I'm new to gardening and I bought a really nice tropical plant...I'm
not sure of the name but it has broad greed leaves and the flower that
comes out of it opens up to almost look like the top of a pineapple
and comes in a varietly of colours like red and yellow and orange.
The plant I bought was in a small 6 inch pot I think, and it looked
like it had three close knit sections (there were three long red buds
with leaves surrounding each so I assumed it could be split into three
smaller plants). I wanted to split the plant into three smaller
sections because it looked like it was outgrowing the pot and also
that the roots were all tangled up. Plus the long buds did not look
like it was ever going to bloom and the some of the leaves were
turning yellow. I guess I should have just transferred to a bigger
pot, but out of the blue I decided it would be cool to have three
smaller plants. When I split them, it took a lot of effort and I was
very afraid that I might have damaged the roots (I had to cut some and
pull them apart). Is there any way to prevent these from dying on me
now that I did that? It was a very bad judgement call but I did not
have a larger pot to replant and the root ball was really tightly
knotted and there was barely any soil near the bottom when I took it
out.

After repotting into three new pots with a potting mix, I watered well
with a few drops of scholtz all purpose fertilizer. I'm not sure what
else will help keep them alive.

Please help, any advice is much appreciated!

Nyssa.

"Nyssa" wrote in message
m...
I'm new to gardening and I bought a really nice tropical plant...I'm
not sure of the name but it has broad greed leaves and the flower
that
comes out of it opens up to almost look like the top of a pineapple
and comes in a varietly of colours like red and yellow and orange.
The plant I bought was in a small 6 inch pot I think, and it looked
like it had three close knit sections (there were three long red
buds
with leaves surrounding each so I assumed it could be split into
three
smaller plants). I wanted to split the plant into three smaller
sections because it looked like it was outgrowing the pot and also
that the roots were all tangled up. Plus the long buds did not look
like it was ever going to bloom and the some of the leaves were
turning yellow. I guess I should have just transferred to a bigger
pot, but out of the blue I decided it would be cool to have three
smaller plants. When I split them, it took a lot of effort and I
was
very afraid that I might have damaged the roots (I had to cut some
and
pull them apart). Is there any way to prevent these from dying on
me
now that I did that? It was a very bad judgement call but I did not
have a larger pot to replant and the root ball was really tightly
knotted and there was barely any soil near the bottom when I took it
out.

After repotting into three new pots with a potting mix, I watered
well
with a few drops of scholtz all purpose fertilizer. I'm not sure
what
else will help keep them alive.

Please help, any advice is much appreciated!

You might consider inverting a transparent poly bag over each pot for
a few weeks, to conserve moisture until they have produced some more
roots.

Franz

"Franz Heymann" wrote in message ...

You might consider inverting a transparent poly bag over each pot for
a few weeks, to conserve moisture until they have produced some more
roots.

Franz

I'll try that. Thanks! Would it help to add something to promote
root growth? Do you know what that type of tropical is called?

Thanks again for the advice.

Nyssa.

"Nyssa" wrote in message
om...
"Franz Heymann" wrote in message
...

You might consider inverting a transparent poly bag over each pot
for
a few weeks, to conserve moisture until they have produced some
more
roots.

Franz

I'll try that. Thanks! Would it help to add something to promote
root growth?

Probably not. Most urglers, including me, find the root promoting
hormones a bit iffy.

Do you know what that type of tropical is called?

No {:-((

Franz

On 5/9/04 8:08 am, in article
, "Nyssa"
wrote:

"Franz Heymann" wrote in message
...

You might consider inverting a transparent poly bag over each pot for
a few weeks, to conserve moisture until they have produced some more
roots.

Franz

I'll try that. Thanks! Would it help to add something to promote
root growth? Do you know what that type of tropical is called?

Thanks again for the advice.

Nyssa.

Try looking up Eucomis on Google image search. Its nickname is the
pineapple plant.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

Hi!
Chances are that you had a pot that contained three smaller plants to begin with, and that your separating them was logical. Don't worry about the broken roots, as it is common paratice to disturb roots by tearing or even cutting when transplanting; it wakes them up and gets them to growing again. And it does sound like your plant (whose name I can't recall at the moment...) needed to get out of the overcrowded pot. The only thing I might suggest that will help your plants along would be to remove the flowers/flower stems as it is extra stress on any plant to be transplanted while it is blooming. If you find this hard or impossible to do, I can understand, so just continue your liquid Schultz with every watering for a few weeks.
I am a professional container designer, and, since you are a new gardener, would be happy to give you tips on container gardening and plants in general if you would like...just ask! Don't want to bore you with blather of not!
But welcome to a wonderful world of enjoyment!

In article , Sacha
writes
On 5/9/04 8:08 am, in article
, "Nyssa"
wrote:
I'll try that. Thanks! Would it help to add something to promote
root growth? Do you know what that type of tropical is called?

Thanks again for the advice.

Nyssa.

Try looking up Eucomis on Google image search. Its nickname is the
pineapple plant.

But the flower doesn't match - Eucomis has white or greenish flowers,
and certainly not long red buds.


pineapple
and comes in a varietly of colours like red and yellow and orange.
The plant I bought was in a small 6 inch pot I think, and it looked
like it had three close knit sections (there were three long red
buds
with leaves surrounding each so I assumed it could be split into
three
smaller plants).

