One of the many charms of Bromeliads is the intensely colorful foliage they can produce. For some varieties, those vivid shades appear only when the plant is in bloom, while other cultivars put on a lively display all year round. But if your plant’s coloring suddenly shifts, it can leave you confused and concerned. Why do Bromeliads change color? Does it mean something is wrong with their health?
Some shifts in Bromeliad coloring are natural. These plants often turn more vivid when they flower, then fade as they die. However, bleaching or yellowing could be signs of problems like sun scorch or overwatering. In other cases, Bromeliads change color when they get too little light or too much fertilizer.
The fading color in your Bromeliad could signify that it’s reacting to a change in its growing conditions. If you’re trying to figure out why your plant suddenly looks different, you might want to start by asking yourself if you’ve made any recent changes to its care routine. Then read on below, where we’ve outlined both normal and problematic reasons why your Bromeliad might be trying out a new look.
Scenario 1: Natural Bromeliad Color Change
Many Bromeliads change color as a predictable part of their life cycles. For many species, the brightest hues appear during or just before blooming. This helps them attract pollinators like butterflies and hummingbirds in the wild.
In varieties like Guzmanias and Aechmeas, which produce a tall central flower stalk, the blossoms are often surrounded by vibrantly-colored bracts (specialized leaves). The structure that looks like the plant’s “bloom” is really an array of bracts guarding the true flowers.
Other varieties may take different approaches. Neoregelias keep their flowers tucked inside the central “vase” while the surrounding leaves flush beautiful shades of red or pink. Some Tillandsias (Air Plants) combine both strategies, pushing purple or pink flower stalks up from a blaze of scarlet or magenta leaves. And Cryptanthus (Earth Stars) retain their color scheme regardless of their flowering schedule.
After your Bromeliad has been in bloom for several months, its color will start to change again. The bold hues on the flower stalk will start to dull, leaving it a papery brown. The other leaves will revert to green, and over the next one to three years, they’ll also fade to yellow and/or brown.
What Can You Do?
The process described above is perfectly normal — virtually all plants in this family bloom just once and then die off. A Bromeliad losing color in this situation doesn’t mean you’ve done anything wrong. Sadly, there’s also nothing you can do to fix it.
The good news is that the plant should produce “pups” to take up its mantle. If you see clusters of young, healthy-looking leaves peeking out at the sides of your aging plant, those are the developing pups. You can split them off and propagate them, giving you a new crop of adult Bromeliads within a couple of years.
Scenario 2: Bromeliad Losing Color in Dim Light
What if your Bromeliad hasn’t bloomed, but the radiant reds and pinks of its leaves are shifting to green anyway? This is a common issue with Neoregelias, Cryptanthus, and other varieties beloved for their flashy foliage.
The most likely explanation is that your Bromeliad isn’t getting enough sun. Red pigments and variegation are often only sustainable when a plant has plenty of solar energy. Otherwise, it needs to cover as much of its leaf surface with chlorophyll as possible.
Plant nurseries often try to make Bromeliads red by keeping these showy cultivars under powerful grow lamps. The plants gorge on photons for 12-16 hours a day, increasing their production of warmer-colored pigments. Often, these Bromeliads change color when you bring them home and set them up in a dimmer environment. Green starts to creep into the leaves — and if the light is low enough, it can take over completely.
What Can You Do?
The obvious solution is to place your plant in a better-lit space, such as a sunny windowsill or a bright south-facing room. But don’t make the switch all at once, or the added heat and light stress could overwhelm your Bromeliad.
Instead, start by placing the plant in a brighter area for an hour or two at a time. You can gradually increase its time in the sun, adding about a half hour every day. After two to three weeks, your Bromeliad should be able to stay in sunnier conditions throughout the daylight hours. You might already be noticing its color returning at that point, but if not, don’t be discouraged. It often takes at least twice as long for the color to come back as it does for it to fade.
It’s also possible that the natural light in your home isn’t enough to keep your Bromeliad as vivid as you’d like. In that case, you might want to think about supplementing it with some grow lights.
If your Bromeliad is already in a fairly bright spot, you can probably make up any deficit in its sun budget with eight hours of added light each day from a modest-sized full-spectrum LED bulb. A Bromeliad in a dim nook will likely need at least 14 hours daily under a more powerful lamp to stay as colorful as possible.
Scenario 3: Sun-Bleached Bromeliad
Nothing is ever as simple as it sounds in plant care, is it? It’s not enough that you have to worry about your Bromeliad losing its pigmentation due to lack of light. You also have to avoid giving it too much sun.
We touched on the source of the problem above — a heavy dose of direct sunlight can stress your plant’s leaves. They may lose moisture too rapidly and become dehydrated. This could lead to your Bromeliad’s color fading, and the plant might also develop burned spots where the tissue has died from excessive heat.
