Aechmea fasciata

Aechmea fasciata commonly called Urn plant comes from the Bromeliad family and originated from Brazil, and is also found throughout Central America. There are approximately150 species which grow on trees in the rainforest.

Aechmea fasciata is one of the most popular and exotic plants in the Bromeliad family.  The rosette or the leathery leaves are silver-grey in colour and have sharp spines around the edges.  The leaves overlap each other forming an urn which produces a tube roughly 12 inches long where the flower emerges.  The bracts or the head of the flower are bright pink with tiny purple studs in between.

Aechmea fasciata likes bright light but not 20130630Garden (Peggy Chin)direct sunlight.  It makes an excellent display plant for the office and home.   If planted outdoors make sure that it is planted under shade.   In the malls in Florida and Europe you can see bold displays of this exotic plant as the bright pink flowers last for months.  Here in Guyana, a few growers are proud owners of this plant too.

Aechmea fasciata is easy to take care of; make sure that the urn has some water in it as the plant will feed on this, and remember to change the water weekly by tilting it so that it can run off.  Keep the soil moist and fertilize with Miracle Gro All Purpose Plant Food once every two weeks. Allow the pups (offspring) to develop for approximately three months before replanting.

 

Until next week, happy gardening!