All about Tillandsia (Air Plant) Care
Tillandsia (Air Plants) Bromeliacea):
This amazing group of plants are native to the Americas and belong to the same family as the pineapple (Bromeliaceae). These highly specialised plants have evolved to suck up nutrients and water not through their roots but through tiny hair like scales on their leaves called ‘trichomes’ which allows the plant to absorb everything it needs to survive and grow. the roots on Tillandsias act only as supports, anchoring the plant to whatever its growing on. There are around 650 species of Tillandsia and they fall into two distinct categories, ‘Mesic’ and ‘Xeric’, the ‘Mesic’ varieties come from more humid tropical environments where they appear more green in color and smoother, they can tolerate less light but require more frequent water. The ‘Xeric’ varieties however are on the opposite end of the spectrum, these varieties come from dry desert like climates where they appear more silvery gray in color and the trichomes give off the appearance that they are fuzzy/ hairy. This group can take higher light levels and a little less water.
Temperature:
Most Tillandsias will prefer warm humid environments but a good range between 10 Degrees C (50f) and 32 degrees C (90f) is sufficient and most home environments are perfect. Here in Melbourne Victoria, some species and cultivars can grow outside year round with protection from frost, these include:T. bergeri, T. Cotton Candy, T. harrisii, T. Houston, T. incarnata, T. juncea, T. plaeacea, T. punctulata, T. recurvifolia v. subsecundifolia, T. secunda, T. seleriana, T. tricolor and T. usneoidies (Old Man's Beard).
Watering:
Soak/ submerge your Tillandsia mounts for 10-15 minutes in a pool of water, this will ensure a thorough watering or hose plants down. Be sure to shake off any excess water after soaking once removed from the water. Occasional misting between watering will help add moisture and humidity during hot summer days, while misting will have its benefits it is not necessary. Water frequency and amount should be reduced in winter and reduce misting to a minimum. While Tillandsias can be drought tolerant, they will not grow or thrive and eventually die off if availability to water is too scarce.
TIP: Your Tillandsia ideally should be dry in 2-3 hours, provide good air movement and avoid leaving plants sitting in water for long periods of time or allowing water to sit in the ‘crown’ (middle) of the plant as this will also lead to rot!
Growth cycle:
Tillandsias are monocarpic, which means that once they reach maturity, they will bloom/flower only once and then die. The good news is that before, during or after blooming, plants will produce offsets (pups/ baby plants), these pups take some time to grow and the mother plant won't instantly die off after blooming but slowly, over time as the pups suck and take the nutrients and energy from the mother. Between 1 to 5 pups will start to grow. Once the pups have reached about ⅓ to half the size of the parent plant, the pups can easily be removed by carefully and gently twisting the pup off with a downward movement to separate it from the mother plant or you can simply leave the pups on to create a natural clumping habit! Each pup will then proceed to follow the same life-cycle of the parent, and once reaching maturity, will flower and produce pups of its own!
This amazing group of plants are native to the Americas and belong to the same family as the pineapple (Bromeliaceae). These highly specialised plants have evolved to suck up nutrients and water not through their roots but through tiny hair like scales on their leaves called ‘trichomes’ which allows the plant to absorb everything it needs to survive and grow. the roots on Tillandsias act only as supports, anchoring the plant to whatever its growing on. There are around 650 species of Tillandsia and they fall into two distinct categories, ‘Mesic’ and ‘Xeric’, the ‘Mesic’ varieties come from more humid tropical environments where they appear more green in color and smoother, they can tolerate less light but require more frequent water. The ‘Xeric’ varieties however are on the opposite end of the spectrum, these varieties come from dry desert like climates where they appear more silvery gray in color and the trichomes give off the appearance that they are fuzzy/ hairy. This group can take higher light levels and a little less water.
Temperature:
Most Tillandsias will prefer warm humid environments but a good range between 10 Degrees C (50f) and 32 degrees C (90f) is sufficient and most home environments are perfect. Here in Melbourne Victoria, some species and cultivars can grow outside year round with protection from frost, these include:T. bergeri, T. Cotton Candy, T. harrisii, T. Houston, T. incarnata, T. juncea, T. plaeacea, T. punctulata, T. recurvifolia v. subsecundifolia, T. secunda, T. seleriana, T. tricolor and T. usneoidies (Old Man's Beard).
Watering:
Soak/ submerge your Tillandsia mounts for 10-15 minutes in a pool of water, this will ensure a thorough watering or hose plants down. Be sure to shake off any excess water after soaking once removed from the water. Occasional misting between watering will help add moisture and humidity during hot summer days, while misting will have its benefits it is not necessary. Water frequency and amount should be reduced in winter and reduce misting to a minimum. While Tillandsias can be drought tolerant, they will not grow or thrive and eventually die off if availability to water is too scarce.
TIP: Your Tillandsia ideally should be dry in 2-3 hours, provide good air movement and avoid leaving plants sitting in water for long periods of time or allowing water to sit in the ‘crown’ (middle) of the plant as this will also lead to rot!
Growth cycle:
Tillandsias are monocarpic, which means that once they reach maturity, they will bloom/flower only once and then die. The good news is that before, during or after blooming, plants will produce offsets (pups/ baby plants), these pups take some time to grow and the mother plant won't instantly die off after blooming but slowly, over time as the pups suck and take the nutrients and energy from the mother. Between 1 to 5 pups will start to grow. Once the pups have reached about ⅓ to half the size of the parent plant, the pups can easily be removed by carefully and gently twisting the pup off with a downward movement to separate it from the mother plant or you can simply leave the pups on to create a natural clumping habit! Each pup will then proceed to follow the same life-cycle of the parent, and once reaching maturity, will flower and produce pups of its own!
Fertilizing:
Any well balanced all purpose liquid, water soluble fertilizer will be sufficient, since Tillandsias do not uptake nutrients through their roots, dilute the liquid fertilizer into a spray bottle and mist them all over once every week or two during the growing seasons of spring and summer. Reduce fertilizing significantly during the winter months, fertilization should be limited or abandoned completely until spring. Alternatively you can add water soluble fertilizer to a bucket of water and soak/submerge the plants this way.
Tip: It can be a good idea to dilute ⅓ to half of the recommended dose of fertilizer.
Any well balanced all purpose liquid, water soluble fertilizer will be sufficient, since Tillandsias do not uptake nutrients through their roots, dilute the liquid fertilizer into a spray bottle and mist them all over once every week or two during the growing seasons of spring and summer. Reduce fertilizing significantly during the winter months, fertilization should be limited or abandoned completely until spring. Alternatively you can add water soluble fertilizer to a bucket of water and soak/submerge the plants this way.
Tip: It can be a good idea to dilute ⅓ to half of the recommended dose of fertilizer.