How to Care for Billbergia Bromeliads
Bromeliads are plants in the Bromelioideae subfamily. Billbergia, named for Swedish botanist Gustavo Billbergia, is a genus in this subfamily that contains about 64 species. Many hybrids of these colorful flowers are available. Billbergia are epiphytes, meaning that they grow on trees in the wild. They derive their nutrition from the air and water, rather than soil. Billbergia, therefore, grow best in soil-less mediums. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Garden trowel
- Bark chips
- Peat moss
- 5-inch planting pot
- Distilled water
- Slow-release fertilizer
Instructions
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Prepare a light growing medium with good drainage. A mixture of equal parts bark chips and peat moss is a common medium for Billbergia plants.
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Fill a 5-inch planting pot with the growing medium and remove the Billbergia from its nursery container. Place the plant at the same depth in the pot as it was in the nursery container.
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Place most species of Billbergia in 50 to 70 percent shade with good circulation and high humidity. Some species of Billbergia can tolerate full sun.
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4
Keep Billbergia at 70 to 90 F during the day, and 45 to 65 F at night for the best results. Billbergia species can tolerate light frost for short periods of time. The flowers may lose their color in very hot weather, but return to their normal color when the weather cools.
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5
Water the growing medium with distilled water whenever it feels dry, as Billbergia is sensitive to hard water. Add water to the planting pot's cup to keep it full at all times. Wash the cup each week to keep it clean.
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Dilute a slow-release fertilizer to one-quarter its normal strength. Add this solution to the growing medium each month during warm weather, according to the manufacturer's instructions.
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