Florists continue to amaze with their desire to adapt more and more plants from tropical zones to Russian growing conditions. One of them is a room flower with red leaves on the top of the head called guzmania (the pronunciation "gusmania" is less common).
This is a beautiful plant with interesting oblong leaves. They are collected "bunch" at the basal 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 reed (Guzmania lingulata). It is her most often found in apartments. A feature of the species is the moment that when the flower is preparing for flowering, its leaves undergo a change in shade, they become saturated in tone. At this time, small flowers begin to form in the leaf sinuses. When they are fully opened, they increase in size, the bracts acquire a bright red color, the buds themselves turn yellow. The decorativeness of the flower bush can last from 12 to 20 weeks.
- Guzmania Ostara. The view was deduced thanks to the hard work of breeders. An interesting bud is reminiscent of a flowing fountain located in the central part of a rosette of leaves. Shiny leaf blade has a bright green tint. The decorativeness of the plant is able to persist for 6 months.
- Guzmania blood red (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. This guzmania begins to bloom in April, and ends with the onset of autumn.
- Guzmania mosaic (Guzmania musaica). This species has dense leaves (other representatives have thinner leaves), on which stripes are clearly visible. At the top of the peduncle, 1 bud opens. The flower stalk height can be from 80 to 100 cm. You can plant this flower in any soil, the main thing is not to overfill the plant when leaving.
Guzmania reed
- Guzmania Conifer (Guzmania conifera). Cone-shaped bud of bright red or orange tint at the base, acquiring a yellowish tone towards the apex. Konifer is one of those varieties that is grown in houses in Russian latitude.
- Guzmania Nicaraguan (Guzmania Nicaraguensis). One of the low species 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 precisely reed guzmania. Florists prefer to plant hybrid varieties of this variety at home. The most popular today are:
- Mix - buds can have a different tone (from scarlet to pink and yellow);
- Minor - has rich red buds;
- Tempo is a hybrid similar in color to the Minor, 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 it is planned to propagate the plant.
Optimal temperature for development
In the room where the flower grows, it should always be warm. He feels best at a temperature of 22 to 28 degrees. A slightly worse, but acceptable for the plant temperature drop to 18 degrees.
Guzmania kids
Guzmania reacts more sharply to an increase in the optimum temperature regime and begins to signal discomfort in every possible way.
Illumination
In the room where guzmania grows, it should be light. It can be put on a window or in a place where it is very light, but there are no intense rays of the sun. Bright sunshine can harm the flowers and leaves of the plant. Also, the scorching sun can lead to serious burns, which the plant suffers very hard. Guzmania is restored after such damage for a long time.
Fertilizers and fertilizing
In stores, you can buy ready-made nutritional mixtures and top dressing for the Bromeliad. If such were not found, it is worth choosing those that do not contain boron and copper - they badly affect the condition of the plant. When feeding a flower, it is worth halving the dose recommended on the package.
The processes of guzmania
This is due to the fact that guzmania actively reacts to food, if you add too much of it, it can stop forming children, it can also lead to the dumping of inflorescences and wilting of leaves.
Soil and soil mixtures
The soil for guzmania should be loose and pass air well. It needs to be updated every year, adding the top layer. There are many options for the composition of the soil mixture in the network, but the following are optimal for the plant:
- sphagnum roots (ground) with the addition of fern (1 to 3 ratio);
- sphagnum, coniferous plant bark, sand, leafy soil (ratio 1: 2: 1: 2);
- sod coal, peat, sand, earth (preferably sod-clay use), (ratio: 2: 2: 1: 1);
- peat, humus, sand, turf land (ratio 4: 2: 1: 2).
Useful You can buy a ready-made soil mixture for orchids in the store, chop and add a small amount of fern to it. In such a soil, a flower feels good.
Watering Rules
Watering the plant is required only with warm water, while it must be filtered (without lime). It is best to use distilled water. Depending on the choice of substrate, the frequency of irrigation is set. If mixtures are made on the basis of peat, sawdust or shavings, water should be 2-3 times a week. If the land for guzmania is made on a land-sand basis, the multiplicity may increase. Most often you can water guzmania - 1 time per day.
Plant Transplant Rules
Guzmania transplant is required after purchase. It is necessary to replace the substrate at home, as well as the pot.
Useful Some beginners in floriculture make the big mistake of not replanting the kids in a new pot after the death of the mother bush. This can lead to plant diseases. It may also be one of the reasons why guzmania does not bloom.
When transplanting, it is necessary to perform steps step by step so that subsequently there are no problems in leaving:
- At the bottom of the pot, drainage is laid out.
- Part of the substrate is poured on top of it.
- The plant is placed in a pot.
- Sprinkled with soil residue and compacted.
- It is spilled with warm water.
- A flowerpot is placed in a permanent place.
When growing a flower, some difficulties may arise - diseases. This usually comes from the fact that inexperienced gardeners do not know how to transplant guzmania properly at home. Do not take into account recommendations for watering, which leads to stagnation of moisture and decay of the roots.
Guzmania transplant
For this reason, the plant ceases to bloom, the color of the leaf plate changes, and also it 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 optimal solution to the problem.
Any transplant is best done in the spring, you can do this in another season, if it is very necessary.
Flowering tropical flower
Depending on the type and variety, guzmania first begins to plant buds 3-6 years after planting. The duration of flowering is from one to several months.
Useful A plant blooms only if comfortable conditions have been selected for it, as well as the right soil for guzmania (which is suitable, described above).
To speed up the appearance of the first buds, you can resort to some tricks. In the soil where the flower grows, place an apple slice, then cover with a film. After a while, the plant will begin to form peduncles and buds. It is imperative to check the apple slice and polyethylene so that mold does not form on them.
Common breeding methods
Basically, a plant propagates by division, but it is also possible to propagate a flower by seeds. How to plant guzmania is described in the section “Propagation by shoots”.
Guzmania root rot
Seeds
Not everyone succeeds in collecting seeds on their own, therefore, when solving the question: how to propagate guzmania using 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.
Guzmania breeding
For emergence of seedlings, it is necessary to place a container with seed in a room with an average temperature of 18 to 24 degrees.
Scions
The processes are separated from the adult plant before flowering, they must 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 decorativeness of a flower until it has time to bloom. Detailed information on how guzmania propagates will allow you to breed the plant at home without any problems.
