Description of echmea, species, recommendations for maintenance, choice of location, advice on watering, fertilizing, reproduction, difficulties in care, pests and diseases. Ehmea (Aechmea) is a representative of the Bromeliaceae family, whose homeland is the central and southern parts of the American continent. This variety has more than 180 forms. The leaf plates, which have teeth at the edges, sometimes even thorns, and flowers with pointed petals, resembled the edge of a peak and from the Greek "aechme" became common nouns. Ehmeya can live on the ground, but sometimes, as a parasite plant, it settles on neighboring trees.
Echmea blooms only once a year, but because of its unique beauty, it is very loved by flower growers. Leaves that grow in the form of funnels or have a variegated color, interesting rosettes are collected. The surface of the leaf plate is covered with wrinkles and has a very high density, can reach 2 m in length, although in apartment conditions their dimensions are quite modest. In nature, during rain, moisture collects in the leaf outlet and can stay there for a long time, serve as food for the flower.
The reverse side of the echmea leaf seems to be painted with stripes of silver color, the upper one has a rich grassy color and silver spots of various sizes appear on its background. When the plant becomes old enough (around the age of five), an elongated peduncle with an inflorescence that looks like a bulb begins to stretch from the center of the rosette. Blooming can take several months. When the bracts, of a beautiful bright pink color, open enough, then flowers of a heavenly shade appear among its petals. The peduncle withers after flowering. The fruit of the echmea will be the berry.
Types of ehmea
- Ehmeya Weilbach (Aechmea weilbachii). Native area of growth of the territory of Brazil. This species is sometimes called Weilbach's Lamprococcus (Lamprococcus weilbachii). A dense rosette consists of leaf plates, which have the shape of rather elongated and pointed swords at the top, reaching a length of 0.5 m. The leaves are rather soft, covered with wrinkles. The color of the leaves at the base of the rosette casts red and copper tones, to the top it is diluted with green shades. The edge of the leaves is quite smooth. The peduncle stretches up to a height of 50 cm and bears an inflorescence in the form of a complicated brush. The bracts at the inflorescence are crimson-scarlet and rather large. Flowers of pale lilac shades with whitish edges grow on them. Sepals of flowers are fused one third of the height.
- Ehmeya two-row (Aechmea distichantha). It grows in the moist and warm forests of the eastern territories of South America. The second name is two-row platiehmeya. It can lead both a terrestrial existence and an epiphyte. The rosette of leaves is rather loose and not dense, it can reach up to a meter in diameter. The leaf plates are long and narrow, growing up to 0.5 m in length and only 3 cm in width. The color of the leaves is pale green, dotted with small brownish teeth along the edge, the apex is strongly pointed. The peduncle stretches in height more than half a meter. The flowers are pink with a purple color, the bracts are bright scarlet. White stripes all over the leaf are found in the variegate variety.
- Ehmeya curved (Aechmea recurvata). It grows in the rocky areas of the east coast of South America. Able to get along on the soil and on the trunks or branches of trees. The rosette is made up of leaf plates that have grown together at the base, which form a kind of tube. The number of leaves can be limited to 12, about half a meter long and only 1.5 cm wide. The edge of the leaf plate is decorated with dense spines up to 2 mm in height. The color of the leaves is light green, fairly light at the base, the edges are very pointed. The surface of the leaves is very smooth and glossy. The inflorescence slightly rises above the leaf rosette, 20 cm in height on the peduncle. The shape of the inflorescence is in the form of a head with bright scarlet petals and bracts. Flowering continues from mid to late spring. The subspecies of this representative is Aechmea ortgiesii, which is distinguished by a very low leaf rosette, no more than 15 cm in height. Leaves grow at an angle, wrinkled and grow up to 30 cm long and 1.5 cm wide. The same spike coverage as the main species. The flowers have a pinkish color of the petals, and the bracts are distinguished by red shades.
- Ehmeya shaggy (Aechmea comata). A resident of the mountainous regions of Brazilian territories. In some sources it is called Aechmea lindenii. The rosette is made up of long strips of leaves, which are quite tightly connected at the base. The leaf itself is very long and wide, measuring 1 m long and 5 cm wide. The edge of the leaf plate is decorated with small spikes of a dark shade. The inflorescence is a spikelet consisting of multiple rows. The color of the buds is deep yellow, and the bracts are distinguished by deep red shades. Flowering time falls on the cold season.
