Hi all,
Looking for advice regarding spreading brown tips on my bromeliad - a beautiful variagated Vriesea Hieroglyphica.
The plant has been happy and healthy indoors for 3-4 months since purchasing from a garden centre in Sydney, Australia. It receives good indirect/shaded sunlight across the day from a north-facing window. We keep the central well topped up with clean water, which we drain and replace about once a month. The plant sits in a regular draining plastic pot, which then sits on top of 3-4 cms of large pebbles inside a ceramic "outer" pot. We have not fertilised or repotted the plant at all.
Recently (we think after some hot and dry weather here in Syd) several of the leaf tips began to turn brown and "die off". The brown has been slowly spreading down the leaf toward the centre of the plant, with these leaves looking like they're basically dying off. In some of the photos you can see we have marked the location of the "rot" to monitor its progress down the leaf. The plant otherwise looks very healthy, with the rest of the leaves bright, shiny and colourful, with new bract growth in the central well, and with no pup growth yet.
We assumed underwatering (because the brown started at the tips, not at the centre, and because the leaf tips are dry and crispy rather than mushy). We have given the pot a good soaking, allowing it to dry thoroughly first.
If the leaves can't be saved and it keeps spreading, what should we do? Should we cut off the dying leaves at the centre with a sterilised blade to stop it from spreading to the centre of the plant?
Any advice very much appreciated!
Hi Alexei
The plant is looking very healthy. I think the leaves have been scorched, the sun even when filtered can be too strong. Once the leave is damaged it will continue to die. I would cut the leaves with brown off close the base, they are not going to damage the plant the decision to remove them is more an aesthetic one. New leaves grow from the centre so removing the lower out leaves will not affect the plant. I would move the plant into a bright spot away from any direct sunlight for the rest of summer.