Magical and beneficial properties of bilbergia. Billbergia - care at home. Why does not bloom at home. Houseplants: Billbergia drooping Watering and spraying

Billbergia (Billbergia) is a flowering, evergreen plant from the bromeliad family. Forms a rosette of wide, belt-like leaves in the center of which moisture accumulates. During flowering, it throws out straight flower stalks with drooping inflorescences. Plant height does not exceed 60-70 cm.

Billbergia is native to Brazil. The culture is a typical epiphyte. Under natural conditions, it grows only on trees; special substrates are used for growing in a room. The average life expectancy with the creation of the necessary conditions reaches 5-8 years.

Also be sure to look at a flower from the same family -.

	Growth rate is high.
	Blooms from early winter to early spring.
	The plant is easy to grow.
	It is a perennial plant.

Useful properties of bilbergia

Billbergia leaves actively secrete phytoncides, which effectively disinfect the air. Also, the plant is able to increase the negative ionization of the air, thereby creating electrostatics that is beneficial to health. In addition, bilbergia actively contributes to sound absorption. And its spectacular appearance is an excellent decoration for interiors of any type.

Billbergia: care at home. Briefly

Billbergia at home grows well and blooms only if a number of requirements are met:

Billbergia care at home. in detail

Caring for bilbergia at home is not particularly difficult. It tolerates dry air well and suffers little from drafts.

Blooming bilbergia

Billbergia blooms twice a year: in spring and autumn. The peduncle emerges from the center of the rosette. Flowers are collected in drooping brushes, at the base of which bracts of bright red or pink color are located. After flowering, the mother rosette forms many creeping shoots, and dies off.

Young plants bloom for 2-3 years. In heavily overgrown specimens, several rosettes can bloom at the same time.

Temperature regime

In summer, Billbergia prefers moderate temperatures in the range of + 23-26 °. With heat above + 28 ° and dry air, plant growth stops. In winter, the flower requires cooler conditions of maintenance + 18-20 °. If necessary, bilbergia will easily tolerate a short-term decrease in temperature to + 2-3 °. But prolonged maintenance in such conditions will lead to the death of the plant.

spraying

Billbergia at home perfectly adapts to the ambient humidity. In winter, after turning on the heating, it is advisable to spray the plant. Spray water must be soft. From a tough one on the leaves of the plant, an ugly brown coating will appear over time.

Lighting

Home bilbergia needs bright but diffused lighting. Therefore, east and west windows are best suited for its placement. In the north, it will suffer from a lack of light. When placed on the southern windows at noon, the plant must be shaded.

Watering bilbergia

The bilbergia plant at home requires frequent and plentiful watering. The soil must always be moist. In the summer, when watering, water is also poured into the leaf funnel. In winter, this is undesirable.

High humidity combined with coolness can lead to the development of fungal diseases. For irrigation use only soft water. It must first be defended for 3-4 days or passed through a filter.

When grown on a moss substrate, bromeliads are watered after complete drying. To do this, it is placed in a bowl of warm water. After the moss is completely saturated, the plant is returned to its place.

Billbergia pot

Pot for growing bilbergia can be plastic and ceramic. Its size should be slightly larger than the size of the root system. In conditions of small crowding, the plant develops much better.

Billbergia can also be grown on a "bromeliad tree". It is made from a thick branch. The roots of the plants placed on it are wrapped with sphagnum moss. If necessary, the tree is replaced with a large piece of bark.

Priming

Billbergia does not impose special requirements on the soil substrate. The main thing is that it should be sufficiently loose and breathable. Flower shops also sell special substrates for bromeliads. With self-compilation of the soil, a large amount of chopped moss and clean river sand must be included in its composition.

Top dressing and fertilizer

During the spring-summer period, bilbergia is fed every 2 weeks with a special fertilizer for bromeliads.

It is not recommended to use universal top dressing for indoor plants. They contain a fairly large amount of nitrogen.

Billbergia transplantation is carried out as needed. Its root system develops quite slowly. Roots coming out of the pot serve as a signal for transplantation.

