How to care for the Tillandsia bromeliad

Tillandsia cyanea

While visiting with my friend, Bob, I asked him if I could show off his beautiful indoor plant specimens and he graciously agreed. Putting a bromeliad or any houseplant out on a screened porch for the summer is like a tropical vacation for your plants. 

As long as they don't get more direct sun than they should, they will do well.  My friend, Bob, has had this Tillandsia for several years and it is obviously thriving in this perfect spot. Indoors, it receives filtered sun in his dining room.

Bob's natural knack for giving plants just the right amount of water and attention has really paid off, as you can see. Bromeliads are generally fairly easy to keep and with regular care will live with you for a long time.

Bob owns a Tillandsia cyanea, and they produce a beautiful feathery pink bract with lovely purple flowers blooming from it. This bromeliad can be propagated from offsets that appear as it matures.   

These Ecuadorian natives can grow in the house, mounted on fern bark or even a piece of wood with sphagnum moss and fishing line wrapped around it for safe holding. They can be dunked in water or thoroughly watered in the sink, if used that way.  


Care Instructions:

• Bright indirect light or some filtered sun. A north-facing window can be ideal.  
• Water when the top of the soil media is very dry.
• Plants in 4" diameter pots (10 cm) will use about 3/4 cup of water when ready. 
• Plants in 6"pots (15 cm) require about 2 cups (or almost 1/2 liter) of water when necessary.
• You can put your bromeliad in the sink and give it a good soak, then let it drain. Because it's planted in a bark media, this can be the best way to make sure that it is thoroughly and evenly watered. 
• Factors such as room temperature, the amount of sunlight they are receiving, and how much of a root ball they have, will affect how often they need watering.  This is true for all houseplants.
• They like a little water kept in their "cup" which is the center of the rosette.
• They do appreciate some humidity by misting or another means.
• The Tillandsia cyanea can be propagated from offsets or "pups" which are young plants that will start to sprout up, next to the mother plant, as it matures.

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*See a video clip on bromeliads from my 90's TV series, click below:

The Indoor Garden TV

***Learn how to make a hanging art piece using your tillandsia, in this video:

Mounting a Tillandsia on Bark 

 

©2014

Growing an Air plant

Tillandsia ionantha

While visiting at the talented florist where I used to work, I just had to admire this very attractive arrangement of two air plants. These small bromeliads are truly a wonder! 

In nature, they depend on moisture from the air and plentiful rain as it sets itself on a tree branch. In your home, they can be mounted on a piece of wood, as these are, or attached to a small moss ball and hung up. They will even sit in your kitchen window, by themselves, with no pot at all. 

The Tillandsia species are a group of smaller bromeliads and are easy to keep. The "Air plant" or "Sky plant" is very tolerant and a fascinating plant for a beginner. If it is well-cared for, the center of its silvery-green bristles will turn fiery red followed by small violet flowers!

You can naturally find the Tillandsia ionantha in the tropical America's forests from Southern Mexico to Nicaragua. Look towards the sky.

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You can send plants and flower arrangements almost anywhere in the world from:

 Flowers and Plants Etc.

Care Instructions---

• Some direct sun is best. They can take full sun and will tolerate lower light for awhile but best to find a sunny window as a permanent place for them. 
• Douse or soak them in water for a few minutes every few days.  They tolerate less moisture but will last and show much better with regular waterings.

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***You can watch short video clips on plant care from my 90's TV series, click here:  

The Indoor Garden TV

©2014