Species library › Guzmania › Guzmania cuzcoensis
Other Partly documented

Guzmania cuzcoensis

Guzmania cuzcoensis is a Peruvian tank bromeliad described by L.B. Smith in 1972 from the Cusco region, where the few wild records sit at 1,900 to 2,175 m in the cloud forest of the Urubamba valley around Machu Picchu. Unlike most of the genus it lives with a real seasonal cycle: a wet, mild summer from December to March and a dry, sunnier winter from May to September with cool nights. Growers should mimic that drier winter rather than water evenly all year.

At home, aim for
Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

An epiphyte, probably also on mossy rock, in the montane cloud forest of the eastern Andean slope in Cusco. It sits on branches and trunks in filtered light where dry-season fog drip keeps the tank from emptying.

Recorded from 1,900 to 2,175 m (median 2,175 m) from four records; the band is narrow and the profile assumes 1,800 to 2,400 m.

PeruCusco

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app.