Billbergia pruning

Billbergia does not need special pruning. Dry and damaged leaves, as well as dying old rosettes, are removed from her as necessary.

rest period

Billbergia does not have a pronounced dormant period. In winter, the plant simply slows down its growth rate. During wintering, it is desirable to reduce the temperature to 16-18 °. This will prevent stretching during the short winter day.

Why bilbergia does not bloom at home

If the plant stubbornly refuses to bloom, it is possible that mistakes were made when caring for it:

1. The plant suffers from a lack of light. The pot with bilbergia should be rearranged to a sunny window or arranged for lighting.
2. When transplanting, a too large pot was chosen. Until the roots have mastered the entire volume of the earth, the plant will not bloom.
3. Lack of moisture. Billbergia needs to be watered frequently and abundantly. In summer, water is also poured into the center of the outlet.
4. Not enough food. The plant must be fed with a special fertilizer for bromeliads.
5. Too warm winter. To lay flower buds, the plant requires a decrease in temperature in winter.

Growing billbergia from seeds

To grow bilbergia from seeds, you must adhere to the following rules:

1. Seeds are sown immediately after harvest.
2. Before sowing, the seeds are disinfected in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate.
3. Sowing is carried out in a mixture of peat and crushed sphagnum moss.
4. The sowing container must be covered with a film and placed in a dark, warm place with a temperature not lower than + 23 °.
5. The greenhouse must be ventilated periodically.

The first shoots appear after 1-1.5 months. After the seedlings form 2-3 true leaves, they dive into separate pots. In the future, they are looked after in the same way as for adult plants.

Propagation of bilbergia by lateral processes

The easiest way to reproduce. In the process of growth, bilbergia forms numerous side shoots that can be used for propagation. They are separated during the annual transplant. The larger the delenki, the faster and easier they take root.

After separation, the cut sites are treated with charcoal powder. Young plants are planted in soil mixture for adults in small greenhouses. You can also root in crushed moss or perlite. In this case, after the development of the roots, an additional transplant into a full-fledged substrate will be required.

Under conditions of high humidity, plants take root much faster. To stimulate the development of roots, delenki can be dipped in Kornevin powder before planting. They bloom in 2-3 years of cultivation.

Diseases and pests

Most diseases arise due to care errors:

Of the pests, bilbergia is most often affected by mealybugs, scale insects and aphids. To combat them, insecticide solutions are used.

Types of bilbergia home with photos and names

In indoor floriculture, the following types are most common:

The leaves are belt-like, up to 70 cm long, saturated green, with a large amount of bright sunlight, their surface turns pink. Sheet plates are collected in a large, tubular rosette. Inflorescences of drooping type with long bracts.

Billbergia pale-flowered (Billbergia pallidiflora)

Epiphyte, naturally grows on rocky slopes. The leaves are few, collected in a powerful, tubular rosette. Leaf plates are bright green, rough, with numerous thorns along the edges. Peduncle curved shape with spicate, densely pubescent inflorescence.

The leaves are few, form a powerful, tubular rosette. The leaves are green, linear, up to 70 cm long. Spike-shaped inflorescence with blue flowers. The bracts themselves are very large, rich pink.

Epiphyte with long leathery leaves with characteristic white stripes. The flowers are blue, with large pink bracts.

Genus bilbergii belongs to the family bromeliads and has more than 60 species of epiphytic and terrestrial varieties.

Motherland of this exotic regal flower - the subtropics of South and Central America, with their constant droughts and large temperature fluctuations.

Billbergia blooms in spring and autumn, acquiring a beautiful decorative look.

Varieties

The most common types of bilbergia among amateur flower growers are:

Bilbergia nutans(bilbergia drooping, see photo), or "Queen's Tears" - a plant 35-40 cm high, with a rosette of leaves and a drooping peduncle that can reach 80 cm in length. The flowers are semi-open, having a greenish-purple color with bright pink bracts. This is not the only variety of beerbergia with sad, drooping beautiful "weeping" inflorescences - this is its originality.

