Guzmania

The plant guzmania (Guzmania), or gusmania, is a herbaceous epiphyte from the Bromeliad family. This genus includes about 130 different species. They are found in many South American countries, but are also found in Central America and the southern United States. Guzmania grows in the mountains, choosing open slopes.

The flower got its name in honor of the pharmacist, botanist and researcher, the Spaniard A. Guzman, who specialized in the study of South American flora and fauna. In nature, many species of this plant are considered endangered today. But, having been described at the beginning of the 19th century, guzmania spread throughout the world as a spectacular indoor flower. Guzmania attracts with both its beautiful long foliage and unusual pineal inflorescences of bright color, which stay on the bush for a very long time.

Description of guzmania

Like all bromeliads, guzmania can also accumulate water inside the leaf outlet. Due to the imposition of sheet plates, they form a kind of bowl. The flower needs water for its own needs, but it can also be used by other inhabitants of the forest. Most often, the foliage of the guzmania has a monochromatic color, but can be decorated with longitudinal or transverse stripes. The length of each leaf is from 40 to 70 cm. The average diameter of the rosette reaches half a meter. The size of guzmania in nature reaches 75 cm.At home, the bushes are much smaller - their height is about 40 cm.

Guzmania bloom begins in spring or autumn and can last up to several months. The flowers of such plants themselves are rather inconspicuous, their bracts give the decorative effect to the bush. They have a shiny surface and are bright - red, yellow, orange or white - in color. The length of the bract leaves reaches 5 cm. They fold into a bizarre inflorescence located in the center of the leaf rosette. Although the flowering itself lasts about 5 months, after its end, the rosette begins to die off, forming fresh shoots.

Guzmania is not considered a poisonous plant, and yet its juice can cause irritation if it comes into contact with the skin. It is necessary to work with the bush carefully.

Brief rules for growing guzmania

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

Guzmania care at home

Lighting

Caring for guzmania at home requires adherence to certain rules. The flower is thermophilic, needs high humidity and sufficient lighting. Direct rays can hit the plant only on short light days - from mid-autumn to February. The rest of the time during the daytime, the guzmania bushes should be shaded from the direct sun, providing them with diffused lighting.

It is not recommended to put the flower pot directly on the windowsill. In summer, there guzmania can suffer from direct rays, and in winter - from batteries, which significantly dry out the air next to the plant.

Temperature

During the budding period, the guzmania should be kept warm. Indoors during this period should not be cooler than 25 degrees. After the beginning of flowering, you can slightly lower the temperature in the room - up to 20 degrees.

Despite the thermophilicity of the flower, he does not like too high temperatures. A long stay in the heat (from 26-28 degrees) slows down the processes inside the flower and can destroy the plant. Guzmania can withstand short periods of cooling up to 12 degrees.

Watering

Watering guzmania, only distilled or pre-filtered water is also used. This is due to the fact that the roots of the flower react painfully to chlorine and lime. The water should be slightly warm - at least 20 degrees. The soil is constantly kept in a slightly damp state, while the plant tolerates a slight drought better than waterlogging.

Watering should be carried out when the top of the soil begins to dry out slightly. Water is poured into the outlet itself, imitating its natural role as a bowl. But stagnation of water in the foliage should not be allowed, therefore, the liquid that does not absorb for a long time is drained. The soil itself can only be moistened during periods of too hot and dry weather.

The watering regime depends on the conditions in which the flower is kept. In a cool and semi-shady place, watering is carried out less often, but the number of sprays is left the same. From the beginning of spring and summer, when the guzmania grows especially actively, it needs regular moisture.

Humidity level

For the normal development of guzmania, a high level of humidity is required. The foliage of the plant is sprayed daily. Filtered or distilled water is suitable for this. In the warm season, you can choose any time for this procedure (the main thing is not to do it in the sun), but from autumn to the end of winter, spraying is carried out only in the morning. It is important to act carefully so that drops do not fall on the bracts - this can significantly reduce the duration of flowering. In addition, the leaves of the bush can be periodically wiped with a sponge. Such a procedure will help remove dust from the plant, as well as protect it from pests.

To increase moisture, you can fill the flower tray with damp moss and moisten it periodically.

The soil

The planting soil should have good moisture and air permeability and a slightly acidic or neutral reaction. The substrate may include a mixture of crushed fern and 1/3 of sphagnum roots. Also, the soil can be made up of sand and moss mixed with double parts of leafy soil and coniferous bark, or from a mixture of turf and humus with the addition of double part of peat and half part of sand.The mixture can also consist of bark with the addition of charcoal almost entirely: guzmania is an epiphyte and is adapted to life on trees. A drainage layer is laid at the bottom of the selected container.

Top dressing

Guzmania does not need to be fed often, but if desired, the flower is fertilized with special compositions for bromeliads. It is important to remember that the dosage of the formula should be half the recommended dosage. In addition, such elements as boron and copper should not be included in its composition - the flower perceives their presence in the soil negatively. Such feeding is carried out monthly from the beginning of spring to the end of summer. The solution, like water for irrigation, is poured into an outlet. Foliar application can also be used. The remainder of the solution is then removed from the foliage using a damp cloth. An excess of nutrients is harmful to the bush.

Transfer

Guzmania roots develop very slowly, so the flower does not need regular transplants and can live in one pot for a long time. Guzmania is transplanted only in some cases: after purchasing a flower in a store (to change the transport capacity), as well as during reproduction by separating daughter outlets.

The plant has a compact root system, so pots no more than 12-15 cm in diameter are used for it. But as it develops, a relatively tall bush is able to overturn such a container. To prevent this from happening, weights are laid in the pot or placed in a planter holder.

If you do not have the opportunity or desire to prepare the substrate yourself, a mixture for ferns or orchids is suitable. A thin layer of soil is poured over the drainage layer, a bush with a lump of old earth is placed on top, and then the voids are filled with fresh substrate. When transplanting, it is better not to disturb the roots of the plant - they are fragile.

Post-flowering care

Each guzmania rosette blooms only once in a lifetime. Because of this feature, some botanists consider the flower an annual, but the process of bud formation is sometimes delayed for a very long time. After flowering, the bush begins to dry out gradually. If he forms replacement daughter sockets, they can be planted in their own pots. In this case, the peduncle can be cut off.

Guzmania breeding methods

Reproduction by dividing the bush

After the flowering of an adult guzmania bush, lateral processes - children begin to form next to it. The number of children depends on the conditions for keeping the flower. As the main outlet dies off, they develop and form their own roots. When they reach about 1.5 cm in length, the babies can be separated from the main plant. For this, a sharp and sterile instrument is used. Slices on the appendix and on the bush itself are then treated with garden pitch.

Due to the fact that the children form roots at a different pace, it will not work to transplant them all at one time, which is why the main bush is also subject to processing. The separation procedure is carried out in stages. Each daughter rosette is placed in a separate pot with the same soil as for an adult plant.

The seedlings are kept in a warm place, covered with a cap to maintain a high level of humidity. When young guzmania get stronger, they are transferred into permanent pots, trying not to touch the roots. The bushes obtained in this way bloom before the seedlings.

If a baby about 8 cm high, separated from the bush, has not yet had roots, you can also try to root it. The socket is slightly buried in the ground, and then kept in greenhouse conditions. However, it is better to allow the plants to form roots in their old place. They begin to check for their presence after the mother socket begins to fade.

If the old guzmania has formed a small number of children, you can not transplant them, but leave them in an old pot. Such bushes will be able to bloom in a year.

Growing from seeds

For propagation of bushes, you can also use their seeds. They appear when the real small flowers of the guzmania have faded.For sowing, prepare a container filled with a substrate for growing bromeliads, or a mixture of sand and peat. The seeds are pretreated with a solution of potassium permanganate, then dried and distributed on the surface of the soil, without deepening or falling asleep. They can only germinate in the light. After sowing, the container is covered with foil or glass and placed in a warm place (about +23). The shelter is removed for ventilation, and they also try to ensure that the soil does not dry out by spraying it with lukewarm water. Seedlings appear in 2-3 weeks. A couple of months after the sprouts have formed, they are dived into a mixture of double peat with leafy soil and half of turf. A couple of weeks after the pick, you can transfer the plants to their final place. Such seedlings will begin to bloom only 3-5 years after sowing.

Possible growing difficulties

All the difficulties of growing guzmania are associated with a violation of the rules for caring for it:

• Roots start to rot - from excessive soil moisture.
• Development of fungal diseases - due to a combination of high temperature and high humidity in the room. The fungus can be fought with fungicidal preparations.
• Brown spots on foliage - a sign of sunburn. Leaves can also fade due to excessive sun exposure.
• Dry brown tips of leaf plates - lack of moisture, watering with insufficient soft water or lack of liquid inside the outlet. Sometimes the tips of the leaves turn brown due to low temperatures or cold drafts.
• Drying of faded rosettes Is normal. But if the guzmania does not form new outlets at the same time, it means that it grows in insufficiently nutritious soil and needs additional feeding.
• Dark green foliage, stunted growth or no flowering - may be caused by a lack of lighting.
• The softness of the leaves and their drooping - the room with the flower is too cold.

Some diseases of Guzmania are considered incurable. Among them, leaf spot is a fungal disease in which blisters appear on the foliage, then turning into brown stripes. Fusarium is also not amenable to treatment, most often caused by the use of unsterilized soil.

Sometimes guzmania can be affected by pests.

