Ann Nichol’s home and garden in Oakland, CA, is impossible to miss. Fortunately, there is ample street parking on her block to pull over and gawk and be inspired by the colorful waves of plants on her property.
When Ann and her husband moved into their home in 1983, the property was filled with agapanthus, a few camellia bushes and “tons and tons of crabgrass,” she says. After two years of clearing and amending the tired soil, Ann was ready to make the garden her own. The only plant that survived the purge: a stately Canary date palm that has since quadrupled in height. “I hemmed and hawed over it for quite a while, as I wasn’t keen on having a tropical garden. However, having decided to let it stay, I felt obliged to keep it company with other tropical plants.” Ann eventually brought in landscape architect Bob Clark, who suggested she divide the garden into different levels and rooms. Unfortunately, Bob left the Bay Area before he was able to add any plants. No worries, Ann was more than up for the challenge and, in the beginning, did the planting herself.
Ann’s entry into gardening started when she was in her early thirties and living in a different house. Her neighbor across the street was a gardener and had a tiny plot filled with plants. Ann spent time with her friend in her garden and according to Ann, this turned into “a pastime, which became an addiction.” Still pruning, curating, and appreciating, Ann, at 81 years old, knows a thing or two about the power of gardening.
Here are her lessons learned from decades of working the soil.
Photography by Kier Holmes.
It’s about the journey, not the destination.
Above: Neighbors and people passing by get a free and inspiring view of her lush and well-loved oasis.
What gardener doesn’t get impatient and want immediate gratification from time to time, but deep down we know that we need to slow down, pause, and not rush ourselves so terribly. Ann knows this mantra well as some of her chosen plants don’t bloom overnight or fill in the nooks and crannies with a blink. “Being patient positively affects both plants and well-being,” she shares. “Once you and your plants get to know each other, the plants will tell you what they need if you listen.” Do they need more water or a shadier spot, perhaps?
Trust your gut.
Above: Even the steps leading to Ann’s front door are decorated with specimen potted plants, creating another plant-filled experience.
Always use a pot with at least one good-sized hole in the bottom. These plants won’t tolerate soggy soil or standing water around the roots.
To cultivate Vriesea successfully, keep the following in mind:
Light
The main consideration here is to avoid excessive light. These plants aren’t suited for full sun, but there’s a species to match just about any other exposure, from full shade to partial sun.
Most species will tolerate a broad range, from dappled shade or bright, indirect light.
Some are even tolerant of dense, full shade, and are an attractive option if you want flowers in a dim spot.
For the most vibrant foliage and bract color, aim for brighter light. Just because a plant can tolerate low light doesn’t mean it will perform best in those conditions.
Temperature and Humidity
Vriesea species are also adaptable when it comes to temperatures.
Anything from just above freezing to up to 100°F is fine, though the plants will only tolerate extremes for short periods. A hard freeze will kill the plant.
They are fine in low humidity as long as the light isn’t too bright and temperatures aren’t too high.
When exposed to a lot of sun and heat, they will need more high humidity to thrive. Aim for 30 to 60 percent humidity.
Growing Medium
As Vriesea species are epiphytes, clinging to tree branches where water drains away quickly, they need a loose, well-aerated growing medium, not standard potting soil.
Look for a commercial bromeliad mix, or blend your own with equal parts orchid bark, perlite or pumice, and peat moss or coconut coir.
The goal is fast drainage with just enough water retention to keep the roots lightly moist.
Avoid dense or moisture-retentive mixes. Anything that stays wet for long will put the plant at risk of root rot.
Mounted plants can grow with just a layer of sphagnum moss around the roots, so long as humidity is adequate and you mist regularly.
Water
Water thoroughly but avoid soaking the roots. The potting medium should stay lightly moist, not soggy and oversaturated.
Too much moisture can lead to root rot, while water pooling between the leaves may cause crown rot.
That said, it’s fine to fill the central tank if you do it carefully and be sure to flush it out every week or two with distilled water.
Feed your vriesea with a mild, balanced foliar fertilizer once in the spring and again in the fall. Be sure to coat the entire plant.
Species and Cultivars
There are dozens of species but you won’t often find them available at stores. Hybrids are by far the most popular.
In general, the flaming swords will be listed simply by that common name regardless of whether it’s a species plant or a hybrid.
Here are some outstanding species and cultivars to look for:
Corcovadensis
If you recall, we talked about how most Vriesea species are epiphytes.
