I found THIS secret for tillandsias (air plants)!!
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- čas přidán 6. 11. 2023
- I used to kill tillandsias (air plants) within weeks!!!
They would develop small black spots and turn dark and die!
Now, most of my tillandsias are turning into lush, spiky balls of plants instead of dying. They also flower quickly (if they haven't already), and then their pups flower, and the first plant keeps living for more years instead of dying. This confused me because most online sites say tillandsias will die after flowering. A few sites explain that although the meristem is dead (so they will stop putting out new leaves at top), the plant can survive for years afterward and put out new plants (pups) at the base. But, of course, back in the day I couldn't even keep one alive for more than a month.
It all turned around when an online friend introduced me to how he waters orchids (thanks Sean M.!). The amazing formula has worked for my orchids, Haworthia, and tillandsias. The key (spoiler alert) is Tezula brand MSU fertilizer 13-3-15 in a gallon of distilled water. Once (maybe twice) a week. (Come to think of it, twice is better if they can dry out quickly.)
That and good air flow and part sun. In my case they have some indirect light from nearby LED plant lights, but mostly, they are in a west window and get bright sun (though frequently blocked by other tillandsias) for part of the day. Another caveat: the local climate is low humidity, so the crowded pile of tillandsias I have may or may not work in very humid air.
But mostly, I credit the Tezula + distilled water combination for saving my tillandsias from the fate their poor predecessors met when I was younger.
(Does it have to be distilled? I doubt it, but our local water is hard / has a high TDS (total dissolved solid) rating and is said to be tough on orchids - so I just go with distilled and it's worked well. The good news is the leftover water is GREAT for many other types of houseplant.)
Please note, if you buy a tillandsia and it has ALREADY flowered, it may be weak and could die. If a plant you've bought (such as online) arrives dull and turning dark gray or brown, examine it carefully to see if there are traces of a spent flower at the top. To save tillandsias that flower, this formula is best applied twice weekly BEFORE or IMMEDIATELY AFTER flowering. Too late and the plant can’t recover in time and dies (had that happen to me once with a mail order plant). If any tillandsia plant looks exhausted after flowering, then by all means try the formula twice a week or maybe even more often. You might be able to pull it back from the brink. If you see the color improve and pups start to form at the base, you have saved your tillandsia.
Also, I have lost some small tillandsias despite doing all of the above, so this is clearly not a 100% guaranteed method. AND also, there are some tillandsias that are said to rot if the center gets wet, so I avoid dunking those. (This is despite the fact tillandsias are a type of bromeliad, and the most famous "bromeliad" houseplant likes having water sitting in its crown, plus of course ... pineapples. Yes, air plants are related to pineapples....)
Anyway, I am still amazed that, after years of killing hapless air plants, I now have so many that are thriving. I hope this video helps others achieve the same thing! - Věda a technologie
I have air plants for 10 years now. Some died. Some are thriving. I soak them in bowl for 8 hours, letting them dry on dish drying mat and hang them back on branches of decorative manzanita tree, free of any mount. Most of the plants can tolerate low humidity, they like to be dry for some period of time. I will soak air plants when they are curly, and they may dry slowly, like for a month, particularly xerographica.
I don't have any on mounts either. They are all thrown together in a hanging wire basket. I've been lazy recently and only dunk them once every 2 weeks or so - they are clearly stressed and the recently flowered ones aren't happy, but they seem to be surviving. Mine are definitely happier dunked 2x a week (4X more often than I'm doing it right now).... The ones I think are xerographica I try not to get the center wet. The large one only gets second hand dripping.
I mix 1:4 aquarium water and distilled water with good results.
Funny, have been looking at keeping fish again.... But in the meantime the fertilizer + distilled water is amazing.
I just throw mine in my aquariums once a week.
Haha nice idea!
How long do you let them sit in the water?
You dont have spanish moss❤❤❤ i live in FLORIDA..so tillansias are wild and my airplants are out there in the trees ❤❤❤❤ easy ❤😂
Yes, that's quite a wild tillandsia! I once had a bit and it didn't last long. My area is low humidity so it probably hated that. Quite a contrast to Florida....