The guzmania flower came from the rainforests, it is distinguished by long dark green leaves forming a rosette, due to which there is no stem. Bright bracts coming from the center also attract attention. They delight the eye for up to five months, which gives the flower a special charm. Guzmania is a common option for landscaping offices, apartments due to its attractive appearance and unpretentiousness.
Guzmania (gusmania): home care
Tropical indoor flowers due to the thermophilic require maintenance at a temperature of 17-20 ° C. Guzmania does not tolerate drafts, open sunlight, preferring content in ambient light. To maintain optimal conditions, it is also necessary to provide the correct watering and humidity level. You can buy a ready-made pot or plant a shoot from the mother plant.
The appearance of guzmania
Flowering Care
The plant is characterized by flowering for 15-17 weeks, so this stage is especially important. In nature, a flower lives on the bark of other trees, receiving nutrition from them. It refers to epiphytes, that is, it receives moisture from the air. The flowering period begins in the plant after 3-4 years from the start of growth.
Temperature and humidity
Guzmania, home care during the active period, which is distinguished by requirements for high temperature and humidity, will delight in the end with its flowering. When the first buds open, the first parameter should not be lower than 25 ° C. Directly during the active period, the temperature can be reduced to 20 ° C.
Humidity is provided by daily irrigation with warm filtered or distilled water. The bract area should be avoided so as not to shorten the flowering period. A pot of water is placed near the pot to nourish aerial roots.
Important! The higher the room temperature, the more humidity should be.
How to water indoor guzmania flowers
Water should not be cold, so it must be defended in advance. During the warm season, the soil should also be moist, but water should not stagnate in the sump. In summer, feeding and watering gusmania is best in the center of the outlet. As a rule, watering once a week is enough.
Indoor plants, such as guzmania, are sensitive to the presence of lime and chlorine in the water, so it must be cleaned. As the liquid is absorbed into the substrate, it is added. 2 times a month, the water from the outlet is completely drained and replaced with a new one.
Top dressing
It is enough to feed gusmania once every 3-4 weeks. For nutrition, you should choose options designed for the Bromeliad family, with a low nitrogen content, without phosphate and nitrate. When dissolving fertilizer, you need to apply a dosage 2 times less than indicated in the instructions.
How often does guzmania bloom
The plant blooms once in a lifetime, then dies. Guzmania breeding occurs by transplanting daughter shoots. They are separated and transplanted, after a designated period of time with proper care, they bloom. It usually takes 3-4 years from the start of growth.
Guzmania blooms 1 time after 3-4 years from planting
Dormant care
How to care for decorative guzmania depends on the time of year. There is no clearly expressed dormant period; the host creates it involuntarily as daylight hours decrease. During it, the plant does not need active care and intensive watering.
Watering mode
During the forced dormant period, which lasts from October to February, watering is reduced to 1 time in 2 weeks. Water still needs to be defended, but the pot is not removed from a bright place. If necessary, the culture provides artificial lighting for 7-8 hours. Spraying and feeding are not used.
Temperature mode
In the cold period, the temperature can be reduced to 18-20 ° C. A short time of gusmania can withstand up to 13 ° C, but under such conditions it is highly likely that it will refuse to bloom or let out vegetative shoots.
Guzmania transplant at home
As a rule, a plant is bought already flowering, so you do not need to transplant it immediately. Then, at the end of the active period, the transplant is transferred to a wide shallow container (a suitable diameter of about 15 cm). The soil should consist of several components:
- peat;
- humus;
- coarse sand;
- turf;
- loam.
In order not to mess with the selection of soil composition, it is best to buy ready-made for bromeliad varieties, an alternative is the soil for orchids. At the bottom of the tank, place a drainage layer at ¼ of the volume (2-4 cm). As it is used shards from a clay pot, porous stones. Due to this, the roots are ventilated, do not rot, do not retain excess moisture.
If the plant enters the apartment before flowering, then it can be transplanted before the vegetative period during the appearance of the receptacle, and then if the transport pot is too small. Change the soil where the flower grows, you need every 2-3 years, or if the soil is acidified.
Plant transplant by dividing the mother bush
If you need to transplant an existing plant into a large container, then it is taken out of the old flowerpot, the ground is shaken from the roots and sprinkled with earth in a new pot.
Guzmania breeding
Growing a flower implies several ways of obtaining offspring:
- by dividing an adult bush;
- from seeds;
- when children sit down.
