Name: Sally central Maryland (Zone 7b) See you in the funny papers!
One opinion here.
Don't rush to separate anything. The mother may simply gradually yellow.
Basing this on my long experience with another ( Billbergia) which also blooms, makes two pups, and the mother gradually looks worn out, faded leaves, and can be cut off.
The usual rule of thumb with Bromeliads is to wait until the offsets ("pups") are approximately 1/3 the size of the mother plant before removing them and potting them up on their own.
Your Scarlet Star (Guzmania lingulata) is a monocarpic plant, meaning that the mother plant will slowly die but the dying process can sometimes take many months and the original plant may continue to produce additional offsets during that time. I never discard mine until they are totally brown, crispy dead but I'm in Florida and mine stay outside year round.
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stefaniezamm said: My lovely Star has lost her flower. She's made two pups which look ready to bloom.
I can separate the pups into two separate pots, but what shall I do with mummy? Re pot her? Or does she retire now?
Your Guzmania Bromeliad looks good and healthy. I agree with not removing the pups from the mother plant at this time. I would just leave them in the pot and wait out the mother plant fading out naturally. Mom may still give you more pups. If you decide to remove the pups they should be atleast 1/3 -1/2 the adult size.
Now the bad news. The pups are not getting ready to flower. Guzmania pups on average take 3+ years to mature and flower.
As has been said, you have a Guzmania lingulata which is a member of the bromeliad family. If you do a Google search for 'Guzmania care' you should get all the information you need.
Depending on your location it should be in as much filtered sunlight as possible. No direct sun.
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