By Johntruro
United Kingdom 
my son bought me an aechmea and its been lovely ,but all at once the centre stalk has gone brown,when I water and fill the rosette sometimes the pot is very damp like overwatering,and im afraid of doing the wrong thing and I may have potted it in the wrong soil and so far ive not fed it please help.
1 Nov, 2014
Answers
In my experience, they need an extremely fast draining compost, similar to those used for cactus or Cymbidium orchids. Also, when you fill the center "vase", just let the water sit for a few hours, then empty it, to prevent rot. Since the flower stalk has died, it should start producing plantlets from the base, which will take 2 years to grow to blooming size.
1 Nov, 2014
Remember they are air plants so the compost should not be kept wet. there are several sites on Google that advise you on care.
1 Nov, 2014