Such a different tillandsia: how to care for a moody plant

Tillandsia is a real find for those who love everything exotic, original and unusual. This houseplant will become a truly spectacular accent in the interior. Different species are completely different from each other, but the foliage decorativeness and attractive flowering remain unchanged. Tillandsia is quite demanding in care, so first you need to familiarize yourself with the recommendations for growing at home. Such "capriciousness" has no effect on her popularity - lovers of green pets rightly believe that the effort expended is more than paid for.

What does tillandsia look like: description and photo

Tillandsia (Tillandsia) - a genus of herbaceous perennials, belonging to the large family Bromeliaceae (Bromeliaceae). It combines completely dissimilar plants (according to various sources, there are from 400 to 550 species), in which it is difficult to suspect even distant relatives. This is because the natural habitat of tillandsia is quite wide. It includes mountains, semi-deserts, and savannas. Geographically, it is mainly the United States, Mexico, Argentina and Chile. The plant was forced to adapt to very different weather and climatic conditions, which could not but affect its appearance.

The diversity of the appearance of tillandsia is due to the dissimilarity of climatic and weather conditions in the places of their growth.

The name Tillandsia received in 1753, in honor of the Swedish botanist Elias Tillands, who first gave her scientific description. She also has quite poetic nicknames - "angel hair", "old man's beard", "Louisiana" or "Spanish moss." The last name for the plant was given by American natives. Indians have dense facial hair very rare. But almost all of the Spanish conquistadors who arrived on the new mainland were owners of beards, often gray-haired.

The socket in tillandsia is usually very dense

All tillandsia can be divided into two groups:

1. Ground or green. They have a short stiff stem and a dense rosette of leaves. They are bright green in color lanceolate or triangular, smooth. The average length is 30-40 cm, width is 3-5 cm. The root system is quite powerful, developed.
2. Epiphytic, atmospheric or “gray”. They do not have a stalk. The leaves are grayish-green or olive with a silvery sheen, very narrow, almost filiform (less than 1 cm wide with a length of 20-25 cm). They are covered with "scales", with the help of which they suck out moisture and nutrients from the air. They inhabit trees, using the "host" as a support. The presence of a developed system of aerial roots is characteristic. The plant is very capricious, so it is not common at home.

Tillandsia, belonging to the group of epiphytic, can safely be included in the list of the most unusual indoor plants

At home, the life of tillandsia is short - no more than five years. It ends with a flowering plant. After that, the mother outlet dies, having previously formed one or more daughter. Tillandsia releases very unusual large bright pink or raspberry bracts from the center of the outlet, similar to an ear or oar blade with “spikes” along the edge. Then three-petalled lilac, lavender or purple flowers appear on them. The petals are narrow, gradually bend back.

Vivid bracts of tillandsia add attractiveness to an already spectacular plant

These are the most common shades, but there are others - purple, snow-white, sky blue, bright blue, coral, scarlet, yellow. All tones are very clean, so tillandsia seems to glow. She seems to be the creation of a talented artist who prefers to work with acrylic paints.

Tillandsia flowers, unlike bracts, do not last long on the plant

The whole process lasts about two months. In nature, flowering most often occurs in the summer, but at home it can begin at any time of the year. In principle, it can be stimulated by spraying the plant weekly for 2–3 months with a biostimulant solution prepared according to the instructions (Zircon, Heteroauxin). After flowering, the fruit ripens - a small "box" with many small seeds.

Exotic tillandsia can decorate any interior

Video: tillandsia bloom

The leaves of Tillandsia are very beloved by the birds that live in the lower Mississippi River. They use them to build nests. Finds them application and man. Mattresses, pillows, furniture are stuffed with dry leaves, and adherents of the Voodoo cult make dolls known around the world from them.

The leaves of all tillandsia are narrow and thin.

Video: appearance and other characteristic features of a flower

What species are grown at home

Of the variety of Tillandsia, only some species were able to adapt to home conditions. There are breeding hybrids, but they are also few. Most Popular:

