Pull any leaves off to get a clear view of the pup. Push your thumb between the mum & pup and slowly push down. Your pup probably will not have roots. I usually take pups off when they are 1/3 size of the mother.
You can let the pup dry for a few days before repotting but I pot straight away without any bad results.

thank you very much.for the reply, i guess i'll put the pup in a 5 inch pot, the parent came in a 4 incher and it grew to 9 inches tall and 1 ft wide.

the smaller one is 2 inches tall, should that one also be removed? i'll definetely remove the taller within a day.

what will the parent plant normally do once the central stalk dries up a bit? will the plant get larger in size or slowly continue to dry up?

This post was edited by x207 on Tue, Apr 2, 13 at 11:00

I would leave the small pup grow to at least 1/3 size of mum before removing. Has your plant flowered? If not just put it back in the pot. If it has flowered mum will slowly die but may put out a few more pups before she is finished. Weather permitting you could plant it under a shady tree.
To remove the leaves easily, split up the middle and pull from either side.

it seems my plant has flowered before i purchased it. it never had flowers when i had it and was in between the stage after flower die off and the start of pup growth. the lager pup is only starting its exterior leaves atm and hasnt started a central stalk. its a pink coloure Guzmania, ive put a pic in this forum but cant find that thread anymore. it already had a dried up central flower spire. it might give another pup, but it started dying sometime after the 2nd pup.

ive purchased a 5 inch cactus style pot, cleaned with 10% vleach solution and left it to dry. tomorow i'll wash it with an unscented soap and transplant the larger pup into it.

Hi X207,

If you search for your user id (x207), you can find your prior posts. :) I linked the one with the photo below. What a beautiful plant!

Carol in Jacksonville

Here is a link that might be useful: tips on bromeliad care and pup separation

thank you very much, im used to posting on slightly more user friendly forum engines. this forum engine is a bit more simplistic and its a bit harder to get used to.

its a bit sad to know the parent plant will die out soon though its done well in my care and the pups should do just fine.

Your pups may flower next year but some do take 2yrs.

thank you very much. thats a pretty long wait though theres no point in trying to rush nature. im in for the long wait as it is, i do have 1 phal orchid as it is.

it was a bit tricky to remain gentle when removing the pup but i dont think ive done any damage. i did remove 1 leaf from the 1st pup but thats all.

ive just separated the larger pup into its 5inch pot. theres only the smaller pup. the smaller one has 5 leaves, the tallest leaf is 4 inches. i dont have a spare pot atm but i'll wait for the leaves to get a bit taller for the time being.

i might just leave pup #2 in and let the parent plant die if it doesnt show signs of a 3rd pup. if possible i'll let the 2nd pup take the parent's pot. i dont have much space for more small pots atm, i have around 15 pots that are 8 inches and smaller.

Thats fine. When the pup is big enough to take off reuse your pot with fresh mixture.
Weather permitting you can plant the mum in filtered light under a tree.

thank you very much, it'll be a problem if im even able to put the parent behind a tree. my parents' front garden get direct light but i might find a spot behind some plants. i'll see how far gone the parent is when the 2nd pup is ready to take over the pot.