Billbergia magnifica(Magnificent bilbergia, see photo) - a plant native to Southeast Brazil. It has upright hard rosette leaves with thorns along the edges and a pointed top. The peduncle is large, up to 30 cm, drooping down, has large leaves and bracts. Blue petals up to 7 cm wide are twisted in a spiral. After flowering, it forms berries.

Billbergia vittata(bilbergia ribbon, see photo) - differs in the variegated color of the leaves - from bronze to olive, and silver stripes on their reverse side. The flowers of this billbergia are bright blue, with pink bracts.

Billbergia viridiflora(green bilbergia, see photo) is a large epiphytic plant native to southern Mexico. Dark green leaves with jagged edges are covered with grayish scales, smaller on the peduncle.

Billbergia zebrine(zebra bilbergia, see photo) - a rosette plant with a purple-bronze color with large transverse stripes. The flowers are collected in a pink loose brush with bright pink bracts.

Billbergia saundersii(bilbergia sanders, see photo) is a small epiphytic plant with a narrow upright rosette of leaves covered with thorns along the edges. At the tops, the leaf plates have a greenish tint with a bronze tint, from the bottom they are red with an intricate pattern of dots, spots and stripes of a pink-yellow hue. The peduncle is falling, with broad-leaved leaves and yellow-green-blue petals.

Billbergia Care Conditions

New trends in the development of indoor floriculture suggest growing this flower not only in ordinary pots, but also in a very interesting way - on bromeliad tree. If the size of the room allows, the tree is made from a large branched snag, the bilbergia is taken out of the pot and, having previously cleared the roots from the ground, wrapped in sphagnum moss and tied to the branches.

Sometimes they do mini composition- a block of tree bark and attached to a shelf or wall. The complexity of caring for bromeliad compositions is to properly maintain the moisture content of the moss.

bilbergia photophilous, but feels better in diffused lighting, without direct sunlight. Try to place it closer to the western and eastern windows of the apartment. With insufficient lighting, the buds may not form and flowering will not occur.

During the growing season, Billbergia prefers air temperature from +20 to +28°С, during the dormant period - not higher than +18°С. The flower tolerates a short-term decrease in temperature to 2-3 ° C calmly, but with prolonged hypothermia it may die.

Watering and feeding

bilbergia- moisture-loving flower. During the spring-summer period, the soil in the pot should be constantly moistened, but without standing water on the surface.

In winter, watering should be limited, up to a short-term drying of the soil. Use only soft, settled for at least 12 hours, room temperature water.

pour it can be directly into the rosettes of leaves (this applies to varieties with dense fleshy leaves), but only if the room temperature exceeds + 20 ° C. When the temperature drops, the water should be drained to prevent the socket from rotting.

Feed up bilbergia only during the growing season with special fertilizers for bromeliad plants. When using conventional fertilizers, you need to halve the dose.

Too much nitrogen may lead to the death of the flower.

But the bilbergia is not demanding at all on the substrate. She's perfect for this mixture:

• riding peat;
• sheet soil;
• humus;
• river sand;
• crushed sphagnum moss.

reproduction

When bilbergia fades, flower stalks form seeds. For good germination, it is better that they are fresh. Collect the seeds, sow a special soil, sprinkle river sand on top (it should always be wet). Boxes with soil are placed in a shaded and humid place with an air temperature of + 24 + 25 ° С. Shoots will appear in 4-6 weeks.

There are other ways of reproduction, easier - division of an adult plant or branch rosettes. A cut of the children is done in March-April, carefully separating them at the base of the mother plant along with the roots and planting them in the soil. Young plants bloom in 2-3 years, and separated parts - in a year.

Pests

Billbergia is considered a fairly unpretentious plant, not subject to frequent diseases and pest attacks. And yet, care and careful weekly inspection of leaves and inflorescences will never be superfluous. At any time of the year, the plant can be damaged:,.

