Hey, Sis, you didn't tell me about this ... naughty you ... I have one as I am into these air plants now but I bought one not in bloom and it hasn't for me this year ..... next year I hope as I am into 'air plants'. What an excellent buy .... if you like these types I'll get you into it if you come down here this Autumn. xx
Hi kedi Ive got about 4 bromeliad, which were little off sets Of one I bought about 12 months ago. I potted them all up and they are doing quite well even though they growing very slowly. I find there are so many conflicting views on how you should care for them. Some say they are air plants and they dont need soil or plant food. Ive put mine in soil and spray them with rain water daily. Any input would be welcome. 02
Thanks David, Sis and 02. I didn't think of it when we were talking just before, Sis. No, I don't want to get into them, if we drive down in the Autumn, then this will be coming with us, along with some other plants. 02, you are obviously doing well with yours. I always heard that they don't need soil, but I've often seen them potted up, just like mine is, was like this when I bought it. I haven't been spraying mine, it sits on the kitchen windowsill, east-facing. That's all I can tell you. Hopefully someone will come along who knows about them. David - what about you?
I must say all of mine are in soil and not in the 'air' attached to trees. They live well here as long as they are in the shade and I don't spray them daily but make sure they are always damp. My Bilbergias bloomed beautifully this year for the second time. I bought this Tillandsia just coming into bloom and I think that was my problem .... accustomising it to the heat. The plant is still healthy .... I just didn't get the bloom. I thnk it's DaveP who is the best on these plants (he started me off on them) but he's not around much these days. :( Thanks, Sis, I would gladly take another on. :thumb:
Telepathy must be at work LOL! Suddenly realised I'd not looked in for a while and found you'd posted this A very serious attack of shingles which caused rather a lot of very painful, deep tissue damage has kept me more or less out of circulation. I recommend it to no-one! Kedi's Tillandsia is T. cyanea; a species that does well as a 'houseplant' and can build up into a handsome clump carrying several flower spikes. The individual flowers are short-lived lasting only a day or so, but provided there's sufficient humidity and light, they will appear in succession over several weeks. Nicely clove-scented too. Very broadly speaking, Tillandsias fall into two main 'camps' : those that can survive without much if any substrate, appearing to thrive on atmospheric moisture alone ad those that need compost or moss into which they can root. T. cyanea falls into the second category and should be kept lightly moist throughout much of the year. It will revel in warmth, but must have good humidity as well. The true 'air plants' develop only the scantest of root systems if any and can be simply hung up where they are to grow. I have a cluster of Tillandsia bergeri that has been tied to a Yucca trunk outside for the past 7 or 8 years. Although it grows well flowering freely every summer, it has yet to produce a single root. Others such as T. ionantha have a few fine threads of anchor roots, but nothing much to speak of. They survive on rainfall or if it is very dry, the occasional hosing down. Billbergias need a substrate to root into and if grown as 'air plants', the roots need to be wrapped in moss which is kept moist. Generally, they are happiest grown in pots or hanging baskets. Some such as B. nutans can be planted in the border in mild climate regions.
Hello, Dave .... so I brought you out of the woodwork again, huh? Sorry to hear you have been unwell with the shingles ... a very unpleasant malardy I understand .... Thank you for the information .... I love clove-scented things so I look forward to my Tillandsia blooming.
Thanks for the info Dave. I just had a sniff of mine but it doesn't smell like cloves, doesn't smell of anything in fact. :( Sorry to hear you have shingles, hope you are completely over them now. Unfortunately, I didn't get your tip in time, I have had them since last week. :eek:
Good to see you around again Dave, hope you have recovered. Have you tried Billbergia Windii outside, I have several now, one coming onto flower, might try one outside but not sure of their semi hardiness compared to Nutans.
Thanks for the good wishes folks, very much appreciated. Unfortunately I managed to get a really nasty attack with a lot of deep tissue damage accompanied by excruciating muscular pain. 2 months on and I'm still having to take morphine occasionally, although I try to make do with cocodamol whenever possible. Anyway, it's not life threatening and at some stage it will ease, so in the meantime I've just go to live with it :( Strongy, yes I've grown B. nutans outside for about 15 years and it forms very large clumps in no time at all. I've also got B. saundersii hanging in a basket and during very sunny weather the leaves take on deep purplish hues, which contrast well with the creamy yellow spots. I've also got B. distachya and brachysiphon, both doing well in the garden. They are remarkably tough bromeliads and when well established carrying several flower spikes, they can be quite spectacular. We had an air-frost free winter (the lowest was 1.2C) here this last time around and I was amazed to see that even a couple of Guzmania hybrids (the types you can pick up for a few pounds at the DIY sheds) came through with no damage. They had been put out and forgotten, but are now growing quite well. It will be interesting to see if they attempt to flower. I think a more 'normal' winter would see them off, so I'm not holding out any great hopes for them as garden plants here. Edit Sorry, I misread the message. I did have B. x Windii outside for several years and it grew quite well on top of a rough stone wall. It was invaded by weeds(male ferns & grasses) and I removed the clump during a manic clearing-up-fest. The intention was to split it, clean out the invaders and replant. At the same time I was cutting back old stems of gingers and having a general prune. Everything was collected up and put on the bonfire. The next day I realised I had also consigned the Billbergia to the flames. B. brachysiphon is similar, but with larger bracts and slightly different flowers, so I've not felt the need to re-acquire x Windii.
Thanks for the info, I also have Billbergia Nutans Var and B. Pyramidalis Var, Nutans Var I may try outside when more established. Have you grown Tillandsia Usneoides outside? We had a couple of nights of -3c this winter/spring but as you say a normal winter my see some of them off.
Someone asked me if it is true that you should pull the dead flowers off this plant, not just let them drop off by themselves. I have no idea so I am passing the question along to anyone who knows. Thanks!
I have not heard of this K and don't know what benefit it would really have other than giving the plant a 'smarter' appearance.
That is the only benefit since they are unlikely to form seed pods in the absence of a suitable pollinating insect and in any case the developing pod is deep within that comb of bracts that you would have to destroy in order to remove the pods. The pink bracts slowly revert to green over a month or so and the removal of the dead flowers is irrelevant to this. Strongy, yes I have grown 'Spanish Moss' (Tillandsia usneoides) outside with a fair degree of success. It does very well in this part of the world, but invariably disappears into local birds' nests in spring. Blackbirds, Blue Tits and Robins are the worst culprits and can decimate a nice big swag of the stuff in a matter of hours. This was all that was left by early May 5 years ago after the birds descended on my last big, dense (about 1m. long) clump. You can just about make out a bit of T. bergeri peeking out from between the Yucca's leaves. Usneoides grew back by the following spring, but was subjected to even more energetic predation and every bit disappeared. The bergeri is still there and has become a sizeable clump, producing its pink spikes and soft blue flowers every year. Tillandsia usneoides growing on Yucca elephantipes
