Guzmania - home care

Guzmania is an amazingly beautiful plant, with the help of which it is easy to arrange an original corner of the exotic home. Hundreds of modern varieties allow you to choose the type of flower that is most suitable for the interior, to emphasize the special coloring of the finish, add sophistication and elegance and at the same time receive true aesthetic pleasure every day. But if you have decided unambiguously that guzmania will settle on your table or windowsill, home care should be appropriate. Despite the unusual nature of this plant, organizing suitable conditions is quite easy. How exactly to do this, what should be the care of guzmania at home, you will learn from this article.

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What is guzmania?

If you are still not very clear on how exactly such a flower looks and what to expect from it. Guzmania is a large evergreen plant, the basis of which is a bunch of grassy leaves. It stands out among this green riot of unusual, but very pleasing to the eye inflorescence and the flower itself is red, scarlet, burgundy, brownish or pink.

Important! Under the natural conditions of growth, such a plant can reach a height of 75 cm. But at home, you can fully count on 40-50 cm, no more, even if caring for guzmania will be set up properly.

Despite the fact that guzmania is the most exotic, it does not differ in particular capriciousness and whimsicality. Most of the conditions for its comfortable growth are similar to the cultures more familiar to our region.

Important! For the house, it is best to choose the varieties of reed guzmania or Minor Rondo.

Under suitable conditions, the plant begins to bloom after it is fully strengthened and regains its shape. This occurs in 3-5 years of life, although specially bred new varieties give inflorescences before. The flowering is determined by a duration of several months.

Important! In the wild, you can find such a plant in the vast South and Central America. There it grows in an unusual way - the root system does not appear on the ground, but in the bark of dying trees. Water for a full life is taken directly from humid air.

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Guzmania - the right care at home

So, you did not begin to doubt your decision and you already had charming guzmania. Care for her in this case should look like this.

Temperature mode

The temperature regime for proper care of guzmania is no different from those conditions that are necessary for a comfortable stay in a person’s house:

• in the summer - 20-25 C;
• in winter - 17-20 C.

Important! Like humans, temperatures below 16 ° C will be unpleasant for the plant. And if drafts are still combined with such a heat regime, the flower may die at all. Therefore, it is very important to maintain the values ​​in this framework, especially since such caring for guzmania will not be much different from your usual life.

Features of watering

Watering such an exotic culture is necessary in standard mode according to the following rules:

• moderate watering every day in the summer - it is better in the pan, and not on top of the ground;
• 1-2 times a week in winter, if the humidity in the room meets generally accepted standards of 50-60%.

Important! Water for irrigation should be warm, settled for at least 2 days. Normal tap water saturated with chlorine or an excess of heavy metals is not good.

Daily spraying or wiping with a damp, clean rag of leaves is also one of the obligatory measures for caring for guzmania. But here it is important that external hydration is not combined with direct exposure to the best solar. This can cause burns, and accordingly - additional measures will be needed to treat the plant.

Important! Despite the fact that such a flower loves high humidity, up to 85% are comfortable conditions for it, it is also not worth it to overfill the soil. Otherwise, the roots will begin to rot, and from below, but you will not immediately see it and you will be surprised why your island of unusual beauty in the house withers and withers.

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Where to put guzmania?

The right choice of place is one of the determining factors to create the right care for guzmania. What conditions must be observed here:

• ideal place - partial shade of the western or eastern side in the summer;
• the south side is permissible in winter;
• In no case do not set the flower pot directly on the windowsill - the leaves will burn in the summer and dry out from heating radiators in the winter.

Important! When choosing a room for its intended purpose, keep in mind that a bedroom in which a lack of moisture is already clearly felt is far from the best option. Do not forget that guzmania care behind which you are trying to fix - this is a plant that takes moisture not only from the soil, but also directly from the air. Therefore, the conditions in such a room will become even more uncomfortable and you will have to forget about a good, high-quality sleep and rest.

The best option is to put guzmania in the kitchen or even in the bathroom. And to beat the interior with such an element of decor is not difficult.

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Is top dressing necessary?

Regarding auxiliary feeding when caring for guzmania, the requirements will be as follows:

• during flowering, as well as from March to September, it is necessary to apply organic and mineral fertilizers;
• the best option is fertilizers used for bromeliad plants;
• feed regularity - 1 time in 2 weeks-a month;
• fertilizer is poured directly into the flower outlet, the excess is immediately cleaned with a damp cloth or sponge.

Important! When fertilizing during guzmania care it is advisable to adhere to a specific schedule. Otherwise, it is possible to oversaturate with useful substances, which as a result will give an absolutely opposite result.

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When and how to transplant?

A periodic transplant of guzmania is not required. Such a procedure is necessary only in 2 cases:

• You have just purchased a flower and it is in the shipping pot;
• you are going to propagate guzmania.
  

The transplant process is not complicated, you just need to adhere to this instruction:

1. Prepare a pot of small depth - up to 15 cm.
2. Pour a drainage stone mixture to the bottom.
3. Add peat, sphagnum and coarse sand to the soil.
4. After moving the flower into a new pot, fill it with the prepared soil mixture and slightly compact the soil from above, without applying significant effort.

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Reproduction - the basic rules

Care for guzmania, if it is planned to propagate, is no different from the usual conditions for growing this exotic culture. The propagation method for this plant is one - by children. A transplant of children is performed at the moment when the process has reached a height of 15 cm.

Important! Guzmania is not a poisonous plant. But still, getting its juice on the skin can cause allergies or irritation. Therefore, when transplanting, it is better to use personal protective equipment - gloves and special clothing to exclude such a result.

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What to do if guzmania does not bloom?

Flowering is one of the most important moments when growing such a crop. And every owner of guzmania is looking forward to this phenomenon. Therefore, it is natural that if the plant does not want to give inflorescences in any way, its owner is puzzled: maybe additional care for guzmania is necessary?

In fact, no special conditions for the flowering of this plant is needed. If the flowers do not appear for a long time, it means that initially the care for guzmania was not entirely correct. In this case, the reasons for the presence of exclusively greenery may be the following:

• lack or excess of sunlight;
• lack of nutrients;
• very dry indoor air.

Important! If in generalmove for guzmania correct, but you would like to speed up the flowering process, take the following trick into your arsenal: put several apple slices in the soil next to the stem and cover the top of the pot with a plastic bag. This simple measure will allow you to quickly get the expected result.

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What is sick with guzmania?

Of course, like any other plant, guzmania is prone to certain diseases. The following are considered particularly dangerous pests for it:

• scabbard, mealybug, spider mite, the fight against which occurs by wiping the leaves with a soap solution, and in advanced cases with insecticides;
• rot of the stem - in such a situation, it is enough to correctly adjust the frequency and abundance of irrigation in a smaller direction;
• gray spotting is a sign of the growth of the fungus, the fight against which occurs with the help of a fungicide solution.
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  Stock footage

Now you have complete information about what guzmania is and what care should be for it. We hope you understand that there are no particular difficulties in this process and you will not deny yourself the pleasure of decorating your house with such an unusual flower.