Tillandsia: Home Care Tips

Tillandsia (Tillandsia) is an evergreen plant of the bromeliad family, imported to Russia from Latin America. It grows in different climates - from dry continental to humid equatorial, due to which its species differ. In total there are more than 400 varieties of plants, 200 of which can be grown at home.

Two types of plants

Tillandsia is divided into two types - atmospheric and potted. In varieties belonging to the first root less, they grow, usually on poles or snags. Leaves of various colors - from grayish to green tones, oblong, length - 25 cm, width - 1 cm. Potted plants take root in the ground. The leaves are flat, covered with narrow green scales, there are smooth up to 40 cm. The inflorescence is spiky bright pink. Atmospheric species of tillandsia

Popular indoor species, their differences

View	A type	Feature, Care Advice
Asnate (Louisiana moss)	Atmospheric	Long stem up to three meters. Narrow leaves with scales up to 5 cm, from this appear gray. No roots, no support needed. In summer, small yellow-green flowers form.
Bulbose		The leaves are hard, thickened, but narrow, collected in a bulb. During flowering from green, they become scarlet, burgundy.
Snow		Has pointed narrow covered hairs. They are involved in the process of plant nutrition from the environment. Passing development starting from flowering, pollination, it fades and forms several rosettes in the axils of the leaves. Which grow, reach the age of flowering and the cycle repeats
Violet flower		Bush 5 cm. Silver leaves, due to small scales collecting moisture, cone-shaped, hard, end in a rosette. Violet flowers. When flowering, the leaves turn red. Grows without a pot. If you place several plants at a short distance from each other, then soon they will cover with themselves the entire surface.
Silver (hairy)		Thread-like leaves are covered with scales, which makes them silvery in the sun. They have a thickening near the outlet, where substances for food and water are collected. Red-blue small flowers appear in the summer.
Head of jellyfish (gorgon)		Has a thickened bulb with wriggling leaves. You must constantly monitor that it dries well after spraying, to create other leaves and roots.
Sitnikovaya		Leaves of about 50 cm, resembling reeds, are collected in panicles. The outlet is divided into several panicles. Red bract, on which purple flowers alternately open.
Sticking out		The narrowed triangular leaves - 20: 1 cm. The flower is spike-shaped. Peduncle is not long.
Tricolor		The leaves are gray-green, linear, collected in a large outlet. Peduncle - straight, long, inflorescences of green, yellow and red. Petals of flowers, purple, have the shape of a rhombus.
Gardener		The leaves are thick, narrow, expanding to the bottom. Assembled in a power outlet. They collect moisture and enter the flower to nourish.
Xerography ("xero" - "dry")		The leaves are crooked, peduncle pink. The soil is not needed, the main thing is to place it so that nothing interferes with the roots, spray (especially if the leaves are twisted at the ends). Good at accumulating moisture. Thanks to this property, it is easy to grow even for a beginner in crop production. With good care, it grows to a height of one meter, the largest variety. It blooms for about a month.
Sinia	Potted	Green grassy leaves. Feature - bright pink or lilac inflorescence. Flowers - purple or blue. Easy to grow in the house, like a potted plant.
Anita		The variety was created using the atmospheric type - Blue. Gray-green basal leaves. Feature - bright pink inflorescence in the form of an ear. The flowers are blue. Not whimsical to care for.
Linden		Often confused with Blue, but the spike-shaped inflorescence is more round, pink, red. The flowers are blue. Thin leaves.
Antonio		It has bright flowers, sticking out thin leaves that are intertwined in flowers. Highly decorative plant. Absolutely not whimsical when caring and growing.
Duer		Long, dense, tongue-shaped sheets included in the outlet. Spike inflorescence resembling yellow acacia leaves. It blooms from the top to the bottom. Bract red.
Andreas		It has bright flowers, sticking out thin leaves. Highly decorative plant. Absolutely not whimsical when caring and growing.

Atmospheric Tillandsia

Home care: location, lighting, temperature, humidity and watering, top dressing

Tillandsia is located in the window area further from the sun. In summer, it can bloom and grow when placed on the balcony. If necessary, establish a light shelter. In winter, an artificial light device is installed in the house.

Normal temperature: in the summer - + 24 ° C, in the winter - + 20 ° C. With frequent airing of the room.

Tillandsia should be watered with warm water. In winter, it is better to put in a container with clay and pebbles laid at the bottom. In summer, the ground should be moist, but in winter, drying of the soil is allowed to avoid decomposition of the roots. Two atmospheric views of tillandsia

Rules

• Provide fresh air.
• In spring and summer, carry out hydration of the plant, completely immersing it in clean distilled water at least + 20 ° C. And in the fall and winter to limit spraying every 4-5 days.
• Provide epiphytic variety with protection from the sun.
• Do not keep the plant at a low temperature, below + 10 ° C, it will not survive.

Seasonal Care Table

A type	Season	Temperature	Humidity
Atmospheric	Spring Summer	+ 18⁰C- + 21⁰C	65%-85%
	Autumn winter	+ 14⁰C- + 18⁰C
Potted	Spring Summer	Up to + 25⁰C
	Autumn winter	Not lower than + 18⁰C

A type	Watering	Shine	Top dressing
Atmospheric	2-3 times a week, put the pot in a pan with water for 20-30 minutes.	Sunlight in the morning and evening.	Once or twice a month.
			Not required.
Potted	Watered after drying of the soil.	Light shadow.	Once or twice a month.
	Maintain soil moisture.		Not necessary.

Landing and transplantation methods

Tips for planting and transplanting tillandsia vary depending on the type of plant, namely potted or atmospheric.

Potted

As soon as 2-3 years have passed after the main planting of the plant, they transplant in a container one size larger for normal flower growth, otherwise it will stop developing.

There is no point in transplanting blooming tillandsia, since after she dies, leaving the children. When they grow, they can be planted. It is better to transplant a seedling in the spring so that the roots can grow normally.

Soil - large, approximately 2 cm, fractions. Without land, peat and decayed leaves. Approximate composition:

• river stones;
• bark.

It is good to use bonsai primer with coconut chips, ceramis.

The pot is small but steady. Drainage - charcoal.

We take out the plant from the old pot and place it in a new container at the same distance at which it grew. Spray in the center of the outlet or put in water for 20-30 minutes. Potted species of tillandsia

Atmospheric

The peculiarity of this type is that its growth does not require soil. For planting, natural fragments of branches, roots, pieces of wood, felt, etc. are used. It is important that the plant attached to the stand is easy to immerse in water, and moisture can easily penetrate.

To help tillandsia in fixing, they use sphagnum moss, a coconut pad. After fixing, the plant is sprayed and suspended.

Important: Do not change the placement and lighting of atmospheric tillandsia often.

Watering, top dressing

In the summer, it is advisable to provide a moist habitat with moist soil, water the outlets and regularly spray the entire plant. But in winter it should be watered when the soil dries, sprayed with hot water.

Top dressing - every 2 weeks with mineral fertilizer (for orchids or flowering). The dosage for potted plants is half as much as in the instructions, for atmospheric ones - four times.

All types of tillandsia prefer foliar top dressing.

Breeding

The plant multiplies: by children, by seeds.

Kids

Appear at a time when the plant begins to bloom. Landing takes place in the morning, but it can be carried out at the beginning of the day.

Children are carefully separated, planted in a pot no more than 10 cm. Then they are kept at t + 25 ° C, constantly watering and aerating seedlings. Flowering - after 1.5-2 years. Video of planting a potted type of flower:

Atmospheric propagated by cutting off the shoot from the mother plant. It is enough to strengthen it on a support. Video for an atmospheric plant:

Seeds

Painstaking and not popular breeding.

Sow seeds on top of a wet peat-sand substrate. Glass or film is placed on top. Tanks put in a warm room temperature in a bright room. After a month or two, shoots should appear.

Tillandsia infection prevention measures

Tillandsia, with proper care, is less affected by various pests and diseases. Simple preventative measures will reduce the risk of infection:

• Quarantine of purchased plants 20-25 days.
• Weekly follow-up examination for signs of infection.
• Free placement of pots on the windowsill.
• Cleaning the plant and airing the room.
• Balanced watering.
• Fertilizers and fertilizers.
• Preventive and disinfectant treatment of soil, pots and tools.

Pests, care errors and methods for eliminating them

Often flower growers make common and unintentional mistakes leading to tillandsia with sad consequences, especially at low humid air temperature.

Problem	Error	Elimination
It rots and dies.	Planting in ordinary soil.	Change of soil. If there are children, plant them in different vases. Do not disinfect fungicides from rot. This can be harmful to the plant. Discard all mold or fungus infected supports, or burn them.
	Excess moisture.
	Excess fertilizer.
Does not bloom.	Lack of heat.	Provide the plant with normal conditions and light. In summer, at +18 put on the balcony.
	Not enough light.
	Temperature changes.
At the end of the sheet is brown.	Not enough water.	Pour with warm filtered water.
The leaves curled.
Leaf softening.	Too low air temperature.	Create favorable temperature conditions.
No outlet outlets.	Lack of minerals and vitamins.	To feed. It is better to add a small amount of fertilizer to the atomizer, spray the plant with it.
Gray spots form on the leaves.	Fungus.	Remove diseased leaves. In the future, follow the rules of care.
Gray foliage at the tips.	The use of heavy water for irrigation.	Water only with warm, filtered water.
Spider mite	Neighborhood with roses and unbalanced growing.	Treat with soapy water. Some time after the shower, remove the insect and all damaged leaves.
Powdery worm	Infection from other plants.	Spray with an alcohol-based soap solution. Two hours later - a shower, removing the visible habitat of the insect (brown spools). Put in an airtight greenhouse with garlic and onions. If it doesn’t help, process it several times with Tanrek, Rogor (but only as a last resort).

Beneficial features

The benefit of tillandsia, according to gardeners, is its ability to filter air. The energy of the plant is widely dispersed in circles, starting from the root and up to the flowers.

The price of various species and types varies greatly. Here is the approximate cost of some varieties:

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