General description of tillandsia, tips for growing it at home, choice of soil and fertilizers, recommendations for transplanting and reproduction, interesting facts. Tillandsia is a member of the Bromeliaceae family, which includes more than 400 species of representatives of the green world of the planet. The homeland of this exotic plant is considered to be the territories located in the countries of South America: Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Argentina, etc. She prefers to settle in a wide variety of areas, they can be both tropical forests and vast savannas with dry air, hot semi-deserts with minimal soil and air moisture, or mountain ranges with so little fertile soil. In general, this is a plant that can adapt to those climatic conditions in which nature will bring it.
This incredible green inhabitant of the planet got its name in honor of the botanist and naturalist from Sweden - Elias Tillands, who lived in 1640-1693, who described this plant. What names were not given to this exotic, associating its appearance with things known to man - "angel hair" is probably the most euphonious of all nicknames, and you can also recall "Louisiana moss", "Spanish moss", "old man's beard".
Tillandsia can grow both on trees (lead an epiphytic lifestyle) and be located on the soil surface. It is rather difficult to describe plants of this species, since many have completely different external characteristics. Some have a powerful stem, while others are completely devoid of it. If the plant is epiphytic and its root system is atmospheric (for example, narrow tillandsia), then their foliage grows up to 25 cm in length, with an elongated lanceolate shape with a width of 5 mm to 2.5 centimeters, leaf plates are cast in gray-green shades. And also representatives of this genus can be found with rich emerald leaf plates. In tillandsias of such varieties, a leaf rosette grows, which is formed by flat-shaped leaves reaching a length of 40 cm, and their surface is as if covered with scaly. Through these formations, Tillandsia absorbs nutrients from the entire surrounding space. There are types of "angel hair" with completely smooth and glossy leaves. That is, the plant is very diverse!
In the very center of the leaf rosette, a flowering stem begins to grow, which is crowned with an inflorescence that takes the shape of a spikelet. Usually it has an oval shape and is surrounded by bracts that contrast favorably in color. The bracts are usually pink in color, two-rowed and so dense that they overlap. Among the bracts, elongated flowers are seen of a deep blue or purple hue, with rather pointed tops of the petals, which deviate from top to bottom. The flowering process occurs in mid-summer and continues until the end of the August days. After the flowers dry up, the mother plant ripens the fruit in the form of a small box, filled with numerous small seeds. Then tillandsia begins to die off, subsequently forming numerous shoots.
According to their descriptions, tillandsia are divided into two groups:
- "Atmospheric" plants, with practically no root processes, the leaves are long and threadlike, and it is they that are covered with small scales that catch food for the "Spanish moss" from the air. These scales cover the so-called leaves so densely that the sun's rays falling on them, reflecting, create the impression of a gray color in the scaly filaments - they hang like strands of hair from the host tree, on which the tillandsia perched, and because of their appearance the plant received "Hairy" nicknames. These species require high humidity conditions, and special aquariums, florariums or greenhouses are suitable for cultivation, in which the humidity conditions will be high enough, you can also grow these exotics in the shade at low temperatures in the winter months.
- Plants grown as pot crops with a developed root system and a denser leaf rosette. The leaf plates are lanceolate-elongated or triangular in shape. The eyes are attracted by inflorescences painted in bright shades. These plants are called "green tillandsia".
The plant has adapted to propagate, using all the methods bestowed by nature - particles of stems or seed material can be picked up by gusts of wind or rain currents and they are carried far from the place where the mother tillandsia grew. However, despite its vitality, there are already species that are listed in the Red Book as endangered.
The life expectancy of tillandsia in indoor conditions is on average up to five years. The plant is unpretentious and even a beginner grower can grow it. It grows very slowly.
Tips for growing tillandsia indoors
- Lighting. If you have a potted (green) tillandsia plant, then places with good lighting, but without direct sunlight, are chosen for it - the eastern or western location of the windows. But the "atmospheric" views grow well in the shade, windows or places in the back of rooms are suitable for them. Tulle or gauze curtains are hung on the windows in the south. You can also stick paper or tracing paper on the window.