At the first detection of pests, treat the bush with a sponge dipped in soapy water. With a stronger lesion, it is necessary to resort to the help of insecticidal agents: actellik or carbofoss. Dilute 15-20 drops per liter of water.

Possible problems

• brown spots on the leaves appear from sunburn. Move the plant to another window sill or cover with a curtain.
• brown tips leaves - the result of watering with hard water or stagnation of water in the funnel.
• Loose or falling leaves is the result of a lack of light.
• Cause the death of a young, not yet blooming plant can be waterlogged.
• After flowering, decay and death of the outlet - naturally. So the beautiful bilbergia ends its life cycle in order to be reborn again soon.

And for the most curious, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the video trailer about bilbergia

Billbergia (lat. Billbergia)- a genus of evergreen herbaceous epiphytes of the Bromeliad family, which are distributed mainly in Brazil, but are also found in Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia and other countries of South and Central America. The genus was named in 1821 by Carl Thunberg in honor of the Swedish lawyer, zoologist and botanist Gustav Bilberg. In total, there are more than 60 species in the genus, and some of them are very popular in room culture, because, compared to other bromeliads, they are not so capricious and whimsical to care for.

Planting and caring for Billbergia

• Bloom: usually from mid-spring to mid-summer.
• Lighting: bright light and partial shade.
• Temperature: normal for residential premises, but not lower than 12 ºC.
• Watering: between waterings, the earthen ball should dry out to a depth of 2-3 cm. Watering is carried out in a funnel of leaves. In winter, the plant is watered no more than 1 time per week.
• Air humidity: increased. In the heat, regular spraying of the leaves with warm water and keeping the plant on a pallet with wet pebbles is recommended.
• Top dressing: complex mineral fertilizer for bromeliads or for flowering plants in liquid form: from the beginning of the growing season until the end of flowering - 1 time in 2 weeks, and during the dormant period - once every 1.5 months.
• rest period: October-February.
• Transfer: as needed between March and August.
• Reproduction: child sockets.
• Diseases: funnel rot.
• Pests: spider mites, mealybugs, scale insects, thrips.

Read more about growing Billbergia below.

Billbergia - description

Billbergia are epiphytes, that is, plants that live on trees. They have belt-like wide leaves that form a rosette in which water collects under natural conditions. On the leaves of some bilbergia, grayish chalky spots can be seen, and the leaf plates of other species become pink in color when the light is too bright. Flower arrows grow from the center of the leaf rosette, bearing drooping inflorescences, in which pink or red bracts attract more attention than nondescript flowers. Billbergia blooms mainly in winter. Bright bracts retain their decorative effect for several months.

How to grow bilbergia

Billbergia easily adapts to almost any conditions, but if you want to see it in the best shape, take the trouble to create conditions for it close to natural.

The bilbergia flower develops equally well both on the illuminated window sills and in the back of the room, so it is often used to decorate the interior and create flower arrangements. However, in bright light and in partial shade, it still blooms brighter.

In the photo: Growing bilbergia in a pot

As for temperature, then the plant will be comfortable in the conditions familiar to humans, as long as the room is not cooler than 12 ˚C. But during the flowering period, it is desirable to lower the temperature by 2-3 degrees.

The bilbergia indoor plant enjoys spending the warm season outdoors, therefore, as soon as the weather is warm and the threat of return frosts has passed, the plant can be arranged in the garden, on the balcony or on the terrace, where it will soon begin to grow young rosettes. The main thing is to protect the room bilbergia from drafts, sharp gusts of wind, direct midday rays and precipitation.

Billbergia develops, replacing faded rosettes with newly formed ones, so you need to manually cut off old rosettes 4-5 weeks after flowering is completed so that they do not slow down the development of young promising children.

Watering and feeding Billbergia

Potted bilbergia soil should be kept slightly moist, avoiding standing water in the roots. Between two waterings, the substrate in the pot should dry to a depth of 2-3 cm. Humidification of the bilbergia is carried out by the method used for all bromeliads: settled or filtered water at room temperature should be poured into the center of the leaf funnel.

