Growing Bromeliads from Seed

Table of Contents and IntroductionAfrican Violets: the Doyen of House PlantsAgapanthusAlstroemeriasAmerican SagebrushesAmerican WildflowersAndean Nymph - a pink mimulusAquilegias (Columbines)AuriculasAustralian AnnualsBellis Perennis (Daisies)Black-Eyed SusanBlue African LiliesBreeding DelphiniumsBreeding Fuchsias: Part 1: From SeedBreeding Fuchsias: Part 2: HybridisationBromeliads from SeedButterflies in Soy SauceCacti RaisingCampanulasChilean Bell FlowerChilly Treatment for Peruvian LiliesCollecting SeedConserving Annuals and BiennialsCosmosCucumbersCycads: Living FossilsCyclamen for IndoorsDahlias from SeedDamping OffErythroniumsF1 Hybrid - What Is it?F2 and Open Pollinated VarietiesFrom Obscurity to the Height of FashionGentiansGeraniumsGermination to Pricking OutGolden Impatiens - The StoryGrowing Alpines From Seed: Part 1Growing Alpines From Seed: Part 2Growing Bananas From SeedGrowing Cyclamen From SeedGrowing Eucalyptus From SeedGrowing Ferns from SporesGrowing Foxgloves From SeedGrowing Fritillarias From SeedGrowing From Seed: From Packet to SoilGrowing Hardy Ferns from SporesGrowing Hardy Geraniums From SeedGrowing Lewisias From SeedGrowing Magnolias From SeedGrowing Meconopsis From SeedGrowing Proteas and Related Genera from SeedHandling Small SeedsHardy Annuals: Part 1Hardy Annuals: Part 2Hardy CyclamenHardy SpurgesHelleboresIncreasing your Violas and ViolettasKeeping Records of Seed SowingLettuce - the Vital Part of any SaladLord Anson's PeaMagnolias - the Root of the ProblemMimulus from Seed to Seed in Sixty DaysNew Guinea ImpatiensOld-fashioned Sweet PeasOnions with EverythingPansies are not Difficult to Grow from SeedParsleyPerennials for American GardensPetuniasPhygelius - their cultivation and propagationPinks: Evocation of the PastPlants That Flower OncePrickly but NicePropagatorsRadishesRaising PalmsRaising PrimulasSalad Leaves - a lot to be desiredShow Stoppers Twice OverSowing SeedsSowing in Open GroundSowing to Feed our FriendsSturt's Desert PeaSweet Peas - Autumn SownSweet Peas - Sowing and GerminatingTall and HandsomeTechniques with Tiny SeedTexas BluebellThe Effect of Light on Germination and SeedlingsThe Nervous PeaThe Scarlet Welsh PoppyThe Search for the Yellow Sweet PeaToad LiliesTomatoesTreasure Hunt for TasteUnderstanding Latin NamesUnique Poppy (Mother of Pearl)Viability of VegetablesWeaning SeedlingsWill the Real Mimosa Please Stand Up

Martin Tall gives an introduction to this interesting group of plants

Bromeliads are a plant family of fifty-two genera and about two thousand species. This family is native to North, Central and northern South America. One species grows in West Africa, Pitcairnia feliciana and thus lends support to the geological theory of plate tectonics, that Africa was once joined to the Americas.

Since bromeliads grow in the Peruvian deserts on the Pacific coast, on the Andes mountains at heights of 300 to 3,000 metres, above sea level and in large numbers on the flat tops of cerros, the sandstone mountains of the Guyana Highlands, one would expect the seed to be varied in appearance. Walter Richter classifies bromeliads into Tillandsioideae, (Vriesea, Guzmania, Tillandsia), which produce seeds with hairs; Bromelioideae (Aechmea, Billbergia, Neoregelia), which produce seeds in juicy berries, and Pitcaimioideae (Pitcairnia, Dyckia, Hechtia), which are terrestrials, and most have winged seeds.