V. corcovadensis is one of the few in cultivation that isn’t. It’s a terrestrial type that can grow in loose, rich soil.
You might mistake the long, strappy leaves for an air plant, but it’s not. That’s all the more evident when it shoots out a big, bold gold and yellow flowering spike.
This species is best grown in areas with temperatures between 50 to 80°F. Given that, prepare yourself for vigorous growth up to a foot tall and lots of offsets.
V. splendens is the plant most commonly referred to as flaming sword. It grows up to three feet tall and two feet wide with solid green or stripey purple, gray, and green linear leaves.
This species grows best in temperatures above 50°F and you need to keep the vase full at all times.
The flattened racemes of red, orange, or yellow bracts can last for months.
Splenriet
Splendid ‘Splenriet’ is a splendens hybrid that sports large, attractive leaves with distinct stripes of gray and dark green.
The orange, red, and yellow blooms can last for up to six months before the plant sends out pups and dies back.
That’s quite the lasting performance. It likes the same conditions as its splendens parent.
White Line
‘White Line’ was the result of the efforts of several breeders over many years.
It started when Carlos Broeckaert discovered the first variegated vriesea hybrid V. x poelmanii. He named it ‘Madam Carlos Broeckaert.’
Sadly, it wasn’t stable and breeding efforts from it were failures.
Then the company Deroose got a hold of the plant and attempted to cultivate a stable type – the result was ‘White Line.’
There’s no need to fertilize in-ground plants unless they are growing slowly then you can feed once in spring and once in late summer with a cactus and succulent fertilizer.
Container-grown specimens benefit from an application of fertilizer in spring and late summer.
Species and Cultivars
I can’t even begin to cover all of the incredible hybrids, cultivars, and species that are available.
I highly recommend heading to your local nursery and see if they have any. If they do, it will likely include the first plant on our list:
Arizona
One of the most popular hybrids is the 18-inch-wide ‘Arizona,’ with its dark blue-green leaves dotted with white spikes on the margins.
It’s often the one that stores will carry, and is the parent of so many other fantastic hybrids, including ‘Feather Star’ and ‘White Fang.’
‘Arizona’ was bred by Bill Baker, who was an avid plant hunter and nurseryman. He created numerous hybrids, some of which are the most popular and respected out there.
Dawsonii
The bronze leaves of D. dawsonii are lined with hooked spines on plants that can grow up to a foot wide, producing yellow-orange flowers.
With a little extra sun, the leaves can even turn dark purple. The species is fairly rare in cultivation, but there are several cultivars and hybrids.
‘Brittle Star’ is a Bill Baker hybrid that’s wildly popular and takes after its dawsonii parent with dark purple, nearly black leaves. It also has D. fosteriana and D. platyphylla parentage.
Delicata
My heartfelt thanks goes out to the botanists who found D. delicata species in the high altitudes of southern Brazil in 1996. This is such a cool species.
The foliage forms a compact rosette, with leaves that curl downward into a spiky little orb. The tips of the leaves can even dig into the soil or hang below the rim of a container.
Foliage can be green, red, or gray, all covered in silver flocking. There’s also a striking gold form with yellow-gold foliage.
The long, pointed spines might look intimidating, but they’re surprisingly soft to the touch. Go ahead, this is one dyckia you can safely pet.
Fosteriana
This species has narrow, silvery-white leaves accented by heaps and heaps of spines along the edges. The leaves are exceptionally curvy and can drape below the rim if you grow it in a pot.
The plants stay small, growing to just about eight inches tall and a bit wider when mature. Another check in the “good for container cultivation” column.
They’re quick to mature and send out offsets, so you’ll be enjoying clusters of these plants in no time.
Look for varieties like nivosa, which matures at just about five inches across, or the rubra form, which turns a deep burgundy in bright light.
Goehringii
If you like your plants to be vicious, this species is for you. The margins of the leaves are lined with spines, and those spines are hooked at the ends.
Want to keep kids, pets, or pests out of the garden? Like the look of what one bromeliad forum user called “a bouquet full of razor wire?” Goehringii it is.
This species is also a good option if you want to propagate the pups.
They emerge on short stolons that hold the offsets away from the base of the mother plant, rather than clustered tightly around it.
