Home»House Plants»Bromeliad

In the winter months , many gardeners leave out manage for and enjoying plants . Houseplants like theSansevieria trifasciatacan replete the gap somewhat , but for dazzling gloss and easy care , bromeliads and orchids stay on to grow in popularity for habit as indoor plant .

According to the vice - president of marketing and sales for Silver Vase , a well - hump grower of bromeliads and orchids , people are drawn to these unusual tropical works because they want to test something new that will provide a spark of joyfulness and happiness in today ’s uncertain world .

Close up of the moth orchid Phalaenopsis “Sunset”

to boot , she says these bright , gentle - care plants make a perfect smirch of color in any décor . [ source ]

Orchids or Bromeliad Plants – Which Should You Choose?

orchid and bromeliads are both excellent choices for almost any setting that maintain a steady , comfortable temperature and receives decent , consistent indirect or fluorescent lighting .

Both are widely usable in garden snapper , big box stores , grocery store and many other routine shops .

The care for these interesting plants is similar . Your choice between the two depend more on :

In this article , we will weigh the pro and con of bromeliads vs. orchids to fetch colour to your home or office . scan on to learn more .

Orchid vs. Bromeliad Quick Comparison

Choices and Affordability:

Both orchids and bromeliads are widely uncommitted , at very reasonable prices in many interesting , beautiful , and colorful varieties .

If you tend to like classically beautiful , elegant plants in traditional colour , you may be more draw to orchids . If you enjoy oddball industrial plant in a wide variety of sizes , shapes , and texture , a bromeliad collection may accommodate you better .

If you have eclectic tastes , go for both !

Lighting:

Most indoor variety of both bromeliads and orchidaceous plant necessitate some protective cover from direct sunlight .

Bromeliads tend to like smart , collateral sunlight , while orchid may do better with lower indirect light .

However , many orchid fanciers find that orchids do very well in burnished abstemious levels .

Temperature:

Both orchids and bromeliads enjoy the same normal household temperatures you do .

If you like to grow your heat down low at night , you might be better off with bromeliads as they can permit more or less lower temperatures , but both type of plants do well with daytime temporary worker of 70 ° to 85 ° degrees Fahrenheit and nighttime temporary no lower than 60 ° degrees Fahrenheit .

Water:

Watering varies slenderly from species to metal money in both orchid and bromeliads , but generally speak , a weekly tearing that soaks the very well - drained , airy planting medium will work fine .

Be measured of overwatering , and never let orchid or bromeliads stand in water as they are subject to root rot .

Humidity:

Both type of plants like reasonably high humidity and frequent misting . Orchids also like to have their leaves wipe down with a damp fabric occasionally .

Fertilizer:

Both orchids and bromeliads take very little fertilizer . About a 1/2 tablespoonful of 20 - 20 - 20 organic , water - soluble plant food in a gallon of water is about right . Some enthusiast feed “ infirm , hebdomadary . ” Others prey monthly .

Growth and Size:

orchidaceous plant do tend to grow faster and bigger than bromeliads . An orchid plant can reduplicate its size in the first year while a bromeliad remains about the same size of it throughout its liveliness .

Bloom-time:

Both orchids and bromeliads have long - last bloom , but the timing is different . A bromeliad will bloom once , and the prime may last 3 -6 calendar month .

An orchidaceous plant can bloom twice a year with expert attention . The flush may last up to six weeks each meter .

Re-potting:

While some say it is not necessary to repot bromeliads , ever , it is a serious idea to freestanding pups annually and give the parent plant a fresh potting medium .

You may not ask to move the plant to a bigger or different pot , though . Repot orchid when the roots commence to ramble out of the pot and/or Keiki ( baby ) start taking up blank space .

Propagation:

The two types of plants are very similar in terms of propagation . Both produce offspring which can merely be separated and moved into smaller commode to increase your collecting , craft with other gatherer , or partake with your friends and family member .

Aren’t Orchids Hard To Care For?

Orchids get long - endure , colorful blooms indoors during the wintertime month , along with pretty foliage and they make splendid houseplants throughout the rest of the year .

Although they come with a long reputation for fussiness , this is n’t really dead on target . orchid are very gentle to like for once you understand their care is dissimilar than a regular houseplant .

To grow orchidaceous plant well , you should not use potting soil . These plant life are epiphytes and naturally develop on tree barque . Their roots ( with a few elision ) never touch the grease in the state of nature .

That ’s why it ’s best to keep orchids in specially prepared orchid bark or a mixture of barque , peat ( or coco coir ) , and perlite ( or other coarse , poriferous centre ) .

The end is to use a substrate providing quick drainage and good aeration for the roots , which yield very quickly to root rot .

Some orchid fancier also add activated charcoal grey to the mixing as it work well to remove overweening moisture .

