Gusmania

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Guzmania (lat. Guzmania) - a popular houseplant; a genus of evergreen plants of the Bromeliad family. Currently, there are about 130 species. Under natural conditions, gusmania grows on open mountain slopes and in the forests of Eastern India, South Florida, Central America, Brazil and Venezuela. The genus got its name in honor of the Spanish traveler and botanist Anastasio Guzman, who described this plant back in 1802.

Common types and their characteristics

* Gusmania Donnell-Smith (Latin Guzmania donnell-smithii) - the species is represented by epiphytic plants about 50-60 cm high, forming a loose tongue-shaped and pointed upward rosette, covered with pale-colored scales. Leaves are tiled, tightly covering the lower part of the inflorescence and erect peduncle. The inflorescence is short, dense, pyramidal-paniculate, with a bare axis, reaches about 10 cm in length. The lower leaves are broadly oval, slightly bent, with a sharp tip and appressed scales, bright red in color. Spikelets are two or three-flowered, up to 1 cm long, located on dense pedicels. Bracts are thin-filmy, rounded, 7-10 cm long, usually glabrous. Sepals are short-tubular, asymmetric, obtuse, narrow, veined, may be naked or covered with white scales. Petals are oval, duller, fused. Donnell-Smith Gusmania blooms in April-May. It occurs naturally in the humid forests of Costa Rica and Panama.

* Blood-red guzmania (lat. Guzmania sanguinea) - the species is represented by epiphytic plants, the leaves of which form a goblet-shaped rosette up to 30 cm high. The leaves are whole-edged, broad-linear, with the top bent down. The peduncle is not developed. The inflorescence is corymbose, immersed in a socket, consists of 7-12 flowers located on the pedicels. Bracts are thin, sepals are obtuse, elliptical, fused at the base, 1, 7 cm long. Petals are broadly oval, 7, 5 cm long, fused into a narrow tube, free on the upper part. In nature, they are found in forests and on the mountain slopes of Costa Rica, Colombia, Tobago and Ecuador.

* Mosaic Gusmania (Latin Guzmania musaica) - the species is represented by epiphytic plants, the leaves of which form a spreading rosette. Leaves are tiled, swollen, lingual or broadly elliptical, entire, with sharp tips. The peduncle is straight. The inflorescence is simple, consists of 12-25 flowers. Bracts are wide, bright pink in color, obovate or helmet-shaped, leathery, pointed tips, tightly covering the base of the flowers. Flowers are sessile, numerous. Sepals are obtuse, slightly elongated. Flowering takes place in July-August. In nature, mosaic gusmania is found in forests and on the slopes of the mountains of Guatemala, Ecuador, Colombia, and northeastern Brazil.

Conditions of detention

Gusmania is a light-loving plant, prefers western windowsills, shaded from direct sunlight. The optimum temperature for keeping in the winter season is 20C, in the summer - up to 28C. The plant has a positive attitude to high air humidity. The substrate for growing crops should consist of peat, charcoal, sand and soddy clay soil (1: 1: 0, 5: 0, 5) or a mixture of sphagnum and crushed fern roots (1: 3). It is possible to use a mixture of crushed coniferous bark, high peat, charcoal and sphagnum. Requires gusmania and good drainage.

Reproduction and planting

Gusmania is propagated by seeds, layering and division. Experienced growers recommend propagating the culture by shoots that form around the flowering mother plant. The shoots are separated when they form their own roots and transplanted into a separate container. Gusmania is transplanted in spring or summer, every 2-3 years, but the substrate is updated annually. For transplanting, it is best to use shallow planters or pots.

Care

Gusmania is a culture demanding systematic watering and spraying with warm and settled water, especially during the formation of new shoots and leaves. The root system of gusmania is very weak, it does not relate well to waterlogging, it often rots. Watering is carried out directly into the outlet, filling it with 2.5 cm of water. During the flowering period, watering is stopped for a while.

Gusmania needs regular feeding (at least once every three weeks); universal liquid fertilizers are ideal for this purpose. During the flowering period, the amount of dressings is increased. Like all representatives of the Bromeliad family, gusmania blooms once. After the end of flowering, the mother plant forms several lateral shoots and dies off.