I grow a lot of bromeliads, and have perhaps 200 of them. I don't worry about dumping the water out of their "urns". Can you imagine how much time that would take? All I care about is that the urns always have some water in them, and I liberally water my plants every week, letting the excess water spill over into the potting soil. Even though the soil is more for anchorage than for nourishment, keeping it moist seems to make the plants happy. Those that grow their plants in tropical or sub-tropical areas, and can leave them out all year, would perhaps tell you not to fertilize the bromeliads. I have to bring mine in for 4-5 months over the winter, so I fertilize mine during the spring/summer/early fall with 1/2 strength general purpose fertilizer. I don't fertilize them at all during the fall and winter months. I think the light fertilizing helps them through the "indoor months". A lot of my bromeliads are mounted, and they need watering and fertilizing even more often than the potted ones.