It also maintain the mix refreshful and may even allow a bit of atmosphere quality melioration in the general vicinity of the orchidaceous plant . This is peculiarly true if you keep a fan turn on grim nearby for healthy air circulation .

Once you have the substrate right , everyday care is easy . When you first buy an orchid , if it is pot in soil or sphagnum moss moss , plan on repot it after it finish up blooming . Take great care not to over - body of water it in the meantime .

When you prefer or blend the substrate for your orchid , realize that the coarseness of the barque and other materials used should coincide with the heaviness of the plant ’s roots .

If the root are slight ( for instance , cymbidium and paphiopedilums roots ) , use minuscule barque . For plants with thickset roots ( for instance , Odontoglossum ) choose average - sized bark and coarser extra materials .

TIP : If your plant has sent out roots over the top of its pot , do n’t dispatch them unless they are dead . These roots contribute visual interest and help oneself the flora stay healthy .

Everyday Care Is Easy

Most orchids are dead happy living spirit on a windowsill with lustrous , collateral lighting . Placing a tray of pebble and pee underneath the orchidaceous plant pot facilitate provide the industrial plant with the humidity it needs . This is particularly significant in winter when indoor air tends to be teetotal . orchidaceous plant appreciate a little melodic phrase circulation but do n’t place plants in front of a warming vent or a unmediated selective service .

Watering and fertilize instructions alter from one eccentric of orchidaceous plant to another . broadly speaking speaking a thoroughgoing watering once or doubly a calendar month is desirable .

Allow the water to go through the plant , or sic the plant in a tub of water and let it soak for a forgetful while . take into account the plant to debilitate thoroughly before setting it back on its layer of pebble and shallow water ( which should not come in contact with the solution of the plant ) .

Gently pass over the plant ’s leaves with a damp fabric about once a workweek . This start the industrial plant to make the most efficient manipulation of wet in the atmosphere . It also just look prettier without a finishing of debris .

When your orchidaceous plant finishes blooming , cut back the blossom spike and repot the plant into a somewhat larger container with an all - new planting sensitive ( bark or barque intermixture ) . Continue to worry for the plant as you have . It may re - bloom the very next year , but if not do n’t worry . It should bloom in subsequent years , in the meanwhile just enjoy it as a houseplant .

A serious demonstration of repotting technique along with levelheaded advice on farseeing - term orchidaceous plant guardianship .

When repotting your orchid , you may discover your plant - produced sister plants ( aka keiki ) . cautiously separate these plantlets from the parent industrial plant and put them into their own pots to increase your collection or portion with your friends . [ root ]

Which Orchids Are Best For Indoor Color?

These days the whitened Phalaenopsis – the Moth Orchid – is the most pop and promptly available .

You ’ll find these orchidaceous plant in grocery store store green goods departments , and dollar sign store , as well as at nurseries and garden nerve center .

They are easy to care for and very affordable . Of course , white is not very colored , but even white flower can lighten up your milieu and abstract your spirits in the dead of wintertime .

White bloomers are the most vulgar and most low-priced genus Phalaenopsis on the market today , but they do come in bloom coloration other than white , and they can even be artificially dyed .

This video from Whole Foods shows some excellent examples of the many colors useable in Phalaenopsis orchids alone . These are easy - care orchids grown to be sold in a grocery store setting and kept in an medium place .

Other type of orchids that provide good color are Cymbidium and Miltonia . These are also widely available and very affordable .

These two mini - cultivars take up less space than a typical genus Phalaenopsis and make an first-class selection for a background background , a small kitchen , or a bathroom windowsill .

Good Timing Means Year-Round Blooms

Phalaenopsis is a wintertime - bloom orchidaceous plant . If you want floral color in your abode year - orotund , work up a collection of various case .

Here are the ten best household orchids fit in to Carol Gravens of theMissouri Botanical Garden .

While lightsome essential for these orchids vary slightly , most will do well at temperatures in the mid-seventies and eighties during the day and no lower than sixty overnight . All like humidness levels of about fifty percent . body of water well and fertilise “ weakly , weekly . ”

1 – Moth Orchid ( Phalaenopsis)grows to be about 3′ fundament high . enceinte , showy , long - hold out flowers add up in a all-encompassing sort of colors and patterns . “ Phal ” likes partial or full wraith and appreciate a quick , east - face windowpane .

2 – Venus ’ skidder ( Paphiopedilum ) , sometimes called “ Lady Slipper ” because of the appearance of its lower petal . The pretty bloom come in a panoptic variety of patterns and colors . Lady ’s Slipper maturate to a maximum acme of 2′ feet . Like Phal , this plant like to be in a lovesome , eastern window with low - to - restrained brightness level .

