Indoor guzmania can be called a real decoration of the home green zone, because, regardless of the species, it will always please you with unusual flowers that appear among bright green leaves. Of course, for this she needs proper care, of which a well-planned transplant will be part.

How to determine if a flower needs a transplant

Unlike other indoor plants, guzmania does not need to be transplanted regularly - of course, if you do not plan to engage in its reproduction. For well-being, a flower will need only one change of place of growth - immediately after purchase, and in the future, a slowly developing root system will allow it to continue to be in its existing capacity.

Important! Most often, blooming guzmanias are sold in stores, which means that after about six months, the apical part will dry out and the plant will wither, losing all its decorativeness. In order not to be left with anything, it is better to pre-prepare a sufficient number of children, who will decorate the house in the future.

When propagating, guzmania is transplanted into a separate pot of her children, which appear immediately after the flowering of the mother bush (begins and ends in the summer). Within 2–4 months after the appearance, they form their own root system, so when they reach 15 cm they are separated from the “mother” and transferred to a separate container.

When can I transplant guzmania

In terms of transplantation, guzmania cannot be called a very capricious plant, but, like with the cultivation of other indoor flowers, it is advisable to postpone this process to springtime, when the root system is fully formed in the emerging children. In autumn, you can transplant plants in shipping pots, because after purchase they will not be able to develop for a long time in such conditions. In other cases, it is worth the wait with a transplant until spring.

Transplant Preparation

Preparatory measures in almost all cases involve the same actions: buying a suitable pot, preparing the soil substrate and the drainage layer. However, in the case of guzmania, an additional stage will be additional processing of the plant itself.

Pot selection

Guzmania is characterized by a superficial root system, which means that the pot for it should be low but wide. Deep containers can lead to decay of the lower part of the substrate, to which the roots of the flower simply do not grow. An ideal option would be a pot with a height of not more than 12 cm, and the bottom 2-3 cm should occupy the drainage layer.

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The diameter of the landing capacity is selected based on the size of the children to be planted, but on average it is not more than 10 cm. When transplanting from the transportation capacity of an adult plant, this value can be increased by half, and sometimes more.

Drainage preparation

The height of the drainage layer in a pot with guzmania is usually 1/3 of the total height of the product, and expanded clay, expanded polystyrene, or charcoal can be used as moisture-absorbing material. The latter option is even more preferable, since it is an excellent prevention of high acidity of the soil and prevents the development of infection, while protecting the plant from overmoistening and putrefactive processes associated with it.

As for the soil mixture, it should be as close as possible to the natural substrate of guzmania. In nature, a flower often does not grow in the ground, but on old wood, so you either plant it in the prepared soil for bromeliad crops, with the addition of peat, moss-sphagnum and loose loose soil, or prepare the soil mixture yourself using one of the following recipes:

1. Option 1. A mixture of crushed roots of moss-sphagnum and fern (in a ratio of 1: 3).
2. Option 2. A mixture of coniferous bark, moss, sand and leafy soil in a ratio of 2: 1: 1: 2.
3. Option 3. A mixture of humus, sand, turf land and peat, in a ratio of 2: 1: 2: 4.

For any of them, it will be appropriate to use crushed charcoal, which helps to increase the friability of the substrate, even when you are already using it as a drainage layer.

Did you know? In the natural habitat, guzmania can be found in the West Indies, Florida, Venezuela, Brazil and central America. The local population has long considered the flower a symbol of the male sex, believing that being next to men, he is able to maintain their vigor and even extend their life.

Flower processing

Processing guzmania before transplantation is one of the main stages of the preparatory process, and it does not matter what purpose it is performed for. If we are talking about an adult, recently acquired plant, then before placing it in a new pot, it would be reasonable to remove all the spoiled roots and treat the cut sites with crushed activated carbon, which will further prevent the root system from decaying. The rhizome of children separated from the mother bush can be treated with a growth stimulator using one of the most popular drugs: for example, “Kornevin” or “Heteroauxin”.

How to transplant a plant at home: step by step instructions

Depending on which part of the plant you are going to transplant, this process will have certain differences, but in any case you will need the following tools:

• a sharp knife (used to cut off children from the mother's bush or remove damaged roots of an adult plant);
• scoop for filling soil;
• growth stimulator for root system treatment (for example, “Kornevin”);
• landing capacity.

An adult plant can be moved to a new pot by the transshipment method, after drying the old soil a little. There is nothing difficult in this, the main thing is to prepare a suitable soil mixture and a larger pot.

A transplant of children will be more interesting and responsible, therefore it is advisable to adhere to the following action plan:

1. To get started, remove the mother plant from the pot and carefully remove the root system of the selected children of guzmania from the old substrate (most often you have to use a knife to separate).
2. Put them on a blank sheet of paper and let dry for about an hour. Treat the roots with a prepared solution for better rooting.
3. Pour a drainage layer into the new pot so that it occupies one third of the entire available space.
4. Sprinkle a slight elevation from the ground and center the root outlet of the plant to be planted.
5. Carefully level the roots and sprinkle them with soil substrate to the level of the root neck.
6. Tamp the soil lightly and sprinkle it with settled water from the spray bottle.

Important! No need to fill the plant immediately after transplantation. To absorb moisture well, its roots must first take root in a new environment.

At this transplant, guzmania can be considered completed and all that remains is to move the pot to a suitable place, providing further appropriate care for the quick rooting of a young flower.

