliads that appear to be lush with very green leaves. Hers have sort of faded and are definitely more dried out, so I'm not sure how long she'll last. I appreciate knowing about how to remove the bract. I'll do that this weekend and perhaps that will allow a little more energy to go to the rest of the plant and might perk it up?
I don't know how I missed this topic but I'm so glad I've found it now. :-D Firstly congratulations on picking both plants up at such a great price. The ostrich orchid (sounds good doesn't it?wink) seems very happy in your care and the flowers are going to be lovely. I have high hopes for your bromeliad too now that you've given it lots of TLC. Do keep us updated on their progress won't you?
