Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul
I have a few tillies as well. Hard part is finding ones that will stay small at a price I am willing to pay. Most of mine were the result of plant trades which is a nice "thrifty" way to go about it.
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I really like that - "most of mine were the result of plant trades which is a nice "thrifty" way to go about it". Truly the ultimate way to acquire plants! I was laughing to myself about
: "finding ones that will stay small at a price I am willing to pay". I'm a lot like you in those regards, and I am surely not going to pay big bucks for a plant that has a "made-up" and/or "fancy" name attached to it, especially as a means to justify the price.
Back before all the hybrids, cultivars, and the "newest" of the new discoveries,
Tillandsia were pretty much just standard species. From experience, you usually knew how large a species would get. Now a days, there are so many different forms that it will make your head swim... small form, dwarf form, miniature form, enano (a Spanish word: more or less to describe tiny, minute, dwarf, midget), large form, giant form, type 1, type 2, type 3, and the list goes on & on.
Most
ionantha stay consistently small (although I've had
T. ionantha 'Apretado' and
T. ionantha 'Rubra' grow to around 8-9" high with diameters around 6"). Maybe that's where the 'Rubra lg. form' comes into play. A few of the pin-cushion type Tillies seem to stay fairly small also (e.g.,
filifolia, the true
fuchsii, fuchsii v. gracillis). The small
Tillandsia (that some consider to be miniature) are in the subgenus
Diaphoranthema (e.g.
crocata, capillaris, usneoides).
I think small and miniature can sometimes be misleading under that subgenus... quite a bit of difference between the small & giant form of
crocata, or the sm. & lg. form of
capillaris, or
usenoides to name a few). Ever see a clump of
T. usenoides (aka: Spanish moss) growing off a tree in its natural habitat? With those long strands of intermingled plants forming a large clump that is growing towards the ground... just does not fit my description of miniature
This may be of interest - a friend of mine (we grew up together in California) still manages to wander down to Mexico and collect. He sent me a small clump of
T. albida to grow out (he discovered a large colony growing at a north section of Zacatecas in the Chihuahuan Desert of Northern Mexico) and said it was the smallest 'albida' he has ever seen. I've been growing this plant indoors for 5 plus years, and it has only gained about an inch in size. Wonder if I should label the plant and call it the 'dwarf form'.
About 5" tall
Another Tilly (with the fancy Spanish nickname) has remained small for me
T. paleacea 'enano' (this plant has already flowered and has thrown a pup - notice the size compared to the
T. ionantha v. fastigiata behind it , which was often called 'peanut' in the trade)
Another small size Till
T. capillaris (you may be able to make out the small yellow flower near the top-center of the clump)
Going in a completely different direction... here are a couple of
T. harrisii (I usually manage to keep these around the 6-7" diameter range when mature). I removed 3 offsets off a mother plant around 4-5 years ago. All three of those offsets were basically in the same growing conditions. Out of the three, 2 reached about 6-7" in diameter, have already flowered, and produced offsets. The third one has not flowered and has grown quite large (15 inches plus, with a diameter around 12"). Could it be labeled "large form". I guess it's just me (and the fact that I'm more "old school"), but I really don't like the new "name games"... I yearn for the old standard names (and maybe having a description of "major/minor" thrown into the mix occasionally).
Two of the three
T. harrisii offsets
And the third monster
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