Yes, from a botanical perspective, the individual Guzmania plant that has produced a flower spike will indeed die. This is not due to disease or poor health, but is a predetermined genetic strategy known as monocarpy. The plant's sole purpose, from an evolutionary standpoint, is to flower, set seed, and ensure the propagation of its genetic line. Once this primary mission is accomplished, the mother plant's life cycle is complete.
Guzmania, like all bromeliads in its subfamily, is monocarpic. This means it flowers once, sets seed, and then dies. The entire lifespan of the plant, which can be several years, is dedicated to gathering enough energy and resources through photosynthesis to produce a spectacular, often long-lasting inflorescence. This brilliant display is designed to attract pollinators. After pollination (though many indoor varieties are sterile), the plant would typically direct its remaining energy into seed production. Once this process is finalized, a hormonal signal triggers the systematic senescence, or death, of the original rosette. It is a planned and natural conclusion to its life, not a sudden failure.
Crucially, the death of the mother plant is not the end of the line. Before, during, and after the flowering process, the plant initiates its secondary survival strategy: vegetative reproduction via offsets, commonly called "pups." As the mother plant begins its flowering phase, it redirects energy and hormones, such as auxins and cytokinins, to stimulate the growth of adventitious buds from meristematic tissue at the base of the plant, often hidden within the leaf axils.
These pups are genetically identical clones of the parent plant. They initially draw nutrients and water directly from the mother plant's weakening system. As they grow, they will also begin to absorb moisture through their own developing central cup (vase) and roots. A pup is generally ready for propagation when it is approximately one-third to one-half the size of the mother plant and has developed its own root system. This typically takes 3 to 6 months. To separate, the entire plant cluster is removed from its pot. Using a sharp, sterile knife, the pup is cut away from the mother, ensuring a clean cut that includes some of the pup's nascent roots. The wound can be dusted with cinnamon to prevent fungal infection before the new plant is potted independently.
The separated pup is then potted in a well-draining, acidic bromeliad or orchid mix. It will mature over the next 1-3 years, eventually receiving the correct environmental cues—often a combination of maturity, light exposure, and possibly ethylene gas—to initiate its own flower spike, thus repeating the entire cycle. The original mother plant, having successfully created the next generation, will completely brown and wither, at which point it can be discarded.
