For Jurip, V>22 



175 



The Cultivation of Bromeliaceae 



DR. E. BADE 



BY far the greater part of the Brotncjacc.c, fuund in 

 the warnit-r parts of America where the air is satu- 

 rated with moisture, are epiphytes. They do not 

 taJ-ce their food from the soil Hke other plants but indi- 

 rectly from the tree upon which they live. Nourishing 

 salts, etc., are washed down to the plant from the tree 

 upon which they have built their home. The green stalk- 

 less leaves which form, tightly joined rosettes with spoon 

 shaped elongations collect and store rain water. Moisture 

 is taken from these reservoirs which often contain soluble 

 salts necessary for plant life, through scalelike hairs found 

 at the base of the leaves. 



The roots of Guzmannia mo- 

 siaca are pruned. 



A small pot is placed upside 



dozmi in a larger pot in order 



to produce rapid drainage. 



The majority of the Broincliacca- can i:)nly be kept suc- 

 cessfully in greenhouses where the ideal conditions of 

 their habitat can best be imitated, although a few can be 

 kept in the living room. In the Summer these should be 

 placed in the garden where they will be well shaded. 

 Some varieties do well in flat pots or latticed boxes, 

 others again can be attached to the bark of some tree with 

 wire. All pots containing these plants should receive a 

 good foundation of broken potsherds so that the water 

 will run quickly through the root balls. Sand, turf, and 

 charcoal is added to the pots of those plants placed in 

 moss or fern roots. After transplanting, which should 

 take place late in Spring, they should be placed where the 

 temperature ranges aitywhere from 60 to 70 degrees F. 



These plants should be well watered during the period 

 of their most rapid growth, but toward the Fall, this 

 quantity should be gradually lessened in order to give 

 them a period of comparative rest. In Winter they re- 

 ceive but very little moisture. 



.A.11 varieties of .■Echmca are placed in a soil of partly 

 decayed wood or leaf mould mixed with a little sand or 

 moss. These plants should be watered with tepid water. 

 Propagation takes place when shoots appear at the side 

 of the plant. 



Species of J 'risia are distinguished by their very at- 

 tractive and decorative variegated foliage. But in order to 

 keep these leaves in good condition they must often be 

 sprayed and washed with a sponge. These plants do well 



in small llower ijots which have received a good founda- 

 tion of potsherds. The ideal soil for them is a mixture 

 of coarse held soil, turfmoss, and decayed wood mold. 

 In the Summer the soil should never become dry, and 

 they must be watered with tepid water. 



The large striped Rillbcrgia are cultivated in moder- 

 ately large pots which have been supplied with good 

 drainage. The soil, which should not be too light, con- 

 sists of a mixture of top soil, hotbed soil, decaying wood 

 mold, and sand. They are to be transplanted either in 

 the Spring, or after they have produced their beautiful 

 but short lived flowers. In Summer they must be pro- 

 tected from the intense rays of the sttn, should receive a 

 sufficient c|uantity of water, much heat, and be placed in 

 well circulated air. They multiply either by division of 

 the roots, or by seeds. In the latter case especially then, 

 when the flowers appear on trailing stalks. 



Species of Hohenbcrgii are similarly cultivated but they 

 'lo not recjuire so much heat. 



The varieties of Tillandsia are nearly all epiphytic. 

 These plants, in the tropical forests where they occur, 

 Lttach themselves to the trunks and branches of trees. 

 The most peculiar species of this genus of epiphytes is 

 Tillandsia usncoidcs which closely resembles an herpetic 

 eruption. Roots and leaves are absent, but the epidermis 

 of the long trailing shoots are covered with innumerable 

 minute sca'elike hairs which can absorb both the dew and 

 the rain thus supplying the plant with the necessary mois- 

 ture. Since this plant lacks root it can attach itself to 

 any convenient limb, branch or twig. Even those parts 

 or fragments of this plant which may be torn by the wind 

 and carried away are able to grow and develop into new 

 plants. 



Under cultivation these plants require an atmosphere 

 saturated with moisture which can only be given them 

 in a greenhottse or under bell jars similar to those used for 

 the propagation of orchids. Placed in dry air these plants 

 soon wilt. 



The larger Tillandsia can be placed in a soil similar to 

 that used for the Billbergia. Cultivation proceeds as in 

 the last mentioned plant with this addition that the leaves 



TIte plant is imbedded in 

 Spagnum. 



This moss is then, ..pressed iiito 

 place with a small stick. 