- Content temperature. Tillandsia is quite thermophilic. When growing, it is important that heat indicators do not fall below 18 degrees in winter, and for "airy" varieties - not below 12 degrees. When spring comes, it is important to maintain a comfortable room warmth - 20-24 degrees. With the arrival of summer, you can arrange an "air vacation" by taking the plant pot out to the balcony or garden, but protecting it from harmful ultraviolet radiation or rain. If this is not possible, then frequent airing of the rooms is necessary, but the bush should be protected from drafts.
- Air humidity - it is required to maintain at least 60%. If the thermometer began to show temperatures above 15 degrees, then the plant requires daily spraying, especially if it is an "atmospheric" species. Potted plants can be placed in deep and wide pots with poured water and expanded clay at the bottom, the main thing is that the bottom of the flowerpot does not touch moisture. When the temperature is lowered, the spraying is stopped. Spraying is carried out only with soft warm water.
- Watering for tillandsia. Gray plant varieties do not need watering, they receive all the moisture from the air through leaf plates. Green species are required in moderate soil moisture. In the summer, regular and abundant watering is important. Water is poured into the center of the outlet, and the leaves are moistened, the main thing is that the soil is moderately moist. In winter, it is necessary to be extremely careful with humidification, as it is easy to destroy the "Spanish moss". Moistening is required only if the earthy coma is dry, otherwise the root system will begin to rot. Usneiform tillandsia is sometimes recommended to be completely dipped in water. The signal for the fastest watering will be deformed, twisted leaves, which means that the soil has dried out. The plant can be helped by immersing it in a bucket of water overnight, then removing it and leveling the moisture schedule. Water for irrigation is needed only at room temperature and soft, free from impurities and salts. Distilled or filtered can be used. If possible, it is better to collect rainwater or melt snow in winter, and then warm up the liquid before watering.
- Fertilizer "Louisiana moss". When summer comes, the "angel hair" grown in pots (green tillandsias) require fertilization every 14 days with fertilizing for flowering indoor plants, and the concentration of the solution must be halved from that indicated on the manufacturer's label. Orchid food can be used. It is recommended not to fertilize the soil, but to spray the leaves, so it will not be possible to harm the flower. Since the "atmospheric" varieties of tillandsia all useful substances are obtained from the air, it is recommended to simply spray them with water, in which a quarter of the dose recommended by the manufacturer is diluted. In winter, the plant does not need fertilizer.
- Transplantation and selection of soil. Mostly gray tillandsias do not need to change the pot and substrate. Other species need to be replanted only once every 2-3 years, when the roots have completely mastered the soil and become visible from the drainage holes or if the bush grows strongly. But in any case, it is recommended to change and add new soil. Since the roots of tillandsia are mostly shallow, the container should be wide, but not deep. If a flowering plant has already been acquired, then it should not be transplanted, but only after flowering, when the mother socket dies out and young shoots appear, you can change the pot.
For the substrate, light, loose soil mixtures with good hydro and air permeability are selected. You can buy ready-made soil for bromeliads or orchid plants. Chopped bark of trees (spruce, pine or fir), leafy soil, humus, peat soil, perlite or river sand are also suitable, chopped sphagnum moss, fern roots, crushed charcoal are also mixed.
Reproduction of tillandsia
You can get a new plant by depositing lateral shoots, seeds or separating children.
It is customary to separate “young growth” from an adult plant when it reaches half of its size. It is better to do this in spring and summer. The substrate for planting is selected loose, as for adult tillandsias. Since the root system is not very deep, it is necessary to strengthen the plant in the soil. Such young seedlings will begin to bloom in one and a half to two years.
Using seeds to propagate "Spanish moss" is problematic, as the plant grows very slowly.
