Ehmeya
Ehmeya belongs to the family Bromeliaceae, a native of Brazil. In the family there are about 170 species of Aechmea, many of which leaves have jagged edges, sometimes with spines. For others – are decorated with dots or transverse stripes, and why does the name mean plant aichme risk point, as in Greek – the tip of the peaks. In the indoor horticulture are the most common types of ehmeya Veylbaha, ehmeya matt – red, pink ehmeya, ehmeya tiger, glistening ehmeya A.fulgens, striped ehmeya A. fasciata, bearded and tailed ehmeya A. caudata, ehmeya golostebelnaya, ehmeya blue, natural levitra.
The most unpretentious in culture – two-tone ehmeya A. discolor, it remnevidnye leaves green above, and below by a reddish-purple. Paniculate inflorescence ehmei sparkling pink bracts and has numerous small bright red flowers. But most decorative striped ehmeya, which most often is on sale at the flower shop. Its amazing pink globular inflorescence blooms from mid-summer and do not fade until the winter.
Leaves collected in ehmei elongated funnel-shaped rosette. Per spike, arising from the middle outlet, sometimes – covered with scales, the flowers appear ehmei collected in complex inflorescence – spike. Among pubescent sepal are bright pinkish protruding – red bracts, which are hidden in small sessile flowers with blue – pink color petals. Flowering occurs in late spring ehmei or summer, from May to October and sometimes in November or December.
This heat-loving plant like adequate illumination, and all bromeliads high humidity of the ambient air. What is inside the plant outlet during the irrigation water is poured necessary, and only then watered the ground under ehmeey. Water in the funnel to pour ehmei enough in the hot season twice a year. When the apartment is cold, but heating still does not work, the water in the funnel is better not to pour. In the summer especially ehmeya require daily watering, spraying or bathing. The water temperature should be about 20 – 22 oC. He does not like water stagnation in the roots, but the soil should be kept slightly damp for a long peresushka ehmei harmful. Because of the nature ehmeya also plant-epiphyte – lives in the trees, becoming stronger roots in the bark or in crevices of rocks, driftwood, where the soil is not particularly large, but thanks to abundant rainfall, it survives. Pot of ehmeey can put a pebble in water. In winter, when heating is working, should be sprayed ehmeyu defended room temperature water. It does not like drafts and extreme temperatures, but likes the fresh air, so in summer you can exhibit ehmeyu on the balcony, but not under the scorching sun. In winter, contain at a temperature not lower than 17 – 18 oC. If it freezes ehmeya inflorescences become a dirty pink. After flowering the plant usually lives even 6-12 months.
To use loose annual transplant lungs soil mixture consisting of: sod, leaf soil, humus, sand in the ratio 2:2:1:1, you can add perlite, chopped moss or even better – milled bark or pieces of charcoal from the fire. You can use a soil mix for the purchase bromeliads. Pot choice is not too deep, because the root system is weak in bromeliads and more superficial. Wide pot is needed to keep the plants in a vertical plane, and that it is not overturned. It is better to put a good bottom of the pot drainage layer of broken crocks, preventing stagnant water in a pot with frequent moisture, so as not to cause vymokanie root system. Transplanted ehmeyu first three days is recommended not to water and hold it in a shady location.
Propagation ehmei root suckers, which are formed at the base of the mother plant at the correct temperature and water regime of each year before the onset of flowering. Sometimes the side shoots can appear after flowering. Branch basal rosettes of maternal luchshesovershat spring – the time of transplant, when the height of young ehmey is almost half the height of the parent plant, and to check whether you have kids our roots – sometimes by that time the central mother plant dies altogether. Most often ehmei killed by the overflow and low temperature, they rot the roots. But if the plant has faded, the process of dying is a natural phenomenon. The offspring is placed in pots with the same substrate as for the parent plant with a diameter of 7 cm Young kids ehmei bloom no earlier than 1-3 years.
If you have to separate the side shoots ehmei who still do not have roots, they separated, if they have a lot of leaves, the better the spring. Places slices sprinkled with powdered charcoal, and lightly dried in the air, and then planted in the soil.
Ehmeya – showy plant, used for decorating the home and office space that is attractive both during flowering and during the growing season, due to the shape and color of the leaves.
