Juicy greens and bright colors of guzmania on your windowsill

Evergreen herbaceous representatives of the plant world have been popular with home gardening enthusiasts for many years. Guzmania can be found in many offices and apartments.

Such popularity is associated with a stunning decorative effect that produces long juicy green stems and bright flowers of this plant.

Among the varieties of this plant, the most common is reed guzmania. This variety can grow both in the ground and in rocky soil.

The plant looks like an elastic rosette of large wide leaves. Inside is a whisk of bright colored leaves. They are usually mistaken for a flower.

In this case, the flower itself is completely invisible. This inflorescence is in the form of an ear, which blooms for a very short time.

There are several subspecies of reed guzmania:

• "Purple";
• "Modest";
• "Fiery";
• “Ordinary”;
• "Small".

They have slight external differences.

Another species is Donnell-Smith Guzmania. The rosette of this plant is somewhat loose. In addition, there are pale scales. Inflorescence pyramidal paniculate with erect peduncle. The plant has bright red tile-shaped bracts. Usually this species blooms in May and April.

Blood red guzmania has a glass-shaped rosette with bright red bracts. The peduncle in this form is undeveloped, so the inflorescence in the leafy wrapper is immersed in the outlet. This species has varieties:

• "Bloody";
• "Short-legged."

Mosaic guzmania has long leaves forming a sprawling rosette. Peduncle straight with sharp pink stipules. The plant blooms in white and yellow flowers that make up the capitate inflorescence. Varieties of this species are presented:

• Musaica;
• Concolor;

Nicaraguan guzmania is characterized by linguistic leaves. As they grow, longitudinal red strokes form on the sheets. The goblet shape of the outlet is crowned with an inflorescence with yellow flowers that bloom in May and March.

One-lane guzmania consists of yellow-green leaves. The plant blooms with white flowers, which, as the leaves fall, remain on the bare peduncle. This species also has varieties:

• Monostachia;
• Variegata;
• Alba

Guzmania Tsana has a huge flower. Its leaves reach up to 70 cm in length.

It is important to remember that this plant was brought from hot countries, so all varieties of guzmania are very thermophilic. In the room where the pot is located, the temperature should be at least 15 grams. The most suitable humidity is 50% -80%.

The pot for growing guzmania should not exceed 12 cm in height. Modern shops provide a wide range of special arrangements for planting flowers. For guzmania, a substrate for bromeliad plants is suitable. This composition includes:

• sphagnum;
• crushed fern bark;
• peat;
• charcoal;
• sand;
• clay earth.

In addition, you can use the bark of coniferous trees, moss and coal (wood). It is also necessary to provide the flower with good drainage.

During the period of active growth, the plant can be transplanted. This should be done no more than once every 2-3 years. Also during active growth, guzmania needs intensive watering. This usually occurs in spring and summer.

For plant comfort, you can pour a small amount of warm water directly into the flower’s outlet and spray it. During the flowering period, water must be removed from the outlet to avoid rotting.

During the flowering period, which usually occurs in March-September, the plant needs to be fed. For this, it is better to use organic substances and minerals.It is recommended to purchase the finished composition in a specialized store.

Fertilizers must be added to the soil once every 2 or 4 weeks. It is necessary to develop a schedule by dividing the flowering period into equal intervals. Oversaturation of the soil with substances can adversely affect the condition of the plant.

The fertilizer composition must be diluted in water and poured directly into the outlet. The fertilizer process is necessary only if for a long time the plant does not bloom or this happens irregularly.

The main way for the propagation of guzmania was division. In the root system, the so-called "children" are formed, which become a full-fledged bush. If the shoot has grown to 15 cm, then it is ready for transplantation. By this time, the old bush will dry out and die.

Most often, guzmania produces only one new bush. But there have been cases when the "parent" bush continues to grow and gives additional offspring.

Despite the unpretentiousness of the plant, there are a number of diseases and pests that can kill it. Among parasites, a special danger is:

• powdery worm;
• scale shield;
• spider mite.

These animals settle in the leaves, damaging them.

Treatment of the plant consists in regular rubbing the leaves with a soap solution. If these measures have not yielded results, it is necessary to use insecticides. They are sold in specialized stores and have instructions for use.

A sign of plant disease is also considered to be rotting of the stem. This means that the decay of the root system has begun. In the initial stages, it is enough to moderate the watering.

The fungus on the leaves looks like gray spots. A special fungicide in solution can help deal with the problem.

In general, the maintenance of guzmania in the house does not bring much trouble. The plant is unpretentious to the environment and easily tolerates minor changes in climate and conditions of care. The result of caring for such a flower will be bright greens all year round and colorful inflorescences during flowering and active growth.