Ehmeya

The echmea plant (Aechmea) is a prominent representative of the Bromeliad family. This genus includes about three hundred different species. The birthplace of this unusual flower is the South American continent and regions of Central America. In addition to the spectacular foliage, Ehmeya is notable for its spectacular thorny "flower". The meaning of the name echmea - "the tip of the peak" - symbolizes the sharp leaves of its bracts. At home, ehmeya can grow up to 7 years old, and flowering occurs in the fourth year of the flower's life.

Description of ehmei

Echmei can both grow on the ground and be epiphytes that live on trees. Unlike other members of the family, echmea leaf blades have spines at the edges. The leaves themselves are collected in an outlet. They can have different (including motley) colors and be soft or harder.

As a rule, in the natural environment, the foliage of the echmea has a grayish-silver bloom. It is created by tiny hair scales that help the flower absorb air moisture. In indoor conditions, this feature is not so noticeable, especially if the plant is kept in a shady place.

Often, rosette plants are recommended to be protected from moisture at the base of the leaves. But ehmeya is one of the exceptions. In nature, rainwater often stagnates in the tubes formed by leaf blades. This turns the plant into a living vessel, in which other plants and even small amphibians can live.

During the flowering period, echmea forms an inflorescence about 15 cm in size. It consists of small flowers and is decorated with bright pink or red bracts. Despite the fact that the flowers themselves fade rather quickly, the bracts retain their decorative appearance for a long time. After flowering, fruits in the form of berries are formed on the bush. But each rosette is capable of forming a peduncle only once. Despite this property, ehmeya is considered a fairly popular home flower. This is due not only to the spectacular appearance of the plant, but also to its relative unpretentiousness.

Brief rules for growing ehmea

The table shows brief rules for caring for echmea at home.

The juice of striped echmea can cause skin irritation; work with such a flower should be done with gloves.

Home care for echmea

At home, caring for echmea is not very difficult, but for the successful growth of this plant, some rules must be followed.

Lighting

The echmea pot is usually kept on the windowsills of the east or west direction. On the south side, the flower will have to be shaded from the hot rays of the sun. In summer, the container with the plant can be carried outside: for example, onto a balcony or into a garden. But the ehmeya is gradually taught to the new lighting regime, otherwise its foliage may get burned. The same applies to plants that have recently been brought from the store. In winter, you can illuminate flowers with phytolamps.

Plants with monochromatic foliage are not so demanding on light. The most shade-loving of all types of echmea is considered to be sparkling. Such a plant must be kept in the shade. At the same time, a curved ehmeya will require a maximum of light. Without proper lighting, its foliage and flowers lose their attractiveness.

Temperature

In the warm season, Ehmeya needs a temperature of about 24-28 degrees. In winter, you can place the plant in a cool place, but it should not be below 17 degrees in the room. It is desirable that the temperature during the day and night has a noticeable difference. In winter, such conditions will contribute to the establishment of the echmea peduncle.

In order for the ehmeya to receive a sufficient supply of fresh air, the room with the plant should be regularly ventilated. The flower should be protected only from icy drafts. Only the sparkling ehmeya, which prefers warmth even in winter, does not need airing.

Watering

Watering ehmei has its own characteristics. In summer, the liquid must be directed not only to the area near the plant, but also to be poured directly into the outlet. To do this, use slightly warm and well-settled water.

In summer and spring, the flower is watered abundantly enough. It is at this time that the water should be directed not only to the ground, but also to the center of the outlet. This method helps the flower to endure hot weather. Watering is carried out as soon as the upper part of the soil begins to dry out. In the fall, the volume of irrigation is reduced. At this time, the ehmeya is watered, directing the watering can only to the ground itself. If the flower hibernates in the cool, watering is carried out especially carefully during this period. If the soil in the pot is dry, the foliage of the plant is simply lightly sprayed from a spray bottle using warm water.

During the rest period of the echmea and after its flowering, water should not be poured directly into the outlet. At this time, the plant cannot assimilate it in this way and is capable of rotting. Any excess liquid from the drip tray should always be discarded.

Humidity level

Ehmeya is not too demanding on the level of humidity, but for faster healthy growth, its foliage should be periodically sprayed with a spray bottle or wiped. The water should be the same as for irrigation. You can put the plant pot on a tray filled with damp pebbles. In winter, spraying is carried out no more than once a week, trying to humidify only the air, and not the leaves themselves.