3 – South American Lady Slippers ( Phragmipedium)can grow to be three feet high . Like the Venus ’ Slipper , they also have a pouch - alike lower petal , which gives them their coarse name .

These works hail from both Central and South America . Their heyday are hard veined and come in rafts of pretty colors ( yellow , orangish , red , pink , and green ) . Keep them in plastic containers as they like to stay moist – not crocked ! Provide unspoilt air movement , bright , collateral sunshine , and systematically warm temperatures .

4 – Cattleyais a winter and spring blooper featuring large , pretty , fragrant corsage orchids in white , yellow , orangish , pink , red , imperial , or green . This flora likes bright , indirect sunshine and grows to be about two feet high . Some enthusiast successfully grows   Cattleyas in their basements .

5 – Members of theDendrobium groupvary a bit from one type to another in terminal figure of clean , temperature , and forethought predilection . Be sure to aright identify your plant eccentric right and abide by specific direction for its care and placement . At four feet gamy , this is a big orchid .

6 – Cymbidiumis another model of a large orchid . These plants come in several varieties , ranging in altitude from one foot to four foot . They get along in many colors , and all varieties are fairly live to coldness for brief stop of time , but they prefer a partly shaded , consistently warm setting in an eastern window .

7 – Jewel Orchid ( Ludisia)is a small orchid at only one - and - a - half feet gamy . The flowers are low , bloodless and abundant , but the foliage is dazzle . Leaves are large and velvety in shades of sullen green and mysterious brownish - purple .

farewell come marked with crimson or halcyon veins . Take care to water in the morning time hours , so the leave-taking have sizable time to dry before crepuscle . The works like medium light , consistent warmth , and good aura circulation .

8 – Dancing Ladies ( Oncidium)come in around 700 types . Most produce vast numbers of small , yellow - brown flower . They like consistent temperatures and moderate light . These plants are easy to care for if you have enough blank space . They can grow to be ten feet tall !

9 – Nun ’s Orchid ( Phaius)is another large orchidaceous plant , which can grow to a maximum altitude of four infantry . The leaf are large and thin , and the flowers are abundant as each plant produces lots of spike with draw of blossoms in shades of yellow-bellied , Battle of Magenta , purple and clean .

These plants like very burnished indirect luminousness , and unlike most other orchids , they favour to be prevent slightly moist . They are grievous feeders and do well with constitutive fertilizer treatments .

10 – Zygopetalumproduce attractively wind bloom from late in the fall until betimes in the springtime . The multicolored flowers are long - long-lived and interesting in visual aspect .

They come in shades of clean , brown , mauve , royal and green . Many are heavily veined and/or decorated with festive splotches . These small , pretty flora rise to a maximum height of one - and - a - one-half feet eminent . They wish bright , indirect sunlight , systematically affectionate temperatures , and good atmosphere circulation .

Bizarre Bromeliad Family Add Color And Interest

Like orchids , bromeliads make first-class houseplant . Their leaves and structure are intriguing , and their flowers ( efflorescence ) are bright colored and long - persistent .

With over 3000 species of bromeliads , horticulturists are continually strive to create new , unusual , compact varieties with larger efflorescence .

Like orchid , some bromeliads are epiphytic and grow on Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree bark in nature . This type of bromeliad grows in a bark type culture medium , with the same sort of concern as orchids . Others develop well in a light growing medium with salutary air circulation , such as orchid potting admixture .

Like orchids , bromeliads do well in :

Unlike orchids , bromeliads can be watered from the top , and it is worthy to allow water to gather up in the plant life ’s fundamental loving cup or rose window .

Bromeliads are glad at well-situated indoor temperatures range from 70 – 85 degree Fahrenheit during the day and shake off to around 60 degrees Fahrenheit at nighttime . They are a small more tolerant of cold than orchid and can survive brief spells of forty - five - degree conditions .

It ’s easy to see the many similarities between orchidaceous plant aid and bromeliad caution . Another thing they have in common . Many people think of both as “ disposable plant . ” They both suffer from the misconception that after bloom , they are worthless .

As we have take note , with a small patience and consistent care , orchids will blossom again . While this is not true of bromeliads , it is true that you could easy grow draw of new little bromeliad “ puppy ” from the female parent works to supply you with bright , pretty inflorescence indefinitely .

When your plant finishes blooming , it will begin to die back and expect raggedy . Do n’t throw it out ! Check its al-Qaida and you will in all probability see one or more little bromeliad whelp await to take its place . slay them gently , pot them , and you will soon have an all - newfangled assembling of plant to enjoy and partake .

This telecasting portion removing & Potting Up Bromeliad Pups

Bromeliads Can Be Space Savers

In the wild , epiphytic bromeliads grow in the top canopy of the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree of the rainforest . This circumstance allow them to welcome copious amounts of filtered sunshine , fresh air , and rainwater . To keep these colorful atmosphere plants in your home , you would do well to adjudicate to emulate these conditions .

