Giant Silver Plum Bromeliad

Giant Silver Plum Bromeliad (Aechmea fasciata 'Silver Plum') is a large form of the urn plant, its broad silver banded leaves forming a rosette about 70cm tall and 80cm across. It throws a single pink bract studded with small blue flowers that stays colourful for months. It is also not toxic to cats or dogs, unusual in a plant with this much presence.

Why you'll love it

• Colour that lasts a season. The pink bract holds for three to six months, so one plant carries a corner for most of the year.
• Silver foliage between flowers. The chalky crossbanding on each leaf is the real reason to buy it, and it never goes away.
• Very little to do. Water goes into the central urn, not the mix, about once a fortnight. No pruning, no staking.
• Not toxic to cats or dogs. It can sit at floor level in a home with pets, though the leaf margins carry fine spines.

Where it works best

Pots, balconies and courtyards. The root system is small and mostly anchors the plant, so a 400mm pot is ample. A shaded courtyard or covered balcony in a warm climate suits it.

Indoors. Set it in bright indirect light near a window. Few indoor plants hold flower colour this long.

Mass planting in warm gardens. In tropical, subtropical and frost free warm temperate gardens, plant 60cm apart under trees. As each rosette produces pups the group thickens on its own.

Growing Giant Silver Plum Bromeliad in Australia

Position and climate. Bright filtered light. Direct sun bleaches the leaves and deep shade dulls the silver banding. It is frost tender, so outside the tropics, subtropics and frost free warm temperate pockets it belongs in a pot that winters inside.

Soil. A free draining orchid or bromeliad mix. Ordinary potting mix stays too wet around a root system this small, which is how most of these plants are lost.

Water and feed. Keep the central urn topped up with fresh water and flush it out monthly so it does not stagnate or breed mosquitoes. Let the mix dry between waterings. A quarter strength liquid feed over the mix twice through the warm months is plenty.

After flowering. Each rosette flowers once, then declines slowly while producing two or three pups at its base. Cut the spent bract out, leave the pups until they reach a third of the parent's size, then pot them separately.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in one size, a 400mm pot, a large established rosette rather than a young pup that needs years to reach flowering size.

Bromeliads travel well. The leaves are stiff and hold their own water, so transit damage is rare. Top up the urn on arrival, give it a fortnight in bright indirect light, then expect slow steady growth. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Read our guide to bromeliad varieties.
• Browse more plants safe for pets.
• Compare companions in the indoor plant range.
• Browse the range of plants for pots.

Common questions

Is it safe around cats and dogs?

Yes, it is not toxic to cats or dogs. The one caution is physical: the leaf edges carry small spines, so keep it clear of crawling children and busy walkways.

Do I water the pot or the plant?

The plant. Fill the central urn and let the mix stay on the dry side. Flush the urn monthly with fresh water so it does not go stale.

Will it flower again after the bract fades?

Not that rosette. It flowers once, then puts its energy into pups at the base, and those pups flower in their own time.

Can I grow it in the garden?

Only where frost never reaches, in shade or filtered light, spaced 60cm apart. Anywhere colder it is a pot plant that spends winter indoors.