Various methods are used to germinate these three types of seeds.

The directions for growing green and white Tillandsia from seed are quoted from the book by Wemer Rauh, Bromeliads for home, garden and greenhouse, and the method of germination was devised by Dr. Richard Oeser.

Store the ripe seeds in an open container - not a closed one, since the germination process begins immediately.

Dr. Oeser used bundles of conifer twigs on which to sow seed of the atmospheric Tillandsia. The branches of arbor vitae and juniper species from which the young twigs have been only partially removed, proved especially suitable. Two pencil-thick twigs about 1ft (30cm) long, with all their side branches squeezed together … are wrapped with more thin branches until the bundle is 2-4cm thick. In the middle and at the ends, it is tied tight with a wire and the ends are trimmed.

Distribute the seed evenly . . . and then wrap the bundle with nylon thread … Spray the whole bundle - at first very carefully, then normally … Finally, attach to the upper end a strong wire hook that will allow the bundle to be hung up in a semi-shady place in the greenhouse. At least once a day (more frequently in warm, sunny weather), the bundles are dipped into clean, rain water to which a weak solution of a general fertiliser has been added. The greenhouse windows are opened whenever the outside temperature permits … seedlings treated in this manner reach maturity in approximately three to five years.'

The scientist W. Richter has devised methods for growing the green-leaved Tillandsia and Vriesea, Guzmania and most other bromeliads, as follows:

… Clay seed [pans] are carefully sterilised and their bottoms are covered with a layer of (broken clay pots) which are [then] covered with 1 inch (2.5cm) of coarse, steamed peat [moss] and a thin layer of pulverised [Osmunda] fern root. There should be l-1Oin (2.5-4cm) of space below the rim. The seeds are distributed evenly on the Osmunda fibre and should not be covered. Finally, they should be sprayed with a 1:1000 solution of Chinosol.

Until germination, the dishes must be kept covered with glass and [kept] at a temperature of 22-25C (72-76F). Germination begins after about 10 to 25 days, Now light shading with thin paper is necessary … Do not transplant too soon. Usually, transplanting takes place four or five months after germination. The winged seeds of Puya and Pitcairnia are treated in the same way.'

In the Journal of the Bromeliad Society (Volume 26, No. 5 September-October, 1976) James E. Humphry describes how he germinated fresh seeds of Billbergia venezuelana. He tied four or five twigs from a Swamp Cypress tree to a 15in (38cm) stick, fixed in a 20in (6.4cm) clay pot in a plastic margarine container. He wet the sand with rain water and 'scratched' the seed on the wet sand. He covered the entire contraption with a plastic bag, tied at the top to the pole with a plant tie. He eventually raised almost all the seedlings successfully.

The author has devised his own method of germination and has employed it for several years with fair success, especially with Puya, Hechtia, Deuterocohnia and once with Tillandsia lindeni. The first three genera are terrestrials.

One essential is to obtain fresh seed and sow it at once. The next step is to get a suitable sowing mix that will inhibit the growth of molds. Such a mix is the peat pellets sold by various dealers. I soak these in a soup bowl in warm water for fifteen minutes until fully expanded, then I place each one in a clean 2in (5cm) plastic pot, for protection. I lay the seeds thinly on top of the pellet, then put the pots in a plastic tray, which has holes for drainage. Next I put the whole tray, holding twelve pots, inside a polythene plastic bag, leaving one end partly open. The tray is placed under two fluorescent forty watt lamps, where the temperature is about 70F during the day and about 65F at night. The window is kept partly open at night all year long, to insure plenty of fresh air. Daily inspection follows until germination is over. I keep the seedlings in the original pots for about six months. Early transplanting is dangerous.