A too humid environment combined with a lack of light can affect the color of the foliage of the curved echmea: the pattern on them will fade.

The soil

A mixture of leafy soil with half of a peat-sandy substrate is used as a soil for growing echmea. A soil that includes deciduous soil, humus and sphagnum is also suitable. As a baking powder, you can add sand and small shards there. You can also use a special substrate for bromeliads or orchids.

Top dressing

The full development of echmea can be achieved only with the help of constant feeding. They are carried out throughout the year using specialized mineral formulations. From March to August, they can be applied once every 2 or 3 weeks, less often in the fall, once every 4 weeks, and in winter - about once every 1.5 months.

In summer, the nutrient can be poured directly into a wall outlet or applied by foliar application.

Transfer

Echmeya transplant is carried out once every 1-2 years, in March, when the echmea fades. The flower is removed from the pot, the roots are cleaned of soil residues and carefully examined. All dried or affected parts, including old wilted sockets, should be removed from the plant at this time. The sections are treated with crushed coal and dried for a couple of hours. Only then can the ehmeya be moved to a new pot.

For ehmea, a simple flower pot with a sufficient (up to 1/3 of the pot) drainage layer is suitable. The root system of the echmea is small, so it does not need a spacious and deep container. It may be slightly larger than or equal to the old one in size. It is not worth tamping the soil too much. After transplanting, the plant should spend a couple of days in the shade.

The frequency of replanting depends on the health of the plant. If it remains decorative and does not get sick, it can be transplanted the next year.

Bloom

Echmea bloom begins in late winter or summer. Its medium-sized flowers, collected in an inflorescence, are complemented by long bracts with prickly edges. Most often they are pink or red. Peduncles are formed only with sufficient lighting.

There is an interesting way to stimulate echmea flowering. The plant is placed in a bag with several ripe apples, bananas or pears for a couple of weeks. You can use fruit pieces or peels. The ethylene emitted by them will contribute to the formation of the peduncle. The bag is tied only lightly and must not interfere with light penetration. But even after that, the plant will not bloom immediately, but only after 4 months.

After flowering, the main rosette of the echmea dries up, forming several “babies” outlets nearby.

Is ehmeya poisonous?

The juice of one of the most common household echmea - striped - contains toxic substances that can irritate sensitive skin. To avoid this, they work with a plant of this type only with gloves, and then wash their hands thoroughly.

Echmea breeding methods

With the help of the offspring

Usually, homemade ehmeya is propagated by offspring that the plant forms after the main rosette wilts. You can start reproduction when they reach at least half of its size. In the spring, the largest and most developed young rosettes are separated from the bush and planted in a separate pot. When separating, they try to preserve the roots as much as possible. Places of cuts on both outlets - daughter and mother - should be treated with crushed coal. For planting such an offspring, any soil mixture suitable for a flower is used. "Baby" will bloom in 1-2 years.

Growing from seeds

Ehmeya can also be obtained from seeds, but such plants will develop much longer and are unlikely to retain varietal characteristics.

Echmea seeds are planted in a container filled with chopped fern roots or small sphagnum. Crops are placed in a warm, shady place, the soil moisture is monitored and the container is ventilated. After 3 months, the sprouts dive into another soil, from leafy and heather soil. After a year, they can be planted in regular soil for adult ehmey. Until that time, the seedlings will require warmth, periodic watering and spraying.Such ehmei will bloom only for 3-4 years of life.

Possible difficulties and pests

• Drilling or drooping of the leaf plates may indicate that the flower is kept in a too cold room, or its roots have begun to rot.
• Rot at the base of the outlet - caused by excessive or improper watering. Water from the center of such an outlet must be removed and the soil must be thoroughly dried.
• The leaves dry and wrinkle - the air is too dry, the foliage should be moistened.
• Foliage wilting - can be caused by a lack of moisture in the soil or air.
• The foliage turns brown - the likelihood of a fungal infection, you can treat the plant with a fungicide.
• The loss of the variegated color of the foliage is a sign of poor lighting. If plain leaves start to fade, the light is too intense.
• A silvery bloom disappears from the foliage - a layer of thin scales makes the echmea leaves silvery. Green spots on this layer are their mechanical damage due to accidental touches.
• Yellowing of foliage - too heavy soil, rare top dressing or pest attack.
• The lack of flowering is also most often associated with a lack of lighting, variegated echmea species are especially affected by this. The lack of peduncles can also be caused by a lack of nutrients.