--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

On 5/9/04 3:02 pm, in article , "Kay"
wrote:

In article , Sacha
writes
On 5/9/04 8:08 am, in article
, "Nyssa"
wrote:
I'll try that. Thanks! Would it help to add something to promote
root growth? Do you know what that type of tropical is called?

Thanks again for the advice.

Nyssa.

Try looking up Eucomis on Google image search. Its nickname is the
pineapple plant.

But the flower doesn't match - Eucomis has white or greenish flowers,
and certainly not long red buds.


snip
Ray and I were talking about this and he *thinks* there's a smaller variety
that might fit the bill, which is why I suggested it.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

On 5/9/04 5:00 pm, in article
, "Sacha"
wrote:

snip


snip
Ray and I were talking about this and he *thinks* there's a smaller variety
that might fit the bill, which is why I suggested it.

After sending this, I had a sudden mental picture of what it could be: Try
Guzmania or Vriesia.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

In article , Sacha
writes
On 5/9/04 3:02 pm, in article , "Kay"
wrote:

In article , Sacha
writes
Try looking up Eucomis on Google image search. Its nickname is the
pineapple plant.

But the flower doesn't match - Eucomis has white or greenish flowers,
and certainly not long red buds.


snip
Ray and I were talking about this and he *thinks* there's a smaller variety
that might fit the bill, which is why I suggested it.

I thought you'd missed the description because I remembered seeing 2
species of Eucomis at Hill House.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

On 5/9/04 7:45 pm, in article , "Kay"
wrote:

In article , Sacha
writes
On 5/9/04 3:02 pm, in article , "Kay"
wrote:

In article , Sacha
writes
Try looking up Eucomis on Google image search. Its nickname is the
pineapple plant.

But the flower doesn't match - Eucomis has white or greenish flowers,
and certainly not long red buds.


snip
Ray and I were talking about this and he *thinks* there's a smaller variety
that might fit the bill, which is why I suggested it.

I thought you'd missed the description because I remembered seeing 2
species of Eucomis at Hill House.

No I hadn't missed it but I don't think I picked up on it well. We have two
Eucomis right now in the urns in front of the house. This is the first time
we've tried them in there (plunged in pots) and they look very good in such
containers.
But as I posted later, there are other possibilities which may fit the bill
rather better.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

On Sun, 5 Sep 2004 19:45:27 +0100, Kay
wrote:


But the flower doesn't match - Eucomis has white or greenish flowers,
and certainly not long red buds.

snip
Ray and I were talking about this and he *thinks* there's a smaller variety
that might fit the bill, which is why I suggested it.

I thought you'd missed the description because I remembered seeing 2
species of Eucomis at Hill House.

The plant in question is probably one of the Vriesia hybrids derived
from psittacina and carinata. They are now widely available in garden
centres and make quite good, long lasting pot plants. They are
bromeliads and as such qualify as pineapple relatives. As to dividing
them, bromeliads are best allowed to develop quite sizeable offsets
before removing them from the parent rosette. The larger they are,
the more likely they are to have roots and will therefore establish
with greater ease.

Dave Poole
Torquay, Coastal South Devon UK
Winter min -2°C. Summer max 34°C.
Growing season: March - November

In article , Sacha
writes
On 5/9/04 7:45 pm, in article , "Kay"
wrote:

But the flower doesn't match - Eucomis has white or greenish flowers,
and certainly not long red buds.


snip
Ray and I were talking about this and he *thinks* there's a smaller variety
that might fit the bill, which is why I suggested it.

I thought you'd missed the description because I remembered seeing 2
species of Eucomis at Hill House.

No I hadn't missed it but I don't think I picked up on it well. We have two
Eucomis right now in the urns in front of the house. This is the first time
we've tried them in there (plunged in pots) and they look very good in such
containers.

Do you bring them in in winter?

I had so many of them a few years ago that I tried the surplus in
various places outside. Some didn't make it, some survived a few years,
one in a tub is still with me.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

On 6/9/04 1:23 am, in article , "Kay"
wrote:

In article , Sacha
writes
snip
We have two
Eucomis right now in the urns in front of the house. This is the first time
we've tried them in there (plunged in pots) and they look very good in such
containers.

Do you bring them in in winter?

I had so many of them a few years ago that I tried the surplus in
various places outside. Some didn't make it, some survived a few years,
one in a tub is still with me.

We'll bring in the ones I mention above but we have others just outside the
big double that stay out and survive. But that position is much more
sheltered, of course.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

On 6/9/04 12:59 am, in article ,
"Dave Poole" wrote:
snip

The plant in question is probably one of the Vriesia hybrids derived
from psittacina and carinata. They are now widely available in garden
centres and make quite good, long lasting pot plants. They are
bromeliads and as such qualify as pineapple relatives. As to dividing
them, bromeliads are best allowed to develop quite sizeable offsets
before removing them from the parent rosette. The larger they are,
the more likely they are to have roots and will therefore establish
with greater ease.

Thanks, David. That was one of the plants I thought it might be. I hope
Nyssa will take a look and let us know!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)