Matchstick Bromeliad (Aechmea gamosepala), Mature, Bare-Rooted

Family: Bromeliaceae (the bromeliad family)
Genus: Aechmea (includes silver vase [urn plant])

Botanical/Binomial Name: Aechmea gamosepala
Common Names: Matchstick Bromeliad

Botanical Characteristics: Herbaceous | Perennial | Epiphytic| Frost tender to tolerant
Propagation: Division of stolons with roots and attached ‘pups’

Item Description:
PICK-UP ONLY
As many mature (not pups) matchstick bromeliads (Aechmea gamosepala) as will fit in a large box (390 × 280 × 140 mm).

Expect 4 or 5 depending on spread, with any pups going along for the ride! Plants may or may not be flowering when sent.

Photos are indicative of, but not necessarily the exact plants you will receive.

The two photos here are of the same plants. In the first photo you can see a pup on the middle plant, which is not obvious in the second photo, whilst in the second photo you can see two attached plants which look like one in the first photo.

Plant Description:
These are bare-rooted, mature bromeliads in excess of 300 mm tall excluding any flower spikes (which may or may not be present). Any plants too long for the box will be trimmed — this will not harm them and new leaves will grow readily.

This plant is called the ‘matchstick bromeliad’ because of the funky psychedelic-coloured ‘matchsticks’ along the flower spike. (The blue bits are the actual flowers.)

Growing Information:
The matchstick bromeliad is an epiphytic plant, meaning that in the wild it would normally grow on another plant (without harming it in any way), and thus the roots are designed to attach to a surface rather than to uptake nutrients. They can still grow in pots so long as the medium is free-draining and their leaf ‘cups’ are always filled with water.

These plants do not like direct sun and prefer part- to full-shade. They are best fertilised with an occasional liquid fertiliser to mimic how epiphytes normally derive nutrients, which is from rotting leaf and other matter collected in the leaves.

The vivid and striking flower spikes emerge over winter and are very long-lasting. They can even be cut for vase flowers.

This is a spreading/clumping plant which readily propagates via pups on stolons (runners). These won’t mind if potted in individual pots or together in one larger pot, as their roots are for anchoring and not nutrient uptake. The bromeliads will simply grow outwards to fill whatever they are in. Alternatively, plant them in the ground and slightly spread out under/around a shady tree, for them to form a visually striking clump over time.