• Tillandsia tricolor (tricolor). Erect stems 7-10 cm long and dense rosettes of thin leaves covered with scales. Leaf length - about 20 cm. The name of the plant is due to a very unusual red-yellow-green bracts. Shades change from bottom to top. At the same time, several peduncles are formed. The flowers are bright purple.
• Tillandsia fan (flabellata). It is very similar to tricolor tillandsia, only bracts differ. They have an unusual tubular shape and are painted in bright coral or scarlet color.
• Tillandsia blue (soanea). The height of the outlet is about 25 cm. The length of the sheet is about 30 cm, the width is 2.5-3 cm. The main shade is bright green, but the purple or purple tint is also guessed. Peduncle rather short, often curved. The length of the inflorescence is about 15 cm, the width is about half that. It has up to 20 buds. Crimson bracts as they bloom change color to straw. The flowers are blue-violet, do not last very long.
• Tillandsia Anita (anita). The most popular of breeding hybrids, the “parent” is tillandsia blue. The leaves are scaly, lanceolate. The tip is very sharp, you can even prick about it. The flowers are pale blue, bracts are pink and purple. As they bloom, they turn green.
• Tillandsia Andre (andreana). The stalk is long, leafy. Leaves are belt-shaped, thin, sometimes twisted in a spiral. They are covered with grayish-brown scales. The flower stalk does not form a plant; its inflorescence is apical. The flowers are bright scarlet, with a diameter of about 4 cm.
• Tillandsia Arauje (araujei). Stem 25-30 cm tall, single or branching. Leaves are short, thick, 3-7 cm long, in the shape of a cylinder with a bent top. The peduncle is covered with pinkish scales. Bracts are raspberry, flowers are snow-white, with a diameter of 2-3 cm.
• Tillandsia is bulbous or bulbous (bulbosa). In nature, forms entire colonies, covering the soil with a continuous carpet. The height of the stem varies from 5-7 to 18-20 cm. The length of the leaf is about 30 cm, width is 5-8 cm. At the base there is a noticeable swelling with a diameter of 5-6 cm, which then sharply thins. Peduncle covered with grayish-red scales. Bracts are green and scarlet, lavender flowers.
• Tillandsia is bryophyte or usneoides, it is also "grandfather's beard." The most popular plant of the epiphytic group. Leaves are filiform, bluish or silver-gray, similar to cobwebs. Length - up to 5 cm, width - 1 mm. There are a lot of them, so thanks to meter-high stems a kind of "cascade" is formed. The plant looks very impressive when it falls from the stand. Does not need support. The flowers are small, pale yellow or yellowish green. There is a natural mutation in which they are bluish.
• Tillandsia filamentous (filifolia). The height of the outlet is about 25 cm. The leaves are bright green, the peduncle is brownish. In inflorescence of 10-16 buds. The ear is very wide, almost triangular. The flowers are small (1-1.5 cm in diameter), pastel purple.
• Tillandsia bent (recurvata). The stems are up to 10 cm long and the outlet is slightly larger in height. The leaves are rather thin, soft, 15-17 cm long. Peduncle up to 15 cm high, pubescent. Each bract contains only 1-2 flowers. The petals are lilac or white.
• Tillandsia silvery (argentea). The stalk is short, up to 5 cm. The height of the rosette is about 25 cm. The leaves curved in a spiral curl are covered with a white or reddish “pile”, they randomly leave its base. Length - 7-10 cm, width - no more than 2-3 mm. Peduncle smooth, straight or nickel. In the inflorescence of 6-8 flowers with pale scarlet petals.
• Tillandsia is a double-edged (anceps). A very dense rosette of 40-50 leaves 18-20 cm long. Long raspberry strokes stand out against the general bright green background. Bracts are greenish-white, mallow-colored petals.
• Tillandsia Linden (lindenii). In the outlet from 30 to 60 leaves. Average length - 20-25 cm, width - 1.5-2 cm. Bracts are raspberry or crimson. The flowers are large (more than 5 cm in diameter), dark blue. The bases of the petals are white.
• Tillandsia violet-flowered (ionantha). Small rosettes of silver-green leaves. Bracts are bluish or lavender. When they form, the leaves in the center of the rosette gradually turn red.
• Tillandsia Dyer (dyeriana). A rosette consists of leaves similar to pine needles. Bracts are coral, flowers are pale pink.
• Tillandsia the head of Medusa (caput-medusae). The bases of the leaves in the outlet close so tightly that they form something that looks like an onion or a pseudobulb of an orchid. Their tips bend back. Bracts are burgundy or raspberry, flowers are bright blue. From afar, the plant resembles a jellyfish or squid.
• Tillandsia sticking out (stricta). The leaves are in the form of very narrow triangles, similar to blades of grass. Length - 15-20 cm, width - 0.5-1 cm. Peduncles bent. Bracts from bottom to top change color from pastel pink to crimson. The flowers are bluish lilac.

Photo: Tillandsia, popular with amateur gardeners

Optimal conditions for the plant

It is relatively simple to create a microclimate familiar to tillandsia in captivity. The plant in nature is accustomed to adapt to a wide range of not always favorable climatic and weather conditions.

