Almost every house will definitely have indoor flowers - the decoration of any apartment. There are an incredible number of varieties, species and subspecies of domestic plants. Someone prefers to acquire the most common ones - for example, ficuses, someone chooses, on the contrary, more rare ones. Among the green pet infrequently found in homes is a flower such as drooping bilbergia. What is this plant and how to care for it at home?
A bit about the southern beauty
The drooping bilbergia is part of the bromeliad family, which is very difficult to guess. If you don’t know this, then you won’t say so, because the appearance of bilbergia does not allow it to be attributed to the plants of this family, it is, so to speak, knocked out of the general list. However, before disassembling the appearance of this amazing flower, let's say a few words about the family itself, to which the bilbergia belongs.
Briefly about bromeliads
It would seem that one family, but such different plants belong to it! Here, let’s say, pineapple - it also belongs to the bromeliads. And look at him and the bilbergia drooping (photo below) - well, nothing in common!
However, this is only at first glance. In fact, all representatives of the bromeliads have common features by which one can immediately recognize "their own." This is a very dense texture of the leaves, as well as the shape in which they are collected - in the form of a funnel. In it, such plants accumulate water, a similar ability arose in their process of evolution after dry periods.
There are more than three thousand Bromeliads; they are divided into lithophytes (terrestrial) and epiphytes (plants that settle on other plants, while they are not parasites, simply survive in this way - otherwise they cannot because of a weak root system). Along with pineapple and some other representatives of the bromeliad family, drooping bilbergia is one of the most common indoor plants.
Short description
Bilbergia is an epiphyte, that is, lives on other plants. In the wild, she prefers to live in tropical rainforests. Like other bromeliads, it is a perennial herbaceous species, but in all other respects it is a completely atypical representative of the family. But it is very unpretentious - caring for the drooping bilbergia is absolutely uncomplicated, and perhaps that is why they love to buy it so much to decorate their home. By the way, it is believed that bilbergia brings harmony to the house.
Bilbergia drooping differs from other plants also in that it blooms not in summer, as the vast majority, but in the cold period - from October to January. Thus, it seems to warm its owner in the most persistent and severe frosts, gives warmth and a reminder of the hot colorful summer.
Appearance
Like other members of the family, the bilbergia flower has dense leaves collected by a funnel. In this case, the rest of the leaves of this plant differ markedly from the leaves of other bromeliads: in bilbergia they are narrow, long and as if pointed. To the touch are covered with scales, and on the sides - as if spiked. There are one color, but there are different (and we are still talking about the leaves, and not about the flowers themselves). As for the flowers, or inflorescences, they, as is already clear from the name of the plant itself, drooping, that is, dropping the "head" down. At the same time, they seem to be twisted into a small tight spiral, reaching twenty to thirty centimeters. Their color is very unusual and original - blue-gray at the edges, towards the center it turns into yellow-green-pink. The bracts of bilbergia drooping (or drooping, by the way) are very beautiful: bright fuchsia.
Bilbergia is very small in size - a maximum of half a meter in height. But it greatly expands in width, which is why the impression of a huge bush is created.
Origin history
Bilbergia was first discovered in the eighteenth century, and this discovery was made by a Swedish scientist, a botanist named Bilberg. Traveling through the forests of Central and South America, Gustav Bilberg noticed an unusual, unprecedented plant of amazing beauty. Bilbergia, described by the scientist in his diary, was brought to Europe, and from there it began its victorious march around the world. A little later, she got her own name - of course, by the name of the discoverer. By the way, there is a bilbergia and, so to speak, a popular name - "tears of the queen." The thing is that the flower secrete nectar, which drips from the dropped inflorescences of the plant like real tears. Initially, the cultivation of bilbergia was accessible only to the wealthy strata of the population and was very fascinating to them. Now everyone can grow this flower on their windowsill.
Bilbergia drooping: home care
It has already been said above that the plant that interests us is extremely unpretentious, and this is indeed so. And it is also very faithful and will easily forgive its owner for small mistakes in taking care of itself, so it is perfect for beginner amateur gardeners. This is a very hardy plant, and even super-busy people with a tight work schedule who are not able to devote a lot of time to the flower will be amazed at how soon this beauty blooms in them. An important point: bilbergia perfectly adapts to any living conditions, to any climate, so it can be grown both in the Kuban and in cold Siberia.
Next, let's talk about how to properly care for this tropical flower.
