Bilbergia (Billbergia) is an evergreen herbaceous epiphyte of the Bromeliad family. The genus includes more than 60 different species that can be found in Brazil and Bolivia, Mexico and Argentina. Some species can grow not only outdoors, but also feel great as indoor crops. The genus Bilbergia, which was named after the famous Swedish zoologist and botanist Gustav Bilberg, belongs to the Bromeliad family.
Description of bromeliad flower
Indoor bromeliad is a herbaceous perennial with high decorative qualities. It consists of a strong and reliable root part, a shortened stem, leathery leaves about fifty centimeters long of a green or variegated shade in the form of a funnel, a tall peduncle with a red or bright yellow inflorescence at the top, and fruits that form after flowering. More than thirty species are grown in room culture, which have adapted to indoor conditions and are considered the most unpretentious.
Home care for bromeliads
The plant requires special growing conditions, which must be strictly observed and maintained. For example, fresh air. Bromeliad prefers to grow indoors, where it is always clean and fresh, the room will have to be regularly ventilated. During airing, it is advisable to transfer the flower to another place so that it does not fall under drafts. You should also use your air conditioner and fan with care, preferably away from indoor crops.
Location and lighting
The window sill on the east side of the dwelling is ideal for growing bromeliads. Lighting should be diffused, but direct sunlight can harm the plant only with prolonged and direct contact between 12 and 16 hours (in the summer months). In this time interval, it is recommended to build a small shade for them, otherwise traces of sunburn will remain on the leaves. In the autumn and winter months, when the daylight hours are very short, you need to use additional lighting. Indoor flowers will need 10-12 hours of lighting per day, which is possible with a fluorescent lamp. The artificial light source should be directed upward and not at the bromeliad.
Temperature
The most favorable air temperature for the full growth and development of a flowering perennial is 20-25 degrees Celsius in the warm season and 15-18 degrees Celsius in the autumn-winter season. For a short time, the flower can withstand temperatures of 12-14 degrees.
Watering
For watering and spraying, you need to use only settled water or boiled water. When using tap water, let it stand for 48 hours.
It is very important that there is always a small amount of water in the tray of the flower container. Watering frequency and volume depends on the season.In the cold season, the plants are recommended to be watered with bromeliads once a week, and in the warm season - 3-4 times. During very hot summer days, when the thermometer rises to 30 degrees and above, watering must be carried out every day. The optimal time for the next watering is the dried top layer of the potting medium in the flowerpot. Excessive moisture will lead to rot and the development of fungal diseases.
There are two ways to water. The first method is designed for experienced florists. Irrigation water is applied directly to the leaf funnel. For beginners who do not have sufficient skill and experience, the second method is recommended. Irrigation water is applied directly to the soil near the plant.
Air humidity
Bromeliad prefers to be kept in a room with a high humidity level - at least 70%. Such conditions can be created in several ways:
- Set up an aquarium;
- Carry out regular water treatments in the form of spraying;
- Place a wide vessel with water near the indoor flowers;
- Purchase a household humidifier;
- Put a container with a plant in a pallet filled with wet expanded clay or pebbles;
- Wipe the leaves with a damp soft sponge about 2-3 times a week.
Top dressing and fertilizers
Additional nutrition in the form of mineral fertilizers can be applied by watering or spraying. It is recommended to use a product intended only for flowering houseplants. The liquid nutrient solution should only be applied to moist soil, and only the leafy part should be sprayed.
From March to September, fertilizers are applied once or twice every thirty days, and in the rest of the months, one feeding every 45-60 days is enough.
Transfer
It is imperative to transplant bromeliads into a container that is 2-3 cm in diameter. The roots that appear in the drainage holes or on the surface of the soil mixture should serve as a reason for transplanting. With the correct selection of the new size of the flower pot (preferably made of wood or ceramic), one transplant in two or even three years is usually sufficient.
The bottom of the new vessel must be covered with drainage material about 1.5 cm thick, and then with a special soil mixture containing peat and coarse river sand. A small depression in the center of the substrate is filled with abundant water and the plant is placed there. The pot is filled with soil to the brim.
Flowering bromeliads
The flowering period of bromeliads most often begins in the summer and lasts (depending on the species and conditions of detention) for several weeks or several months.
Experienced flower growers advise how you can bring the flowering process closer. Certain fruits, such as bananas and apples, contain the beneficial chemical ethylene, which professionals call a plant hormone. Standing out in a confined space from fruits, it promotes earlier ripening of the "bud" and the beginning of flowering.
Place bananas or apples around the bromeliads and cover the whole thing tightly with an airtight bag. In this form, you need to leave the culture for ten days, after which it will bloom.
The flower arrow can be cut only after the flower is completely dry.
Breeding bromeliads
Bromeliad reproduces only by shoots that sprout at its base after flowering is complete. Kiki (as the shoots are called) grow for about three months, after which they are separated from the adult plant with a clean knife. It is recommended to treat the cut sites with coal dust or activated carbon powder. Young plants with their own root system are immediately planted in individual containers. Bromeliads are grown at a temperature of about 20 degrees Celsius. They take root very quickly, but they will be able to give the first flowering only after 12-18 months.
Diseases and pests
Possible pests of bromeliads are scale insects, mealybugs, aphids. To destroy them, treatment of plant parts with soapy water or tobacco infusion is required.The solution should not get into the soil, therefore, during the procedure, it must be covered with foil. In advanced cases, insecticides can be used (for example, Aktara, Aktellik, Fitoverm).
Growing difficulties
Diseases in bromeliads appear very rarely and only because of poor care and improper maintenance.
- When rust and powdery mildew appear, spraying with solutions containing copper is carried out. Fungicide treatment is effective only when applied two or three times.
- If burns appear on the leaves, it is necessary to shade the plant at noon from the direct rays of the sun.
- When dry tips appear on the leaves, you need to increase the humidity level in the room, increase the amount of irrigation water and increase the room temperature.
Species and varieties of bromeliads
Bromelia penguin - can grow in natural and indoor conditions. This is the only bromeliad that is grown in culture.
Ehmeya - epiphyte, which is widespread in the USA and differs from other species in leaves with a serrated edge, a thick and long peduncle, inflorescences of bright color shades. Popular indoor types - Matte red, Sparkling, Holostebelnaya, Curved, Two-row, Striped, Bearded, Shaggy.
Neoregelia - a perennial species with a racemose inflorescence emerging from a rosette of light purple leaves. The best types for the house: Tiger, Blue, Bubble, Beautiful, Gloomy, Few flowers, Marble, Offspring.
Guzmania - stemless epiphyte with leathery belt-like leaf plates and bright bracts of different color shades. The inflorescence consists of small and unsightly flowers. As an indoor flower, Nicaraguan gusmania, Yazychkovaya, Mosaic, One-spiked, Blood-red, Konifera, Tricolor are grown. The best varieties of reed gusmania are Tempo, Minor.
Tillandsia - a species that unites in its family about 500 species of herbaceous crops, some of which are very famous in indoor floriculture - Medusa Head, Blue, Silver, Violet-flower, Sitnikovaya.
Vriezia - Plants of tropical origin, characterized by dense and long leaves, collected in a decorative rosette and large inflorescences in the form of an ear or panicle. Popular indoor types are Sanders, Beautiful, Royal, Perforated, Giant, Hieroglyphic, Keel.
