Ehmeya flower - care and reproduction at home

Ehmeya is a flower that belongs to the Bromeliad family. This genus includes 180 types of crops. Under natural conditions, they most often grow in America. Now this culture began to be grown at home, since it has a beautiful flowering and is unpretentious to care for.

What does it look like, which family it belongs to

Ehmeya is an epiphyte that belongs to the Bromeliad family and is the closest relative of pineapple. The crop is considered a perennial plant that has long, leathery leaves.

Ehmeya is a beautiful ornamental plant

When growing at home, the flower does not exceed 30-90 cm in height. Its leaves reach 20-50 cm. They have small denticles at the edges. The leaves form a round funnel with a rosette in the center. From above, they are covered with randomly located stripes and spots.

Briefly about the history of appearance

The plant originated in South America - Mexico in particular. In this region, it grows by fixing itself on trees. The flower feeds on water and humus, which accumulates in the outlet.

Despite the region of growth, the culture has a Greek name. Its meaning is “tip of the peak”. It is interesting that the namesake of the exotic plant was the hero of the popular film - Prince Ehmeya of the Land of Gems.

Features of home care

In order for a beautiful ehmea to grow, home care must be comprehensive.

Temperature

The plant is native to warm regions, so it is considered thermophilic. In summer, he needs a temperature of + 20-26 degrees, in winter - from + 17-18 degrees.

Lighting

Indoor flower can be placed in different places in the room. It develops normally on a well-lit windowsill and tolerates partial shade well. It is undesirable to put ehmeya on the north window. In this case, there is a risk of a lack of lighting. It should be compensated with phytolamps. The lack of light is accompanied by a change in the color of the leaves. He becomes paler and more expressionless.

Watering

The culture needs full soil moisture. From mid-spring to early autumn, the flower should be watered at least three times a week with settled water. The liquid must also be poured into the flower outlet. In winter, the amount of watering is reduced.

Spraying

The plant belongs to epiphytes. This means that its roots are mostly used for fastening. The leaves are responsible for the nutrition of the exotic flower, therefore the main watering for the ehmeya plant is spraying. In autumn and winter, this procedure is carried out less often, but it is not recommended to completely exclude it.

Humidity

To maintain normal moisture around the flower, it needs to be sprayed every day. In summer, it is recommended to place the pot on a pallet with damp stones. Of no small importance is the systematic ventilation of the premises where the culture grows.

Priming

When choosing a soil for ehmea, preference should be given to light and airy soil that does not retain water. It is best to mix sod and leafy soil in equal proportions. Also, half of the sand and humus should be added to the composition. To make the soil more airy, it is required to add bark, sphagnum, charcoal.

Top dressing

From April to September, striped ehmeya needs additional feeding. Fertilizers are recommended to be applied every 10-14 days. For this, mineral products intended for Bromeliads are suitable. The liquid fertilizer should be divided into 2 parts. One of them is poured into the ground, the second into an outlet.

Is the flower poisonous or not

Many people consider the plant to be poisonous because its sap can burn the skin. This must be taken into account when caring for striped echmea at home. The transplantation and propagation of the culture is performed with gloves.

When and how it blooms

The plant has an attractive flowering. To make a bush bloom, you need to properly care for it.

How does ehmeya bloom? On a massive peduncle that resembles an arrow, inflorescences appear in the form of an ear or panicle. The bract looks more impressive than the flowers themselves. It can have a rich red or pink color.

Flowering period

Flowering is observed at the 5th year of the plant's life. When rooting daughter rosettes, flowers appear in 2-3 years. Under natural conditions, they can be present for up to six months. At home, they fade pretty quickly. The bracts, on which the fruits are formed, remain the longest.

The plant is characterized by lush flowering

Pruning

Echmea care does not require systematic pruning. The leaves of the culture are responsible for its nutrition. If healthy foliage is removed, the crop may die.

How does it multiply

Since the rosette dies after the wilting of the inflorescences, breeders are forced to systematically propagate the culture. This is a fairly simple process, since the children take root without any problems.

Propagation by cuttings

It will not be possible to trim the stalk for cultivation. It has a small stem that will not grow. Moreover, the plant will die immediately. Therefore, the reproduction of echmea is carried out by shoots. After the flowering of the mother plant is complete, the rosette gives birth to children and dies. The wilting process is slow. During this period, children grow stronger and stronger.

