Guzmania passion plant problems - Please help
 

Hi everyone!

I'm new to this forum and new to gardening and taking care of plants in general really.

My mother (God rest her) used to take care of a spider plants and stuff when I was a kid but we haven't had any plants in the house since.

We recently got a Guzmania Passion Plant. Here's a pic I found on google which looks like the one we have:
http://www.valleidice.it/Guzmania.jpg

Anyway, I've been trying to look after it but it doesn't seem to be very healthy and I'm really sad about this :( I don't want it to die.

I did some reading on the net when we first got it and found some advice that said things like:

- Keep it in filtered sunlight (not direct sunlight)
- Always have water in the cup

And there was some also some conflicting advice from different websites about fertalizer and stuff. We eventually got some tomato fertilizer (on the advice of a guy in a garde centre) and diluted as instructed on the bottle and I've been putting it at the roots every two weeks. There was also some recommendation on using slow-release fertilizers during the winter months but I've found it hard to find these.

The bottom of the leaves went a bit dry and brown. I decided to move it to a place closer to the window so that it gets more sun.

I think it seems a bit healthier now. I can take some pictures if needed.


Please help me look after it. I don't want to let it die.

Sorry to bump.

But I'm really desperate :(

Guzmania passion plant problems - Please help
 

On Nov 5, 9:25*pm, the_new_mr
wrote:
Sorry to bump.

But I'm really desperate :(

--
the_new_mr

Which Web sites did you visit? I just did a quick search under
keywords "Guzmania passion plant" and found many sites.

Maybe try again and visit more sites.

Meantime, I hope someone on this NG who has grown the plant will
answer you.

Persphone

Guzmania passion plant problems - Please help
 

In article ,
the_new_mr wrote:

Sorry to bump.

But I'm really desperate :(

Bump works better if you include the original post or pertinent
information:
-----
We recently got a Guzmania Passion Plant. Here's a pic I found on
google which looks like the one we have:
http://www.valleidice.it/Guzmania.jpg

Anyway, I've been trying to look after it but it doesn't seem to be very
healthy and I'm really sad about this :( I don't want it to die.

I did some reading on the net when we first got it and found some advice
that said things like:

- Keep it in filtered sunlight (not direct sunlight)
- Always have water in the cup

And there was some also some conflicting advice from different websites
about fertalizer and stuff. We eventually got some tomato fertilizer
(on the advice of a guy in a garde centre) and diluted as instructed on
the bottle and I've been putting it at the roots every two weeks. There
was also some recommendation on using slow-release fertilizers during
the winter months but I've found it hard to find these.

The bottom of the leaves went a bit dry and brown. I decided to move it
to a place closer to the window so that it gets more sun.

I think it seems a bit healthier now. I can take some pictures if
needed.
-----

These plants and Bromeliads in general require very little fertilizer.
I think you have probably toxified the soil with the tomato fertilizer.
I would repot the plant with and fertilize maybe a couple of times a
year with a more dilute solution.

http://www.plantsindesign.com/care_tips.htm

At the very least, flush the soil it is in now with plain water (at
least 5 times the volume of the pot) to leach out excess minerals, and
don't fertilize for a few months.

Also, they like pretty high humidity, so frequently mist the plant.

Guzmania passion plant problems - Please help
 

In article
,
Amos Nomore wrote:

In article ,
the_new_mr wrote:

Sorry to bump.

But I'm really desperate :(

Bump works better if you include the original post or pertinent
information:
-----
We recently got a Guzmania Passion Plant. Here's a pic I found on
google which looks like the one we have:
http://www.valleidice.it/Guzmania.jpg

Anyway, I've been trying to look after it but it doesn't seem to be very
healthy and I'm really sad about this :( I don't want it to die.

I did some reading on the net when we first got it and found some advice
that said things like:

- Keep it in filtered sunlight (not direct sunlight)
- Always have water in the cup

And there was some also some conflicting advice from different websites
about fertalizer and stuff. We eventually got some tomato fertilizer
(on the advice of a guy in a garde centre) and diluted as instructed on
the bottle and I've been putting it at the roots every two weeks. There
was also some recommendation on using slow-release fertilizers during
the winter months but I've found it hard to find these.

The bottom of the leaves went a bit dry and brown. I decided to move it
to a place closer to the window so that it gets more sun.

I think it seems a bit healthier now. I can take some pictures if
needed.
-----

These plants and Bromeliads in general require very little fertilizer.
I think you have probably toxified the soil with the tomato fertilizer.
I would repot the plant with and fertilize maybe a couple of times a
year with a more dilute solution.

Oops, that should read ... repot the plant with *a lean potting mix such
as those recommended in the following article* and ...

http://www.plantsindesign.com/care_tips.htm

At the very least, flush the soil it is in now with plain water (at
least 5 times the volume of the pot) to leach out excess minerals, and
don't fertilize for a few months.

Also, they like pretty high humidity, so frequently mist the plant.

Best of luck to you.

Guzmania passion plant problems - Please help
 

Amos Nomore writes:

In article ,
the_new_mr wrote:

Sorry to bump.

But I'm really desperate :(

Bump works better if you include the original post or pertinent
information:
-----
We recently got a Guzmania Passion Plant. Here's a pic I found on
google which looks like the one we have:
http://www.valleidice.it/Guzmania.jpg

We have one of those.

When we bought it, it was blooming.
What's nice about the plant is that the bloom lasts for months.
At least ours did.

Finally the bloom gave out, the plant sent up another whorl of leaves
and over a period of about a year, the main plant died away.

I think thats it's natural cycle. The main plant dies after
blooming and another one starts.

I've been caring for the new plant for at least a year and I expect
another bloom to start since the plant is as large as the original.