I think I have been bitten by the tillandsia bug. You people have helped feed my addiction to orchids and have started me down the road on African violets and Hoya. Who has advice on tillandsia? Where to get them, what is the best to look for or if anyone has an over abundance and would like to share? You know, 'cause I need more plants.....
Orchids and Bromeliads go well together. I wish had more room for Bromels, but only have a few Tillandsias. In my experience almost every garden center has them and they are usually cheap.
Last edited by ronaldhanko; 01-23-2014 at 08:40 PM..
Love tillies! There are some that get truly massive (some of the largest up to 3m -- 10ft --tall) if you have the space for them, while there are others that are quite tiny. Many have no roots to speak of and many of those that do have roots use them more as a means of attachment to a tree branch or rock than anything else though there are a few that grow as terrestrials.
Despite the rootless types being billed to as "air plants" which will "get all their moisture from the air" (what a crock!) they do require misting or drenching to provide for their water needs. How frequently depends on the plant and how/where you are growing it.
Light needs varies as well with some tolerating phal light levels and others desiring catt levels or even direct sun.
There are a number of vendors online that sell them as well as on "flea"bay.
Mistking
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I grow 'em with my orchids- of course, there's a few species native to here. Very tough and hardy for me. My husband gets mad at me for rescuing windfall 'air plants' and 'ball mosses' all the time (Spanish moss is a Tillie also!)
I have a basketball sized needleleaf he's mad about...it could have a wire/spike put through the middle and hung nicely in a new home... but as a wild plant it could have native bugs also. I'm not sure I have any spray left at the moment.
Yes, it's a true windfall picked up out of the road by my house, would be dead otherwise. I didn't harvest it from a happy home. I think it got too big for its twig (which was deadwood).
I saw many on the ground in Miami. broken twigs after a storm. I am not sure how many species are present in Florida. Anyway easy to find many species on ebay and also at Botanic Gardens. Easier to grow than orchids. I heard that many can not attach on a mount unless they germinated on it. But this summer one seemed to put out some real roots when the humidity was high. Maybe someone here from southern Florida could send you some small fallen branches with some Tillandsias attached
Here are some photos from Florida. I saw many Tillandsias in Quintana Roo, Mexico where they seemed to do ok exposed to more direct sun and drier spots than orchids. The Miami area has a lot of Tillandsias allover the place. Probably different species than in Quintana Roo. Southern FL feels generally more humid than where I was Q. Roo
Awesome shots, Stefano. I could have lived without the spider shots but hey..... These are just what I am looking for. I have a huge "driftwood" piece that I want to use 2 or 3 orchids on and then fill in with tillies. These shots give me some great ideas.
Tillandsias
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