- Ehmeya matte red (Aechmea miniata). The funnel-shaped rosette consists of intergrown multiple leaf plates. Their length reaches up to half a meter, and their width is only 2 cm. The color of the leaves is light green, at the base it changes to purple-pink. The color of the leaves depends and varies from variety. The plate of the leaf is slightly narrowed towards the base, and the apex has a short sharpening. Small notches run along the edge of the leaf. The peduncle extends directly upward and carries an inflorescence in the form of a pyramid at its apex. The buds are blue and the bracts are bright red. After blooming, it bears fruit with small, richly pink peas. Flowering is very long.
- Ehmeya striped (Aechmea fasciata). Homeland of the growing tropical mountains of the Brazilian territories. Has the second name of Bilbergia striped (Bilbergia fasciata). The leaf plates are wide enough up to 5 cm and long up to 60 cm, collected by a rosette in the form of a tube. Frequent thorns are located along the border of the leaf. On a dark green background of the leaf plate, stripes of a whitish-silver color are arranged in a chaotic manner, across the length of the leaf. The peduncle grows upward and is covered with scaly petals. The inflorescence of a rather complex shape of a spherical pyramid, can reach 30 cm in length. The petals are bracts of a pale pink color, the petals of the flower buds are bluish, but closer to the top of the inflorescence, a red color appears, the sepals hang down. This species has creeping shoots on which children grow up for reproduction.
- Ehmeya sparkling (Aechmea fulgens). Natural habitat of the Brazilian rainforests. The rosette consists of numerous sheet plates, reaching almost 40 cm in length and 6 cm in width. A sheet with a rounded top. Herbaceous leaves have a gray bloom. The edge of the leaves is framed with sparse denticles. The bracts have a pink tint, and the flowers themselves are orange-red with a bright blue top. The number of flowers is very large, it can be up to 100 pieces. This includes a discolor view with a yellow-green tint on the outside and a purple-red underside. Inflorescence in the form of a branching brush of red color.
- Ehmeya tailed or bearded (Aechmea caudata). Deciduous rosette is quite dense and consists of a large number of bright light green leaves. A bright strip of yellow-cream hue runs along the bend of the leaf plate. The inflorescence has the shape of a panicle and is located on a long peduncle. The color of the buds ranges from bright yellow to gold. The peduncle is covered with a whitish coating, which is sometimes mistaken by flower growers for a fungal disease - "powdery mildew". The bracts are also yellowish in color.
- Ehmeya holosteel (Aechmea caudata). The rosette consists of tightly intergrown leaf plates, which are rather short. The leaves have a green tint on the front side, on the bottom they are gray-gray, with burgundy transverse stripes. The edge of the leaf is bordered with dark teeth. The peduncle in this species is quite long and at the top bears a spikelet-shaped inflorescence. The bracts are deeply scarlet, and the flowers are yellowish and almost never bloom.
Echmea care at home or office
Lighting
Ehmeya loves scattered sunlight or sometimes bright sun. And for her it is necessary to find a place on the window sills of windows that overlook sunrise or sunset. If you put the plant on the south window, then ehmeya can get burned leaves, for this you need to shade the midday rays with curtains. But this does not apply to all species. For example, a glittering ehmeya can be kept in partial shade, it absolutely does not tolerate direct sunlight, and a curved ehmeya should be in place with good lighting, since its leaf plates will turn pale and their decorative effect will decrease.
Content temperature for ehmea
This plant is distinguished by its love of warmth. In order for ehmeya to feel comfortable, it is necessary to adhere to temperatures from 22 to 26 degrees in the warm months of the year and from 13 to 18 degrees in winter. Such drops are stimulation of echmea inflorescences and ripening. It is also necessary to frequently ventilate the rooms where the ehmeya is located, but it is important to ensure that the draft does not pass through the plant. Only for sparkling echmea, a higher air temperature is needed, but it does not depend so much on ventilation.
