Aechmea fasciata (silver vase plant) is a species of flowering plant in the bromeliad family, native to Brazil. This plant is probably the best known species in this genus, and it is often grown as a houseplant in temperate areas. The stiff, grey-green leaves of this pineapple relative are edged with spines and form an upright vase or urn shape. The silver vase plant is the most popular bromeliad from the Aechmea genus for growing and displaying indoors. The common names derive from the centre of the plant being shaped like an urn or vase and it is this vase shape that collects water in its natural habitat. Aechmea produces a large flower head after a couple of years of growth, and when it does, it can last from mid-summer until early-winter.
How To Grow
- Make sure to water these in the pockets in the leaves, that is how they drink in their natural habitat.
- Once a week if there is water left in those pockets empty it out and let it dry for one day then put in more water.
- Use a blooming houseplant fertilizer but dilute it to about 50%.
- Potting mixtures vary but bromeliads do not like soggy roots, so keep the soil damp but not water-logged.
- Your plant needs high light but no direct sun.
Information:
Aechmea has wide arching leathery strap type leaves that are silver and green in colour. The foliage can also be variegated.
- Pour water directly into the vase to provide moisture for the plant.
- It’s one of the most dramatic, easy indoor plants you can grow. While the foliage has great display potential indoors, the flower head stands out even more.
- The spiky star shaped flower head, usually pink in colour, grows above the foliage to approximatively 6 inches long, with small violet flowers growing from the bracts.
Growing Conditions: Bright light; 65-75 degrees F.; water the foliage vase rather than the soil
Size: To 3 feet tall and wide
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