In 1802, the genus was described, and it was given the name A. Gusman - the Spanish botanist. Gusmania is a thermophilic plant, the optimum temperature for flowering is 25 ° C. They live in tropical rain forests, grow both epiphytes in trees and in soil as terrestrial plants.
The leaves have funnel-shaped rosettes, which both in height and in diameter can reach 50 centimeters. Leaves entire, can be variegated, and can be bright green, but to the period of flowering clearly differ from the outlet, which appears in the center of the leaf. In some species of guzmania, the inflorescence is formed at the apex of the long peduncle. The blossom begins not earlier than 2 years of life, the bloom lasts more than 3 months, then the mother plant dies.
Care for Guzzman.
Indoor gusmania plants are unpretentious, so they can be grown both in a shady place and in a bright place. Guzmania loves diffused light, direct sunlight, especially at noon does not like, so it should be pritenyat (for shading you can use fabric or translucent paper). It is preferable to grow gusmania on the east or west window. On the northern window, the plant is also growing well, but it will hardly bloom.
In summer, the plant can be taken out into the street, but care should be taken so that the plant is not exposed to sunlight, drafts, precipitations. If this is not possible, the room must be regularly ventilated. In autumn and winter, the plant needs good lighting, shading at this time should be removed. For additional illumination, you can use fluorescent lights that are placed at a distance of 50-60 cm above the plant (a minimum of 8 hours of illumination is required per day for normal life). In autumn and winter, the room where gusmania grows should be ventilated, but there should not be drafts.
In spring and summer, the plant should grow in a room with a moderate temperature of up to 25 о С (but not lower than 20 о С). In winter, gusmania can be placed in a cool room at a maximum temperature of 18 о С (make sure that the temperature does not fall below 12 о С).
During the growing season, the plant needs abundant watering as the substrate dries. It is advisable to pour water into the funnels of the outlets, preferably in the morning. From time to time, water should be changed. After flowering, as well as before rest, the water from the outlet merges.
In winter, watering should be moderate. In this period, you do not need to pour water into the funnel, just spray the plant. Water does not pour into the socket and after the plant has faded, otherwise the plant will start to rot!
If the guzmania grows on a bromeliad tree, then at least once every ten days the plant should be removed from the support and immersed in the settled water. After saturation, drain excess water and return to the place. Water for irrigation should be soft and settled, the water temperature should be 2-3 o C above room temperature.
If the temperature in the room exceeds 20 degrees in winter, you should sometimes pour a small amount of warm water into the outlet.
Guzmania - plants that love high humidity, so the ideal conditions for growing will be a moist greenhouse or terrarium. The plant needs frequent spraying (several times a day). If the humidity is not enough, then you can put the plant on a pallet with pebbles, wet moss, expanded clay. The bottom of the pot should not be in the water. From time to time, the leaves should be wiped with a damp cloth to clean them from dust. Special wax, which gives the leaves shine is not desirable to use.
Top-dressing should be done from May to August. Top dressing is performed once in 30 days. Fertilizer should be diluted with water for irrigation and poured into a socket.
For fertilizing, you should buy a special fertilizer for bromeliads. You can use fertilizer for ordinary houseplants, but you need to take it 4 times less than for ordinary plants. The amount of nitrogen in the fertilizer should be low, since an overabundance leads to the death of Guzmania.
As necessary, the plant is transplanted, but not more often than once every two to three years. The neck of the plant does not recede during transplantation, because this plant can die.
Mail for growing guzmania should be porous, the pot must be equipped with good drainage (1/3 pot, not less).
For epiphytic species of guzmania, the substrate must consist of 3 parts of crushed pine bark, 1 part of chopped sphagnum, 1 part of peat moss, 1 part of leaf land, 1/2 part of humus earth (you can take dry mullein), with pieces of charcoal and perlite.
For terrestrial species of Guzzmania, the soil should consist of 2 parts of leaf land, 1 part humus, 1 part peat, 0.5 part sand, with addition of sphagnum, sod land, bark of coniferous trees, charcoal. For planting, large bowls are better than deep containers.
Reproduction.
These houseplants multiply by offspring, less often by seeds.
Seeds are sown in peat with sand or in chopped sphagnum. Seeds before sowing should be washed in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, then dried. Seeds germinate only in the light, so they are not closed into the soil. At this time, the temperature should be 22-24 degrees. In addition, regular spraying and ventilation is necessary. Seedlings appear after 10-20 days, and after 2.5 months shoots dive into a mixture consisting of 1 part of sod land, 2 parts of leaf land, 4 parts of peat. And only after half a year the stronger seedlings are planted. For 3-4 years, young plants begin to blossom.
The offspring of the guasman plant reproduce most easily. At the end of flowering, the plant dies, but in parallel with this, the buds of renewal begin to awaken at the base, which are given by multiple offspring, which after 2 months form a weak root system and three to four leaves. In the pots in advance, you need to pour sphagnum, or a substrate of 3 parts of leaf land, 1 part of pine bark and 1 part of sand.
The container is placed in a room with a temperature of 26 and covered with a transparent polyethylene or glass cap. After the plants have become stronger and rooted, they need to be accustomed to the conditions of care for adult specimens.
It is damaged: mealy blackened, shield.