[Ebook Việt Hoá] The Instant Guide to Healthy Houseplants: Aechmea fasciata (Urn plant)

English

This splendid bromeliad grows naturally in trees, with just enough roots to hold itself in place. Its outstretched leaves gather rain into a central well (through which it absorbs the food it needs) and the small quantities of methane gas that trigger flower formation. When buying an urn plant, look to see that the flower bud has just formed. If not, the trigger for flowering may be provided by covering the plant after 18 months with a polyethylene bag for 4 weeks and enclosing a rotten apple core. After flowering, the parent plant begins to die; but new offsets, which can be repotted, form at its base. Several cultivars are available, including ‘Variegata’, ‘Albomarginata’, ‘Purpurea’ and ‘Superba’. 

Light 

Tolerates strong sunlight and survives in shade. Needs good light for flowering. 

Temperature 

Minimum, 55°F (13°C); maximum, 80°F (27°C). 

Water 

Fill center well with soft or dis- tilled water; allow excess to trickle into soil, which should be just moist. Empty well and change water every 3 weeks. 

Humidity 

No extra spraying is necessary at normal room temperatures. Do not keep in a cold, damp place. 

Soil 

Use peat-based soil, with I part leaf mold to 3 parts loam or potting soil. It must be lime-free. 

Feeding 

Though unnecessary, a diluted dose of liquid houseplant food added to the water in the well every month in summer will help keep plant healthy. Use only a quarter as much food as the manufacturer recommends. 

Repotting 

When plant dies, becoming dull and shrivelled, tease away off-set shoots from base, carefully retaining some root. Pot individually into 5-in (13-cm) pots. They will not need repotting again. 

Cleaning 

Wipe carefully with feather duster if dusty or dirty. Do not disturb gray bloom. Use no leafshine. 

Removing the flower stem 

When flower spike has died, cut its stem at base with pruning shears. 

Watering 

Keep about 1 inch (2 1/2 cm) water in the plant’s central well. Rainwater is best. Every 3 weeks, empty old water and add fresh. 

What Goes Wrong 

• Flower withers and dies: Natural after flowering. 
• Flower fades: Too little light. Move to brighter location. 
• Leaves shrivel: Too hot and dry. Move to cooler place, under 80°F (27C°). Water soil and make sure well in center of plant is full of water. 
• Flower and stem rot: Soil too moist. Empty water from well and allow to dry out before watering again. 
• Flower and stem dry up and tum dirty pink: Too cold. Move to warmer, lighter place, at least 55°F (13°q. 
• Small insects in flower rosette: Blackfly. Do not spray flower. Spray soil with pyrethrum as recommended. 
• Heavy green marks on gray parts of leaves: Plant scratched, possibly by house pet. Plant will survive as long as bloom on leaves is not removed. 
• Leaves wither and die before flower is dead: Either bloom removed from leaves or leafshine used. No cure. 
• White woolly patches on leaves and in leaf axils: Mealy bug. Spray with insecticidal soap. Repeat every 3 weeks until cured. . 
• Leaves turn brown and droop: Lime in water or soil. Use soft or distilled water for watering. Make sure soil is lime-free. If not, repot in lime-free mixture. 
• Leaves distorted and sticky with small insects: Greenfly. Spray with pyrethrum or insecticidal soap every 14 days until clear.