If you have a Pink Quill and you’re in love with that incredible hot pink flower it produces, you might be worried to see it start turning green.
After all, the major attraction of Pink Quills (apart from their beautiful foliage) is that striking and extraordinary flower.
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Why Is My Pink Quill Turning Green?
Your Pink Quill is turning green because it has finished flowering and come to the end of its lifecycle.
This is a natural part of flowering, and the quill will usually remain for up to a couple of months, and then begin to brown and die.
Pink Quills get their extraordinary color by producing red pigments for their flower.
The quill that rises from the plant is the beginning of the flower stock.
The pink-colored quill itself is not the flower.
Two little purple flowers usually bloom on either side of it.
When the flowers have finished, the plant stops producing these pigments, and chlorophyll takes over, affecting its color and causing it to turn green.
These plants have a fairly short lifespan and if your quill has started to turn green, it means that your plant is coming to the end of its lifecycle.
But Pink Quills normally don’t die without leaving offspring (pups).
You should find pups somewhere within the plant’s leaves.
The quill should now be removed, as it is just wasting energy that the pups could otherwise be getting.
Related Article: Why Are My Bromeliads Leaves Curling?
Can I Stop My Pink Quill Losing Its Vibrant Pink Flower?
There isn’t anything you can do to stop your Pink Quill from losing its pink color or even to slow it down.
It’s a natural part of the plant’s flowering process and needs to happen.
The quill has served its purpose and is no longer needed.
When To Remove Your Pink Quill’s Flowers
You should remove the flower head when it starts to turn yellow or brown.
At this point, it is at risk of rotting, which could damage the health of the plant.
It will also keep using nutrients that the plant needs for other things.
Cut it away using scissors or shears, as snapping it could damage the plant.
Will My Pink Quill Bloom Again?
You may well know that Pink Quills take about four years to flower, so you might be wondering if you’re going to get more flowers, or if that’s it.
Well, it’s a bit of both.
The mother plant is dying now, as it has fulfilled its purpose, but it will put its energy into producing babies.
These babies are often called “pups” and will grow into new Pink Quills, which will produce their own flowers in time.
A pup will usually appear after a couple of months.
You can choose to leave pups attached to the mother plant, or remove them and plant them elsewhere as new plants.
How Do I Remove And Re-plant Pink Quill Pups?
If you’ve decided to remove the pups, you’ll have to follow a process – don’t just snap them off and stick them in some compost and hope for the best.
You must leave a pup attached to the mother plant for a while, as it is getting energy and nutrients from this connection, and will die if it is severed too soon.
You should wait until the pup is about half the size of the mother before removing it and replanting it.
If you wait longer, the pup will mature faster, but you will get fewer pups in total.
Decide whether you want lots of little plants, or just a few mature ones – or a mixture.
To remove a pup, you should use sharp shears to cut the connection as close to the mother plant as possible.
Place the pup in some potting compost and consider adding rooting hormone.
The compost should have plenty of drainage.
Water the pup lightly, and wait to see if it takes.
It should start to grow roots of its own fairly quickly, and if so, you have a new Pink Quill!
A pup that has snapped may struggle to root well, but some can be saved.
You should let the broken end harden a little before attempting to plant it, and use rooting hormone to boost its chances.
You may find that it won’t grow, however, and that you need to get new pups from the mother instead.
How Long Does A Pink Quill Last?
A Pink Quill usually only flowers once and can live for about four years before it blooms.
These plants usually reach maturity between two and four years of age, they then flower, produce offspring, and die.
After flowering, the mother plant begins to die and will begin using nutrients to produce offspring (pups).
The pups will eventually grow into flowering plants, and the cycle will repeat itself.
Final Thoughts
If your Pink Quill is turning green, it is sadly reaching the end of its flowering stage, and indeed the end of the main plant’s life.
If you want to continue your Pink Quill’s legacy, you will need to provide care to the pups to ensure that they grow into healthy Pink Quills, either alongside the mother plant or independently.
Remove the flower stock to avoid it taking nutrients from the plant, and look forward to the next generation of amazing pink flowers.