In the axils of the leaves, shoots gradually appear. When they reach a height of several centimeters, you need to push the surrounding tissue, expose the "baby". Detachment of the shoot occurs with a sharp knife. The place where the separation occurred is treated with garden var. The sprout can be lowered into a glass of warm water in which activated carbon is dissolved. After 5-7 days, it takes root. When there are several, you can root the shoot into the ground.
As the daughter grows, it overgrows with an individual root system. When the length of each process reaches 2 cm, they can be separated.
Shoots need to be transplanted into a substrate consisting of a mixture of sand, pine bark and leafy soil. He needs a high temperature (26-28 ° C) and a cap that shades the space.
Sprout transplantation is a more popular method of propagation than by seed. The second way is a long and laborious process. It implies rooting in the soil, consisting of a mixture of peat and sand. On the eve of planting, the seeds are soaked in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Then they are dried, laid out on the soil, without pressing. Thanks to this, seeds can constantly receive sunlight.
Germination requires a temperature of 22-24 ° C, spraying and ventilation. Before the germ appears, at least 20 days must pass. Shoots require diving after 2 months, they need to be planted in six months.
Important! Such a bush begins to produce flowers after 5 years.
Guzmania diseases
If you follow all the recommendations for caring for guzmania, then it will grow in time, bloom and delight with new shoots. But in some cases, the plant begins to languish, for which there are several reasons:
- excess watering;
- fungus spread;
- sunburn;
- wrong choice of water for irrigation;
- lack of nutrients.
The first is evidenced by the fact that in the center the sheet is wrinkled, dark spots appear, water remains in the pan, the substrate is noticeably wet.
Guzmania diseases, external manifestations
If a fungus has gone along the plant, then the leaves are covered with a gray coating. The reasons for the spread of the microorganism are too high temperature and humidity in the room.
If there are brown spots on the surface, this means that the flower stands in a sunny place and gets burned. The tips of the leaves dry if the plant is watered with hard or cold water, without upholding it.
If guzmania receives less useful substances, then it stops releasing daughter shoots. If the leaves are soft, then she does not have enough heat. Some of these problems are eliminated by the use of special medicinal formulations, others as the elimination of adverse factors. Another dilemma faced by gardeners is pests. There are several types of insects that infect epiphytes.
Note! After flowering, the maternal shoot dies. This is a natural process that does not depend on the competence of care.
Pest damage can be suspected for several reasons:
- the leaf becomes covered with yellow spots, and then completely turns yellow and falls off;
- if the sprout has brown convex plaques;
- a whitish fluff forms on the surface.
These are the most common traces of plant pests. In the first case, we are talking about a spider mite. You can get rid of it by treating the sprouts with a solution of laundry soap.
The appearance of brown plaques indicates a defeat of the bromeliad scale. It is harvested by hand, and then the flower is treated with an insecticide solution suitable for indoor species.
If a white fluff is visible on the surface of the leaf, then these are symptoms of the growth of powdery mealybug. Flowers need to be treated with a solution of actara, actellica, bankola.
Guzmania Mix, Minor, Tempo: how to care at home
Not many species of plants were able to take root at home. Which variety to choose depends on the individual preferences of the grower. Most often in the store you can find such as Guzmania Mix, Minor, Tempo. The first variety was created by breeders, so it combines the characteristics of several plant species. Guzmania Mix does not have the features of home care. The peduncle of the plant is red, yellow or burgundy. Propagated only by seeds, at a cost slightly higher than other species, is 500-2000 rubles *.
The appearance of guzmania Mix
Guzmania varieties Minor - a product of crossing a reed type of plant. It is notable for its low growth of up to 25 cm, and its miniature color. The top is bright red, inside of which is a white middle, towering above the outlet.
Guzmania Tempo is similar to Minor, but differs in a large peduncle, long leaves of light green color with white splashes. For these varieties, general care recommendations are suitable.
Guzmania Ostara and Amaretto
The second grade is distinguished by shoots 30-50 cm long. The leaves are narrow, not large. Receptacle high, bright color. This is a hybrid derived from two other species.
Variety Amaretto propagated only by germination of seeds. It refers to reed species. The length of the plant reaches 45 cm. Flowers can be pink or red. Flowering begins later than other varieties - in February or March.
In total, about 130 species of guzmania are known, of which indoor species are selectively bred, which bloom for up to five months, after which the maternal individual dies, leaving several processes. Subject to high optimum conditions, it does not require special care, although it is whimsical to the quality of water. It attracts with appearance due to the pineal receptacle, which has a color from yellow to burgundy.
* Prices are for July, 2019.