Air humidity
Although ehmeya is a full-fledged inhabitant of the tropics, it perfectly survives and reproduces in apartments or offices with central heating and is not at all afraid of dry air. But still, she will feel great in high humidity. To do this, it is advisable to spray ehmeya, always with settled and soft water. You can also set the pot with the plant in a deep stand with pebbles or small expanded clay poured into it and keep them constantly moistened. It is not recommended to wipe the echmea leaves.
Watering ehmea
Since under natural conditions there is almost always water in the echmea leaf outlet, this should be repeated at home. As the temperature rises, it is important to ensure that the moisture in the outlet is constant. As soon as the indicators began to fall or the flowering stopped and the peduncle dried up, they try to prevent water from entering the outlet at all during watering. Otherwise, it will lead to decay of the echmea stem and its death. After the water is poured into the outlet, you can start watering the plant. Water for irrigation is taken from settled, rain or thawed, but the temperature should be slightly higher than room temperature. Ehmeya is very fond of abundant watering, but excess water, which must be removed from the glass and not allowed to stagnate.
Ehmeya feeding
In order to fertilize the plant, it is necessary to use a mineral complex of fertilizers and it is necessary to carry out top dressing constantly, every third time when watering the echmea. The dose for feeding is taken half as much as indicated by the manufacturer. It is important to ensure that water with fertilizers does not get into the leaf outlet, this will lead to the death of the plant.
Echmea flowering and its stimulation
Flowering directly depends on the type of echmea and can last all year round. If the plant lives in natural conditions, then flowering does not occur earlier than 4 years of age. You can also stimulate the flowering of echmea, but on the condition that the plant is already old enough, otherwise a weak or very young plant may die. The plant must be placed in a plastic bag and put in it 2-3 ripe apples or citrus fruits, and not tightly tied. After staying in this state for about two weeks, the plant is taken out, and after three months flowering begins. The reason is the ethylene gas that ripe fruits exude. For the same effect, a small part of calcium carbide is placed in the middle of the rosette of leaves, and when combined with water, the effect described above is obtained.
Soil selection and transplantation of echmea
Ehmeya requires an annual change of the pot and substrate, while the rosettes that have already bloomed must be removed. They choose a wider pot for transplanting, and not at all deep, since the echmea has a superficial root system. The pot is rather needed so that the plant does not turn over.
Ready-made bromeliad soils can be used. But more often the substrate is prepared independently. To do this, take the following components:
- turf land;
- nutritious soil soil;
- humus;
- sand.
The proportions are so that the mixture is light enough, therefore, such ratios are preferred - 2: 2: 1: 1, respectively. Sometimes finely crushed brick or shards, tree bark or charcoal are added to the composition. You can also add sphagnum moss cut into pieces.
Reproduction of echmea at home
Echmeya can be propagated by shoots or seeds.
Reproduction using seeds is a very difficult task, since it requires a constant temperature of 25 degrees. Seed material is sown into a substrate based on equal parts of sand and sphagnum moss. After that, it is necessary to create the conditions for a mini-greenhouse by covering the container with seeds with a plastic bag or a piece of glass. By the end of the month, seed sprouts appear, which, in the presence of 2-3 leaves, can be planted in separate pots. This happens after 3-4 months. Ehmei, which have grown in the process of such reproduction, will begin to bloom only after 3 years.
In order to propagate echmeya by children, it is necessary that their height reaches at least 10 cm. With a well-sharpened knife, young plants are separated from the parent echmea. Then the cut is well treated with charcoal to avoid decay. A young plant must have a good root system, otherwise it will not be able to take root. The baby is slightly dried and planted in the soil exactly the same as for adult plants. It is necessary to regularly spray young seedlings.
Pests and problems in the cultivation of ehmea
Rotting of the outlet is possible due to watering at low temperatures. Leaf plates begin to wrinkle if the air is dry and the temperature is too high. If the peduncle and inflorescences change color from pink to dirty pink, and the leaves begin to wither, then this means that the temperature is too low. When affected by fungal diseases, the leaf plates become brown. The color of the leaves becomes poisonous green if the scaly coating from the leaf plates of the echmea begins to wear off.
Among the pests of echmea are distinguished - the bromeliad scale insect, aphids, spider mites and mealybugs. All difficulties can be solved using modern insecticidal products.
How to transplant ehmeya at home:
