Tillandsia

Bromeliad family. Homeland South and Central America: Ecuador, Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, as well as Mexico (Veracruz, Oaxaca, Chiapas). About 400 species are common in nature, representatives of the genus can be found growing near the sea and at an altitude of up to 3000 meters above sea level, in moist forests, coastal streaks and even in deserts. 

Tillandsia species

Among the variety of tillandsia species, two slightly different groups can be distinguished:

• Atmospheric tillandsias, with hard, strongly narrowed leaves to the tips, covered with thick scales and trapping nutrients and water from the air - these are hard-leaved tillandsias
• Tillandsia thin-leaved - forming a rosette of leaves of linear or sharply triangular shape, they form very spectacular bright inflorescences

The first group of tillandsias is usually called "atmospheric," although this is not entirely true. The fact is that everything, absolutely any tillandsia - daughters of air. The difference is that the first group grows in more open (blown) and arid places or the upper tiers of the forest, and the second in wetter ones, adjacent to mosses and ferns. However, tillandsia roots are needed exclusively to gain a foothold on snags, cling to terry moss or tree bark. They're not meant to grow in the ground. Only not in the ground, especially clay, garden or store soil. But we will talk about growing conditions below.

Tillandsias species that are suitable for cultivation in terrariums and aquaterrariums:

Tillandsia - Care and Cultivation

Temperature: In general, tillandsias are thermophilic, in summer they are satisfied with the usual room temperature, but ideally most tillandsias prefer temperatures in the range of 25-28 ° C during the daytime and 16-17 ° C at night. Many species tolerate temperatures up to 12-14 ° C.

In winter, it is desirable a little cooler than 18-22 ° С, the minimum winter temperature is 12 ° С. Species of "atmospheric" tillandsia need cooler content in winter - about 12-14 ° C, at least + 10 ° C. This is especially important in conditions of reduced lighting from October to the end of January. In nature, without exception, tillandsia species prefer to grow in places where there is constant air circulation. This is especially important at home, but sudden temperature jumps and cold drafts are not allowed. If the weather is cold outside, and black fungi appear on the windows or walls, you should take care of checking the ventilation in the apartment.

Lighting: Bright place without direct sunlight, scattered light. Tillandsia with hard, thick, gray leaves are more demanding on sunlight, morning or evening sun is useful for them - the windowsill of the east or north-west window. Species with green and gray-green leaves (Tillandsia blue) grow well in light partial shade - the north window is the best option.

In autumn and winter, you can move to a lighter place - the southeast or west window.

Air humidity: Tillandsia require high air humidity, optimal 65-85%, not lower than 60%. You can only spray with soft and warm water.

Watering: All types of tillandsia, even those with a dense rosette of leaves, must be watered with immersion (soaking) in warm prepared water or spraying. In winter, the frequency of moistening depends on the temperature, if light and warm, then in normal mode, as in summer; if cool - less often. At home, the humidification of the air around the tillandsia needs to be increased when the central heating is on. If you hang up washed laundry and it dries in two hours, if you electrify synthetic things or hair - this is a sign of falling air humidity to a critical level. This usually happens in frosts when the heating is at full speed. During such periods, it is better to keep plants in a special florarium or keep an air humidifier constantly on nearby.

Tillandsias, forming a large wide rosette fixed on a large-sized substrate (pine bark, acadama), which dries quickly, are watered 2-3 times a week, immersing the plants in water for at least 20-30 minutes together with the pot, then thoroughly drain the water. Never should water remain in the axils of leaves! If the air at home is very dry (below 45%), you can soak tillandsia in water for 3-4 hours. If the leaves of bromeliads begin to twist along the central vein, as if into a tube - this is a sign of dehydration, then you also need to soak the tillandsia for 3-4 hours.

Water for watering

Water should be a slightly acidic reaction - ideally pH 6.5. If for a short time, then they can endure water a couple of times more rigid or acidic pH from 4 to 8. But no chlorine! Water should not contain chemicals, any softeners. Even rainwater due to the environmental situation in the cities of our country is not ideal, it is more correct to use bottled water or frozen water. As a last resort, filtered and boiled.

There is another option for preparing water for bromeliads and any epiphytes that do not tolerate tap water - this is the use of funds for preparing aquarium water. Drugs are sold that are added to ordinary water and make it suitable for tropical fish for an hour. It is convenient to use Tetra AquaSafe Water Conditioner.

If distilled water is used, fertilizers must be added to it in a carefully calibrated dose with each watering.

Feeding tillandsia

Plants planted in pots in the bark are fed no more than once a month. The bark decomposes slowly, but provides enough nutrients needed for physiological processes. During the period of active growth, plants are fed with liquid fertilizer for bromeliads, but if feeding is not carried out, or carried out less often, the flowers will not suffer much, perhaps grow more slowly.

It is believed that any complex fertilizers for orchids are suitable for feeding tillandsia, but at a lower or the same concentration. However, this is not entirely true. The composition of fertilizers is very different, some fit perfectly, some with a stretch, some are not suitable at all. Fertilizing with any fertilizer for indoor flowers, even diluted many times over, can be simply dangerous for tillandsia.

Feeding is carried out once a month and only during a period of intensive growth (when the maximum illumination  is from March to June) every 2 weeks. Just add fertilizer to the watering water, and soak the plant in it as usual.

You can feed bromeliads not when immersed in water, but by spraying on a sheet in the same dosage. It is strictly unacceptable to use epin and zircon to spray tillandsia growth stimulants.

Bromeliads cannot be fed with organic matter - no urea, humus or cow infusions, even in microscopic doses, since the nitrogenous compounds in their composition must be processed by bacteria in the soil so that nitrogen passes into an assimilable form. And we just do not have soil and bacteria (there is practically no in the bark).

Planting tillandsias

There are two options for planting tillandsias: in the substrate and without the substrate. Any materials are considered a substrate - bark, fern roots, coconut fiber, acadama, stones, etc., not land in the usual sense.

Tillandsia of the first group, whose leaves are similar to those of dracaena, primarily Tillandsia blue, are often sold in pots in peat. They are grown in a substrate. But it is wrong to plant them in ordinary land or store soil for bromeliads. The company "Garden of Miracles" offers the following soil: peat, sand, sphagnum moss. It is suitable for growing pineapple or bilbergia, but not for tillandsia - no sand and peat, especially fibrous, sticking together, should be necessary in the tillandsia substrate.

Tillandsia transplant after purchase

In stores, tillandsia sit in pots (peat with the addition of perlite) not for permanent residence, but in order to prevent the plant from drying out during transportation to the store. It is necessary to rid the plant of peat, fix it in a larger-sized substrate, so that the roots come into contact with air.

The key moment for the life of such tillandsias (you can call them conditionally soil) is the frequency of moisture, humidity of the surrounding air, and not roots and soil. You can fix them on the block, like any epiphyte, but the ambient humidity should be at least 70%, or watering once a day by immersion for 20 minutes. These tillandsias do not tolerate severe drying, but should dry out after moisturizing for 4-5 hours. Therefore, Tillandsia blue and similar species can be planted in large pieces of bark or a mixture of bark and acadama (clay granulate for growing bonsai) or seramis granulate. The sizes of pieces of bark are about 1-2 cm. Coconut chips or fiber (inert, non-degradable material) and river stones can be used in the substrate.

The presence of roots in tillandsia is not a need to plant them in the ground! Like orchids, the long, branched roots of tillandsias are designed to anchor to tree trunks and absorb the nutrient solution that runs down the trunk and branches when it rains. You can cut them off as unnecessary and just put the plant in a wide vase, it will not suffer at all, and if it needs it, it will easily grow new ones. But if you stick a plant in the ground, it will safely rot in a couple of months.

So Tillandsia blue and other soil species can be potted. In diameter, it should not exceed 10 cm, and 8 cm of pot is enough. Transplantation is not required for plants for the reason that after flowering, the mother bush dies, though not immediately, but gradually, while daughter rosettes grow on it. When they grow up, they need to be cut off and put in separate pots.

Planting atmospheric tillandsias

There are many options for planting daughters of air: any species can be attached to driftwood, wooden bars or any non-toxic material. Treated wood coated with varnish or paint, as well as such building material as mounting foam or gypsum fiber should not be used.

Cleaned from dust and disinfected branches, ring-sawn wood of cypress, larch, as well as beautiful roots, stones, a lot of ideas can be gleaned from the aquarium store, there you can find shells or beautiful corals. And of course, flat bowls and vases, plastic baskets or candy boxes from a glassware store will do. Containers or containers should be such that water in them does not linger or easily drain. Keep in mind that if the plant is fixed, then when watering it will have to be immersed in a basin of water entirely, along with a vase, but after watering the water must be carefully drained, remember that tillandsia must dry out in 4 hours. If water remains in the shell or vase, the plants can rot.

On the block, tillandsia snags are attached using a tape cut from capron tights, any other material is not suitable - it can injure plants. This design should be constant, you should not untie and overweight bromeliads in new vases, because you are tired of the old ones. Excessive braking, untying-tying of delicate plants injures them.

Thus, the block or container to which tillandsia will be attached, when watered, will be completely immersed in water, should consist of a material that does not rot, or at least does not rot quickly.

Reproduction

Tillandsia breed by seeds and daughter rosettes.

Tillandsias flower only once in their lifetime, but very colorfully, in many species from the inflorescence they are colored pink, red or orange. During flowering, plants put all the energy into laying children and with the end of flowering, small rosettes begin to grow. On one mother plant, 3-8 daughter rosettes can be formed. If they are not separated, then they remain to grow in width, forming a wide curtain. It is better to separate the children when they grow up about 6-8 cm in diameter.

Natalia Rusinova

Photos used: Cliff, yoppy, @ penguin _ yu _ ki, Alex in situ.