How to Grow and Care for the Vase Plant in Containers
Intro: The vase plant, with its dark green foliage and interesting red blooms, is known to be a difficult container plant to grow for beginner gardeners. The vase plant's showy blooms last up to three months.
Scientific Name: Guzmania sp. 'Rana'
Plant Type: Bromeliad
Light: Bright indirect light
Water: Let the vase plant dry out slightly between waterings. Definitely do not overwater your Guzmania plant. Use distilled water or water that has sat out for at least 24 hours (this gives it time for chemicals to dissipate). The vase plant also enjoys high humidity, so mist your Guzmania daily or keep a pebble tray (filled with water) underneath its plant container to provide enough humidity throughout the day.
Zone: Zones 10 to 11, so this plant should most often be kept in indoor gardens.
Fertilizer: Fertilize the vase plant once a month with a balanced fertilizer.
Pests and Diseases: Not many garden pests or diseases affect the vase plant, but mealybugs or fungus may damage your Guzmania sp. 'Rana.’
Propagation: Guzmania is a monocarpic plant, meaning that it will die after flowering, but if you keep your plant healthy, it should produce pups before it dies. Remove the vase plant's pups when they’re about a third as big as the mother plant and plant them in another plant container (do not pull out the plant out, but gently cut it where it comes out of the mother plant).
Misc. Info: To induce flowering, put a couple of apples and the plant in a plastic bag. The gas that the apples release will stimulate the plant into flowering.
Use orchid or bromeliad potting mix, not regular potting soil for these container plants.
