Can Guzmania Bromeliad be planted outdoors on a flower bed?
Bromeliads do best in pots of bark chips. Consider that they originate from the rain forests and they grow in the wild by attaching themselves to nooks between tree branches. The roots are there to hold the plant in place, not to take in water. Bromeliads take in water through the top of the plant, catching the dripping rain water from the rain forest canopy. If you plant the bromeliad in soil (either in a pot or in the ground) as opposed to bark, the roots will eventually rot. Here’s the best way to care for bromeliads, according to a guy I once met who belongs to a bromeliad society: Keep the plants in 1-gallon pots of bark with about 25% of potting soil mixed in. Orchid bark (the kind specially blended for potting orchids) is the best. The pot should be the draining kind, not a sealed pot. Locate the plants in a shady area that, at most, gets a couple hours of filtered sunlight a day. Do not put them in direct sunlight. Water them by filling the crown with water. It doesn’t matter i
