This Gorgeous Houseplant With Colorful Blooms Grows Beautifully In Bathrooms

When bringing a new houseplant into your home, it is helpful to consider the needs of the plant and where it will flourish best. There are indoor plants for every room of your house, from cacti that enjoy the drier, sunnier spots of your bedroom windowsill to begonias that can thrive in the shadier corners of your living room. However, you should never overlook your bathroom when planning where to put your houseplants. The bathroom can be a great location for certain plants, especially those that prefer humid climates. One group of houseplants that are perfect for the bathroom is bromeliads. This family of plants is incredibly extensive, with thousands of different types in a range of sizes, shapes, and colors. However, the common bromeliads that tend to be grown as houseplants include the scarlet star (Guzmania lingulata), which has dramatic, bright, upright blooms, and the urn plant (Aechmea fasciata), which has striking, firework-like flowers. 

Bromeliads tend to prefer high levels of humidity, making the bathroom a perfect place for them. They mostly absorb water through their leaves, so a location with a high amount of moisture in the air allows them to get the water they need. Bathrooms tend to be warmer areas of the house, too. This suits bromeliads, which thrive in temperatures of between 60 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit.

Stunning houseplants like bromeliads allow you to turn your bathroom into a tropical oasis. But it takes more than just whacking them on your bathroom shelf and hoping for the best. Although relatively low-maintenance, bromeliads need a little bit of care in order to thrive. Most bromeliads need indirect sunlight to flower, so place them somewhere that is out of the shade but not in harsh sun. You should also make sure that the soil they are growing in drains well, as bromeliads are prone to root rot. 

If your variety of bromeliad has a leaf cup, ensure that it is filled with water at all times. If it doesn't contain water, carefully pour some into the leaf cup. For other varieties, water them every week or two. Although your bathroom tends to be more humid than other areas of your home, it may still be beneficial to mist your bromeliads on days when the humidity is low. Bromeliads do well when fertilized in the summer, but you should use the fertilizer at half-strength. 

Another thing to be aware of when growing bromeliads is what happens to them after they bloom. Once they have flowered, the central plant of the bromeliad will die slowly, with pups springing up around the mother plant. This central plant will not bloom again, so it is helpful to separate the pups and plant them in their own pots. Doing so will provide you with more healthy houseplants for your bathroom, and they will hopefully flower after a year or so.