Vriesia (or frieze, not to be confused with freesia, another name - a flaming sword) is an exotic flower of extraordinary beauty, which is simply impossible not to notice among other indoor flowers. Its inflorescences have a bright red color and are arranged in the form of a "tile".
Indoor flowers Vriesia: home care
If you have purchased this flower, then for its growth and flowering you need to know how to care for Vriesia, because it is quite demanding on the conditions of detention.
It is best to place it in the penumbra, but in a room that is well lit, it can also take root. However, direct sunlight should be avoided.
Vriesia is a heat-loving plant, but the excessively high temperatures for it are fatal. In summer, the ambient temperature should not exceed 27 degrees, in winter it is possible to lower the temperature to 22 degrees.
Vriesia is very sensitive to the level of air humidity: it should be at least 50%. This can be achieved in the following way: put small pieces of moss in a pallet or pour pebbles. After they are moistened, put a pot of flower in the pan. Spray the plant regularly with warm water.
If your house is growing Vriesia, then watering it is to maintain the optimal level of water in the outlet and the soil. Water must be at room temperature. In summer, the flower is watered three to four times a week, and the water in the outlet is changed every three days. In winter, you need to water the plant less: once or twice a week.
During flowering, fertilization for orchids or mullein infusion can be done (one part of the fertilizer is added to ten parts of water). In this fertilizer occurs in the socket or leaf method (spraying of leaves).
Vriesia is susceptible to attack by such pests as scab , fly meal , spider mite . To combat them, wipe the leaves with an alcohol or soap solution, then treat with an insecticide (acticle, fufano, carbofos, deciss).
Vriesia flower: reproduction
Its reproduction occurs in two ways: offspring and seeds.
Reproduction by seeds requires a lot of time, because getting seeds from Vriesia is difficult when growing at home. This can take up to ten years. Seeds are sown in peat with sand, previously washed in a solution of potassium permanganate and dried them. The first shoots appear in 10-20 days. They must be constantly sprayed. Ventilate indoors as often as possible and maintain the air temperature at 22 degrees. After 2.5 months, the seeds are dived into a prepared mixture consisting of peat, turf and leaf land. Approximately in half a year the seedlings grow stronger and they are planted. The first flowering of young plants occurs not earlier than in four to five years.
Most preferably reproduction by children. After the mother Vriesia has faded, she leaves after herself the children, who need to be transplanted. As a rule, children are distinguished by a weak root system and have 3-4 leaflets each. It is necessary to carefully separate them together with the roots and dispose of them in a container into which a mixture of sphagnum, leaf land, sand and pine bark is previously added. Young shoots must be grown in a warm place at an ambient temperature of 26-28 degrees. On top of the sprouts must be covered with a plastic bag. The field of how the children are strengthened, care for them is the same as for adult plants.
How to transplant Vriesia?
After the roots of the flower have filled all the space in the pot, it must be transplanted into a larger pot. When transplanting, you should carefully handle the roots, because they are weak enough and easily damaged, so that even Vriesia may die.
Vriesia is undemanding for transplants. An adult plant can not be transplanted at all, because after flowering, Vriesia gives offsprings and then dies off. A young flower is transplanted both before and after flowering.It is necessary to prepare the land for planting, consisting of peat, sand, bark of pine, leaf and sod land. To improve the quality of soil mix some gardeners add a small amount of chopped moss sphagnum.
At the bottom of the pot drainage is put, consisting of expanded clay.
During the transplant, the center of the rosette can not be deeply penetrated into the soil.
Why does not Vriesia blossom?
If you have Vriesia on the windowsill, you should know that it blooms in the summer and lasts for several months. It happens that the plant does not bloom at all. This may be due to insufficient humidity in the room. It is possible that the time of flowering of the Vriesians has not yet come. Maybe it bloomed in the store, after which the flower stalk was withered and cut off. In this case, the next flowering should not wait until after four years.
You can also stimulate the growth of Vriesia with ethylene by putting a piece of apple near the pot and covering the plant with the apple with a plastic bag so that ethylene does not evaporate.
Vriesia is quite a capricious plant, which requires strict observance of the conditions of detention. However, as a reward, you will receive flowers of extraordinary beauty.