Urn plant

Urn plant: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Funnel-shaped rosette 40–60 cm tall and wide; in the centre the leaves form a water-holding cup.

Leaves

Stiff, leathery and arching, up to about 50 cm long; grey-green with silvery-white bands of tiny scales and small, sharp spines along the edge.

Flower

A thick, cone-shaped spike of pink bracts on a sturdy stalk, with small blue-violet flowers between them, from June to September.

Offsets

After flowering, young shoots appear at the base; the mother plant lives on for a while, then slowly dies.

Roots

Small and wiry: in the wild they mainly serve to cling to a branch.

Flowering: June–September · Plants: April–May

Why grow it?

• A striking pink flower head that stays decorative for months.
• Even without flowers, the stiff, silver-banded leaves look very graphic.
• Little work: water in the cup and a free-draining pot are enough.
• Tough and easy: one of the sturdiest bromeliads for indoors.
• It produces offsets: one plant gives you new plants for free.

Urn plant: where does it grow best?

• Bright, but no harsh midday sun: an east- or west-facing window, or a metre from a south-facing one.
• Warm: 18–24 °C is ideal, never below 13 °C.
• A light, slightly acid mix, such as bromeliad or orchid compost based on bark and fibre.
• Moderate to high humidity: away from a hot radiator, ideally on a tray of wet gravel.
• Place it where nobody brushes past the spiny leaf edges.

Light

Bright, out of direct sun

Potting soil

Airy, humus-rich compost

Acidity

Acid

Watering

Moderately

Size

0.6 m tall, 0.6 m wide

Temperature

Minimum 13 °C

Goes well with

• Moth orchid: Likes the same light mix, a bright spot without harsh sun and the same soft water.
• Air plant: Another bromeliad, small and silver-grey, lovely grouped alongside.
• Guzmania: A bromeliad with a red, yellow or orange flower head, for a colourful group.
• Calathea: Decorative leaves for the same warm, bright spot with humid air.

Urn plant: when and how to plant it?

Plant in April–May.

1. Repot or pot up offsets in April–May.
2. Choose a small, stable pot with a drainage hole: a pot that is too big stays wet for too long. A terracotta pot is less likely to tip over.
3. Use a light bromeliad or orchid mix, or mix ordinary potting compost half and half with bark.
4. Set the plant at the same depth as before, no deeper: the base of the rosette should not disappear into the compost.
5. Firm lightly and, if needed, hold it upright with a small cane for a few weeks until the roots have anchored.
6. Water the compost lightly and pour a little rainwater into the cup.

Care

Watering

Keep a shallow layer of water in the cup and replace it every few weeks so that it does not go stale. Water the compost only when the top few centimetres are dry.

Water quality

Use rainwater or soft water at room temperature; hard water leaves white marks on the leaves.

Humidity

In dry spells, mist the leaves now and then with rainwater, or stand the pot on a tray of wet gravel.

Feeding

Little needed: from April to September, once a month, a bromeliad or orchid feed at half strength on the compost. Not in winter.

Spent flower head

Cut it off at the base once it turns brown; the energy then goes to the offsets.

Tip: Do not cut offsets away too early: wait until they are a third to half the size of the mother plant. The bigger they are, the better they establish.

Urn plant: when to prune it?

When: It is not pruned. After flowering, remove the dried flower head and later the dead mother plant.

How:

• Cut the flower stalk as low as possible once the pink bracts turn brown and dry.
• Cut off dried or damaged leaves at the base with a clean, sharp knife or secateurs.
• Cut the mother plant away at the base once it has completely dried and the offsets are large enough.

Caution: Never cut into the heart of an offset: that is where the new rosette grows.

Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Offsets

In April–May, cut an offset away when it is a third to half the size of the mother plant, ideally with a few roots. Pot it in a light bromeliad mix, pour a little water into its cup and keep it warm (20–25 °C) and bright. It can flower itself after a few years.

Leaving offsets in place

You can also cut away the old mother plant and leave the offsets in the pot; this gives you a clump of several rosettes.

Urn plant: how does it get through the winter?

• Not hardy: it stays indoors all year and should not go below 13 °C.
• In a cool room, keep the cup almost empty and water the compost sparingly, so that the heart does not rot.
• In winter give it a bright spot, not against a cold window and not right above a hot radiator.
• No feeding from October to March.

Diseases and pests

• Heart rot: The heart turns brown and soft and the leaves come loose when the plant stands cold with water in the cup or in soggy, airless compost. In winter keep the cup almost empty and water sparingly.
• Brown leaf tips: Caused by dry air or hard water. Use rainwater, move it away from the radiator and trim the tips at an angle.
• Scorch: Pale or brown patches after strong sun behind glass. Give it a bright spot without midday sun.
• Scale insects and mealybugs: Brown scales or white fluffy tufts under and between the leaves. Wipe them off with a cotton bud or a soft cloth dipped in soapy water.
• No flowers: A young plant only flowers after a few years. Put a mature plant in a clear plastic bag with a ripe apple for a week: the ethylene given off by the apple can trigger flowering, which follows a few months later.

Through the year

• January: Rest. Water sparingly, cup almost empty in a cool room. Brightest spot.
• March: A little more water as the days lengthen. Dust the leaves.
• April: Remove and pot up offsets. Start monthly feeding again.
• May: Repot or pot up offsets. Refresh the water in the cup.
• June: Flowering begins. Keep water in the cup, no harsh midday sun.
• July: Flowering. Refresh the water in the cup every few weeks.
• August: Flowering. Watch for scale insects and mealybugs.
• September: Flowering ends; the pink bracts stay attractive for a long time.
• October: Stop feeding. Water less.
• November: Cut off the dried flower head. Fill the cup less.
• December: Rest. Away from radiators and cold windows.

Did you know?

• The name fasciata means ‘banded’, after the silvery-white bands on the leaves.
• In the wild the cup collects rainwater and falling debris; the leaves take up water and nutrients through their scales.
• It belongs to the bromeliad family, like the pineapple.