How to grow
We are used to the fact that all indoor plants live in decorative pots, and this is logical. However, do not forget that bilbergia is an epiphyte that settles on other trees, as well as just snags. Therefore, you can plant this flower on the so-called bromeliad tree - in other words, on a large branchy snag. It’s not difficult to place the bilbergia there: you just need to pull the flower out of the pot, clean the roots from the ground, wrap it in moss-sphagnum, and then wrap it in a scab. There is only one minus of this arrangement - the tree is still quite impressive in size, so the room where it will be located should be quite spacious. However, this drawback can be circumvented: in small rooms, instead of wood, a small wood block is simply attached to the wall. It looks quite impressive, and care for bilbergia in this case is reduced solely to maintaining the moisture of the moss in proper form.
Lighting
In everything that concerns lighting, bilbergia definitely outperforms any other plants - the thing is that it, in general, absolutely does not care in what light conditions it grows. She is equally pleased to dwell both on the sunlit window sill, and in the depths of the apartment, where natural light barely penetrates.
However, like any other plant, drooping bilbergia has its own preferences. This is diffused light shading from the midday sun. To achieve such lighting, it is best to place the flower on the windows on the east and / or west side.
Watering
Irrigation of drooping bilbergia living in a pot depends on the time of year. If it is summer, then a lot of water is required - so much so that the soil always remains a little moist; however, it is important to monitor the absence of stagnation of moisture. During this period, water is sent to the funnel of leaves. Important: after flowering, it is strictly forbidden to do this, since such an action can lead to decay of the plant. In winter, tropical beauty is watered less often, the earth is allowed to dry, and the leaves are left dry. Water for irrigation at any time of the year should be warm, settled for a day (it is permissible to add acetic or citric acid there to soften it).
If bilbergia lives on a bromeliad tree, then all that needs to be done is to remove the moss when it is completely dry and immerse it for about twenty minutes in a vessel with water. After this time, they remove the moss, allow excess moisture to drain and return the sphagnum to its place.
Temperature and humidity during care
Bilbergia loves heat, but not heat. In the active period, you need to make sure that the room is warmer - within 25-28 degrees, during the rest period - cooler, from 15 to 18 degrees. The latter is necessary, because it is coolness that stimulates the development of the kidneys. However, don’t be too zealous and lower the temperature too much: Billbergia nutans (this is the Latin name for the flower) can get sick and die.
Humidity should be maintained between 70-80 percent. If the yard is summer or the room is hot and dry all the time, the flower should be sprayed regularly (with the exception of the flowering period). In the event that the plant lives in a pot, you can put the pot on a pallet with water.
Top dressing
What more care is needed for bilbergia drooping at home? In the photo you can see beautiful flowers pleasing to the eye. Such a result can be achieved if the southern guest is properly and timely fed. This should be done exclusively during the growing season.
Once in fourteen days at this time, the flower should be provided with fertilizers for the bromeliads, similar ones for orchids, but in half the dose, will also do. The main thing is that top dressing should contain a minimum of nitrogen, since enumeration with the latter can lead to the death of the plant.
The soil
As for the soil, there are no special claims. The main thing is that it be crumbly enough so that water and air penetrate well through it. There are special primers for bromeliads, which can also be used for planting bilbergia (pictured).
Caring for her, as you can see, is not too burdensome. And in response to the care and attention, the green pet will surely please the owner with original inflorescences.
But back to the soil. According to experienced gardeners, it is also possible to independently prepare the soil: mix the leaf, peat, humus proportionally, add a little chopped moss and sand. The drainage layer of the substrate should be very good.
Reproduction and transplantation
Bilbergia drooping a lot of "offspring" - sprouts, branches. The easiest way to propagate the plant is with their help. You can separate them from the nodal part during transplantation, and young shoots will bloom approximately a couple of years after rooting. Another option is to divide the adult flower, in which case flowering can be expected next year. There is a third way: seed breeding, but it is the most difficult and is suitable, perhaps, for the most patient people, since it involves observing special technologies for germinating seeds and breeding the sprouts themselves.
As for the transplant, it is only necessary to do this when the previous pot becomes small bilbergia. The thing is that the root system of a plant is not only weak, but also small, slowly developing. "Transplantation", as a rule, is accompanied by the separation of the overgrown flower, and the pots and other vessels for plants should be selected so that they are wide enough (while their depth is not necessary at all).
Diseases and Pests
Parasites such as aphids, spider mites, mealybugs and scale insects can harm drooping bilbergia. All of them are quite problem-free with the help of insecticides, which should be used to treat the entire bilberg (the insecticide is suitable for any appropriate action).
As for diseases, drooping bilbergia is subject to the following misfortunes: drying of the ends of leaves in the absence of water in the funnel, decay of the plant due to its overmoistening, and the appearance of light brown spots due to sunburn. In addition, in the event of a lack of light, the leaves may become too loose, and their funnel will fall apart. So that none of this happens, you just need to properly care for the plant.
This is information about an unusual tropical plant - drooping bilbergia.