Tillandsia

Family Bromeliaceae. Native to South and Central America. About 400 species occur in the wild. The most common among them:

Blue Tillandsia - Tillandsia cyanea - a small epiphytic plant forming a rosette. Leaves linear in shape, green with a reddish tint, up to 30 cm long and about 1 cm wide, leaf surface covered with tiny scales. The flowering stem is slightly curved or straight, short; the inflorescence is a spike, wide and flat. Bracts are arranged in two rows, tightly overlapping like a fir-tree, their color ranging from light green to pink and red, up to 5 cm long, completely hiding the sepals. The flower petals are reflexed, rhombic in shape, and pale violet in color.

Upright Tillandsia - Tillandsia stricta - a small epiphytic plant forming a dense rosette. Leaves narrowly triangular, covered with gray scales, from 7 to 20 cm long and about 0.5–1 cm wide. The flowering stem is short, curved. The inflorescence is a spike. Bracts are arranged spirally, colored from pale pink to bright pink, membranous, oval in shape. The lower bracts are long and cover the petals, which are bluish or violet in color.

Spanish-moss-like Tillandsia - Tillandsia usneoides - the "Louisiana moss", an epiphytic plant with thin stems that can reach several meters in length. Leaves filiform, about 1 mm wide and 5 cm long, arranged in two rows. Both stems and leaves are densely covered with scales, giving the plant a gray color. A single flower with scaly, oval bracts and flowers of pale bluish or pale green color.

Lighting: Prefers a bright place without direct sunlight. They grow on north-facing windowsills. In autumn and winter they can be moved to a brighter place - an east or west window.

Watering: Due to the large variety of Tillandsia species, their watering differs. Species with a dense rosette of leaves and a well-developed root system are watered in the pot during the summer moderately, by pouring water into the center of the rosette and wetting the leaves so that the substrate remains slightly moist most of the time. In winter these plants are watered somewhat less often - allowing the substrate to dry a bit. Tillandsia species with thread-like leaves, such as Tillandsia usneoides and similar, are not watered but regularly misted. Keeping such Tillandsias in a regular apartment is more difficult because even frequent misting makes it hard to maintain consistently high air humidity. These plants are better kept in a special terrarium.

Fertilizers: All Tillandsia species are best fed by foliar (spray) applications. Potted plants also obtain nutrients from the soil, so during active growth they are fed with liquid houseplant fertilizer at half the recommended dose every two weeks. "Atmospheric" Tillandsias receive all nutrients only from the moist air around them, so from early spring to mid-autumn add fertilizer to the misting water every two weeks at 1/4 of the recommended dose.

Air humidity: Tillandsias require high air humidity, not less than 60%. Mist only with soft, warm water.

Repotting: Potted Tillandsias are repotted approximately every two years. Use small pots, just large enough to fit the root system and a little substrate consisting of one part leaf mold, one part peat and one part chopped sphagnum moss (or a special substrate for bromeliads or orchids). "Atmospheric" Tillandsias are usually grown attached to a piece of bark, an interesting root, in hanging holders and other suitable places. To do this, the tuft or rosette of Tillandsia is gently wrapped with a small piece of sphagnum moss and attached to the support with wire.

Propagation: By seeds in spring or by separating side shoots.