Diagnose: Bromeliad Center Rot

1. Crown decay when the inner leaves are soft and pull loose
2. Smell the center and touch only the visible edge of the damaged tissue. A sour odor, water-soaked dark leaf bases, and an inner leaf that releases with almost no resistance mean the growing point is failing. If the newest leaves remain firmly attached, tip the old water out of a tank-forming rosette and inspect for a decaying flower stalk or trapped debris before assuming the crown is lost. Dry firm damage at the far ends of leaves belongs to brown tip diagnosis, not center rot.

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