The difficulty of such irrigation is that then you need to constantly monitor the water level in the funnel and drain its excess in a timely manner. In addition, if the plant is kept in cool conditions, moisture is excluded by this method, and water cannot be poured into the outlet when the flower is at rest. In these cases, you should simply moisten the soil in the pot.

In winter, when daylight hours are reduced and the temperature of the content drops, billbergia is watered no more than once a week.

In the photo: Billbergia flower arrow

Billbergia at home needs high humidity, so it will be grateful to spray the leaves with non-cold settled water, especially when the temperature in the room is above 23 ˚C. During flowering, bilbergia can be placed on a pallet with wet pebbles, wet moss or expanded clay. These measures to increase the humidity of the air are usually sufficient.

Fertilize the substrate in the billbergia pot not only during the period of active vegetation, but also during the dormant period, since the plant loves stable conditions. From the beginning of the growing season until the end of flowering, Billbergia is fed twice a month with special mineral complexes for bromeliads. During the dormant period, it is enough to feed once every 5-6 weeks.

It can be used for feeding bilbergia and fertilizer for flowering houseplants, however, the concentration of this solution should be two times weaker than indicated in the instructions.

Too much nitrogen in the substrate can cause the death of the epiphyte, so complexes with a standard proportion of elements cannot be used to feed bilbergia.

Transplantation and propagation of bilbergia

Billbergia is transplanted as needed, and combined with the reproduction of the plant by daughter outlets: the active growth of the flower requires regular planting of children. As soon as the young sockets become too crowded in the pot, and the roots of the bilbergia begin to crawl out of the drainage holes, you need to separate the children from the mother plant and transplant. They do this from March to August.

Larger containers for bilbergia should be chosen, since the plant is actively growing: the pots should not be so much deep as wide. A new pot is taken 2-3 cm in diameter larger than the old one. The composition of the bilbergia substrate requires a rather specific one: with a rough texture, containing only a small amount of soddy earth and having a pH close to 5.0 pH. Billbergia grows well in a mixture of equal parts of leafy soil, moss, humus and high-moor peat.

When transplanting, it is not necessary to completely clean the roots of the plant from the old substrate. Just inspect them, and if they look healthy, transplant the plant into a new pot, filling the remaining space with fresh substrate. If there are rotten areas on the roots, first cut them out with a sharp sterile tool, treat the cuts with charcoal powder, and only then plant the flower in a new dish.

Pests and diseases of billbergia

Billbergia diseases and their treatment

From the stagnation of water in the leaf funnel or in the roots of the bilbergia, it can rot. It is necessary to constantly monitor the level of water in the outlet and drain its excess, otherwise the plant may die.

Sometimes on the leaves of bilbergia growing on the windowsill under the rays of the sun, brown spots appear - sunburn. You need to immediately move the flower to a safe place or shade it from direct rays with a light curtain or gauze. From a lack of light, the bilbergia rosette is falling apart. The brown tips of the leaves are a consequence of watering the epiphyte with hard water or stagnation in a water funnel.

In the photo: How bilbergia blooms in nature

If, after flowering is completed, the flower outlet rots and dies, there is no reason to worry: it is a natural process that completes the life cycle.

Billbergia pests and their control

Most often, the following types of bilbergia are grown in room culture:

Or "Queen's Tears" - a plant reaching a height of 35-40 cm and forming a rosette of leaves with a drooping flower arrow up to 80 cm high. The inflorescence consists of greenish-purple flowers and bright pink bracts.

In the photo: Billbergia drooping (Billbergia nutans)

Billbergia magnifica (Billbergia magnifica)

This is a plant from the southeastern regions of Brazil, forming a rare elongated rosette of large, hard, narrow, spiny leaves up to 70 cm long and about 8 cm wide with a pointed tip. The leaves are bluish-green in color and covered with transverse light stripes. The drooping peduncle of this species, about 30 cm high, bears a fleshy inflorescence up to 30 cm long of flowers with spiral blue petals covered with large pink bracts.

