A Stroll Through The Garden: The beauty & benefits of Bromeliads

Last week a new friend and a reader of my column asked what she could do about the flu.

During the COVID-19 epidemic, I remembered being told about an unusual herbal remedy.

I experienced the combination of Quercetin and Bromelain to help combat all kinds of problems in the respiratory system.

My new friend and I talked about this experience and what I learned as I went through the COVID-19 years.  

While in the plant rental business, my dad and I included many bromeliads in the list of plants that we would circulate amongst our contracts.

During January through March, the bloom time of the bromeliads, we substituted these plants to add color to the arrangements.

One unusual challenge we would face with all our bromeliads was the watering technique.

We watered bromeliad from the top of the plant over the cup in the middle of the top of the plant.

Watering the roots in other ways can cause a form of rot. Many of the bromeliads in this family are tree-growing types of plants. Many bromeliads do not grow in the soil but in the crotches between two limbs.

The water they need to survive lands in the little cup inside the middle of the plant because they can’t get the water from the ground. A special term for these types of plants is epiphytes.

Pineapples are members of the Bromeliacea or the Bromeliad family. The pineapples at stores require plenty of sun for flower and fruit production.

Full sun means up to six hours of direct sunlight a day. Six hours is ideal for pineapple plants and other members of the family. Pineapple needs to grow in slightly acidic and rich organic matter.

Fertilizing the young pineapple requires a balanced fertilizer like 10 x 10 x 10 analysis every two months. The pineapple reaches its maturity between 14 to 18 months and produces a flowering stem.  A pineapple comes into bloom 50 days after the stem appears.

Each flower bloom lasts only for one day. What is unique about the pineapple is that it produces only one fruit per plant. Each pineapple grows 200 individual flowers. Each flower develops into berries that form under the gold scales.

These berries fuse into the yellow fleshed, juicy fruit that we enjoy. My parents grew pineapples in their greenhouse years ago.

Originally, pineapples were native to the South American jungles and found their way to Hawaii. The enzyme bromelain found in pineapples is the world’s richest source.

The yellow compound berry fruit of the pineapple contains six significant endopeptidases that help our bodies in many ways. Bromelain is a natural remedy that treats everything from indigestion to allergies.

Nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin B1, potassium, manganese, and many phytonutrients can be found in pineapples.

Doctors use bromelain to treat inflammation and swelling. Research reveals that it has fibrinolytic, antiedematous, and antithrombotic properties, which help prevent blood clots, edema, and swelling.

Historically, pineapple juice has been used as a meat tenderizer for many years. Bromelain can help soothe and relax tense and inflamed muscles and connective tissues.

This knowledge from research found evidence that this enzyme may stop lung metastasis, which means that bromelain can be used to treat a wide variety of diseases, potentially including cancer.

The scientific literature reveals 1,600 plus articles evaluating the medical benefits of bromelain. Research mentions over 14 significant areas in which Bromelain is medically effective.

In the medical community, pineapple is recognized as one of the top cancer-fighting tools.

If one suffers from digestive disorders, studies reveal that Bromelain is very effective at healing tissues within the gastrointestinal tract.

When suffering from arthritis, Bromelain’s anti-inflammatory properties make it a natural painkiller and an effective alternative to taking standard painkillers and helping after surgery.

Studies reveal that Bromelain helps modulate the entire immune system. This means one could treat allergies at their root causes of the hyperactive, oversensitive dendritic and antigen cells.

Our sinuses can have all kinds of problems this time of year. German studies reveal that Bromelain provides relief from chronic sinus problems. In the cold we have experienced recently, I find my hands bothered by arthritis and inflamed.

Bromelain powerfully combats or reduces chronic joint pain. People with weight problems will also benefit from Bromelain.

I hope you have a great stroll through your indoor or outdoor gardens this week. If you have challenges let me know by sending me an email at ericwlarson546@yahoo.com.

Thank you for participating in our column.