How to care for tillandsia so that epiphyte delights with a riot of colors for several months in a row

The name Tillandsia was born in a dispute between two botanists. Charles Plumier called this genus of flowers Caraguata. However, the Portuguese word seemed to his colleague Carl Linnaeus too rude and barbaric (in the sense - borrowed). Therefore, the latter decided to rename unusual plants and name them after Ellias Tillands - the only world-famous Finnish botanist.

The parallel between the plants and the scientist was not accidental. Tillands was afraid of water, he was constantly rocked by the waves - so much so that he preferred to move on land in any situation. Linnaeus believed that tillandsia was also afraid of water. Otherwise, why would she need so many flakes pressed firmly against a leaf plate? Later it turned out that the plant does not feel any fear of water, but it was too late to rename it.

Tillandsia is loved not only by flower growers, but also by florists. The former value unpretentiousness in it, and the latter - the intricacy of forms. Some varieties of epiphyte resemble a gray beard, others resemble a giant colored spikelet, while others resemble a ball of randomly twisted threads.

What is the uniqueness of the epiphyte bloom?

Epiphyte bloom is always a celebration. You never know what kind of riot of colors to expect from him. For some varieties of tillandsia during flowering, staining of the foliage closest to the peduncle is pale pink or white. Others even become like a peacock - thanks to a large bright flower that appears on a long peduncle directly from the middle of the outlet.

Tillandsia blooms in early summer. First, she “shoots” up with a flower stalk, which in shape and structure resembles a large spike. Over time, the bracts begin to turn bright, doing this in pairs. The upper bracts are the first to change color, and gradually the entire peduncle from top to bottom becomes bright and elegant.

Do not worry if the indoor flower has decided to become covered with color in the winter. There is nothing to worry about. Fill tillandsia during flowering during this period of the year is not necessary. As expect from her an excessive riot of colors. In the cold, the epiphyte blooms softly, although very noticeably.

Types of potted and atmospheric flowers

Tillandsia are divided into two types - atmospheric and potted.Plants of the first type exist almost without roots, that is, they have an undeveloped root system and feel great on special posts or snags. Pot flowers easily take root in the ground and pamper the owners with their breathtaking flowering. The table below lists the most popular types of tillandsia with an indication of their characteristic features.

Table - Tillandsia: popular species and their features

3 ways to grow

Three methods of growing these evergreen plants are distinguished depending on the type of epiphyte acquired: an old driftwood, on which the remains of the bark are preserved, an ordinary flower pot or a glass jar that allows you to create a mini-greenhouse at home.

1. Snag. This method of cultivation is ideal for atmospheric varieties that have small roots and an undeveloped root system. The driftwood is pre-treated, leaving a little bark on it. It is from her that tillandsia will receive moisture. Please note that watering the atmospheric species of flower is not needed. Enough regular spraying of foliage and humidification of indoor air.
2. Glass jar. A transparent round glass vase can be filled with bark, stones and small branches. A small epiphyte is best fixed on a piece of bark with a synthetic thread. In the future, the plant will release several long roots and will be able to cling to the support on its own.
3. Pot. Suitable for decorative flower species. Those that are grown not to create mini-greenhouses, but for flowering. Their characteristic feature is narrow, upward-looking leaves. Depending on the type of epiphyte, the lower foliage can be painted in brown, light green or even lilac.

Tillandsia home care

Even a beginner grower will understand how to care for tillandsia. No problems and difficulties should arise. However, you need to know that the types and varieties of this indoor flower are conventionally divided into two groups.

1. Group A. It includes the so-called atmospheric species, which differ from their counterparts from group D in a particular moodiness and the silver color of the sheet plate.
2. Group G. Potted species that have a green leaf plate.

Adjust the lighting

The lighting required for a flower depends on which group it belongs to.

• Atmospheric. Love the shadow. Maximum penumbra.Moreover, minimal coverage is a requirement that remains relevant for the Group A tillandsia throughout the year, whether it be winter, summer or off-season.
• Potty. Penumbra for such species is an extreme measure. Between February and September, Tillandsia G groups require abundant but scattered light. And in the remaining time of the year, they are ready to bask under the direct rays of the sun.

Monitor the temperature

Temperature conditions are the same for all tillandsia, regardless of the group to which they belong.

• Winter. In the winter season, the flower needs a temperature of about 15 ° C. However, even a decrease to 4 ° C will endure the evergreen epiphyte. Unless, of course, it will be a short-term phenomenon.
• Summer. In the summer, the flower needs a temperature of about 30 ° C in the daytime and not lower than 17 ° C in the night and evening.

We achieve a suitable humidity

If you decide to start growing tillandsia in a city apartment, get along the way with a humidifier. This device will benefit not only the flower, but also to all home inhabitants. It is important that the hygrometer needle never drops below 60%. This is the optimal humidity level for tillandsia. If you do not have a humidifier, you can do with a conventional spray gun. Follow these three guidelines.