Billbergia ribbon (Billbergia vittata)

It differs from other species in the variegated color of the leaves in different variations from olive to bronze. On the underside, the leaves are covered with silvery stripes. The flowers of this species are bright blue, and the bracts are pink.

Billbergia is a perennial evergreen herbaceous plant of the Bromeliad family. Many species of this plant are widely used in decorating home interiors. The birthplace of the flower is South America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina). Billbergia does not need special care at home.

Representatives of this genus grow on trees. The leaves are serrated along the edges, one or multicolor, hard, wide. The leaves form a rosette, at the bottom of which water accumulates. Even flower stalks with drooping inflorescences similar to ears come out of the outlet. From them grow bright flowers rolled up by a tube or a spiral. Under good conditions, the plant can reach 1.5 m in height.

The bilbergia genus includes 66 varieties, but not all of them are suitable for growing at home. Consider the most popular and unpretentious plants:

Billbergia drooping is a very popular plant, also known as "Queen's Tears". A drooping pink peduncle up to 70 cm long. has semi-open flowers of greenish-purple color. The plant itself reaches no more than 40 cm in height. Flowering occurs regardless of the season. Billbergia needs to be replanted and divided annually due to its strong overgrowth. Windy is a hybrid of drooping Billbergia. It has a similar appearance, but reaches a larger size. The leaves are green, much larger (1 m long), collected in a rosette. On the peduncle, 40 cm long, there are large flowers. Pink leaves on the inflorescence are larger

Billbergia magnifica is an indoor flower native to Brazil. Flowering occurs in summer. On an inflorescence 25 cm long, bright flowers are formed, coiled. A few straight, long leaves (up to 65 cm long and 6 cm wide) come out of the tubular rosette. White stripes run along the entire sheet. On the edge there are notches with a sharp top.

Billbergia sanders is a small plant (up to 30 cm). Long, erect, dark green leaves serrated along the edges form a rosette. The surface is covered with multi-colored stripes and dots. Pink bracts form inflorescences similar to greenish-yellow spikes with bluish patches.

Billbergia zebra is a popular beautiful home flower native to South America. On the rosette, dark green narrow leaves are small thorns. Gray stripes run along the entire sheet. Inflorescences similar to spikelets are located on long peduncles.

Proper plant care

Billbergia flower is one of those few plants that do not need constant lighting. She tolerates even the most shaded places in the apartment quite well. Strongly bright lighting is detrimental to this delicate flower. Therefore, it must be placed in places with diffused light - there the bilbergia feels as comfortable as possible.

The temperature regime also does not play a special role for the normal life of the plant. During the period of active growth, the optimum temperature will be 18-30 ° C. The main thing is that it should not be below 13 ° C.

In the warm season, bilbergia can be taken out to the garden or to the flower bed. Fresh air will promote active growth and flowering. Green leaves and colorful inflorescences will surprise with their brightness.

Watering and fertilizing

In order for Billbergia to feel comfortable, it is necessary to constantly maintain soil moisture. The flower does not tolerate dry and waterlogged soil. You need to water the plant after the upper substrate has dried by 2 cm. Watering the flower is also done in a rosette of leaves. But this method is very risky - if the plant is kept in a cool room, it can rot.

bilberia windi

In the cold periods of the year, it is necessary to reduce the watering of bilbergia to once every 7 days. The soil should remain slightly dry. If the plant is kept at temperatures above 25 ° C, you need to regularly spray the leaves.

It is necessary to feed the flower all year round, even during the dormant period. In autumn and winter, when billbergia is actively blooming, fertilize the flower once a month. In the warm period - once every two weeks. Top dressing must be chosen specifically for bromeliads, otherwise the plant may die from an excess of nitrogen.

Propagation with seeds

After the bilbergia stops flowering, seeds appear on the peduncles. In order for beautiful plants to grow from them, you need to follow some rules:

1. seeds must be sown fresh - this guarantees greater germination;
2. soil can be made by mixing parts of peat, humus, sand, leaf soil and moss.
3. after sowing, it is necessary to sprinkle with wet sand on top;
4. seeded containers should be placed in a dark place, maintaining humidity and air temperature at 26 ° C;
5. sprouts will appear in a month. They can be planted in separate containers and covered with foil.