Video: features of the development and transplantation of guzmania

Features of post-transplant care

A correctly performed transplant is only half the battle on the way to obtaining a beautiful and blooming guzmania flower, therefore, so that all the efforts made are not in vain, be sure to consider several requirements for further care.

Location and optimal conditions of detention

Regardless of the season, the transplanted plant should always be placed in a fairly warm room with moderate lighting and the absence of drafts. However, the specific temperature conditions and air humidity in the summer and winter periods will have their differences, therefore, when organizing the conditions for the growth and development of guzmania, it is worth focusing on the following indicators:

Season	Lighting	Temperature	Humidity
Winter	Moderately bright, but without direct sunlight	+ 18 ... 20 ° C	Not less than 60%, for which it is better to place the flower away from heat sources
Spring		+ 19 ... + 21 ° C	65–75%
Summer	Moderate, protected from direct sunlight in the afternoon	+ 21 ... + 25 ° C	75–80%
Autumn		+ 20 ... + 22 ° C	65–75%

With the advent of colds and the beginning of using a variety of heat sources, it is quite difficult to maintain air humidity at the right level, so a pot of guzmania is often placed on a stand with moistened moss or expanded clay laid on it. It will also be beneficial for the plant to place the pot next to the aquarium or humidifier.

Watering and fertilizer

On the first day after a flower transplant, abundant wetting of the soil in the pot and adding a small amount of liquid to the outlet will suffice. In this case, the liquid used must necessarily be soft, filtered and relatively warm, for which water is left in an open vessel in the room for a day. Hard cold water immediately from under the tap is detrimental to the plant, especially since in this case the liquid is not brought into the soil, but into a rosette formed by leaves, filling it in 2/3 of the total volume.

Important! The water remaining in the outlet after watering must be drained or cleaned with a blotter, otherwise increased humidity will provoke decay of the plant .

In the summer, it is enough to moisten guzmania once every two days, and in winter - not more than once a week. Fertilizers for guzmania are not a vital component of care, since in the natural habitat it receives nutrients in a minimal amount. However, feeding indoor flowers at home, you can not only stimulate flowering, but also extend it, which will allow you to admire the plant for 2-3 weeks longer than usual.

To fertilize an exotic beauty, you can use universal compounds designed to enhance the decorative properties of flowering plants (for example, “Agricole”, “Stimovit”, “Biopon”). Before applying to the soil, any of them must be dissolved in water, which will help to avoid overfeeding the plant. Moreover, in the case of guzmania, a single dosage should be about 4-5 times lower than recommended by the manufacturer. Processing the plants with the prepared mixture is carried out from May to September, not more than once a month.

Flower propagation

Guzmania can be propagated in one of two ways: by using purchased seed material or by separating the babies that have formed on a dying mother plant. If you have already acquired an adult flower, be prepared for the fact that soon you will have to take care of its renewal, because the average lifespan of this plant is 2-3 years, and some specimens die off much earlier.

Did you know? Guzmania and gusmania are one and the same plant, and the last version of the name is even more correct, since the flower was named after the Spanish scientist Guzman. The letter "z" appeared when translating the word "Guzmania" from the Latin language.

In any case, with proper cultivation, new specimens (“babies”) always grow near the mother plant, which they need to be moved to a separate container. When guzmania is propagated by seed, purchased seeds must first be disinfected in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, and then sown in small containers filled with a mixture of peat and sand (in equal proportions).

Germination of seeds is carried out in a warm room, with a stable temperature of at least + 25 ° C and high humidity, which can be achieved by covering the seedlings with oilcloth and regularly spraying the soil with spray water. Usually, the first sprouts appear after three weeks, and after another 7 days they will need to be peaked in separate cups. If all the actions are performed correctly, then the emerging seedlings will quickly catch up with the planted children.

Video: breeding guzmania

Common transplant errors

By paying attention to some important details of transplanting and further care for guzmania, you will be able to avoid many problems.

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First of all, we are talking about this:

1. The lack of flowering plants, due to a lack of moisture, heat or light. To prevent this, children planted in pots should be placed only in a well-lit place, with suitable temperature and humidity (shown in the table above).
2. Rotting of guzmania immediately after transplantation or with further cultivation. In any case, the main reason for this phenomenon lies in the excessive amount of moisture, due to frequent watering and spraying.
3. The death of young shoots. If the transplanted plant looks lethargic and dies soon, check the room temperature. Usually, such a result is the prolonged presence of the flower at temperatures below + 12 ... + 13 ° C.
4. Short flowering. The appearance of this problem is often explained by moisture getting on the opened flower petals, therefore, when watering guzmania during the flowering period, it is advisable to pour it under the root.
5. Slow growth of transplanted shoot. Be sure to monitor the quality of the water used for irrigation. The slightest impurity of chlorine or a lowered temperature of the liquid will adversely affect development.
6. Infectious diseases. If the first signs of the disease became noticeable soon after the transplantation of guzmania, then it is likely that its cause is a violation of sanitary standards when trimming children or preparing the soil.
7. Drying out transplanted parts. The main reason that plants do not take root at a new growth site is the lack of a sufficiently developed root system. Simply put - to separate them from the mother bush is possible only in the presence of a large number of clearly visible roots.
8. Drying leaf tips. The indoor air may be too dry and young plants need more frequent spraying.

This is not all, but the most common problems with guzmania, so every grower should know about them. To normalize the condition of the flower, it is enough to revise the conditions created for it and make appropriate adjustments. In extreme cases, you will have to transplant the plant again, without repeating the previous mistakes.