1. Spraying. In the period from the beginning of spring to the beginning of autumn, it is necessary to spray the plant three to four times a day. With the beginning of the autumn period, the number of daily sprayings can be reduced, and in winter it is completely worth refraining from.
2. Water quality. Only soft water can be used to irrigate tillandsia. Ideally, mineral without gas. But the usual and standing for several days water from the tap is also suitable.
3. Bypassing inflorescences. When spraying, water should not fall on the inflorescences. Therefore, do not direct the spray gun towards the peduncle or cover it with improvised means at the time of irrigation.

Water correctly

Watering is one of the stumbling blocks for owners of epiphytic plants. If for spraying, the settled water is still suitable in half with grief, then for watering - alas. Tillandsia can be watered exclusively with meltwater or rainwater. In a city, collecting rainwater is particularly difficult. Therefore, in their reviews, experienced flower growers recommend making ice in the freezer, and then thawing it for watering.

Potted indoor flower species need a lot of moisture. Between March and September, the topsoil in the pot should not have time to dry out. And starting in October and throughout winter, the frequency of watering can be reduced by adding water to the pot only when the topsoil dries and becomes slightly damp.

If you started cultivating an atmospheric variety that has a miniature root system, use a special post or piece of bark. In this case, you do not need to water the plant. It will draw moisture from the bark on which it lives, and from the air. Spraying such plants will be enough.

We provide a warm shower

Twice a month, regardless of the time of year, the flower should take a shower. First of all, bath procedures are necessary in order to wash away the dirt accumulated in the leaves. But be careful: water should not get on the peduncle. Otherwise, the flowering period of tillandsia will be significantly reduced.

You can try wrapping the bracts with plastic wrap, while refusing to suffocate fixation. The optimum temperature for shower water is 28 ° C.

Fertilize wisely

Top dressing is another mandatory point in the rules for caring for a flower. You should pay attention to the following four nuances.

1. Fertilizer selection. You can feed tillandsia either with fertilizer for orchids, or a tool that does not contain metals such as copper and boron. The latter are poison for an evergreen epiphytic plant.
2. The concentration of fertilizer. It is necessary to carefully dilute the dressing.Read the instructions on the packaging and prepare a solution four times less concentrated than recommended by the manufacturer.
3. The feeding season. Tillandsia needs to be fertilized from March to September. In the autumn-winter period, the plant does not require additional vitamins and minerals.
4. Frequency. Fertilizer must be added directly to the water for irrigation, pouring the solution directly into the center of the outlet. It is enough to do this once a month and a half. As a rule, there is no need for more frequent feeding.

Transplant difficulties

In spring, tillandsia is transplanted into another pot. “Housing relocation” is organized annually. For some varieties of the flower, this is a vital process, without which the plant will not bloom, and subsequently may completely die. As a rule, 12 months is enough for the root system of potted varieties to grow and significantly increase in volume. If you see that the roots are asking outside, then it’s time to start preparing for the change of pot and soil. The latter, by the way, is changing completely, and not partially.

The optimal container for tillandsia would be a wide, but low pot. It is important that the diameter of the new pot is slightly larger than the diameter of the old. But not by much.

The soil necessary in order to re-plant tillandsia can be prepared independently according to the recipe suggested below. All ingredients are taken in a 1: 1 ratio. Before landing, you need to produce high-quality aeration, that is, fluff up the earth and saturate it with oxygen. It is important not to forget about the organization of drainage. Ingredients of the substrate for planting:

• deciduous humus;
• shallow bark of pine;
• sphagnum;
• peaty soil;
• fern roots.

Breeding difficulties

There are two methods available for home growers to breed tillandsia. The first is with the help of children who appear after flowering. And the second - using seeds that can be purchased at a flower shop. Reproduction by children is an easier and simpler method. While the seeds will have to sweat pretty.

Side shoots

Features When the tillandsia flowering process is completed, the houseplant forms several baby rosettes. They will develop together with the mother plant in one pot. When the "children" reach 2/3 of the size of the "mother", they will need to be seated. It is necessary to plant "babies" from the mother flower. Otherwise, the latter may become exhausted and die. In this way, tillandsia can be propagated annually without additional difficulties.

Action algorithm

1. We prepare the substrate from peat and sand, mixing the soil ingredients in a ratio of 1: 1.
2. Two to three months after the appearance of the lateral shoot, we transplant it into a separate pot.

Seeds

Features Growing tillandsia from seeds at home is a long and painstaking business. If you manage to provide planting material with a temperature around 25 ° C, then, after four weeks, you will see the first shoots. Tillandsia, emerging from a seed, blooms at the age of five.

Action algorithm

1. We fill the container for seedlings with a mixture of sand and peat, taken in a ratio of 1: 1, and carefully water the prepared soil.
2. We spread the seeds on the surface of the earth, without pressing or dropping them.
3. We cover the container with planting material with cling film or a piece of glass. We put in a warm place.

