Neoregelia Care

A member of the bromeliad family, Neoregelia make a great low maintenance house plant. They’re also ideally suited to planted tropical vivariums

Named for the botanist Edward von Regel who was superintendent of the Saint Petersburg botanical gardens.  Originally classified as Aregelia, Karatus and Regelia, they were re-classified as Neoregelia in 1890.  Most of the 100+ known varieties grow wild in Brazil, Columbia and Peru.

Neoregelia paulinae water tank

Neoregelia schultessiana variegata growing epiphytically

Neoregelias are low growing, compact plants whose structure is similar to many of the tank bromeliads.  Their leaves are arranged in a circular pattern around the central set which form a ‘tank’ or holding reservoir that serves to collect water and debris to sustain the plant.

When growing indoors, the water in this tank must be changed at regular intervals to avoid it becoming stagnant.  They prefer bright lighting conditions, however direct sunlight can scorch and bleach the leaves, so diffused or indirect light is best.  Plants with tough plain-green leaves will tolerate more sun than those with paler, coloured or variegated leaves.

Neoregelias can be grown as a pot plant in pots filled with a very free draining mix or they can be grown epiphytically in a similar way to Tillandsia. When growing as an epiphyte, Neoreglias require a regular misting and it is even more crucial that the water tank is kept ‘topped up’.

Similarly to Tillandsia, Neoregelias will tolerate a variety of temperatures, but will not survive below 10 degrees Celsius.  Temperatures in excess of 30 degrees will lead to poor colouration of leaves.  A monthly feed helps to encourage Neoregelia leaf colouration and flowering.  Our Tillandsia feed is great for Neoregelia feeding.

Neoregelia paulinae with offset removed

Neoregelia paulinae offset

Propagating Neoregelias is a very simple task…the plants readily produce baby plants on stolons from the parent plant. Once these are around half the size of the parent they can be removed with a sharp knife or secateurs and grown on as new plants.