Pineapple
Pineapple dyckia (D. brevifolia) certainly bears a resemblance to the plant from which it derives its common name. It has the same type of green, strappy leaves that give it a familiar look.
One notable hybrid is ‘Naked Lady,’ a cross between D. brevifolia and D. encholirioides. It features pale green to yellow foliage and grows up to a foot tall and even wider.
Since it lacks spines, this one is a good option for growing as a houseplant or for placing in high-traffic areas.
White
The botanical name D. marnier-lapostollei may be a mouthful, but the plant itself is undeniably stunning.
It has small, claw-like spines along the margins of gray-green leaves that appear nearly white thanks to a heavy coating of trichomes.
The leaves are deeply curved, often curling back beneath themselves or dipping below the rim of a container. They’re lined with spines that are relatively soft.
At maturity, the plant reaches about a foot tall and wide and produces flower spikes up to two feet tall topped with orange blooms. It grows well even in partial shade.
The species was named after Julien Marnier-Lapostolle of Grand Marnier liqueur fame, as the plant was discovered growing on one of his estates.
Wide Leaf
Known as wide-leaf dyckia, D. platyphylla has broader leaves than many other species, though each still tapers to a point.
The foliage is covered in stubby but sharp spines and dotted with silvery scales. In bright sun, the leaves can take on a bronze, red, or purple hue.
At maturity, plants reach about a foot tall and up to two feet wide, sending up tall stalks of yellow flowers.
To be perfectly accurate, it’s not entirely clear whether this plant is a true species or a hybrid. It was first described in 1970 by botanist and bromeliad expert Lyman Bradford Smith, based on a specimen collected by Bateman Foster.
But it has never been rediscovered in the wild, and some experts suspect it may be a hybrid.
The hybrid ‘Cherry Coke’ inherits its glossy leaves from D. platyphylla, while D. fosteriana contributes its tendency to shift color in the sun.
Just about the only thing uniting the diverse and extraordinary group of plants known as bromeliads is that they all hail from the same family, the Bromeliaceae.
Their diverse array of forms allow them to occupy an equally diverse number of habitats.
It also means they each need to be watered a little differently, depending on their physical characteristics and the substrate they are growing in.
Some types are terrestrial, and grow straight out of the ground, others are epiphytic, meaning they make their homes up in the branches of trees. Still others grow on shifting sand dunes, or plain old bare rock.
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This group of plants come from tropical South America by and large, though there are a few exceptions.
Their long, strap-shaped leaves are spirally arranged in one beautiful whorl, making a sort of tuft. The bracts surrounding their flowers are typically very brightly colored in hues of pink, red, yellow, and orange.
Many bromeliads lack extensive root systems and have evolved various mechanisms for collecting water via their leaves.
Numerous species can collect water in their leaf bases, which form a sort of pool or cup. Others, such as the air plants (Tillandsia spp.), absorb moisture straight out of the air.
Read on to find out how to appease these tropical novelties and keep them hydrated. Here’s what we’ll cover:
How Much Water Do Bromeliads Need?
When trying to figure out how much water any kind of plant requires to thrive, it’s handy to know where it comes from.
Whether you’re aiming to emulate a monsoon season, constant wet weather, or the searing heat of a desert, keeping a plant’s native habitat in mind will help you take care of it properly.
Having said that, there are hundreds of different types hailing from a variety of different habitats! Research which one you want to grow and learn about the climate it comes from.
Here we’ll break down the most common types of bromeliads according to how they store and absorb moisture.
Note that there is some overlap between these types, so this is a broad grouping based on their watering needs.
Air Plants
Air plants are fun little novelties you can find at any nursery with a good indoor tropical section.
Mostly grouped in the Tillandsia genus, these plants look like some kind of terrestrial octopus or squid.
Lacking extensive root systems, the species within this genus sport specialized cells on their leaves that rapidly absorb water and nutrients straight out of the air.
To make your air plant happy, water it less than you think you might need to.
It’s very good at extracting what it needs from the air and whatever water you give it. Keeping it in a well-ventilated spot next to a diffusely-lit, warm, bright window will make it happy.
To hydrate it properly, dunk it in a glass of water for a few seconds once or twice a week.
It’s best to use rainwater if you can, as tap water often contains high levels of minerals which can crystallize on the plant’s leaves and interfere with nutrient uptake.
If you don’t have a way to collect rainwater, bottled water works too.