Propagation of billbergia by dividing the bush

This breeding method is the easiest. With each transplant, you need to divide the bush into several parts. The larger the divided bush, the greater the chances of its rooting.

Billbergia also reproduces well by dividing daughter flowers. Not too small sprouts are carefully broken off and rooted in a pot covered with foil. Soil can be made by mixing parts of peat, humus, sand, leaf soil and moss.

Videos breeding bromeliads

With proper care, this undemanding plant will please you for a long time with its abundant flowering throughout the year.

Billbergia drooping is a member of the large Bromeliad family. These are epiphytic plants growing in the countries of South and Central America. Several varieties were brought to Europe about 300 years ago, and since then the cultivation of Bromeliads has become a hobby of the wealthy segments of the population. Nowadays, bilbergia drooping can be increasingly found in the home collections of Russians, but it has not yet earned great popularity among amateur flower growers. Many of them fear that an attempt to grow an exotic crop will be unsuccessful, although in practice the cultivation of billbergia will not cause any special problems.

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Botanical description

Billbergia drooping is the most unpretentious species of the entire numerous genus. She received her second name "Tears of the Queen" due to drops of nectar flowing from yellow or purple flowers. The flowers of the plant bloom on beautifully curved stems and, together with large pink or crimson bracts, look very impressive. The formation of peduncles occurs only in the 2-3rd year of life, but this amazing sight is worth it to show a little patience.

Billbergia drooping has an elongated rosette, and the leaves arch with age and create a kind of green fountain. An adult specimen can reach 40-60 cm in height and 70 cm in diameter. But the root system does not have a large size, since the plant receives the bulk of the life-giving moisture with the help of leaf reservoirs.



Conditions for normal growth and flowering

Billbergia drooping is able to withstand a wide range of temperatures without losing its attractiveness. Optimal for her is the content at an air temperature of +18 to +27 ° C. Long-term cooling down to +12°С and below will be detrimental to the "tears of the queen". However, a slight decrease in temperature in winter to + 17 + 18 ° C stimulates the plant to bloom.

Representatives of the Bromeliad family do not need bright lighting, as they naturally grow in the shade of tropical trees. When growing bilbergia, it is necessary to be guided by the principle "the thicker and stiffer the leaves, the closer to the light you need to put the pot." For this species, places near the east or west window are perfect. But even in the depths of the room, the plant will feel good if it is illuminated with fluorescent lamps.

In the spring and summer, bilbergia can be taken out into the fresh air: put on a balcony, loggia or installed in the garden, protected from the scorching sun, rainfall and strong gusts of wind. She is not afraid of drafts or daily temperature changes.

Caring for bilbergia at home has its own characteristics, which must be taken into account when growing.



Watering and humidity

In the natural environment, Bromeliads absorb water using special cups located in a rosette at the base of the leaves. Therefore, when caring for them, you need to practice top watering. In this case, it is worth using filtered or at least boiled soft water, since drooping billbergia is very sensitive to the increased content of mineral salts in hard tap water. In addition, such water leaves ugly white or yellowish stains, provokes growth retardation and darkening of the tips of the leaves, and this significantly spoils the appearance of the plant.

An exotic flower can do without introducing moisture under the root at a low temperature (up to + 20 ° C), otherwise stagnant water in the outlet can be harmful. Watering the soil must be careful to prevent waterlogging, otherwise acidification of the soil will lead to disease and even death of the flower. Billbergia should be watered after the top layer of the substrate in the pot dries out by 2 cm. In winter, when the temperature in the room is below + 20 ° C, watering should be reduced and spraying should be abandoned. But if the apartment is comfortable warm (+ 24 ° C), the regularity of watering and spraying should not be adjusted.