Table: how to create a flower suitable microclimate

A place for tillandsia is selected based on which group it belongs to

Tillandsia, especially epiphytic, look very impressive in compositions. The most common option is the "bromeliad tree." Creating an exclusive interior decoration is easy - the flower grower is limited only by his own imagination. To plants felt in such conditions, you must adhere to certain rules:

• Do not use treated wood soaked with varnishes and other chemicals toxic to plants;
• wrap the base of the outlet with wet sphagnum moss and only then attach it to the support;
• if possible, fix them with wire (necessarily insulated), use glue only as a last resort.

Tillandsia bromeliad tree looks very impressive

Video: tillandsia in the florarium

Small tillandsia feel great in the florarium

Planting and Transplantation Procedure

Tillandsia transplantation is needed only in order to move the acquired plant from an unsuitable store substrate for it. It does not differ in growth rate, therefore, before flowering, after which the rosette dies, it may well exist in one pot, even for 4-5 years. In this case, it is advisable to remove the top 2-3 soil annually and replace it with fresh soil.

The correct substrate for tillandsia is a little like soil in the usual sense of the word. You can buy ready-made soil for the bromeliads or orchids, or mix it yourself from the sheet soil, peat crumbs and finely chopped sphagnum moss (1: 1: 1). Another option is humus, peat, moss-sphagnum and coarse sand (4: 1: 1: 1). Be sure to add crushed birch charcoal or chalk (5-7% of the total volume).

Tillandsia can be grown in a special soil for orchids

The root system of tillandsia is poorly developed, it grows mainly in width, so choose a shallow pot, similar to a salad bowl or soup plate. It is better if it is made from unglazed ceramic - for proper air exchange.

Tillandsia deep volume pot is completely unnecessary

The transplant procedure itself looks like this:

1. Water the plant abundantly. After 30-40 minutes, very carefully remove it from the pot, being careful not to damage even the thinnest roots. Ideally, an earthen lump should remain intact.
2. At the bottom of the new container, pour expanded clay with a layer 2-3 cm thick. Add about the same amount of fresh substrate on top.
3. Place an earthen lump in the pot and start filling up the soil around the edges. In the process, you need to constantly tamp it so that the outlet holds tightly in rather loose soil.Underdeveloped roots do not always cope with this task.
4. Remove the transplanted plant in partial shade. Do not water for seven days.

Tillandsia transplant is carried out only by transshipment method.

Important Nuances of Tillandsia Home Care

Tillandsia is considered to be a difficult plant to care for. The main difficulties in its maintenance are related to watering.

Watering

During the period of active vegetation, especially in summer, tillandsia very much needs moisture. Moreover, simply often and abundantly watering the ground is not enough, you need to pour water into the outlets themselves. The soil in the pot must always be moist (but not wet). Excess water from the pan must be drained, in sockets it is replaced every 3-4 days.

The fact that the flower needs to be immediately watered is signaled by drooping leaves twisted into a tube. If such a drying out of the soil occurs, place the pot of tillandsia in a container of water so that it completely covers the soil for 10-12 hours. Then dry well and adjust the watering schedule.

Additionally, the flower is sprayed daily (in the heat even 2-3 times a day). A warm shower is also useful for epiphytic plants, since it is impossible to water them.

Spraying is an absolutely necessary procedure for tillandsia, especially epiphytic

Water should be soft and heated to a temperature of 5-7ºC above room temperature. Ideal - melt or rain. But the water supply can be softened by letting it stand for 1-2 days, passing through a filter or boiling.

Video: watering epiphytic tillandsia

Fertilizer application

Tillandsia is fed during the period of active vegetation, sprinkling approximately every two weeks with a solution of any complex fertilizer for flowering houseplants or a special tool for orchids. In the first case, the concentration of the drug is reduced by half (for ordinary tillandsia) or four times (for atmospheric) compared with the recommended manufacturer. A little can be added to the outlet, but not every time.

Root dressing is not recommended for tillandsia

Root dressing for tillandsia is dangerous. You can burn thin brittle roots even with a weak solution. In principle, tillandsia will survive and even bloom without top dressing, but the application of fertilizers stimulates its growth and improves appearance.

Pay attention to the composition of the fertilizer. It is advisable that copper be present there in a minimal amount or not at all. This trace element is toxic to any bromeliads.

Rest period

The rest period in tillandsia is not clearly expressed. Flowering can occur even in the middle of winter. The plant needs a very slight decrease in temperature. Lighting requirements remain the same.

