tillandsia

Am I doing allright if I submerge my tillandsia in the water instead than spraying it...?

 

I would say no MF. Tillandsia is an epiphyte which lives on moisture in the air in it's natural state. It's similar to Mrs. S's orchids in it's habits and I think she would kill me if I drowned them. Why do you want to do this? (Submerge them that is, not kill them).

 

I would advise against submerging it in winter as it will not dry out as rapidly, spraying or misting with rain water is preferable till summer when you can even put them outside for a several months.

 

I used to throw my spainish moss in the pond during the summer, as watering by spraying outside in summer is not enough.
However in winter I think a lot less water is needed unless its in a centally heated house.
Anyway I dont have it anymore, the sparrows nicked it all one spring for their nests.

 

Spanish Moss ... wow, does this bring back memories from 1967 when I lived in South Carolina where Porgy & Bess was filmed, fantastic place ... Gone with the Wind scenario ... hanging from the trees everywhere, swinging from it over paths, unbelievable.

Thanks for the nice memories ...

 

No - spraying it is NOT enough! Not in our centrally heated, dry houses, anyway!

I got my info from this site and have treated my Tillandsia that way for over 2 years now and it is very healthy and growing! In the summer, I simply immerse it for about 1-2 hours about three times a fortnight, less in the winter. Sometimes I forget and leave it for longer but it always looks nice and fresh and plump when I have done it. And the rate it's throwing out roots shows that it loves the treatment. And every month or so in the summer, I put a single drop of BabyBio in the water as well.

Oh, one other thing - when I take it from the water, I lay it across the top of the tumbler on its side so it can drain well.

Oh yes - and I use filtered water not plain tap water. Apparently it's accustomed to being immersed in rain water in its natural state.

Anyway - read the site - it's got heaps of good advise in there.

 

Thank you everybody for the good advice...

 

I sit mine in the shower and flash warm water on it for a few seconds and not again until the surface is drying.

Incidentally, i've not tried it yet but the gas emitted by ripening bananas is supposed to bring them back into flower!

 

And apples.

 

It is a pity that I normally buy ripe bananas, then...

 

Oh wow! Never spotted that tip before!


**Daisees dashes into her cold room for those mingy bananas she's been meaning to throw out for a few days now!!**

 

I had to think along way back to when I worked in the bromeliad block at Rochfords in the 60's. We did trials of artificially flowering bromeliads, Achmeas, Vreisias and Billbergias, by placing individual plants in plastic bags with an apple for three days and then removing it. The apples give off Ethylene which triggers bud initiation and they would start to show buds in 12/14 weeks. This was done for a few months on and off but I never knew what happened with the data as I moved to the propagation block. I did see later that the Dutch(!) claimed to have pioneered this research and an Ethylene based chemical appeared on the market in the trade shortly after.
It was to my knowledge never available for retail presumably as bromeliads, tillandsias and the like have never been as poular as most other houseplants.