Guzmania 'Priscilla' - Scarlet Star Bromeliad
Sprouts of BristolThis Bromeliad's central flower spike is stunning as well as distinctive in bright red with white tips to each frond. The red colour is that of the 'bract', a specialised kind of leaf, out of which this plant's flowers bloom. The glossy, mid-green foliage erupts from the centre in a bright fountain of broad, tongue-like leaves. In the centre of this foliage is a 'goblet', which has adapted to catch rainwater and keep it as a reserve for the plant - which also helps it sustain its own high humidity levels. So when caring for your Guzmania as a houseplant, it's on you to keep this bit topped up! The bract will hang around for several months before dying back, and this signals the end of the plant's life cycle - but don't worry, your Bromeliad should produce pups from its base, which can be propagated to make their own new plants. We like to think of the life cycle of plants like this as like a phoenix: the main plant dies back to let new baby plants grow in its place.
Scientific Name
Guzmania lingulata 'Priscilla' (Guzman's broad-tongued plant, cultivar: Priscilla)
Common Name
Scarlet Star, Red Bromeliad, Droophead Tufted Bromeliad
Origin
Native to tropical forests in Mexico and South America.
Light
Bright, indirect light is best - i.e., out of direct sun but light enough that you can read a paper in the daytime without putting the lights on. It can adapt to lower light if you're okay with slower growth, but too much sun can cause it to look washed out and grow sickly.
Water
Let the top third of the soil dry between waters; remember to water less in winter. Keep the 'goblet' in the centre of the plant topped up. If you notice the bract or leaves going brown and crispy, your plant may need more water; if it's going yellow and squishy, it may be getting too much water.
Humidity
This plant likes high humidity. Make sure you keep it away from operating radiators which will dry it out; keeping the 'goblet' in the crown of the plant topped up with water should then keep the humidity around the plant high enough. If you still notice the plant showing signs of low humidity, with crispy brown edges to the foliage, introducing a humidity tray should help.
Soil
This plant is an epiphyte, so choose a chunky soil mix that will let its roots get some air; elements like bark and zeolite will help here, combined with some moisture-retentive elements like coir and perlite. A mix designed for epiphytes like Anthuriums or Orchids will work well here. Repotting isn't necessary, but you can do it every few years as the plant grows, and pot out pups once they are a third to half the size of the parent plant.
Food
Feed every three waters in the growing season, reduce to every four in autumn and winter.
Temperature
Ideal temperature is 15-30°C; make sure it does not get colder than 12°C in winter.
Pet-safe
Yes, but too much nibbling won't be good for pets, small humans or the plant!
Sprouts Top Tips
Our main tip to keep this plant happy is making sure that central cache in the crown of the plant always has some water in it. We would also recommend care when you move the plant to avoid getting the water in the crown of the plant everywhere... from experience, it can be messy to clean up after! When this is kept topped up, it means you can leave the soil for a while between waters, which helps avoid root rot - so if in doubt, put water in the centre of the plant but don't keep the soil super soggy.
Important Information
If you have any questions, please check out the below or get in touch via our contact formWe're devoted to sending our customers quality plants with the best service around. Every plant is backed by our 7-day guarantee, so they arrive in good health.
Our team takes extra steps when prepping plants for transportation, but they're still sensitive to changes, so there may be minor cosmetic issues. We always aim to photograph and disclose any flaws before shipping, but a living creature travelling across the country in a box can take a hot minute to adjust to its new life.
If you have any issues within 7 days of receiving your order, holler at our customer support team on our contact form with your order details and some pics of the issue. After the guarantee has expired, though, we can't refund as we can't guarantee care and environmental factors. If you repot the plant during the 7 days, the guarantee is void.
We have been sending plants up and down the country for many year now and we like to think we have our way down to an art.
We protect the plant from falling out of the soil with tissue paper and tape if needed, then we wrap the plant in corrugated cardboard, and sometimes we protect the leaves with extra tissue paper if required. This is then placed into a box and if there is any empty space, we fill this with void fill to stop the plants moving around inside the box. Sometimes we will write a note on your packing slip to water the plant on arrival, so please look out for this. This is due a freshly watered plant going in a box will not only be soggy, but as the plant is in darkness this can sometimes make the plant unhappy when just freshly watered.
If your plant arrives to you unhappy, please send us a photo of the plant and packaging if relevant straight away, so we can advise you.
Online orders are packed and dispatched within a few days. Usually depending on volumes, we aim to get your order dispatched within 1 working day. We have collections from Royal Mail 6 days a week so deliveries tend to be speedy.
Our standard parcel delivery service is £4.99 for Royal Mail Tracked48, you can upgrade to Tracked24 for £2.50.
We do offer a Tracked48 Large Letter option for £2.99, and Tracked24 for £1 extra, but this only applies to products less than 2.5cm thick.
*Deliveries 7 days a week only included Tracked24 parcels.
Link to your shipping policy
We get a lot of boxes, packaging and whatnot at Sprouts from all our various supplier's deliveries. We re-use this packaging material where possible, plus we take in donations from local businesses and customers to our shop to avoid excess packaging going to landfill. Sometimes your delivery might look a little different, or come in a branded box from another company, but rest assured the items inside are carefully packed with love and attention inside. We use paper tape and all our branded materials included are fully recyclable. Sometimes we use polystyrene, bubble wrap or plastic wrap in the packaging, all these items are not new and where possible, please use them again.
We have partnered with Zedify to offer low-carbon deliveries in Central Bristol for £6.99.
Zedify collect and deliver orders from us Monday - Friday and will usually deliver your order the same day its collected. If you place your order before 11am, we will aim to get it collected the same day but this isnt always possible. When you have received your dispatch email, Zedify should be delivering your order the same day, anytime before 6pm.
We cannot give an idea of time, but if you would prefer delivery on a certain date (Monday - Friday) please get in touch or leave a note at check out with your preferred delivery date and we will do our best to accommodate your request.
Zedify deliver to the following postcodes BS1, BS2, BS3, BS4, BS5, BS6, BS7, BS8 (1, 2, 3A - 3N, 4), BS9 (1,3,4).
Select click and collect at checkout to collect your order from our Bristol shop.
You will get an email when your order is ready to collect, where possible please come and collect your order the same day as we have limited space. If you are going to collect your order at a later date, please let us know in the message box at check out so we know when to expect you. Some items such as gift sets, kits and pre-order items may not be ready to collect the same day, again please let us know what day you would like to collect and we will let you know if there's any issues.
We do not offer free returns, but if you are unhappy with your delivery, please get in touch. If your parcel or order has been damaged, please take photos and send these over to our team so we can look into this for you.
If you have ordered an item and you would like to exchange it, we should be able to do this for you. There may be an extra charge for delivery, but get in touch to discuss. For plants there is a 7 day return policy and 30 days for everything else, apart from sale items which are none returnable.
You can return or exchange in our Bristol shop for free.
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