• Yellow spots on the leaves - may be a manifestation of the presence of red spider mites. In this case, the foliage will continue to turn yellow and then fall off. Usually these pests appear during periods of low air humidity.
• Brown plaques on foliage - a sign of the bromeliad scale insect.
• White fluff on foliage, reminiscent of cotton wool - a symptom of a mealybug lesion.

You can fight harmful insects by wiping the foliage with soapy water. If there are too many pests, an insecticide can be used. It is applied to foliage through spraying or poured into the outlet itself.

If caring for an adult guzmania meets all the requirements of the plant, but it does not bloom, you can use a trick. The flowering of bromeliads can be stimulated with ethylene, which is released by ripening bananas and apples. The plant pot is placed in a bag with several fruits. Those should be healthy and not moldy. In the bag, the flower is kept for about 10 days, opening it every day for airing. It is important that the "greenhouse" is not in direct light.

Types of guzmania with photos and names

Guzmania lingulata (Guzmania lingulata)

It is this species that is usually grown in pot conditions. In nature, Guzmania lingulata grows as an epiphyte, or takes root in rocky soil. The bush includes a rosette, which includes long and strong leaf blades of bright green color. In its center, an inflorescence-spikelet is formed with small unremarkable flowers that fade quickly enough. But it is complemented by bright bracts that look like a flower from the side. They stay on the plant longer than real flowers. Such guzmania has a number of subspecies:

• Small. Foliage var. minor is colored reddish green or pure green. It is up to 2.5 cm wide.The bracts are red or lemon-colored and may point upward or form a spreading inflorescence.
• Regular. Leaf width var. lingulata is also about 2.5 cm in size. The inflorescence is decorated with pink or red erect bracts. Flowering begins in March, late summer or mid-winter.
• Fiery. Length of green leaves var. flammea reaches 34 cm. They are narrower than other forms: only up to 2 cm wide. In the center of the spreading rosette, an inflorescence of small flowers is formed, complemented by red bracts. The flowering period is in the summer.
• Purple. Socket var. cardinalis forms green foliage up to 4 cm wide. Bracts are colored in shades of red or purple. Flowering occurs in early spring or autumn.
• Modestly colored. The var. concolor rosette composed of light green leaves. The bracts are pale orange, but the color becomes more intense at the tips.

Guzmania donnell-smithii

This species forms a loose rosette composed of green leaves, which are complemented by lighter scales. Guzmania donnellsmithii has a straight peduncle with a short, pyramidal inflorescence. Near its base are red bracts arranged in a tiled pattern. Flowering occurs in the second half of spring.

Blood-red guzmania (Guzmania sanguinea)

The shape of the rosette of Guzmania sanguinea resembles a glass. It consists of long foliage with a broad-linear shape. Red bracts are thin. The scutellum inflorescence does not have a peduncle and is located in the outlet itself. Subspecies of such guzmania:

• Bloody. Bright bracts var. sanguinea are rounded and slightly tapered at the apex. The flowers are white or yellow-green. Flowering occurs in mid-spring or late summer.
• Short-legged. Bracts shape var. brevipedicellata - helmet-shaped, pointed. The length of the foliage reaches only 20 cm.

Guzmania musaica, or mosaic

The species forms spreading rosettes. The length of the foliage of Guzmania musaica reaches 70 cm. The straight peduncle holds wide stipules, pointed at the apex, painted in a bright pink color. The inflorescence has a capitate shape, it is made up of about 20 pale yellow flowers. The base of the inflorescence is hidden by stipules. Subspecies differ in foliage color:

• Concolor - with plain foliage.
• Musaica - with leaves covered with various streaks and stripes. Flowering occurs in June or September.
• Zebrina - with large stripes on the leaves.

Guzmania nicaraguensis

The species has foliage narrowed upwards. At the base, it is covered with dense light scales, which disappear as the leaf develops. Then small reddish streaks appear on them, located longitudinally. Guzmania nicaraguensis has a goblet rosette with a spindle-shaped inflorescence. Several yellow flowers bloom on it. Flowering occurs in the spring months.

Guzmania monostachya

The rosette of this species is formed by a large number of yellow-green leaves. The lower foliage of Guzmania monostachia is lighter in color than the upper foliage. On the leaf blades, small scales may be present, flying around as the bush develops. On a bare peduncle there is an elongated inflorescence-ear, on which white flowers are placed. The color of their bracts varies. If the flowers are sterile, their bracts can be white or deep red, and the fruit-forming flowers are complemented by light bracts with brownish stripes. This guzmania has the following subspecies:

• Alba - foliage is painted in a solid green color, like the lower rows of bracts. The upper bracts are white.
• Monostachia - foliage has a uniform color, bracts are light, with red-brown stripes. Flowering is observed in the first half of summer.
• Variegata - green foliage is complemented by white strokes.

Guzmania Zahnii

The species is quite large. The foliage of Guzmania zahnii reaches 70 cm. Bracts are orange or red.