Writer: Ryan Su • Photos: Wilson Wong • Available online 2 Apr 2005
INTRODUCING GUZMANIA Guzmanias grow in the tropical and subtropical forests of America. They attach themselves to trees and their roots never reach the soil, although some are in fact terrestrial. Dead leaves and the droppings of birds and monkeys collect in the grottoes where they wedge themselves, providing nourishment as they decompose, and the channel shaped leaves catch and convey rainwater to the centre of the plant. Every so often, the rosette throws out typical candlestick like bracts in lively red, signaling flowering, and it is that essence that we try to capture, as we introduce Guzmania into our interiors. Modern day Guzmania are cultivated in hot houses in Holland, miles away from where they originate. Under carefully controlled conditions and strict quality control, plants are heavily fertilized and gassed when they are of flowering size to stimulate anthesis. As such, plants are often shipped with blooms with same degree of development and nearly perfect form to the extent that they look like clones, literally; as essentially, the plants are tissue cultured and mericloned. China is also an up and coming commercial producer of Guzmania. Guzmania come mainly in two sizes. The first is the diminutive Guzmania minor type. These are no taller than the distance from the wrist to the tip of the second finger and are ideally tabletop plants. The second category for size is for the bigger Guzmania lingulata forms which grow to about 2 to 3 feet high and are more ideally suited to being displayed on a stand or in planters.
GROWING GUZMANIA For the impact these plants provide with their dramatic form and colour, growing these plants really is a bargain as their demands are minimal. Guzmania, among the entire Bromeliaceae, require lower light levels. It is highly recommend that 75 to 80% shade be provided. For what they need less in light, they require more in moisture. These thin-leaved Guzmania will suffer if the compost and their cups are allowed to dry out, resulting in unsightly brown leaf tips which travel toward the urn. Guzmania require a more rigorous fertilization regime than most other bromeliads. Growth too is comparatively faster than say, Neoregelia and Aechmea. Slow release Osmocote© in the compost and foliar feed would be beneficial. Diluted amounts can be used and administered at each watering, when the top of the compost feels dry to the touch. It has been observed that the most absorption of nutrients, in the genus Guzmania, occurs within an hour of fertilizing. Their urns should be tipped over and refilled with fresh water now and then so as to avoid build up of mineral salts which can burn the plants and to keep the water from becoming stale. After flowering, offsets would be produced at the base of the plant. When these grow up to half the parent's size, hastened by a good fertilization regime, it can be detached with a sharp scalpel and potted up separately. Flowering should happen in a year or two, if not it can be artificially stimulated but placing the pot of plant, with a ripe apple, in a tied up plastic bag. Never use garden soil as a substrate. Compaction is always fatal and suffocates the roots, even if it seems deceivingly to be initially a good substitute. Use African Violet mix or a peat based medium, with perlite. Guzmania can be grown as epiphytes; however growth rate is significantly slower.
CHOOSING GUZMANIA Choosing Guzmania is like choosing a match from a box of matches. Why bother! Some may say, as to the untrained eye, they all look the same, but there are certain criteria as to picking out the best plants…for the cheapest prices. If the purpose is for plants to be used as conversation pieces and like objets d'art, pick out a plant with unblemished leaves, perfect bract formation, vivid, intense colour and also, most importantly, ensure that the flower head is still sturdily attached to the main rosette by giving it a hard tug. If everything falls apart or comes off, it could mean that due to shipping trauma and eventually bacterial infection, the flower head meristem had rotted and dislodged itself from the other part of the basal meristem. A headless plant like this which looks superficially like a common Pandanus would surely not do as a display piece!!! But for the purpose of propagation, a plant with the flower head rotted off, would be adequate. Just make sure that the main rosette of leaves is still very firmly in place, even after a hard tug, to make sure that the plant is not rotten to the core. Look on the bright side, the loss of a flower head, albeit prematurely due to infection, would give the plant added incentive and impetus to channel its energy, in the shortest time, to produce more offsets. From a collector's point of view, he would easily overlook the more commercial and clichéd reds and yellows in zoom in on the burgundy, magenta, cream or white coloured plants, which are more sought after. So what are you waiting for? Go get your first Guzmania!!! And by the way, they are not even expensive by average plant standards!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ryan is a co-Administrator as well as a Global Moderator of the GCS Forum. His interests lie in landscaping, Tillandsias, bromeliads, gingers and Heliconias and would love to share his experiences with them.
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