Question
Hi there Darlene,
I really want to save my Guzmania Grand Prix plant (I think its this species, tall green leaves fading into bright pink at the top) - I water it once a week and place it in direct sunlight if i can (although I've stopped this thinking that it was making the leaves fade!) but it's clearly unwell, the pink leaves are very faded and there are brown/dry patches on some leaves, especially on the tips. It lives indoors and I water it with tap water, should I be feeding it, and if so with what? Should I move it to a bigger pot? How can I perk it up or save it from dying?! Thanks for your help, Samantha.

Answer
Samantha,

I assume that it was in bloom when you bought it and that it bloomed for some time after that. Now the bloom is beginning to fade. Unfortunately that is normal for all bromeliads. That does not mean the plant is dying. You can clip off the fading blossom but maintain the health of the green parts of the plant. I do suggest that you switch to watering in the cup of the plant with distilled water rather than tap water. Your tap water probably has chlorine and flouride in it which is not good for this plant or any draceanas you have. If you prefer to continue using tap water you need to allow it to sit in an open bucket for 24 hours and the chlorine and flouride will disipate into the air.

Fertilize the plant regularly and the plant will produce babies or pups on the sides of the plant. Allow these th grow until they are 1/3rd to 1/2 the size of the original parent plant then carefully remove each one and pot it separately into a pot the same size as the parent plant's pot. With fertilizer and good care they should bloom as beautifully as the parent plant and produce their own babies.  

The following website will give you further insturctions.
http://www.calyxflowers.com/Floral-Library/Content/Guzmania.aspx

If you have more questions after looking at that website feel free to write again. Good luck.

Darlene