Description of bromeliads, main species, advice on care and reproduction, possible difficulties in breeding, bromeliads bloom, pests and plant diseases. Bromelia (Bromelia) - the plant is ranked among the variety of Bromeliads (Bromeliaceae), which includes up to 50 representatives. It got its name in honor of the Swedish physician of the XVI-XVII century Olaf Bromel. A plant that lives for many seasons both on the ground and in trees, like an epiphyte. The homeland of growth is considered to be the tropical areas of America.
Bromeliad has the appearance of a herbal plant, in extreme cases, it can be a shrub, which consists of elastic leaves with sufficient rigidity, making up a dense rosette. In natural nature, rainwater is filled into this outlet and various natural debris falls, which serves as a nutrient for the plant. Bromeliad has a very small root system.
Above this leafy rosette, a peduncle rises, bearing an inflorescence of bright shades in the form of a head, a panicle, a complex brush or an ear. Mostly bromeliads take on bright red or bright pink colors. But recently, due to various cultivation work, the flowers of the plant began to acquire new shades: white, yellow, orange, lilac, bright scarlet or colored (pink with a lilac tint). After flowering, some types of bromeliads bear edible fruits (one of them is pineapple), from which various drinks are made. After the flowering period, the rosette of an adult plant dries up, but by this time there are already a sufficient number of young lateral shoots - kick.
The most famous of the representatives of bromeliads: pineapple, guzmania, striped echmea, vriezia, tillandsia.
Home-grown bromeliads
Bromelia Pineapple (Bromelia Ananas)
This plant differs from the whole family in that it does not grow on the trunks and leaves of other trees, but leads a terrestrial existence. Native area of growth of the territory of Brazil. Pineapple became known to Old Europe at the end of the 18th century. After only 20 years in English greenhouses, they were able to get the fruits of the plant in conditions different from natural ones. So the pleasure of eating pineapple became the property of wealthy people of that time.
Pineapple is a perennial plant that has a short stem, consisting of tough leaf plates collected in a very dense rosette. The leaves are rough to the touch, bluish-green in color, their shape is elongated with a strong sharpening at the top, they can grow from half a meter to 1.2 m in length and up to 6 cm wide. The edge of the leaf plate has cusps in the form of small spines. Sufficiently mature plants can be up to a meter in height and two meters in diameter. A thick stem is formed from a rosette located at the very root, from which a peduncle extends up to 60 cm in height. It is crowned with a spike-shaped inflorescence, which has a panicle top. This pinnacle usually remains on top of the fruit. The inflorescence consists of more than a hundred inconspicuous flowers of a pale green or lilac hue. The entire pineapple fruit consists of many fertilized flowers - pineal, connected small fruits.
Bromelia Guzmania or (Guzmania lingulata)
It got its name in honor of the 17th-18th century Spanish naturalist Anastasio Guzman. Native habitat of Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. A herbaceous perennial plant that grows on the trunks and branches of trees. It consists of a rosette, which is formed by shiny bottle-colored leaves in the form of a tube. Leaf plates can grow more than half a meter in length. The shape of the leaves is lanceolate, in the form of a pointed knife. The color of the leaves is rich emerald, covered with pale green scaly growths. A straight-growing peduncle emerges from the center of the leaf outlet, which is tightly covered by the sheets in the form of tiles. These leaves envelop not only the peduncle stem itself, but also some part of the inflorescence. The shape of the inflorescence resembles a very dense panicle with a pyramid at the top. Its length is rather short, only 10 cm, the inner core is clearly visible. The leaves, which are located from the very bottom of the inflorescence, are bent to the ground, have the shape of a wide oval with a sharp end, their color is rich red, although both white and yellow are found. Flowering occurs from mid-spring to the end.