It is necessary to separate the daughter outlet from the common roots at the moment when it reaches 2/3 of the height of the mother culture. To reproduce a flower, you need to do the following:

1. Remove the plant from the pot and remove the soil.
2. Make a cut that minimally damages the baby's roots.
3. Sprinkle the affected area with charcoal or chalk.
4. Fill a pot with a diameter of 10 cm with a nutrient medium.
5. Plant the baby and cover her with a jar or bag. It is important to ventilate the plant every day.
6. It is necessary to constantly maintain the moisture content of the soil and protect the echmeya from direct sunlight.
7. After 20 days, it is worth checking the growth of the roots.
8. If they have begun their development, the pot should be put in a new place and the culture should be fully cared for.

When the bush grows, it will need to be transplanted. If several children were planted, they need to be seated.

Reproduction by layering

Ehmeya is not propagated in this way. The stem of the culture does not bend and does not form aerial roots. It is best to breed the plant with offspring.

Ehmeya is propagated by offspring

Transfer

The culture is not recommended to be repotted frequently. With the help of the roots, she receives a minimum of nutrition. It is recommended to move the culture to a new place once every 3 years.

Possible growing problems

When breeding crops, there is a risk of various problems. Most often they are caused by a violation of the rules for caring for the plant.

Why doesn't the flower bloom

Reasons for the lack of flowering:

• insufficient illumination;
• low humidity level during the period of active development of culture;
• temperature is less than +18 degrees or more than +35;
• the influence of direct sunlight;
• strong soil moisture - stagnant water provokes the process of rotting of the root system.

To activate the flowering process, you can resort to the following measures:

• Place chopped apples or bananas in moist soil. As the fruits deteriorate, change them to fresh ones.
• Provide greenhouse conditions for the culture. To do this, cover it with a glass jar or bag. It is important that the temperature in the greenhouse is at least +25 degrees.
• Systematically ventilate the plant and control soil moisture.

On average, resuscitation measures allow you to get a peduncle within 10 days.

Why do ehmeas turn yellow, dry and fall off the leaves

Most often, the leaves of the culture turn yellow due to the development of fungal infections. When root rot appears, yellowing and death of leaves is observed. During this period, the root system of the plant darkens and rots.

If the rules of care are violated, the plant suffers from fungal infections.

Timely diagnostics helps prevent plant death. To do this, you need to pull it out of the soil, inspect the root system and cut off the affected fragments.

The plant should then be transplanted into new soil and moved to a warm and well-lit area. In case of significant damage, you can cut off the top of young branches. This will help conserve plant vigor.

Pests

Ehmeya can suffer from various pests. These include ticks, scale insects, scale insects. To cope with parasites, they are treated with soapy water. If it does not help, it is necessary to resort to the use of insecticides.

Other problems

Violation of the rules for caring for a plant provokes a loss of foliage decorativeness and the development of diseases:

• The appearance of dryness on the surface of the leaves. This indicates insufficient air humidity.
• Shriveled leaves. This indicates a moisture deficit. If after watering they have not recovered, then there are problems with the root system.
• Yellowing of leaves and loss of variegated pattern. Such signs indicate a lack of lighting.
• Leaves and stems affected by rot. In this case, the roots of the plant cannot be saved. Such problems are associated with excess moisture and low temperatures.

Violation of the recommendations of florists provokes a change in the color of the leaves

Plant species

Types of ehmea:

1. Ehmeya striped or fasciata. It is a beautiful ornamental plant reaching 60 cm in height. It is characterized by belt-like leaves, which are covered with blurred stripes. With proper care, Ehmeya Primera, or Fasciata aechmea, can bloom throughout the summer.
2. Sparkling Ehmeya or Blue Rain. It is characterized by compact size and light green foliage. Ehmeya variety Blue Rhine has paniculate inflorescences with many small blue flowers and coral bracts.
3. Two-tone ehmeya. It is the most resistant to external influences variety with unusual color of foliage. They are green at the top and reddish-purple at the bottom. The flowers have a red-pink tint.
4. Ehmey Weilbach. This plant is characterized by an original transition in shades of foliage. They are red-green at the base, the rest has the usual green tint. The bushes reach a height of 50 cm. They are characterized by bright racemose inflorescences. The bracts are red and the flowers are blue.
5. Ehmeya is tailed or bearded. This small crop has a compact rose with a rich green color. The flower is characterized by red-orange bracts.The flowers have a golden hue.

Many varieties of the plant are known

Ehmeya is a beautiful ornamental plant that is often grown by flower growers. In order for the culture to please with abundant flowering as long as possible, it needs to be provided with high-quality care.