Aechmea fasciata

Aechmea fasciata (silver vase, urn plant) is a species of flowering plant in the bromeliad family, native to Brazil. This plant is probably the best known species in this genus, and it is often grown as a houseplant in temperate areas. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
It sometimes takes a year or two to flower fully, but it grows easily and can last a surprisingly long time.

The plant grows slowly, reaching 30–90 cm (12–35 in) in height, with a spread of up to 60 cm (24 in). It has elliptic–oval-shaped leaves 45–90 cm (18–35 in) long and arranged in a basal rosette pattern.

A. fasciata requires partial shade and a well-drained, but moisture-retentive soil. It can also be grown epiphytically, as, for example, with moss around its roots and wired to rough bark. Root rot can be a problem if the soil is too moist.

Small insects and mosquitos will sometimes breed in the pools of water that are trapped between the leaves.

A. fasciata is listed in the FDA Poisonous Plant Database under the section for "Skin irritating substances in plants" and is known to cause contact dermititis, phytophoto dermatitis, and contact allergy.

Aechmea fasciata Care Instructions
Light
Bright indirect sunlight is required, more so if you are attempting to grow the plant to flowering stage. Avoid exposure to direct sunlight or you risk scorching the leaves and permanently ruining the plant's appearance.

Watering
Be careful not to over water an Urn Plant at any time. Keep the central vase filled with water, emptying and refill every couple of months. The vase is the central container from which the flower bract emerges from, in the center of the plant.

If the vase is filled then you only need to water the compost when it dries out, otherwise maintain moist soil conditions.

Humidity
Mist the leaves occasionally during warm months. Otherwise humidity is not important in standard homes. If you have very dry air you will need to mist more often to keep the leaves looking their best.

Temperature
If given a choice Urn Plants prefer warmer conditions, but they're not especially fussy about temperature. They are fine from 15°C to 21°C

Propagation
The Urn Plant will eventually produce offsets around the base of its stem, called pups.This usually starts to end it's flowering cycle offsets will appear around the base. Once the flowering bract and the adult plant starts to decline you can remove the offsets, trying to retain some of their roots. Pot up into a small pot using normal compost and treat just as you did the adult plant.

Speed of Growth
Urn Plants are normally slow growers, especially the mature ones. Young plants are likely to grow faster. 

Height / Spread
Given the right conditions, it can grow to be around 70cm / 28in and the spread 60cm / 2ft.

Flowers
Although it's the flowering bract which is the show stopper, the true flowers are actually very small and short lived. They are normally blue and cautiously poke out of the bright pink flowering bract so they can be hard to spot at a causal glance. It's usual to buy Urn Plants already at flowering stage, however if you are growing a young plant, you can expect them to appear once it's about five years old.