How to Take Care of an Urn Plant (Silver Vase Plant)

An urn plant is from the bromeliad family and gets its name due to the vase shape that the plant produces as it grows. After a couple of years of successful urn care, the plant will produce stunning pink and purple bracts that last for a few months. However, this plant does have a sad life cycle as shortly after these beautiful purple and pink bracts sprout, the plant will slowly die.

Here is everything you need to know about urn plant care!

Table of Contents

Common Names

Aechmea Fasciata
Silver Vase Plant
Vase Plant
Pink Vase Plants
Urn Plant

What Soil Works Best for an Urn Plant?

Orchid potting mix works best for an urn plant. If possible, you should add some perlite, pine bark, peat moss, and some pebbles into the potting soil to make it airy. The ideal state for this plant is to be in light and breathable soil to allow the roots to spread quickly.

Can You Use a Houseplant Fertilizer?

You can give this tropical plant liquid fertilizer to promote healthy growth during the growing season (early spring and summer). You don’t need to provide this plant fertilizer during the wintertime since that will be the slowest amount of growth.

How Much Sunlight Does an Urn Plant Need?

Bright light works best for an urn plant. Being native to Brazil’s rainforest, this is an epiphyte plant, which means it grows on other plants to get the right amount of sunlight. The right amount of the sun is a mixture of bright light and some shade throughout the day, which it would get being in a rainforest.

Direct sun for many hours will scorch the leaves of the plant. Consider putting up a curtain or blinds to reduce the sun’s glare if you have this as an indoor plant next to a window. You want to treat this plant as an air plant by keeping it away from direct sunlight as that will burn the tips of the green leaves.

What Temperature Works Best for an Urn Plant?

An urn plant does best in room temperature environments between 60-75 degrees Fahrenheit. Since the natural habitat of this plant is in a warm climate, be mindful about placing this plant next to a cold AC unit. The cold air blowing from the AC unit can cause the plant to wilt since it does not do well with colder temperatures.

During the winter, consider placing the plant further away from the window. Letting the plant stay next to a cold window for long periods can also cause growth problems for the plant.

What Humidity Requirements Does an Urn Plant Need?

Since this is a tropical plant, it enjoys high humidity environments. To help give the plant a humid climate, you should place the plant in a bathroom that has a shower. Running a hot shower daily for a few minutes will create a humid environment that the plant will enjoy.

Another way to increase the humidity around the plant is to group it with other plants and mist them. Multiple plants create a micro humid environment when the water evaporates from the leaves.

Finally, you can place a humidifier next to the plant to create a more humid environment. You can let the humidifier run for a few hours next to the plant during the summer months to create a more humid for the plant. However, in the winter, don’t rely on the humidifier as much since the plant will not absorb water as fast, so you don’t want to increase the likelihood of root rot if you leave the humidifier next to the plant for a long time.

How Often Should You Water an Urn Plant?

It is best to keep the plant’s center filled with water constantly. You want to water the plant every ten days during the growing season. If you see that the center of the plant is empty, fill it up again with water. A signal that the plant desires more water is if brown leaf tips form around the plant.

You can scale back how often you water the plant during winter. Since there won’t be as much growth, the plant won’t absorb water as fast. If you overwater the plant in the winter months, you run the risk of root rot since the plant won’t be drinking the excess water, and it will then sit at the bottom of the container with the root system.

What Size Does a Vase Plant Get to Typically?

A mature vase plant tends to grow 1-2 feet in height.

Most Common Bugs

Mealybugs are a common problem for this plant. If you notice these bugs on the plant, you can use a clean cloth with some water and insecticidal soap and gently remove the bugs away.

Most Common Diseases for the Plant

Root rot is a problem with this plant from overwatering it and not placing it in a container with drainage holes. If the plant has root rot, you will need to remove it from the soggy soil, remove the damaged roots, and then place it into fresh orchid mix soil.

Brown leaf tips signify that the plant is not receiving enough water, while brown spots on the leaves signal too much sunlight. If you see brown leaf tips, increase the watering amount at the center of the plant. Likewise, brown leaf tips mean that you need to put the plant in an area with less direct sunlight.

Can You Prune an Urn Plant?

If the plant starts forming brown leaves, you can cut those away to help preserve the plant’s energy for the rest of the healthy leaves.

Can You Propagate an Urn Plant?

You can propagate an urn plant when it starts to flower with the pups/offsets around the base of the plant. This flower sprout is the death phase of the plant when it creates pink flowers and blue flowers, but it also offers a time to propagate the plant to develop new plants.

Here are the propagation steps below to use on the mother plant.

Remove a 6-inch offset from the base of the plant
Place the new cutting into a pot that is a few inches deep
Place a clear plastic bag over the new cutting to create a hot and humid environment for the cutting
Put the container with the offset into an area that receives indirect light. Keep this cutting away from direct sunlight to scorch the bromeliad plant.
Give the cutting some water and let it settle.

Can You Repot an Urn Plant?

Since an urn plant has a shallow root system, it doesn’t need repotting. However, if you were to repot and divide the main plant into multiple containers of potting soil, you can do so by removing the pup from the mother plant to then plant them into small pots.

Where Does this Plant Originate from Initially?

An urn plant is native to the tropical rainforests of Brazil.

What USDA Hardiness Zone Works Best for an Urn Plant?

The hardiness zone that works best for this plant is 10b and 11.

Is it Toxic?

An urn plant is not toxic to pets or humans.

Conclusion: How to Take Care of an Urn Plant

In summary, an urn plant is one of those plants with a beautiful life cycle. After taking the proper care of the plant, it will reward you with stunning flowers that will last for a few months. Once the plant sprouts these flowers, you can then take the offsets and propagate them into new plants, which continues the circle of life!