Billbergia drooping better than other Bromeliads tolerates dry indoor air, but abundant spraying is necessary for it, especially on hot days. But during flowering, it is not recommended to humidify the air around the plant with a spray bottle, as drops of water can damage elegant flowers, provoke the formation of dark spots or rotting of the flower arrow.



top dressing

Universal fertilizers are not suitable as a mineral composition for bilbergia: they are characterized by a high content of nitrogen, and an excess of this substance can destroy the southern plant. It is advisable to fertilize it with a special fertilizer for Bromeliads ("Clean Leaf", "Absolute").

In extreme cases, you can use preparations for feeding orchids, diluted by half of the recommended dose. The flower needs additional nutrition all year round, so top dressing is applied 2 times a month from March to October, and 1 time per month from November to February.

Landing and transplant

Ordinary soil for a flower is not very suitable, so it is best to use ready-made store soil designed for growing Bromeliads. When compiling it, the needs of the plant in a light and breathable substrate are taken into account. But if there are no such products in the store, you can make the soil mixture yourself from improvised components:

• 2 parts of leaf land;
• 1 part coarse sand;
• 1 part peat;
• 1 part of humus;
• 1 part chopped moss.

Young Billbergia need to be transplanted annually in the spring. For this, the plant does not require deep pots, since its root system does not grow in depth, but in breadth. Therefore, for the next transplant, you need to take a container 2-3 cm larger in diameter, and leave the height of the pot the same. Adult specimens over 3-5 years old can not be disturbed by an annual transplant, but only transshipped as needed.

Hydroponic lovers will be interested to know that Billbergia drooping is perfect for this growing method.

reproduction

Billbergia reproduces by dividing the bush and lateral processes. The first way is the easiest:

• At the next transplant, carefully divide the mother plant into several parts so that they contain at least 2-3 rosettes with roots.
• Plant each part in a separate pot and care as described above.

You can not violate the integrity of an adult bush, and in the spring to separate the basal offspring, which has reached 15-20 cm in height:

• Sprinkle the cut with crushed charcoal and dry for several hours in the open air.
• Plant the stalk in the soil for Bromeliads with the addition of broken red perlite brick, long-staple peat, fine expanded clay.
• For better rooting, use soil heating so that its temperature does not fall below + 25 ° C. The air temperature should also be at the same level.
• Cover the cutting with a plastic bag or any transparent cap made from improvised materials so that its walls do not touch the leaves, otherwise water drops will flow down them and cause the planted shoot to rot.
• Set the potty with the baby in a warm place with bright diffused light or organize artificial lighting with fluorescent lamps so that the total daylight hours are at least 10-12 hours.
• Moisten the soil as needed, avoiding stagnant water and overdrying of the earth.
• Remove the transparent cover daily for 10-15 minutes to ventilate.

If rooting is successful, then after 4-5 weeks, young light green leaves will appear in the center of the outlet. Then you can remove the bag and install the pot in a permanent place.

How to stimulate flowering?

Often you can find complaints that bilbergia does not bloom. Of course, a tropical plant looks great even without drooping peduncles, but any owner wants to see spectacular buds on their flower. In order for the flower of friendship to bloom, you should not disturb it with frequent transplants and allow it to grow in a large pot.

• move the bush to a more lit place;
• in the summer, keep outdoors in partial shade;
• in the warm season, spray with soft water;
• buy Epsom salt at the pharmacy (aka Epsom salt, aka bitter salt, aka magnesium sulfate, aka magnesia) and add a pinch to the water for bottom irrigation.



You can try to apply another option: put the core of several ripe apples next to an adult bush, which is at least 3 years old, cover with a plastic bag and leave for several weeks. The apples will release ethylene, which will cause the billbergia to drop its flower stalks.

Billbergia drooping - a godsend for the grower. Despite its tropical origin, it is not difficult for her to provide an optimal climate at home. An elegant plant will look equally impressive on a separate stand, and in a hanging basket, and in a composition with other indoor plants. This variety is able to live for more than 10 years without losing its attractiveness and annually delighting with unusual "weeping" flowers.