The root system of these flora are minimum , so you do n’t need a large pot or plantation owner . Most character can be kept in five - inch or six - in sess . You may require to go for weighed down planters to avoid having your bromeliads tumble over .

Epiphytic bromeliads ( e.g.gray - scaled Tillandsia ) do well pot in orchid bark , tree - fern bark or cork - oak barque . you’re able to also deliver space with this case of plant life by mounting it on a slab of barque or Natalie Wood , which can be hung on a wall if you are short on surface blank space .

To do this , just wrap the floor / source of the plant in sphagnum moss and wire it to the barque or wood using credit card coated wire ( wrapped around the moss – not instantly around the plant ) . Twist the ends of the conducting wire together in the back of the display where they are out of sight but can be undone . When the plant has take up root and secured itself to the radix , you may remove the telegram

This video divvy up a slightly dissimilar method acting of mount bromeliads using fishing billet instead of wire .

To water this display , you would spray the plant and the moss a duet of metre a week . Do n’t ever set aside the moss to become whole juiceless . Maintain humidness of at least 50 percent . There should always be a little act of water in the leave of absence ’ built - in reservoir . Rinse out stagnant water and give the plant and establish a dependable soaking by submerge the whole affair in water system monthly .

What Are The Best Bromeliads For Color Indoors?

There are nearly 3500 types of plants in the Bromeliaceae family the world over , and hybridizers are continually creating new and interesting cultivars . Here is a little sampling of some of the best and easiest types to start with . Keep in intellect that within each of these types , there are legion varieties .

Aechmeais a genus containing over 255 different types of bromeliads which are often referred to as “ founding father ’s bromeliads . ” The “ Silver Vase plant ” – Aechmea fasciata is one of the most popular .

These epiphytes are unco resilient and farm very long - hold up blush . you’re able to expect six calendar month of color from your hardy little plant and many offspring to duplicate the performance in perpetuity .

Neoregeliaplantshails from the South American rain wood . These plants are more compact than many other bromeliads , which may explain why they are also the most popular . They have beautiful foliation and flowering bracts that allow for colouring material for months on end . to boot , they are a bit more tolerant of coldness than their cousins .

Vrieseais a genus named after the Dutch botanist and physician , Willem Hendrik de Vriese ( 1806 - 1862 ) . There are many varieties of this plant , but the most popular species is Vriesea splendens ( aka Flaming Sword ) .

These striking plants sport attractive foliage and a bright red , sword - shaped flower bract . The flowers , themselves , are very small . These plants ply an excellent shiny blot as a screen background plant in a humbled - light power or one that has fluorescent overhead lighting .

Guzmaniahas many hybrids and is sometimes foretell “ tufted air works . ” These plant come in in many attractive shade of snowy , scandalmongering , orange , red and purple . The flowers last for several months , and the plants create set of pups . If you want a bright colored , easy - care works for your windowsill or even for a depleted light , protect out-of-door setting , the Guzmania bromeliad is an first-class pick .

In this video , Horticulturist Dan Gill from the LSU Ag Center shows us just how easy it is to take care of this pretty plant .

Which Is The Better Choice: Orchids or Bromeliads?

In the final analysis , one is not better than the other . In full term of care and context , orchids and bromeliads have pretty much the same need and are equally gentle to care for . The main differences between the two have to do with appearance and space requirements .

Today the Phalaenopsis Moth Orchid is promptly available in a concourse of colors – white , pinks , yellows , purples , candy grade insignia , mottled and more . If you ’re take care for a refined display of beautiful flowers with an upright , vertical growth habit – pick a moth orchid .

TIP : To get a longer blossom metre ( 3 – 4 months ) , choose a plant with flowers open and 2 – 4 buds shape on the flower spikes but not opened . This tip alone with probably give your plant an additional 3 week of prime !

The Guzmania bromeliad also comes in a wide regalia of vivacious color as well – bolshie , orange , purples , yellows , and pinks . When in efflorescence the Guzmania also provides great people of color indoors for 3 – 4 months .

TIP : To get a longer puppet sentence , select a Bromeliad plant with peak low in the cup .

For both orchids and Bromeliads ask the vendor when they get new plants in and buy them on that Clarence Day !

Consider making yourself a Bromeliad or Orchid garden where you may spread out plant out as they go out of blossom !

It‘s easy to see that when get to your alternative , your honorable guide is your own preference . Go with the plant life or plants that attract to you and make you happy . Keep in mind that unless you only have blank space for one works , there ’s really no reason to select ! These plants are absolutely compatible and complemental , and a collection of orchids and bromeliads makes an interesting and colorful display !