Flaming sword, a stunning indoor flower

From a sheath of deep green a flaming sword of yellow and red bursts forth…

Flaming sword facts

Name – Vriesea
Family – Bromeliaceae
Type – houseplant

Height – 12-20 inches (30-50 cm)
Exposure – light but only indirect light

Foliage: evergreen  –  Flowering: end of winter or summer

This is the once-in-a-lifetime flower of the Vriesea bromeliad! Each plant will only grow a single flaming sword flower, but it can grow new offshoots that will start the cycle over year after year.

Splitting, repotting a Flaming sword plant

Repotting isn’t needed very often. The only case is when you’re working on separating pups from the mother plant, after it has produced a flower.

• The mother plant, having born a flower, will generate new offshoots for a couple years before dying.
• Wait for the blooming to end completely before repotting.

Repotting the Flaming Sword Vriesea

• Drainage is crucial. Check for a hole at the bottom of the pot. Use gravel or clay pebbles for the bottom layer. Don’t use a pot that keeps excess water below the plant.
• Soil mix with good drainage is best. Add river sand if need be. Bromeliaceae soil mix sold in garden centers is perfect.
• Gently thread your fingers or a cultivator through the roots to untangle them. If they’re running in circles in the pot, cut them shorter.
• If offshoots have appeared, pry them apart (check this video showing a similar operation : splitting a ZZ plant).
• Repot each pup or offshoot to a new pot. Small pots are fine (4 inches or 10 cm across and deep). Flaming sword doesn’t develop very big root systems.

Best exposure for Flaming Sword

Temperature

Coming from the tropics, the “Flaming Sword” flower needs constant, warm temperatures. Never let it drop below 57°F (13°C).

• Best is around 65-75°F (18-24°C). Perfect for any house or apartment.

Exposure

• No direct sun.
• Lots of indirect light.
• Avoid heat sources that dry the air up (radiators, air-conditioning exhausts)
• Keep your flaming sword out of the way of drafts.

Windows facing East or West are the best.

Flaming sword watering and fertilizer

It’s important to make a difference between the growing phase (Spring & Summer) and the rest phase (Fall & Winter).

Watering Flaming Sword in Spring and Summer

• Aim for excellent drainage
• Very little water is needed

The soil mix should feel almost dry before watering again. Best is to water more often with smaller amounts.

• Make sure your water is at room temperature to avoid shocking the plant.
• You can let water collect in the rosette, the center part. Do this only if it’s warm enough (above 65°F or 18°C.
• Once a month, give the plant liquid leaf plant fertilizer.

Ensure you get as much air moisture as possible around the plant. Rest the pot on a saucer with clay pebbles or gravel doused with water. Mist often.

• Flaming Sword takes in water from the air more efficiently than through its roots.

Watering in Fall and winter

Wait for soil to have dried up entirely before giving the plant water again.

Don’t add any fertilizer at all during this dormant period.

Possible Flaming Sword diseases

Insects and pests on flaming sword plant

Aphids, scale insects and red spider mites are the most common pests found on flaming sword.

• Deal with aphids naturally
• Organic scale insect treatments
• Red mites and how to get rid of them

Fungal diseases that attack flaming sword

Since moisture should be high around the plant with warm temperatures, powdery mildew may occur.

• Learn how to treat against powdery mildew

Flaming sword yellow leaves

If ever your plant is turning pale all over, the soil probably needs more fertilizer.

• Make your own natural fertilizer from fermented weed tea

However, if only the centermost leaves turn yellow, it’s probably due to overwatering or to cold water remaining in the rosette.

• Clear all water from the rosette with a tissue.
• Stop watering your flaming sword flower until the soil is dry again.

Making a Flaming Sword bloom again

All plants of the Bromeliad family – of which the Burning Sword is part – will only produce a single flower in their lifetime.

This is due to how it grows new flowers and leaves. Indeed, a few cells in the very center of the plant start differentiating and instead of producing leaves, they turn into flower stem cells.

• Once the flower stem cell has wilted off and been removed, the center part is too tight for new leaves to form.
• Cells can’t form new leaves since surrounding ones constrain growth.

Growing a new Flaming Sword from pups

At this point, the plant can still produce new leaves, but only on the outside of the crown. These new offshoots are called “pups”.

• Pups (also the term used for propagating succulents) can grow into entirely new, self-supporting plants.

They’re also exact clones of the mother plant, so blooming and foliage will remain identical.

The key to growing new Flaming Sword flowers is to let the mother plant produce pups. Once these have formed at least five or more leaves (count the leaf tips), they’re ready for removal.

• The longer a pup stays on the mother plant, the faster it will grow and bloom again.
• However, separating a pup will trigger the mother plant into producing more pups.

After up to a few years, the mother plant will exhaust its energy and die.