Aechmea Bromeliad Plant
There are more than 140 different species of the Aechmea plant, which is a genus of the botanical family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae. These plants are related to the pineapple family and can mostly be found in Mexico and the rest of South America where there is tropical weather (a frost-free area with high enough temperatures that plants can grow all throughout the year as long as there is an adequate amount of rainfall). If you do not live in South America, you can raise these plants in either a hot house or a greenhouse. Most of the species in this genus are epiphytes (plants that usually grow on another plant and derive their moisture and nutrients from the air and rain) that usually bloom in the summer and in the fall. They simply need to have a minimum winter temperature of 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
This plant has leathery leaves with spines around the edges. These leaves grow directly from the base of the plant and overlap one another in order to form a long tube. It is from this tube that the flower spike emerges. The flowers here are mainly of scarlet and blue coloring but there are also some that have red, yellow and black flowers. There are also some pink flower heads that have blue flowers. Aechmea plants have variegated colored foliage, which is usually either maroon and green, green with white stripes, or completely red in coloring. Such leaves can grow up to twelve inches long.
Whenever you are planting these flowers they will need to be planted in compost that consists of half osmunda fiber and half leaf mold. This compost should also contain a small amount of both charcoal and sand. You will need to keep this compost moist and house the plant in a humid atmosphere. It will also need to have a little bit of shade so that the strong summer sun does not overwhelm it. During the wintertime the plant will require less water.
You will see that there will be suckers growing up from the base of this plant. You can use a sharp knife to detach them from your plant in March. Once these have been detached, they will need to be inserted into small pots of sandy peat and placed inside of a propagating case. Once these suckers have formed roots, they can then be repotted in larger pots. From there they will mature and once mature the plants will do well for several years with just an annual top-dressing.