Bromelia, Bromeliads - Care instructions for great flowers

• General about bromeliads
• Site conditions and plant substrate
• Plant bromeliads
• Pouring and fertilizing
• To cut
• multiply
• Diseases and pests

Bromeliads convince by their showy flowers, but also by their foliage. It is noteworthy that most bromeliads that we house as indoor plants take up their needed water through the leaf funnels and not over the soil and the roots. There are over 3, 000 species and countless varieties. The individual plants sometimes make very different demands on their location, the substrate and the care. That comes from their actual homelands.

Some grow in rather dark and humid rainforests, others grow in sunny and dry deserts. It is ideal if you can find out the exact name of the plant when buying, because then you can search specifically for the care conditions. We have to generalize here, can not respond to all claims.

General about bromeliads

• Plant family in the order of sweetgrass-like
• about 3, 000 species
• the best known is the pineapple
• almost all periwinkles
• grow in tropical and subtropical areas
• Leaf rosette as a typical growth habit
• mostly compressed, sometimes tribal
• showy leaf blade
• Flowers usually simple or compound, racemose or paniculate inflorescences
• decorative bracts and bracts of inflorescences
• usually only one flower in life, then they die
• different shaped fruits and seeds
• grow epiphytic (on trees) or terrestrial (on earth) depending on the species
• popular ornamental plants
• can absorb water from the environment

The care of bromeliads is straightforward. You have to know that not everyone has the same needs for site and plant substrate. Some like the sun, others do not. A lot of the species feel good outdoors in the summer, but not all. The same is true of the substrates if they need one. The claims are already different. The best thing to do is to buy a plant that comes with its exact name, then you can research the conditions in a very specific way.

Site conditions and plant substrate

The location depends on which species you have chosen. Basically all bromeliads like it warm. They are suitable throughout the year as indoor plants and do not like temperatures below 14 ° C. In summer, the plants feel good outdoors, but it must be ensured that the night temperatures remain above 14 ° C. We recommend a protected location. It is also important that the plants are not directly in the sun. The best is a place under a foliage-bearing wood. Morning and evening sun is well tolerated.

Location:

• all warm and bright
• Not too close to the window in summer, at least not where the sun shines heavily on at lunchtime. It can come to burns.
• the rest of the time the plants can be placed directly in the south window
• In the summer also like outdoors, especially Tillandsia, Aechmea, Billbergia, pineapple and Neoreglia
• not in the midday sun, better under the foliage of a wood
• ideal is morning and evening sun, especially for those with leathery leaves
• Sun in moderation is important for flower formation
• Many bromeliads feel most comfortable in bright bathrooms, where the humidity is usually right.

Tip: Terrestrial species tolerate more sun

Pflanzsubtrat:

• as a substrate for epiphytic bromeliads, a mixture of orchid and normal potting soil, in equal parts
• alternatively, a mixture of one part spagnum and two parts bark works. The bromeliads must be tied to it.
• for Erdbromelien a mixture of Lauberde and peat can be used, also in equal parts
• It is important that it is lime-free, loose and a bit crumbly.
• normal potting soil or potting soil is not suitable.

Plant bromeliads

It is important for bromeliads to keep the globe as small as possible. Both plastic and clay vessels can be used as vessels, but plastic pots keep moisture longer, which is good in summer. For large plants, heavy vessels are important, especially when exhibiting outdoors. The dead weight prevents falling over. The stability is simply higher.

• rarely repot
• Keep plant bales small
• repot only if the plant is too big for the vessel.
• Shard of pot over the vent hole
• Excess water must be able to drain

The bromeliads include the Tillandsien. These have their own wishes. You do not need any substrate. They absorb their water from the environment. Here, the majority is about presenting them beautifully. Therefore, they are attached to a knotty root wood, a branch piece or a stone. You can simply glue them with mounting adhesive.

Tip: Do not use a hot glue from the gun. The heat brings over many of the Tillandsien again and again. You can not see that right away, but usually only after a few weeks and months.