Now for details of an actual planting, without a greenhouse. Six packets of bromeliad seeds were sown, as directed above, on December 23. Fifteen seedlings of Billbergia porteana came up by January 1. Seventeen seedlings of Neoregelia marmorata came up by January 10. Twenty plants ofAechmea recurvata germinated by January 10. Two Vriesea hieroglyphica came up by January 10, as did one Aechmea miniata. No seed of Aenudicaulis germinated by January 16.

Wemer Rauh tells us that winged seeds like those of Puya and Pitcairnia are treated as above.

Some genera of bromeliads, e.g. Aechmea, Billbergia, Neoregelia, Nidularium and Cryptanthus, after washing off the pulp and after disinfection of the seeds with Chinosol, require a different method of sowing. Rauh recommends that their seeds be planted on leaf mould mixed with milled peat moss and sand. The planting medium must be loose, well-drained and slightly acid (pH=4). In the beginning, he recommends covering the seed dish with glass (I use polythene bags), which can be raised as soon as the first leaflets appear.

When the seedlings have a few leaves they are separated and replanted. Rauh recommends a mixture of Soil-less compost, Loam and sand, but I have found that it is better not to use any loam.

Rosalia Rau, of the New York Bromeliad Society, advocates the use of New Zealand sphagnum peat moss for bromeliads.

The author has used various mixes of pine bark, tree fern fibre, perlite and fine gravel.

Edward Sard, also a member of the New York Bromeliad Society, uses equal parts of tree fern fibre, peat moss and vermiculite with generous dashes of bone meal and zoodoo (a mixture of zoo animals' manure).

It is a good practice to spray the plants daily with lukewarm water. As they grow larger, many have an opening in the middle of the plant (e.g. Aechmea). This should always be kept filled with water.

The bromeliads should be given plenty of light but should not be placed on window-sills. Exposure to the light of two or three fluorescent lamps for twelve to fourteen hours a day is beneficial.

Charles A. Wiley reports the methods used by various amateurs, in his article in the Bromeliad Society Bulletin. 'Mr. Ervin Wurthman, in Tampa, Florida uses a soil medium of one-half fine shredded tree fern, one-quarter peat moss and one-quarter worm castings, with a little superphosphate mixed in.

Brownie Pemer of Texas uses a layer of gravel, covered with a layer of fairly fine Osmunda fern fibre or Mexican tree fern fibre (hapuu).

Howard Yamamoto tells us that the best method is to use tree fern fibre (hapuu). He soaks it in water, packs it tightly in a clay pot or flat with a potting stick and then cuts off all uneven fibres to create a flat surface. For seeds without filaments, such as Aechmea and Neoregelia, he uses fine damp tree fern fibre dust on top of the fibre to keep the seeds from being washed too deeply into the pot. Seeds with filaments can be placed directly on the fibre.

W.B. Charley of Bilpin, New South Wales, Australia, tells of a simple method of growing bromeliads from seed, 'which any novice can successfully follow'.

Take a clean 4in (10cm) pot and pour boiling water over it, inside and out. Into this clean pot, put one 1Oin (4cm) of crock or gravel and fill to 1.3cm of the top with a mixture of tree fern fibre or peat moss and some black sandy soil. A prepared orchid mix can also be used. Pour near boiling water over the top soil. Spray this top soil with a soluble fertiliser and mix into the spray a little fungicide. Stir the top soil to loosen it, then put about thirty seeds on the surface.

Take a clean polythene bag, pour in a cup of water, and place the pot inside this, standing in a little water. Loop a piece of cord and tie the bag at the top and hang the lot to a nail or hook above the kitchen stove. Within three to six days the seedlings will appear. Keep the pot under these conditions until the small plants put out leaves and stand up. Remove the pot from the bag and place in a warm airy position or in a glass-house and keep watered in the usual way.

The fertilised soil is important because the seedlings will immediately start to grow. The fungicide is also important because without this, fungi … could easily kill the seedling.

The writer has received seed from Germany by air mail, and in nine days the seed had already germinated.

As you see, many methods are available and successful. The thrill of growing bromeliads from seed is unique.