Echmea striped (Aechmea fasciata)
The plant is herbaceous and lives for many years. Natural habitats of the Mexican and Brazilian tropics. It has a very short and powerful stem. On this stem, leaf plates are attached opposite each other in a spiral, which are rough to the touch. A funnel-shaped rosette is assembled from these plates. Under natural conditions, rainwater and natural debris enter this funnel, along with insect debris, which serve as nutrients for the echmea. Leaves in the form of wide and elongated belts have a strong bend from half the length, the edges of the leaf are slightly serrated. The leaf plate itself is shiny and smooth, casts a dark emerald color, transverse stripes appear along the entire length, because of which this variety got its common name. The length of the leaf in natural conditions can reach up to two meters, but if it is grown indoors, then its size is quite modest.
With the onset of real warm days, a thick and long peduncle (can reach half a meter in height), painted in pink, begins to stretch from the center of the leaf outlet. At the top of the peduncle, a not dense spike-shaped inflorescence begins to form. From the inflorescence are drawn long petals of the bracts of a rich pink color, among which are indigo flowers. After the flowering process, the stem and leaf rosette dry out, but multiple lateral shoots develop.
Bromelia Vriesea
The homeland of the plant is the hot territories of the center and south of the American continent. It has been named after the Dutch botanist V. Da Vriez since the 19th century. It grows on the trunks and branches of trees, where birds bring its seeds. The inflorescence of Vriezia is very dense and flat, resembles a flattened ear, feather or sword in shape. Elongated and belt-shaped sheet plates are assembled into a wide socket. The color of the leaves is bright, bottle-colored, but sometimes whitish or red stripes can be located on them. During flowering, a long peduncle of a bright red hue is pulled out of the rosette, the bracts of the inflorescence have the same rich shade (red or orange), and bright yellow flowers are alternately placed among them. The inflorescence may not dry up to six months, when small flowers fade very quickly. After flowering, death also occurs, but Vriezia continues to grow, releasing multiple young shoots.
Tillandsia (Tillandsia)
The homeland of the plant is considered to be the humid and warm zones of the tropics and subtropics of South America. Tilandsia are usually divided into two types:
- The leaves are thin, highly elongated and pointed at the ends, completely covered with scaly plates, with the help of which nutrients and moisture are captured from the air - these are atmospheric tillandsias.
- Leaves in the form of pointed triangles or long knives, with very beautiful and decorative inflorescences, are thin-leaved tillandsia.
The biggest distinguishing feature of these species is the two-row spike-shaped inflorescence, which can be tightly folded or loosened. The leaflet petals have a tiled arrangement or in the form of a spiral.
Home care conditions for bromeliads
- Lighting conditions. Since bromeliads mostly live a semi-aerial life, not bright, but good lighting is suitable for them. That is, for the location of the pot with bromeliads, you need to choose windows with dawn or sunset rays of the sun. But some individual varieties of bromeliads, like pineapple and cryptanthus, like direct sunlight. If the plant is located on windows in a southern direction, then it must be slightly shaded from the midday burning rays with light curtains, gauze or paper. And at the same time, frequent spraying is necessary, as bromeliad consumes moisture mainly from the air. On the north window, the bromeliads will have to be supplemented with special lamps and make sure that there are no drafts and the temperature drops below 12 degrees.
- Bromeliad content temperature. As a real inhabitant of tropical forests, bromeliads are very fond of warmth and humidity, therefore, for the plant to feel comfortable, the required temperature should be in the range from 18 to 24 degrees Celsius, bromeliads may not survive temperatures below 12 degrees. If the bromeliad has already begun to bloom, then it can be moved to colder conditions (but not less than 12 degrees), but with the same diffused illumination.
- Air humidity. Bromeliad is very fond of frequent spraying and it is difficult to tolerate dry air, from this leaf plates can begin to dry out. In summer, the plant can be sprayed several times a day with warm soft water, which is defended for several days or rainwater is used. Spraying is reduced with decreasing air temperature. The main thing is not to put bromeliads next to batteries or heaters in winter. The best way to increase the moisture content in the air is to use special humidifiers, with which you can achieve at least 60% humidity.
- Watering bromeliads. Although the plant is tropical, bromeliad does not tolerate too frequent and abundant watering at all. Moreover, it is necessary to moisten bromeliads not only by watering the soil, but also by pouring water into an outlet from leaves. When it gets very hot, the water in the outlet should be constantly, but in general, adding water is necessary in the case when the moisture in it has almost completely evaporated. Then the soil in the pot is slightly poured. It is preferable to take water for irrigation of bromeliads collected from rain or melted snow, you can also soften it yourself by settling or immersing peat in a gauze bag in it at night. The water temperature for irrigation should be slightly warmer than room temperature.
- Fertilizer for bromeliads. In order to feed bromeliads, they choose complexes of mineral fertilizers, preferably in liquid form. But you need to take half the dosage than indicated by the manufacturer. It is also important to prevent fertilizer from entering the leaf outlet, this can lead to the death of bromeliads.
- Choosing a bromeliad pot and potting soil. Since bromeliad is a partially epiphytic plant, it does not require frequent transplantation. This procedure is performed if the root system has grown very large and filled the entire pot. The container for transplanting is selected wider, since the roots are not very deep in the soil, the depth of the pot is not very important.
To change the soil, you can take a special substrate for orchids or make up the soil mixture yourself. It is worth remembering that the soil for bromeliads should be very light and sufficiently moisture and air permeable. To do this, you can take: 2 parts of nutritious soil (rotted leaves), one part of humus and peat soil, half of a part of sand. In order to increase the aeration of the earthen substrate, finely crushed charcoal, carefully cut sphagnum moss, last year's spruce or pine needles can be added to it. For such a type of bromeliad as vriezia, the composition of the earth is made even more lightweight. Nutrient soil is taken only a part of 3 parts of chopped sphagnum moss, in equal parts crushed bark of pine trees and peat land. Also, to impart nutritional value to the substrate, half a part of the dried humus is added.
Reproduction of bromeliads at home
When breeding bromeliads, you can use young baby plants (kiki) or seeds.
With its growth and in the process of flowering, bromeliads begin to grow numerous underground shoots that turn into baby plants, or as they are called "kiki", with which reproduction can be carried out. But when there are still flowers on the bromeliads, it is not recommended to touch either the mother plant or the children, since this can destroy both the young growth and the adult plant itself. After the end of the flowering process, somewhere in the middle of autumn, the adult plant dries up and you can start transplanting kick. It is important that the height of young shoots is at least 15 cm. With the help of a sharpened knife, the young plant is separated from the parent bromeliad. Then they are slightly dried and planted in the soil of the same composition as for an adult plant. The stalk must have good roots, otherwise it will not be able to take root. Cuttings do not need any special conditions, rooting takes place within a week. Only regular and abundant watering is needed. After the first month of independent life, young bromeliads go into winter rest, and new growth will begin only with the onset of spring.
Reproduction using seeds is not a difficult method, but troublesome, since it requires a constant high temperature of 25 degrees. But it is worth considering that hybrid plants do not get offspring. The seeds are sown in a container with a substrate, a mixture of sand and chopped moss. The container is covered with a polyethylene bag or a piece of glass and placed in a place with dim lighting. Constant ventilation and moistening of the soil in the container is required. After a month, seed shoots may appear and when 3 leaves ripen on the shoots, then young bromeliads can be planted in separate pots with a soil composition similar to that of adult plants.
Problems in caring for bromeliads
Scabbards and mealybugs bring great harm to bromeliads. When the scale insects, which feed on the nutritious juices of the plant, are damaged, red-brown spots appear on the leaf plates and the leaves begin to die off. Scabbards form a sticky coating, due to which bromeliads can be affected by fungal diseases. To combat and scabbards, the plant is treated with a solution of tobacco. For mealybugs, the so-called "green" soap is used. If necessary, the bromeliads will have to be sprayed with insecticides.
About the plants of the Bromeliad family in this video:
