Hi All,
I wondered if there were any tillandsia experts who might offer a few names to these rather poor photos?
All were purchased at local garden centre so unlikely to be rare or complex!
Any ideas welcome
Many thanks for any help
David Lambie
Bristol
Till 2 and 6 are ionantha , 4 is juncea and the twirly one (3) is probably a young caput-medusae. No 1 might be albida or maybe capitata but you really wont be able to tell with 1 and 7 what they are until they flower.
Some tillandsias are hardy down to 5C or so in the winter ( a couple like bergeri and aeranthos even lower) but others wont thrive unless you keep them at at least 8C. ionantha is one of the latter.
I grow quite a few that are hardy to 4-5C, if you are interested in seed let me know.
Thanks for the help, much appreciated! I am growing them inside, probably generally too warm over the winter, but one does what one can! I think I have skated a fine line in terms of the number of plants "cluttering up the house" already, so I think seed would be a step too far , though many thanks for the offer!
Cheers
David Lambie
Bristol
No problem, if they flower post some pics and I will have a go at IDing them.
Warm in the winter isn't a problem as long as they are well lit, I grew ionantha amongst others as a houseplant for about 20 years before I moved them to the greenhouse, (where the ionanthas promptly died). Soak them for about an hour once a week in a bucket of very dilute (about 1/4 strength) orchid fertilizer, as long as they are dry before nightfall they will do fine.
Thanks for the cultivational advice. More or less what I've been doing, though there is much advice about "spraying". I have no good sprayer so into the sink they go, much to the chagrin of my long-suffering beloved.
David
Spaying is largely ineffective (and even more annoying to the long-suffering) unless they are in a very humid environment.
Hopefully you have soft tap water, otherwise a bucket of rainwater would be advisable
I have grown a few Tillandsia species along the back of my cactus greenhouse for many years. They get ignored in the winter and usually get a spray early in the morning from spring through to autumn. The thermostat in that greenhouse is set to 5oC. Under these conditions, they have been self-selecting, all the "green" ones have died whereas the ones that have grown for many years have got grey foliage and probably originated from more arid environments. Maybe not too surprising since it is not uncommon to see tillandsias associating with cacti in Mexico.
Terry S. wrote: ↑Thu Dec 27, 2018 9:11 am
I have grown a few Tillandsia species along the back of my cactus greenhouse for many years. They get ignored in the winter and usually get a spray early in the morning from spring through to autumn. The thermostat in that greenhouse is set to 5oC. Under these conditions, they have been self-selecting, all the "green" ones have died whereas the ones that have grown for many years have got grey foliage and probably originated from more arid environments. Maybe not too surprising since it is not uncommon to see tillandsias associating with cacti in Mexico.
Terry! really, give them a soak once a week, you will be surprised at how much better they will grow and flower! Even the very xerophytic silver ones such as paleacea and tectorum will do much better with a dunk than a spray
, though many thanks for the offer!
really, give them a soak once a week, you will be surprised at how much better they will grow and flower! Even the very xerophytic silver ones such as paleacea and tectorum will do much better with a dunk than a spray 