In winter, the plant is watered about once every 3-4 days, allowing the soil to dry 1.5-2 cm deep. Sprayed also less often - on average once a week. The latter does not apply to epiphytic tillandsia, which cannot survive without daily humidification.

Feeding should be abandoned altogether. Otherwise, the “green” tillandsia will not bloom next year, and epiphytic can simply die.

Video: how to care for tillandsia

Common florist errors

Unintentional florist mistakes make tillandsia look not the best way. Especially severely the plant suffers from too low humidity.

Table: how errors in the care of tillandsia manifest

Browning and drying tips of the leaves of tillandsia indicate that the plant is not comfortable with too low air humidity

Plant diseases and pests

Like all bromeliads, tillandsia, with proper care, rarely suffers from diseases and pest attacks. Simple preventive measures in general can reduce the risk of infection to almost zero:

• isolation of newly acquired plants within 20-25 days;
• weekly inspection of the collection (preferably through a magnifying glass) and immediate quarantine of all colors with suspicious symptoms;
• free placement of pots on the windowsill, without crowding and crowding;
• daily airing of the room, keeping the plants clean;
• maintaining air humidity at a stable high level, proper watering;
• top dressing in accordance with the recommendations;
• use only disinfected soil, sterilization of pots and tools.

Table: Tillandsian diseases and pests

Photo gallery: Tillandsian diseases and pests

Breeding methods

The simplest and most prescribed method by nature itself is the rooting of daughter sockets, which are formed during the death of the mother after flowering. Nobody forbids to propagate tillandsia with seeds, but this method takes much more time and effort. You also have to be patient. New specimens will bloom no earlier than 5 years later. Sometimes you can wait 8-10 years. An exception is Anita's tillandsia, which forms bracts in 2-3 years.

The easiest way to propagate epiphytic tillandsia. Only vegetative methods are suitable for it. It is enough to carefully untie the roots, dividing one plant into 2-3 "bunches". Or separate one or several shoots, fix on a support and spray daily with a solution of a root stimulant.

Rooting "offspring"

Tillandsia “babies” appearing around the mother plant most often already have roots. They need to be carefully “unscrewed” from the ground after they reach a height of about half that of her. Or when the “parent” dries, remove the plant from the pot and sift the soil. The easiest way is when there is only one "offspring". It remains only to carefully remove the old outlet.

Tillandsia forms affiliated sockets after flowering

1. Fill small cups with a mixture of peat chips and coarse sand (1: 1). You can add a little chopped sphagnum moss. An expanded clay layer at the bottom and the presence of a drainage hole are required.
2. Moisten the substrate gently and drop outlets. They do not need to be deeply buried.
3. Place the containers in a mini-greenhouse or create a “greenhouse” using plastic bottles, glass jars, bags. Provide daylight hours of at least 14 hours and a temperature of about 25 ° C.
4. Maintain the substrate all the time in a slightly wet state, spraying it with a solution of any root stimulant (3-5 ml / l). Open the greenhouse for 5-10 minutes daily for ventilation.
5. After 2-3 months, transplant tillandsia into pots with a diameter of 7-10 cm, filled with soil suitable for adult plants.

Reproduction by daughter sockets - a method provided by nature itself

Seed germination

Tillandsia seeds can be purchased without problems. Often the fruits ripen at home.

Tillandsia seeds often ripen at home, if this did not happen, they can be purchased without problems in specialized stores

1. Fill the flat containers with a mixture of peat and sand (1: 1). Moisturize and smooth the substrate well.
2. Spread the seeds on the surface of the soil without deepening or falling asleep on top. Cover with glass or film.
3. Provide the same conditions as the "offspring." Shoots should appear in 25-30 days.
4. When the sockets reach a height of 4-5 cm, seed them in separate pots. Further care is normal.

Video: methods of breeding tillandsia at home

Florist reviews

They gave me an unprepossessing flower from a gentleman's shoulder, which they presented as tillandsia: a pair of stunted bushes with long prickly leaves in an old scary pot. I did not like the flower, I decided to give it to someone and even began to look for “good hands” for it. Not so easy. It’s a pity to give to anyone, it’s still a living soul, and it’s not his fault that he is so ugly. I decided to give him a new pot before breaking up. She began to transplant, she wondered what kind of crappy land he had - it looked like sand with some kind of garbage and expanded clay. Planted in ordinary garden soil, only more peat and sand, still looks like a cactus. And then I decided to read about him. And I realized that “sand with garbage” is a substrate specially prepared for it, such as where orchids plant. And it blooms wonderful (when it’s good for him). And I did it in ordinary land! I rushed to see what was happening to him, and saw that the leaves had straightened out and now they did not hang like washcloths, but looked up cheerfully, everything was green (from brown), and new ones began to grow. Now I’m racking my brains. The soil is not at all what he needs for him, but he likes it. By the way, I changed my mind about giving it to someone.

Kalinka

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Nothing to do with the tillandsia peduncle. When it fades, it gives birth to children, the mother plant may die out, or it may remain to live. The very second flowering of the Bromeliad could not wait. The literature mentions that the Bromeliads bloom once in a lifetime, die off after flowering, leaving the children, these children then grow and bloom for a third year ... And so on.

Wildy

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Tillandsia is a mystery. Only the first flower dried, immediately on the other hand climbed the next, right symmetrically! But not yet revealed. Either it has been revealed for a long time, or something is missing for him, it would not have dried out. But already from the first side again the tip of the next flower appeared. I read that she can only hold two flowers at a time, no more, the rest are opened in order, in return for the deceased.

Ax

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I love Tillandsia very much. These are not quite ordinary babies who perfectly exist without the usual soil for plants. They take all the substances necessary for life from the air, air dust with the help of small scales with which their leaves are covered ... If you sprinkle atmospheric tillandsia with water, it turns green.

Linsi

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I attached my little tillancies to the block. The substrate of live moss is attached to the cortex with a polyethylene mesh (from under vegetables), screwed the bottoms of tillandsia into the holes of the mesh. While the block lies, if the plants grow, it will be possible to hang. I defined life on a shelf with artificial orchids with artificial lighting, but there, however, heating from below is obtained. I will spray a little every day in the morning.

Blackberry

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Plants of the bromeliad family have this feature: after flowering ends, the old rosette gradually dies, having previously formed one or more children. Therefore, the appearance of dry spots in your tillandsia is probably associated with this process. If you now water it intensively, and even from above, decay can begin, which (not excluded), will affect children. If the children are already well formed, they can be deposited in very loose soil, although it is better to carry out this procedure closer to spring.

Lady-flo

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My tillandsia grow without a terrarium. And I do not spray them, but water in a weak shower with orchids every other day. The head of the jellyfish has been living with me for 5-6 years. There are bought with support - they are glued to silicone. Those that I bought separately are tied with soft elastic braid (from tights) to snags - this does not injure them.But I think there is another successful experience.

Town

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I have not enough experience so far, but according to observations, the ionant tillandsia is definitely the most tenacious. And Fushi gracilis is the hardest winter, thin leaves. With central heating, it is definitely a bit dry for them all, but they should hold out until spring. Spray preferably with soft water, boiled or filtered. Maybe put a pallet with wet expanded clay under them? I measured the humidity of the house with the device: it shows 20%, this is horror for all living things.

Karryteddy

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Tillandsia has a strong rosette of narrow dark green leaves up to 30 cm long. A large spike-shaped inflorescence of bright pink color grows in the middle of the rosette. In favorable conditions, small flowers of dark blue or purple begin to bloom from the scales of this ear. You need to water such a flower often, but not to fill it. You can spray. Do not leave in direct sunlight. Such flowers do not like drafts. My first tillandsia began to bloom blue flowers, or rather, there was something like a kidney, but I opened the window to ventilate the room. It was also cold outside. In general, these buds died and the flower no longer bloomed. After 2 months, the pink color began to fade and gradually turned into green. Blue flowers bloom for about a week, and the spike lasts a very long time. When the pink color dims and then turns green, this means that the flower has begun to fade, it will soon begin to dry. My first tillandsia began to dry, but small children began to grow at a large outlet. I cut off a greened dried spike and planted the children from the main outlet of the children in small pots. To plant tillandsia is very easy, with a little effort to tear the baby from the main outlet and transfer it to the pot, add soil and you're done! I read on the Internet that the main flower should die, but I have both the main one and the children, though I slightly lowered the main leaf. Kids are not blooming yet. I read on the Internet that it takes 3-4 years for the kids to bloom. Only a year has passed. You can feed a flower with special means that are suitable for orchids. In stores, such flowers are sold immediately with a pink spike, so you can buy this unusual flower for yourself and watch its development for several months and, unfortunately, drying out.

Perfjulia

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Tillandsia is one of the most popular indoor plants from the Bromeliad family. Its unusual appearance and spectacular flowering immediately attracts attention. It is widely used to create interior compositions - here the owner is limited only by his own imagination. Tillandsia cannot be called an easy-to-care plant, but all the forces and time expended by the florist are more than paid for by the originality of the culture.