Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok so i have a few broms in my vivarium and 2 of them are in full bloom.they are the center piece of my tank and they currently look great and add some color to the green foliage.im starting to wonder what to do in a few months when the blooms are dead.i hear that broms are grown and flowering is initiated by exposing the plants to a special gas.i also have heard that you can get your own broms to bloom by placing the plant in an airtight bag and adding a ripe apple for a couple days.anyone know if this is true??can broms that have lost their flowers be made to bloom again this way??im assuming an apple placed in a sealed vivarium would be as good as a plastic bag.im also wondering about my airplants flowering.they are currently without bloom and im wondering if the same apple trick(assuming it works)would also work for airplants.my broms are planted in such a way that removing them and replacing them with a fresh flowering plant would disrupt a lot more than that single plant.so exactly how long to brom flowers last anyway?

You don't need anything special except for good lighting for most bromes, including Tillandsias to bloom. In most cases, each "vase" will bloom only once, then die back as it sets out new "pups" which will subsequently bloom in time. It depends a lot on the species of bromeliad you have, but most of the Neoregalias behave in this way, as do Vresias and Guzmania. The Neoregalias don't have very conspicuous blooms, so the main attraction with them is colorful foliage--also enhanced by strong light.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
4 P. terribilis
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus

what would you consider strong light??i suspect that my light may not be strong enough because i have several species of plant that are supposed to get nice varied color in bright light but as of yet they are still just plain green.im currently using one esu reptile super uv compact florecent,and one 65 wt spot grow(incandecent grow light).its not a large cage(about 24"tall by 21 inches wide and long)what do you think?

Im surprised you have a spot grow over your tank. Do you have problems with temps? Also, if youre spot grow is a sylvania, they tend to be a bit more into the red sprctrum, around 3000K temperature I beleive (Im currently keeping my orchids under them until my tnak is ready) but i really dont like the color temp.
IDEALLY you should aim for a bulb with a 5000k-6500k color temperature (not to be confused with actual atmosphereic temperature!!)

Personally, if your tank is sealed like you said, and you have a spot grow on there I'd think you;re building up too much light, especially because of the red shift that happens as light passes through glass/acrylic. How do you ventilate your tank?

Im not sure what your other light you described was. Personally, Id recomend the usual 2 watts per gallon of lighting with a cooler burning bulb like a power compact. Color spectrum as I said should be closer to 5500k-6500k

About bromeilads. The gas that apples and other frut release when they ripen is called ethelyne gass. And yes, it does make them flower.
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---> T

2 whites tree frog
2 firebellied newts
1 warty newt
2 A. Dwarf frogs
1 Anole (green)

hey tom.thanks for the reply.none of the light is filtered through glass,but instead i have 1/2 of the glass top cut out and screen is installed where both lights are located.i origiany had only a single reptile uv light(compact florecent)but i figured it wasnt enough light and added the spot grow bulb.as far as temps,since the top is partially screened and i have a small fan ,the temps are actually a bit on the cooler side ,at least when i have the fan running.i totally understand your concern as the spot grow bulbs do tend to get hot.i also dont think im handling my light situation correctly and those spot grow bulbs may be junk but i dont know enough about plant lighting to come up with anything better.my tank is rather tall(23 inches)and when i had only the compact florecent,i cast no shadow at all on the ground.at least now with the spot grow,im casting a small shadow.any ideas id really appreciate.thanks again tom.