Nidularium

 

Bromeliad family. The birthplace of the rainforest of Brazil. There are about 25 species in nature. In culture, you can find 2 species:

  • Nidularium bilbergiaceae "Nidularium billbergioides" is an epiphytic or epilitous plant with a rosette of 15-16 leaves, broad-linear in shape, pointed at the end, with a finely serrate margin, up to 50-60 cm long and 3-4 cm wide, bright green. Small nondescript flowers are collected in a complex inflorescence on straight, rather tall peduncles. The inflorescence is hidden in tightly adjacent flowering leaves, far protruding from the rosette, and characterized by a bright yellow or bright red color, which turns green after flowering. It can bloom for a very long time - from late spring to December.
  • Innocent's nidularium Nidularium innocentii is an epiphytic or terrestrial plant very similar in appearance to neoregelia. Its numerous leaves are broad-lanceolate, pointed at the end, about 35-50 cm long, and about 4-5 cm wide, dark green, with a reddish tinge on the upper side, and purple on the back of the leaf. Inflorescences on very short peduncles, hiding in the axils of flowering leaves of bright red color. It blooms from early summer to December. There is a variety with leaves covered with light stripes.
НидуляриумНидуляриум

Nidularium - care and cultivation

Temperature: Nidularium is quite thermophilic. It prefers in summer about 22-25 ° С, in winter the temperature should be moderate 18-20 ° С, the minimum winter temperature is 16 ° С. All bromeliads do not tolerate heat in poorly ventilated rooms or cold drafts, especially when there is water in the rosette or axils of the leaves.

Lighting: Bright diffused light, i.e. protected from direct sunlight. Since autumn, shading is not required, since the plant needs good lighting at this time of year. The best place in the immediate vicinity of the east or west window, or the window sill of the north window.

Watering: Like all bromeliads, the nidularium is poured directly into the rosette of the leaves. The outlet is filled with 2/3 water. There is a recommendation that in spring and summer the water in the rosette of leaves should always be, drinking limited in winter. In fact, at home, it is not the season that matters, but the temperature in the room - if it is higher from 23-24 ° C, water must be added as it evaporates. If the temperature is below 20 ° C, then the water should not be left in the outlet constantly, it is better to pour it into the ground. If the temperature is about 16 ° C - no water is in the outlet, there should be no leaf axils. It is better to moisten by spraying from a very small spray bottle twice a day and, if necessary, pour a little into the ground.

Water for irrigation is used only soft - necessarily boiled or filtered, at room temperature. If the water in your area is hard, boiling and ordinary household filters will not make it much softer, then use distilled water.

Fertilizers: From May to September, fertilizer dressing is carried out once a month, while fertilizer is diluted with water for irrigation and poured into an outlet. Fertilizer is used special for bromeliads, or for ordinary indoor plants, but taken at a dose four times less than for other plants.

Humidity: The nidularium must be sprayed periodically.

Transplantation: After flowering, the mother plant dies, so daughter offspring are taken from it and rooted in a soil mixture consisting of the 1 part of light turf, the 2 part of leaf, the 1 part of humus, the 1 part of finely chopped pine bark. You can use a purchased soil mixture for bromeliads. The container for landing should not be too deep, it is better to use wide plates.

Reproduction: Offspring (daughter rosettes). It should be noted that young offspring will acquire real decorative attractiveness only in a few years.

   

Pests of Nidularium

  • Bromeliad shield is a pest specific specifically for bromeliads, but this does not mean that the nidularium is resistant to other types of shields, not at all, they calmly settle on the plant, from the base to the ends, suck out the cell juice and bring the plant to complete exhaustion and death.

    Fortunately, scutes are easy to detect - young are still translucent, and adults already have a dense rounded scutellum of light or dark brown color, with a diameter of 1-2 mm.

    Control measures. Pests are removed from both sides of the leaves with a sponge moistened in a solution of baby soap. Immediately, the soap leaves need to be washed. Then it is necessary to dilute the drug according to the instructions to the actar and spray the plant so that the solution gets into the axils of the leaves. Pour the remains into the ground.

  • Mealy worm is another pest, visible on the leaves in the form of white cotton lumps. Worms are more mobile, usually swarming in the axils of the leaves and in the basal zone. Very powerfully suck out cell juice, cause rapid yellowing and death of the plant.

    Control measures. You need to remove the pests with a sponge, wipe all the leaves on both sides. From the axils of the leaves, choose pests using a cotton swab. Then treat with insecticide. As in the case of the shield, actara and confidor are effective.

  • The same drugs will help if thrips attacked the nidularium. Thrips are easily diagnosed by such signs: spots appear on the leaves in the form of strokes or an irregular rounded shape of silver color, and on the surface of the leaves are gray husks and black shiny droplets or crumbs - pest excrement.

    If any pests appear, 2 or 3 insecticide treatments must be carried out.

  • Spider mites also intensively feed on cell juice, leaves turn yellow and die.

    Control measures. Ticks are not insects, but arthropods, only specific drugs are effective against them. But first you need to wipe the leaves with a soap solution (it is better to use green soap). Then spray the plant with acaricide (vermitec, apollo, etc.)