Diseases and Pests

Defeat by diseases and pests is a rarity for tillandsia, which is attended by an attentive grower. However, “gaps” in care still occur.This entails the defeat of the flower by parasite insects, infection with a fungus or a change in the appearance of the plant. The table describes the symptoms and causes of the most common epiphytic health problems. In most cases, the best treatment is correction of care.

Table - Diseases and pests of tillandsia

The appearance of a spider mite is difficult not to notice. Like the invasion of mealybugs. The first leaves a mark in the form of a web on the leaves. And the second scatter everywhere (especially at the base of the outlet) traces of life, in appearance resembling miniature pieces of cotton wool.

Pests can be controlled using mechanical or chemical processing methods. A warm shower is the first thing to apply in the case of insects. Water will wash away adult individuals and their larvae, as well as traces left by insects. With early diagnosis, bathing problems can be quite enough. But if the method does not bring much effectiveness, the plant will need to be sprayed with fungicide.

Scarlet, orange, white, ultramarine, bright pink, yellow - tillandsia can be any. Most varieties bloom for several months in a row. But there are those that fade in just a couple of three days. Sometimes a florist, not knowing how to care for tillandsia, by his actions shortens the flowering period of Chilean beauties. And even the flower is brought to a state when, in the allotted time for flowering, the plant refuses to throw the peduncle. Correct the situation using the growth regulator. A chemical preparation will make even the most stubborn epiphyte blossom.

Reviews: “The main thing is not to transplant early, otherwise it will die”

Such a beauty lives with me for 8 years of great care does not require the main thing is not to transplant the atom early will die. You need to wait until the kids grow up enough, otherwise everything will disappear. Watering as the surface of the earth dries up after 2 days. The pot stands on the sunny side can be said under the waking sun. The earth should beat usually permeable moss of pine bark leaves of peat and chernozem. After buying in a flowering state, it passed into another pot with its own substrate

Natasha https://garden.cofe.ru/domashnaya-orangereya/esli-vam-nekogda-tillandsiya

A girlfriend gave me blue Tillandsia for an anniversary because she knows that flowers are my passion (though with the appearance of three cats in the house, the number of flowers was greatly reduced, but they increased noticeably in the office). I really like unusual flowers and this flower seemed to me just like that, because the bright pink inflorescence in itself attracts attention, and even when small lilac flowers appear from it, the tail is increased by a hundred times. In the three years that I have a flower, it has grown greatly, three additional additional rosettes appeared, but, the most annoying thing, the flower never bloomed again (the seller in the flower shop advised me to put a banana peel in a pot, but I had a long-awaited inflorescence did not wait). But it can be said that the flower itself is not whimsical and does not require special care (transplantation once a year, showering and wiping leaves, top dressing and watering as the earth dries up).

Ivanga http://otzovik.com/review_2554745.html

I bought my tillandsia in the summer, before that I had never seen this beautiful flower. Caring for her is not difficult. He loves light, but without direct sunlight, water only in the pan, often spray. Tillandsia blooms in paired, not large lilac flowers.These flowers stand for about a week, then fade and a new pair appears, and so on five times. After the flower has completely faded away, this pink tail (I don’t know what to call it correctly) began to turn green. After standing for several weeks in green, the tail began to creep, realizing that nothing would save him, I cut him off. I thought the whole flower will disappear, but no, new leaves appear.

ksenya.k.a., https://irecommend.ru/content/domashnyaya-ekzotika-foto

They gave me an unprepossessing flower, which they presented as tillandsia, from a gentleman's shoulder: a pair of stunted bushes with long prickly leaves in an old scary pot. I did not like the flower, I decided to give it to someone and even began to look for “good hands” for it. Not so easy. It’s a pity to give to anyone, it’s still a living soul, and it’s not his fault that he is so ugly. I decided to give him a new pot before breaking up. She began to transplant, she marveled at what kind of trash land he had - it looked like sand with some kind of garbage and expanded clay. Planted in ordinary garden land, only more peat and sand, it still looks like a cactus. And then I decided to read about him. And I realized that “sand with garbage,” it was a substrate specially prepared for him, such as where orchids planted. And it blooms wonderful (when it is good for him). And I am him in ordinary land! I rushed to see what was happening to him, and saw that the leaves had straightened out and now did not hang like washcloths, but looked up cheerfully, they all turned green (from brown ones), and new ones began to grow. Now I’m racking my brains. The soil is not at all what he needs for him, but he likes it. I don’t even know what to do.

Kalinka, https://forum.bestflowers.ru/t/tillandsija-tillandsia.1222/

After flowering, the mother plant is vibrant and healthy, and it grows for itself with one offspring. I separated the second offspring - it has been growing separately for a year now. For almost a year, the separated offspring was stuck in the substrate, but did not give roots. I put it in a glass with water at the very bottom - after 3-4 months, roots appeared.

Dasha https://www.botanichka.ru/blog/2010/01/27/tillandsia/