Episode: 5
Title: Bromeliads
Broadcast: Sunday Dec 4th 2016
Presenter: Emma Britten-Jones

Bromeliads are just as at home adorning your home as they are giving your garden a tropical feel. Few plants are as versatile, varied and easy to maintain. Emma gives us a few good reasons for why you might want to consider Bromeliads at your home.

• Bromeliads make excellent water wise pot plants for anywhere in your home that is reasonably bright and airy.
• Feesias are an excellent starter plant, priced for their long lasting flower spikes and varied foliage.
• Most commercially available Bromeliads flower once however they produce a series of offshoots over their lifetime. These can be divided from the parent plant after a couple of months and used elsewhere.
• Bromeliads will thrive in part shade to dappled sun and require good airflow. Some thicker leaf varieties will also do fine in sunny positions provided care is taken to introduce them gradually.
• In many species the leaves form cups and vases that trap water and organic matter. This means Bromeliads will be fine if you forget to water it, but ideally the cups and vases should be flushed and filled once a week.
• While some species are terrestrial, others are epithetic, meaning they take their nutrients from their surroundings. This allows them to grow on trees, using the tree as a platform.
• To grow your Bromeliads in a tree, simply identify a branch with interesting form, wrap the plant base in sphagnum moss and secure it.

The Garden Gurus
W: www.yourlifestyle.tv