Question
I recently purchased an orchid and bromeliad in the same pot from a Target.  I want to repot them asap in the correct soil and containers.  I know about orchids but I am afraid that I know nothing about bromeliad.  Could you give me some pointers or point me to a website for more info on the care of this beautiful plant?

Answer
Hello Vicky,

 You have a few chouses in front of you here. Odds are that if it was in a pot with an orchid what you have is an epiphytic species of bromeliad. So its roots dont really serve any purpose other than to anchor it to something. If you want to save some money you could just buy one bag of orchid mix and use that for both plants. If you live in an area with real low humidity it might be better to plant it in a mix of equal parts peat moss, perlite, and bark. Anything that drains well will work just fine as long as the roots dont sit in water. I just use miracle grow potting soil, perlite, and Better-Gro orchid bark for all my bromeliads. Keeping this mixture moist, but not soggy, can help keep the humidity around the plant at an appropriate level.

If it's a very heavily scaled species of Tillandsia you can put it in anything and it will be fine. You can tell this by the leaves being covered in what looks like white powder or fur. These plants will get all they need from the air and only need to be misted about once a week.
If it doesn't have these scales you should keep the roots moist and keep water in the cup the plant forms with its leaves in the center. An easy way to do this is to just pour water into the cup until it over flows into the soil.

They should also be kept out of direct sunlight. Bright filtered light(like through a curtain) will keep them happy and healthy.
You also shouldn't feed bromeliads unless it's at the end of its life cycle and you're trying to get more pups out of it. Feeding bromeliads will cause them to get very leggy and lose the color in their leaves/inflorescence...
not a pretty sight.
Also you should know that once this plant blooms it will start to die over the next few months(could take up to a year). As it dies it will grow offsets(pups) at its base. You can remove and repot these pups once they get to about 3/4 the mother plants size. You could also just leave them be and remove the leaves of the mother plant as they die. Eventually the pups will root and take over the pot forming a nice little clump.
If you have any other questions or need something clarified feel free to contact me again.

Good luck,
Justin