These blotches may be tan, dark brown, or black, but they’ll always have a dry and brittle texture. They’ll also tend to appear on the uppermost portions of the leaves and the side of your Bromeliad facing the sun.
To avoid this issue, try to make sure that most of the sunlight reaching your Bromeliad gets reflected off of walls or passes through a screen (such as a thin linen curtain) on its way to the plant. A couple of hours of direct sunlight during the cool part of the morning or evening should be okay. But keep your Bromeliad out of the direct glare of the sun during the hottest part of the day.
Some varieties of Bromeliad can adapt better to direct sunlight than others, such as the above-mentioned Cryptantus and Neoregelias. You may have to experiment a bit to find the level of exposure that won’t cause your Bromeliad to lose color. Remember our advice above about making these changes little by little.
What Can You Do?
You can’t undo the sun damage your Bromeliad has suffered. However, once you move it back into tolerable lighting, it should start growing healthy leaves in its usual colors again.
Feel free to prune off any leaves that have been totally fried by the sun if you don’t like how they look. Use sharp pruning shears that have been disinfected with rubbing alcohol. It’s best to avoid removing more than ¼ of the crown at a time, though. When you see a leaf that looks damaged but still has a lot of healthy green, consider leaving it alone until your Bromeliad has grown some replacements.
Scenario 4: Bromeliad Color Change Due to Overwatering
Overly wet soil is the bane of a Bromeliad’s existence. Because of their shallow root systems and near-total lack of stems, these plants easily fall prey to root rot. When Bromeliads change color rapidly from healthy greens and reds to sickly yellows and browns, this is often the reason.
Other potential symptoms include:
- Stunted growth
- Wilting and drooping
- Soft, squishy spots in the leaves
- Unpleasant smells from the pot
If you’re not letting your Bromeliad’s soil dry out before you water it, you may see the signs described above. Something similar can happen if you water it by keeping the central “vase” full without changing the water regularly. In that case, the rot will start in the foliage rather than the roots (which can be even more deadly).
What Can You Do?
First, gently uproot your plant and see how far the damage has spread. If the rot has already consumed the center of your Bromeliad, it may be too late.
Otherwise, you might be able to rescue it by trimming off the infected areas. Cut off any roots and leaves that are:
- Brown
- Black
- Slimy
- Mushy
If you’re unsure about a particular section, remove it. Missing a spot often means the whole operation is for nothing, because the infection can continue to spread. Sanitize your pruning shears before every cut to avoid moving bacteria or fungi to uninfected areas.
Next, repot your Bromeliad in a lightly moistened, fast-draining potting mix. Clean and disinfect the pot if you’re going to reuse it, or choose a new one with plenty of drainage holes. Keep the plant humid and warm without exposing it to direct light for the next few weeks. If and when it starts growing new leaves again, you can breathe easy.
Scenario 5: Color Change From Fertilizer Issues
Another reason some Bromeliads change color is improper nutrition. When grown indoors, these plants generally only need small doses of fertilizer during the growing season. Applying more than they need — especially if your fertilizer is high in nitrogen — can induce greener growth in a Bromeliad. It might lose some of its variegation or its red, pink, or purple pigmentation.
Neglecting to fertilize your plant can also mess with its color, leading to yellowing leaves. Newer foliage on an undernourished plant may also be smaller than normal and/or oddly shaped.
For most Bromeliads, the right balance is a ¼-strength dose of balanced liquid fertilizer every two to four weeks. You might be able to increase that to a ½-strength dose for Bromeliads that are getting lots of sunlight. More than that is usually unnecessary.
What Can You Do?
The best course of action is generally to adjust your fertilizer regimen toward the routine described above. If the plant seems too green, try reducing the dosage or spacing out your applications more.
A dramatically over-fertilized Bromeliad might be having trouble taking in water because the osmotic balance in the soil is thrown off. This will often cause the plant to wilt and turn yellow, brown, or crispy black at the leaf tips.
A good long drink of water can offer your Bromeliad some relief. The extra liquid should dissolve the unwanted mineral salts and let them drain out of the soil. Slowly pour in about four to five times the total volume of the pot, allowing it to trickle out from the base of the container. Then, let the soil dry out and go back to watering as normal.
Your Bromeliad should return to good health once it’s receiving the right amount of nutrition. In time, it should begin producing vibrant, colorful foliage once more.
Final Thoughts
Why does a Bromeliad lose its color? As we’ve seen above, there are many possible reasons, not all of them alarming. Before you rush to “fix” your plant, give some thought to where it is in its life cycle. Messing with a Bromeliad’s growing conditions when it’s succumbing to natural aging may only make life harder for the pups.
If your Bromeliad is changing color due to poor health, you can often course correct it by giving the plant what it needs to thrive. In a more welcoming, nourishing environment, these plants are eager to show off their colors. We hope our advice helps you keep your Bromeliad looking spectacular!