Guzmania: plant transplant and home care
Content:
Florists continue to amaze with their desire to adapt more and more plants from tropical zones to Russian growing conditions. One of these is an indoor flower with red leaves on the top of the head called guzmania (less common is the pronunciation of "guzmania").
It is a wonderful plant with interesting oblong leaves. They are collected in a "bundle" at the root base. In the center of such a rosette there is a cone-shaped inflorescence.
Varieties
Due to the wide variety of species, flower growers and simple flower lovers will be able to choose exactly their option:
Guzmania
- Guzmania lingulata (Guzmania lingulata). It is she who can most often be found in apartments. A peculiarity of the species is the moment that when a flower prepares for flowering, its leaves change their shade, they become saturated in tone. At this time, small flowers begin to form in the leaf sinuses. When they fully open, they increase in size, the bracts become bright red, the buds themselves turn yellow. The decorativeness of a flower bush can last from 12 to 20 weeks.
- Guzmania Ostara. The species was bred thanks to the hard work of breeders. An interesting bud resembling a flowing fountain located in the central part of a rosette of leaves. The shiny leaf blade has a bright green tint. The decorativeness of the plant can persist for 6 months.
- Blood-red guzmania (Guzmania sanguinea). An interesting representative among the species of Guzmania. A feature of this plant is the color of the bracts: from purple to pink, as well as from green to variegated red. This guzmania begins to bloom in April, ends with the onset of autumn.
- Mosaic Guzmania (Guzmania musaica). This species has dense leaves (in other representatives they are thinner), on which stripes are clearly visible. At the top of the peduncle, 1 bud opens. The height of the peduncle can be from 80 to 100 cm. You can plant this flower in any soil, the main thing is not to overflow the plant when leaving.
Guzmania reed
- Guzmania conifera (Guzmania conifera). A cone-shaped bud of a bright red or orange tint at the base, acquiring a yellowish tone towards the top. Konifera is one of those varieties that is grown in homes in the Russian latitude.
- Guzmania Nicaraguensis. One of the low types of guzmania. Indoor flower that has a compact leaf rosette. In the center is a low peduncle with a bright red inflorescence.
Among all species, it is the ligulate guzmania that is widespread. Florists prefer to plant hybrid varieties of this variety at home. The most popular today are:
- Mix - buds can have a varied tone (from scarlet to pink and yellow);
- Minor - has deep red buds;
- Tempo is a hybrid similar to the Minor in color, but the flowers are much larger.
Home care
Guzmania is not particularly demanding, but some features of growth must be taken into account, especially if you plan to propagate the plant.
Optimum temperature for development
The room where the flower grows should always be warm. He feels best at temperatures from 22 to 28 degrees.A little worse, but a temperature drop of up to 18 degrees is acceptable for the plant.
Guzmania kids
Guzmania reacts more sharply to an increase in the optimal temperature regime and begins to signal discomfort in every possible way.
Illumination
The room where the guzmania grows should be light. It can be placed on a window or in a place where it is very light, but there is no intense sun rays. The bright sun can harm the flowers and leaves of the plant. Also, the scorching sun can lead to serious burns, which are very difficult for the plant to tolerate. Guzmania is restored after such damage for a long time.
Fertilizers and feeding
In stores, you can buy ready-made nutritional mixtures and supplements for Bromeliads. If there are no such ones, it is worth choosing those that do not contain boron and copper - they have a bad effect on the condition of the plant. When feeding a flower, it is worth reducing the dose from the recommended one on the package by half.
Guzmania shoots
This is due to the fact that the guzmania actively reacts to food, if you add too much of it, it can stop forming babies, and this can also lead to the discharge of inflorescences and wilting of leaves.
Soil and soil mixtures
The soil for guzmania should be loose and allow air to pass through well. It must be renewed every year by adding the top layer. There are many options for the composition of the soil mixture on the net, but the following are optimal for a plant:
- sphagnum roots (crushed) with the addition of fern (ratio 1 to 3);
- sphagnum, coniferous bark, sand, leafy soil (ratio 1: 2: 1: 2);
- sod coal, peat, sand, earth (it is desirable to use sod-clayey), (ratio: 2: 2: 1: 1);
- peat, humus, sand, sod land (ratio 4: 2: 1: 2).
Watering rules
Watering the plant is required only with warm water, while it must be filtered (without lime). Distilled water is best used. The frequency of watering is set depending on the choice of substrate. If mixtures are made on the basis of peat, sawdust or shavings, watering should be done 2-3 times a week. If the land for guzmania is made on an earth-sand base, the multiplicity may increase. As often as possible, you can water the guzmania - once a day.
Plant transplant rules
Mandatory transplantation is required after purchase. It is necessary to replace the substrate at home, as well as the pot.
When transplanting, it is necessary to perform the steps step by step so that subsequently there are no problems in care:
- Drainage is laid out at the bottom of the pot.
- Part of the substrate is poured over it.
- The plant is placed in a pot.
- It is sprinkled with the rest of the soil and compacted.
- Spilled with warm water.
- The flowerpot is put in a permanent place.
When growing a flower, some difficulties may arise - diseases. This usually happens because inexperienced growers do not know how to properly transplant guzmania at home. Recommendations for watering are not taken into account, which leads to stagnation of moisture and decay of roots.
Guzmania transplant
For this reason, the plant stops blooming, the color of the leaf plate changes, and it also does not multiply. As a result, if you do not take action, the flower dies. To restore the guzmania plant, transplanting into a new pot and new soil is the best solution to the problem.
Any transplants are best done in spring, you can do this in another season, if it is very necessary.
Blooming tropical flower
Depending on the species and variety, guzmania first begins to lay buds 3-6 years after planting. Flowering lasts from one to several months.
To speed up the appearance of the first buds, you can resort to some tricks. Place an apple slice in the soil where the flower grows, then cover with foil. After a while, the plant will begin to form flower stalks and buds. It is imperative to check the apple slice and polyethylene so that mold does not form on them.
Common breeding methods
Basically, the plant reproduces by dividing, but it is also possible to propagate the flower by seed. How to plant guzmania is described in the section "Reproduction by shoots".
Guzmania root rot
Seeds
Not everyone succeeds in collecting seeds on their own, therefore, when deciding the question: how to propagate guzmania with the help of seeds, you will have to look for seeds in stores.
Seeds are sown in boxes in peat soil. The surface of the substrate is sprayed with warm water.
Reproduction of guzmania
For the emergence of seedlings, it is necessary to place a container with seed in a room with an average temperature of 18 to 24 degrees.
By shoots
Before flowering, shoots are separated from an adult plant, they should be at least 15 cm. After a while, they will become young plants, if they are not planted in a timely manner, their formation can be observed on the mother flower.
Simple rules of care will allow you to grow a beautiful plant, as well as observe the decorative effect of the flower until it has time to bloom. Detailed information on how guzmania reproduces will allow you to breed the plant at home without problems.
