Guzmania is the bromeliad you most often see in full color: a rosette of smooth, strappy green leaves surrounding a torch of brightly colored bracts in red, orange, yellow, pink, or purple. That central torch is not a fleeting flower; the bracts hold their color for months.

Give it bright, indirect light and pour water into the central cup as well as lightly into the mix, flushing the cup now and then so it stays fresh. Average home temperatures suit it. After the long display fades, the mother plant produces pups at its base that grow on into the next generation.