Vriesea Intenso Orange Flame

In the wild, the dazzling bright flowers of the bromeliad can be found growing on trees and other larger plants in the rainforests of South and Central America. As they grip on to other plants to grow, their roots are more adapted to clutching on to surfaces, rather than absorbing water and nutrients like other houseplants.

While their roots work more on anchoring the plant down, bromeliads have adapted to be able to absorb nutrients and moisture through their leaves. Consider this when caring for them, they’ll love lots of moisture so mist them every few days. Keep them in bright light, just like they’re sitting on a tree branch in the jungle. 

Flaming swords only bloom once, but you can remove the small offsets, or ‘pups’, from the mother plant to grow a new one. Learn more about propagating offsets here. In Brazil, the Bromeliad is known as the ‘living fiesta’. If you’re looking to add a burst of life to your space then a bromeliad really is the life and soul of the party. 

Did you know?

The bromeliad is a close cousin to ananas champaca or better known to us, Piña the pineapple plant.