Aphids, scale insects and root worms are considered pests of echmea. Worms cause growth retardation and yellowing of leaves. If specks appear on the foliage at the same time, it is possible that a scale insect has settled on the echmea. Soap solution or insecticides are used against such insects.

Types and varieties of ehmei with photos and names

Ehmea Weilbach (Aechmea weilbachii)

Or Weilbach's lamprococcus (Lamprococcus weilbachii). The rosette is formed by flexible xiphoid leaf blades with a pointed end and a leathery surface. Small thornless thorns are located at the edge of each leaf. The color of the leaves is reddish green.

The size of the scaly peduncle can be up to half a meter, it is covered with small crimson foliage. The cluster inflorescence combines red bracts with lilac flowers, complemented by a white border. Sepals are partially accrete.

Ehmea two-row (Aechmea distichantha)

Or Platyaechmea distichantha. It happens both as an epiphyte and a terrestrial flower. Forms spreading rosettes up to a meter in diameter. Long foliage is pointed at the ends and green in color. There is a variegated variegata form with wide white stripes on its leaf blades. The size of each plate can reach up to half a meter with a width of about 3 cm. The edges of the leaves are framed by small closely spaced brownish thorns. The size of the peduncle reaches 60 cm. Purple flowers with bright red bracts bloom on it.

Ehmea curved (Aechmea recurvata)

The species can live both on the ground and in trees. Forms a rosette of linear foliage. Each rosette can contain about a dozen leaves about half a meter long. Their width does not exceed 1.5 cm, and at the base of the foliage grows together into a common tube. Spiny teeth are located along the edge of the leaves.

Flowering begins in spring. The size of the inflorescence of such an echmea reaches 20 cm. The red flowers have petals about 2.5 cm long, the bracts are also colored red.

This species has a miniature form of ortgiesii. The height of its rosette is only 15 cm. The foliage is leathery, "looking" upward. Its length reaches 30 cm. The flowers are pink, and the bracts are red.

Ehmea shaggy (Aechmea comata)

Or ehmea linden (Aechmea lindenii). It has foliage up to a meter long and 5 cm wide. The top of each sheet is rounded, and there are small teeth on the edge. In winter, Aechmea comata forms a spike inflorescence. It contains yellow flowers, complemented by red bracts. Has a Makoyana hybrid with creamy stripes on the leaf blades.

Echmea matte red (Aechmea miniata)

The socket includes a variety of sheet plates up to 50 cm long. The top of the foliage is pointed, and as it approaches the base, they become narrower.The color of the leaves is green, but below it takes on a dark purple hue. Tiny teeth are located along the edges of the sheet, and the surface has a scaly structure. Forms pyramidal inflorescences with blue flowers and red sepals. The berries that appear in their place are pink in color. The species is distinguished by a particularly long flowering and undemanding care.

Echmea striped (Aechmea fasciata)

Or striped bilbergia (Billbergia fasciata). The socket forms a kind of tube. Its diameter reaches 1 m. Aechmea fasciata has belt-like leaf blades about 60 cm long and 6 cm wide. The color of the leaves is dark green, but against this background there is a marble pattern of light stripes. The peduncle is covered with small scales. The inflorescence is complex, about 30 cm long. The bracts are colored pink, and the flowers, as they develop, change their color from purple to reddish. Sepals are slightly pubescent. Has a hybrid form Primera, which is distinguished by a sharper and more contrasting pattern on the leaves.

Ehmea sparkling (Aechmea fulgens)

Forms a rosette of bright green belt-like foliage. Its length is slightly less than 50 cm. The leaves have a rounded top and a serrated edge. It blooms with coral flowers decorated with bracts. They are pink in color. Flowering is very abundant: one inflorescence can hold up to hundreds of flowers.

The view has the form discolor. It is notable for its two-colored foliage. From the inside, its plates are painted in red-purple color, and from the outside - in olive.

Echmea caudata

The foliage forming the rosette is directed straight. It is colored bright green and is complemented by a creamy yellow longitudinal stripe running along the edge of the leaf. Forms a panicle inflorescence, which includes golden-yellow flowers. The peduncle is covered with a light bloom.