How to accelerate the flowering of guzmania and other representatives of the Bromeliad family
All fans of bromeliads have long known that their flowering serves as a transitional stage between the withering away of the mother bush and the birth of new specimens. Guzmania is no exception - the appearance of a peduncle in the center of the rosette means that soon it will form children, and itself will dry out. When the children grow up and form their roots, they are separated from the motherboard and planted in a separate pot. Then growers can only wait and count the days until a new bloom.
On average, young Guzmania bloom at the end of the second year of life, but there is one tricky way that can speed up this process. We are talking about a folk remedy, or rather, about using ordinary fresh apples... By the way, this method also works well in those cases when an already mature plant refuses to bloom (this happens, however, not often).
Guzmania bloom, although it occurs once in a lifetime, but it lasts more than six months.
How do apples affect flowering?
Apple fruits, upon contact with air, release acitelin. This substance is involved in the nutrition of the guzmania (penetrates the plant through the leafy plate) and is capable of causing the flower stalk to form.
When can you use the method?
It is possible to activate the flowering process no earlier than the young guzmania reaches the age of 1.5 years. By this time, the flower will get stronger and grow a fairly dense rosette that can withstand the peduncle and large stipules. The use of this method on younger guzmans is unlikely to bring a positive effect.
What need to do?
To speed up the flowering of guzmania, you must:
- place the baby Guzmania in a plastic bag (along with the pot);
- put an apple cut in half there;
- tie a bag.
Important! Every two to three days it is necessary to untie the bag for airing, and when the apple starts to rot, replace the fruit with a new one.
In a bag with an apple, guzmania should be kept for several weeks, after which a flower arrow will appear from the outlet. Then the flower can already be freed from the "batch-apple" captivity and return to normal mode.