Pouring and fertilizing

Especially when casting the Bromeliads there is a lot to consider. Above all, only rainwater should be used. Soft and lime-free water is essential. Tap water should be filtered. In addition, the rosette is mostly poured into the funnels, and little to the earth.

• just pour with rainwater
• pour into the leaf axils and funnel
• These must not be empty, so fill them up again and again, but only when there is very little water left in them
• between the waterings on the earth always let the surface dry well.
• Water less during the winter months, keep drier overall
• bound bromeliads are sprayed with water only. Also use rainwater for that!
• keep the moss surrounding the roots slightly moist

It is only fertilized in the summer. It is important that not too many nutrients are supplied. Normal liquid fertilizer is used.

• fertilize only during the summer months
• Use liquid fertilizer
• Add irrigation water, in funnels and on soil
• add to the spray water
• never fertilize in winter

Tip: For many bromeliads, high humidity is important. Therefore, regular spraying is advised. So that no ugly lime spots on the leaves and flowers are visible, use rainwater!

To cut

Care also includes cutting. With bromeliads, this is only minimal. Only have to be cut if you leave the Kindel on the plant and not separated and potted separately. If these are large enough that they can soon form flowers themselves, the peduncle of the mother plant should be cut off. As a rule, the plant has already flowered for months. Even if the stalk is still green and the flower is still looking pretty good, the stalk should be cut as far down as possible. This gives the new shoots the chance to flower.

multiply

The proliferation of bromeliads is very simple. It manages to Kindel, foothills or the sowing of seeds. Seeds can be taken from own plants or purchased commercially. The multiplication by Kindel works much better, but is not suitable for larger quantities.

Kindel

After flowering, the leaflets of bromeliemia die off. This takes some time and during this or sometimes earlier, one or more kindles form around the mother plant. These kindles are independent plants that can be separated and planted separately. It is important that you do not do this too soon. The rosette shape should be clearly visible. It is beneficial to leave the small bromeliads on the mother plant until they are 8 to 10 cm tall, then there are usually no problems with the growth.

• after flowering, small bromeliads are formed on the mother plant - called Kindel
• these can, if they are big enough, be separated
• plant separately and continue to cultivate

sowing

If you want to multiply bromeliads by sowing, the best time to do so is spring. The seeds are simply placed on the sowing substrate and pressed. They are light germs, so they should not be covered with soil. The earth is only sprayed with rainwater. Favorable is a greenhouse climate, with a high humidity. This can be achieved by slipping over a transparent plastic bag. It is important to keep the substrate slightly damp, do not allow it to dry out and ventilate regularly, so that no mold can form. Keep the container warm and bright, but never in the sun.

• Sow in spring
• Light germinator - Do not cover seeds with soil
• Use seeding soil or a mixture of sharp sand and peat
• Spray the substrate
• reach high humidity through glass bell or bag
• Spray and air regularly
• warm and bright, without sun
• Germ temperature around 25 ° C
• Remove the bag or bell only when leaflets are visible

Diseases and pests

Bromeliads are actually pretty sturdy, at least when conditions are right. Diseases are extremely rare. In contrast, pests occur again and again. Especially wool and scale insects infest the plants.

Woll lice are quite easy to find. Small white cotton balls are a clear sign. Scale insects are harder to spot. Small, brown, oval bumps on and under leaves and stems are typical symptoms. Both pests leave sticky excrements, called honeydew. They are often found on the surfaces of the soil or where the plants are. Over time, the areas turn black, because that's where mushrooms settle. The plants react with growth disturbances, leaves turn yellow, one can see that the Bromelie does not go well.

• to prevent a high humidity is advantageous.
• spray the plants regularly.
• with slight infestation helps collecting.
• in mass propagation usually only helps chemistry
  • Systemic agents are absorbed by the plant.
  • When poking and sucking, the pests absorb the poison and die.