Always allow air plants to fully dry out between waterings. Make sure each plant is tilted at an angle so liquid doesn’t pool in the plant’s rosette. This could cause rot.
If your Tillandsia lives in a warm, sunny locale, it may need more frequent watering. If it’s shadier and cooler, perhaps provide a little less.
After a few waterings you’ll start to be able to judge the plant’s weight and learn when to water based on its heft.
Epiphytes
The literal translation of the Greek derived word “epiphyte” is “upon a plant.” And that’s exactly what these types of bromeliads do: they grow, quite happily, on other plants.
The roots of these plants are stunted, wiry, and tough. They’re quite similar in form to those of the air plants but grow into and onto substrate that’s a little different.
Technically, some air plants can be classified as epiphytes too, but for the purpose of this guide, we will group these two types of plants separately, according to the general differences in their roots, leaves, and preferred growing substrate.
Some epiphytes live in accumulated debris in the crevices of tree trunks, while others stick on to bare branches.
The roots of these ingenious plants serve as anchors, gluing them onto their arboreal scaffolding, but they also serve as rain catchers.
Just as the air plant’s leaves contain specialized, absorbent cells designed to capture water, so do the aerial roots of epiphytic bromeliads.
Epiphytes can absorb some of the moisture in the air via their leaves too, so misting is great for these plants, particularly if the air in your home is on the dry side. If the humidity in your house is sufficient, however, they may not need it.
Finding the right amount of misting for your plant can be tricky as constantly wet leaves can invite fungal disease.
Focus first on watering the substrate and treat misting as an occasional add on. Try misting one to two times a week and if any discolored leaf spots, or white patches on the soil pop up, discontinue this practice.
If your specimen is planted in a pot, it’s likely in soil that drains very quickly and efficiently, like cactus soil, or potting mix combined with lots of bark pieces, sand, or gravel.
If you’re watering a container, do so only when the top two inches of the soil is dry, and apply generously until the excess comes out of the bottom of the pot.
Epiphytic bromeliads have reservoirs, or cups at the base of their leaves. Fill these up while watering – if possible, empty the reservoir first by carefully tipping the water out.
Watch for signs of underwatering such as wilting leaves, or crispy, browned leaf edges. If you see that happening, make sure you’re watering enough once the top of the soil dries out.
As a general rule, water until the substrate is moist throughout. See if your plant perks up with a little misting, too.
Healthy, turgid, vibrantly green leaves mean your plant is happy and adequately watered!
Some of the most frequently cultivated bromeliads belong in this group.
Species in the Aechema genus, for example, are popular bromeliads that grow in the ground in their native range of South and Central America.
Bromeliads that grow in the ground are also referred to as terrestrial bromeliads.
Like their epiphytic cousins, terrestrial bromeliads are good at catching water at the base of the rosette, where their leaves come together in a cup-shaped whorl.
Filling and refilling this cup is key to watering success for this group.
Ground bromeliads do best when grown in freely draining soils. Allow the top inch or two to dry out completely in between waterings, then thoroughly soak the soil until liquid runs out of the bottom of the pot.
In an average home environment, you might have to water once a week or so during spring and summer. In winter, while your bromeliad isn’t actively growing, you can reduce this to once every other week.
While watering, fill your plant’s rosette cup.
The saxicolous bromeliads, or bromeliads that grow on rock or sand, are often lumped into the same category.
Although they can be grown in a pot in freely draining substrate, they can also be grown on a piece of bark or rock.
These bromeliads can be watered the same way as the terrestrial bromeliads, although they will benefit from regular misting, too.
As always, do your research and identify what it is that you’re growing if you want to take care of it well!
Happy Bromeliads
Although these tropical novelties are a little different than your typical houseplants when it comes to watering, they’re not as high maintenance as you might think.
Remember to let them dry out between waterings and to not skimp on the hydration once its time.
These plants prefer warm, well-ventilated environments on the humid side, so depending on where your house falls on that spectrum, you may need to water a little more or a little less.
Keep observing, and watch your plants for signs of too little or not enough moisture, like crisp leaf margins.
Are you already growing bromeliads in your collection? What kind do you have? How frequently do you water?
Fill us in! Comments are always welcome. And if you have any questions, ask away. We are always happy to help.
This article focuses specifically on growing and caring for queen’s tears.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Let’s meet this blossoming beauty!
Cultivation and History
Queen’s tears is native to the arid climate of eastern coastal Mexico, Central America, most of South America, except for Chile, southern Argentina, and the Windward Islands.
In addition to being a rock- and tree-dwelling epiphyte, it grows on the organically-rich rainforest floor as a ground cover.
Swedish botanist Carl Peter Thunberg, who trained under the famed father of taxonomical classification, Carl Linnaeus, named the Billbergia genus to honor the self-taught Swedish botanist Gustaf Johan Billberg. It contains 62 species.
B. nutanswas recognized and named in 1869 by German botanists Wendland and von Regel. “Nutans” is Latin for nodding and refers to the arching form of the foliage and inflorescences or flower-bearing stems.
Photo by David J. Stang, Wikimedia Commons, via CC BY-SA.
There is evidence of the hybridization of queen’s tears dating back to the 1920s.
In 1925, the American naturalist Theodore Luqueer Mead supplied the Brooklyn Botanic Garden with a specimen of a hybrid he had cultivated by crossbreeding two Billbergia species, B. nutans and B. zebrina.
Queen’s tears has a clumping or tufting growth habit with stems that grow upright, forming a vase-like rosette.
As they mature, the stems arch outwards to create a waterfall-like cascade of strappy evergreen gray-green or variegated green leaves with serrated edges. Mature dimensions are 12 to 24 inches tall and wide.
The flowers are borne at the terminal end of an arching, bright pink inflorescence.
They are inside pendant, bright pink bracts that open to reveal the blooms in all their regal glory. Recurved green, tubular petals sport royal blue margins, and are the inspiration for crowning this species a queen.
Prominent stamens laden with rich yellow pollen complete the majestic display, standing to attention protruding from the center of the flowers. Nectar sacs release glistening, sticky droplets when jostled and are Her Majesty’s “tears.”
At approximately 18 to 30 months of age, a bromeliad is mature enough to flower.
Each flower lasts a month or more, and after it fades, the attached foliage dies six to 12 months later. Bromeliads bloom randomly throughout the year, with new offsets continually replacing old post-bloom vegetation.
B. nutans is a water-wise species with high drought tolerance. Because it is native to arid climes, it has two unique methods of conserving water.
The first method is via is CAM (crassulacean acid metabolism) photosynthesis, in which the leaf “stomata” or gas exchange openings remain closed during the day to regulate moisture and open at night to release oxygen and take in carbon dioxide.
In addition, the foliage has hair-like trichomes that aid in retaining moisture absorbed through the leaves.
Photo by David J. Stang, Wikimedia Commons, via CC BY-SA.
Unlike bromeliads that feature flattened, prominent water reservoirs in the center of the rosette, the grassy, vase-like foliage of queen’s tears does not have water wells, although you may read information to the contrary.
Watering the soil when the top inch is dry is all gardeners need to do to ensure adequate moisture intake.
An advantage of the absence of prominent water reservoirs is that the foliage isn’t as appealing to mosquitoes.
Queen’s tears is nontoxic to people and pets and is also known as the “friendship plant” because it is easy to propagate and give away, as we’ll discuss next.
Queen’s Tears Propagation
To grow queen’s tears, you can start with seeds, a division of an existing plant, a bare-root rhizome, or a nursery potted specimen.
From Seed
While it is possible to gather seeds from queen’s tears post-flowering, the seeds may not be viable or may produce traits different from the parent plant.
Since these plants are not self-pollinating, you’ll need to ensure you have two specimens – and pollinate the flowers by hand if you’re growing indoors.
In addition, seeds require surface sowing and germination on top of moist, acidic potting medium and are prone to rotting.
By Division
As mentioned, once a mature clump of foliage finishes blooming, it’s just a matter of time before the leafy tuft it sprang from dies.
And thanks to the offsets or “pups” that sprout beside the mature foliage, the plant continues to thrive.
Dividing is the process of removing one or more pups to start new plants to keep or give away.
The time to divide is when a pup is at least one-third the size of a parent rosette.
For a potted specimen, unpot the plant and lay it on its side on newspaper or a tarp. Remove enough soil to see and feel where the pup is attached to the clump of foliage.
Use clean pruners or a garden knife to slice down through the thick rhizome rootstock to sever the pup from the parent. Be sure the separated pup or division is a complete, separate rosette with green leaves and roots attached.
In the case of an in-ground plant, use a long-handled shovel to unearth the parent plant with the attached pup, lay it on its side, remove soil as needed, and sever the two.
Replant or discard the parent, as it has finished flowering.
Pot up or plant out the pup immediately, setting it just deep enough in potting medium or garden soil to hold it in place, with the crown approximately three-quarters of an inch to an inch below the rim of the pot. Moisten the soil, but avoid oversaturation.
If you accidentally sever the pup’s roots, dip its base into rooting hormone and set it into potting medium or garden soil as described above. Use stones beside it for support if necessary.
Provide bright indirect sunlight indoors and afternoon shade outdoors.
If you are starting with a bare-root rhizome, set it into potting soil just deep enough for it to be self-supporting, as discussed in the division section above.
To transplant a potted nursery specimen, note its depth in the original container and replicate it in the new one, backfilling firmly to hold the plant in place.
How to Grow Queen’s Tears
Queen’s tears requires bright, indirect sunlight indoors that is easily achieved by placing it in proximity to a south- or east-facing window.
Avoid placing it in direct sunlight as this can scorch the flowers and foliage. Outdoors, a setting that provides afternoon shade reduces the risk of sun scorch.
The ideal temperature is 70 to 80°F during the day and 65 to 70°F at night.
The soil should be acidic, with a pH of between 5.0 and 6.0. As Billbergia species grow as both epiphytes and terrestrial ground covers, the soil you choose can either be bark chips or a potting mix that is loamy and rich in humus.
The best potting soil to use is one that is loose and airy and drains rapidly, like a cactus, palm, and citrus mix, such as this one from Miracle-Gro.
Fertilizer is not crucial, as these plants are not heavy feeders. If you choose to feed, do so during active summer growth, and use a product specifically formulated for bromeliads.
If you’re using a granular product, water first and apply it to the soil, avoiding the foliage. Misting products are applied directly to the foliage.
Miracle-Gro Orchid Plant Food Mist is suitable because bromeliads and orchids share similar cultural requirements and benefit from foliar misting as a moisture source.
If you cultivate these plants indoors, strive to maintain a humidity level between 50 and 75 percent.
To increase the ambient humidity, you can mist the foliage and flowers and/or set the pot on a drip dish atop a single layer of pebbles in a pan of water that comes just to the top of the gravel base.
Don’t place the pot directly on the pebbles without a drip dish to avoid absorbing excess water.
Queen’s tears plants are genetically wired to survive in arid conditions. If your water is hard or mineral-rich, leave it out overnight to off-gas chemicals like chlorine.
Mineral-rich water may leave white spots on the foliage over time.
If the top inch of soil is dry, it’s time to water. You can use a moisture meter to guide you.
Wet the soil, but avoid oversaturation.
Remember, queen’s tears is water-wise and drought tolerant. Neglect is better than overgenerosity.
Growing Tips
Provide bright indirect sunlight indoors and afternoon shade outdoors.
Skip the fertilizer or use it sparingly.
If growing indoors, provide 50 to 75 percent humidity enhanced by misting or a bed of wet stones beneath the drip dish as needed.
Leave hard water out overnight to avoid watering-induced leaf discoloration.
Water when the top inch of soil is dry.
Maintenance
Remember to leave treated water out overnight in an open vessel to disperse some of the harsher chemicals and avoid oversaturation, a nemesis of bromeliads and epiphytes.
B. nutans with water-stained foliage. Photo by Dandarmkd, Wikimedia Commons, via CC BY-SA.
Per the New York Botanical Garden, avoid overfertilizing which can lead to leggy stems and distort the signature rosette vase shape.
Use clean pruners to remove spent flower inflorescences as close to their base as you can without damaging neighboring foliage. Remove decaying post-bloom rosettes when they begin to wilt.
In Zones 9 to 11, you can leave plants outdoors year-round. You may even be able to do so in Zone 8, as plants can withstand brief periods in the 20s and even the teens.
Provide outdoor pots with winter insulation like a burlap wrap, and bring them close to the house or indoors during cold snaps.
However, if you are cultivating outdoors in Zone 8 and below, where the temperature remains below the 30 to 32°F range for extended periods, you’ll need to bring your pots indoors for the winter months.
And finally, when you need to repot, choose a container that is no more than one-third larger than the size of the root ball. Shallow and snug is best. Avoid overly deep vessels that hold too much water and promote fungal disease.
Where to Buy
Classification of B. nutans is constantly evolving. Some bromeliad experts accept B. nutans var. schimperiana and B. nutans var. striata as naturally occurring variants, while others lean more toward classifying them as distinct species.
Differences among variants may be subtle and detectable only by trained eyes. And while you may never come across this information on a plant tag, aficionados may find the minutiae of interest.
In addition, there are plants on the market listed as cultivated varieties of B. nutans, like ‘Blondie,’ that may be a golden-leafed “sport” or randomly occurring natural variant of a completely different type of Billbergia.
There is still much to learn about the Billbergia genus and the nutans species!
A known and accepted cultivar isB. nutans ‘Variegata,’ that has striking green foliage with cream margins.
Healthy bromeliads in an ideal growing environment are not typically prone to pests or disease problems.
However, there are a few you should know.
Dry indoor environments may promote an infestation of:
Use insecticidal, fungicidal neem oil to treat affected foliage.
Overly wet conditions, poor air circulation, and/or poorly draining soil may invite fungal diseases, including:
Crown and Root Rot
Leaf Spot
Rust
Crown and root rot caught early may be reversible. Symptoms include a foul odor, mushy brown discoloration at the base, and loose leaves.
Unpot the plant and rinse the soil from the roots. Remove all discolored, mushy, malodorous roots and foliage.
Spray the remaining roots with a mixture of one part hydrogen peroxide mixed with two parts water. Allow the roots to dry entirely before repotting.
Sanitize the container by spraying the inside with the same solution, letting it sit for 30 minutes to disinfect, and rinsing it completely before use.
Repot with fresh potting medium.
For leaf spot, remove severely affected foliage and treat the remaining leaves with fungicidal neem oil.
And in the case of rust, you’ll also need to remove the affected foliage.
Treatment is challenging because many types of rust are fungicide resistant, and the harsh chemicals required are geared more toward commercial growers than home gardeners.
Avoiding these issues with good cultivation practices is more likely to be successful than treatment.
Best Uses for Queen’s Tears
Queen’s tears is an eye-catching ground cover with fountains of foliage and arching blossom inflorescences. It fills in densely as new pups take the place of old rosettes.
Photo by David J. Stang, Wikimedia Commons, via CC BY-SA.
Container gardening is ideal for climates not conducive to overwintering outdoors, as plants can spend the summer outdoors in the fresh air and return to the house for the cold months of the year.
And for those who prefer to grow it indoors year-round, B. nutans is an easy-care houseplant that requires bright indirect sunlight and occasional watering to keep it happy.
To display in a pot, choose one that hangs or stands on a pedestal to show the cascading tendrils of flowers and foliage to best advantage.
Quick Reference Growing Guide
Plant Type:
Perennial epiphyte
Flower / Foliage Color:
Blue, green, pink bract/gray-green or variegated green
Native to:
Parts of Central and South America, Mexico, Windward Islands
Maintenance:
Low
Hardiness (USDA Zone):
9-11
Tolerance:
Drought, shade
Bloom Time:
Monocot/evergreen
Soil Type:
Loamy humus, bark
Exposure:
Part shade (outdoors), bright indirect sunlight (indoors)
Soil pH:
5.0-6.0
Time to Maturity:
18-30 months
Soil Drainage:
Well-draining
Spacing:
18-24 inches
Attracts:
Butterflies, hummingbirds
Planting Depth:
Surface sow (seed), same depth original container (transplants)
Uses:
Container, ground cover, houseplant
Height:
12-24 inches
Order:
Poales
Spread:
12-24 inches
Family:
Bromeliaceae
Water Needs:
Low
Genus:
Billbergia
Common Pests and Diseases:
Mealybugs, scale, whiteflies; crown and root rot, leaf spot, rust
Species:
Nutans
The Queen of the Bromeliads
Now that you know how to grow and care for your own queen’s tears plant, all that’s left is to decide if you can grow it outdoors in your location, plan to give it summers al fresco, or intend to keep it indoors year-round.
Offer moisture sparingly, misting the foliage and flowers to increase the ambient humidity as needed and watering when the top inch of soil is dry.
To support moisture storage and photosynthesis, try to maintain a growing environment with temperatures of 70 to 80°F during the day and 65° to 70°F at night.
With best practices, your queen will surely be the shining star of the realm in any garden or houseplant setting.
Do you grow Billbergia nutans? What advice can you share in the comments section below?