Challenges in growing tillandsia
The plant is resistant to diseases and pests, but it can be damaged by the bromeliad scabbard - a brown spot appears on the back of the leaves. It is necessary to carefully remove the pests by hand and treat with a soap or oil solution, you can spray with insecticides.
It happens that infection with fungal or viral diseases occurs - the leaf blades lose their color and become transparent, gray-brownish spots appear. It is required to remove the infected areas of the plant and treat with a systemic fungicide.
Tillandsia is affected by such diseases if its planting is very thick and it does not have enough air and lighting.
Interesting facts about tillandsia
The name "Spanish moss" of Tillandsia was given by the Indians in the 16th century, whose facial hair grows rather poorly, but the Spanish conquistadors who arrived on their lands, after the trip, had thick and often gray beards. But the name "Louisiana moss" Tillandsia got due to the fact that it was most common in the American state of Louisiana, where the Mississippi River has a mouth and many swamps, often settles on the branches or trunks of cypress trees. This plant is very loved by the birds of those places, as it is used by them in the construction of nests. And in the colonial years, dried leaves-threads were used to stuff mattresses and pillows, as well as to make upholstered furniture, and today it is used to create Voodoo dolls.
Tillandsia species
Of the "atmospheric" tillandsias, the most popular are:
- Tillandsia usneoides - This is the most common plant. She became the prototype of all the names associated with hair. Thin threadlike stems can be up to several meters in length. The leaves are only half a centimeter wide and 5 cm long, arranged in two rows. Shoots and leaves are covered with small scales, giving a gray tint. There is no root system. The plant does not need support, the main thing is to be able to grow down. It blooms with inconspicuous and small flowers of greenish-yellow color.
- Tillandsia violet-flowered (Tillandsia ionantha). The rosettes of this epiphyte form curved leaves of a silvery-metallic shade. With the arrival of mid-summer, a spike-shaped inflorescence of blue-violet color appears. The leaves in the middle turn red.
- Tillandsia silver (Tillandsia argenta) differs in leaf blades, which have a slight expansion at their base and form a dense rosette. Their width is about 2 mm and a length of 6–9 cm. They have a bend, which allows them to move away from the center of the outlet in disorder.
- Tillandsia "Medusa's head" (Tillandsia caput-medusae) has leaf plates so tightly closed at their base that they form something like an onion. And only at the very top do the leaves bend in different directions. The bulbous part serves to accumulate water droplets that flow down from the leaves. The inflorescence has crimson bracts and deep blue flowers.
- Tillandsia sitnikovaya (Tillandsia juncea). In this variety of Tillandsia, the leaf blades are similar to reed ones, from which panicles are collected, forming a leaf rosette in the form of a bush.
- Tillandsia sticking out (Tillandsia stricta). The leaf blades have the shape of highly elongated narrow triangles, completely covered with grayish scales. Their length is approximately 7–20 cm with a width of 0.5 cm to 1 cm. On a short and curved peduncle there is a spike-like inflorescence. The bracts are arranged in a spiral order, and their color smoothly goes from pale pink to deep crimson. They are oval-shaped, filmy. The bracts below are longer and cover the petals of blue or purple flowers.
- Tillandsia tricolor (Tillandsia tricolor). A leaf rosette is formed, consisting of leaves of a linearly elongated shape with a length of 20 cm and a centimeter wide. The entire surface is dotted with fine scaly. The long peduncle contains an inflorescence, which can be a single spike or a bunch of spikelets. The bracts take a long elliptical shape, their color goes from the lower bright scarlet, to the middle - yellowish to the upper - green color. Flower sepals are glabrous, wrinkled, accrete at their base. Flowers of a purple hue. "Green tillandsias" are the most famous varieties.
- Tillandsia blue (Tillandsia cyanea). The plant has leaf plates similar to those of cereals. At the base, they have a reddish-brown color, and along the entire length they are in a brown strip on a green background. The entire surface is covered with fine scaly. With the arrival of summer, a spike-shaped flat inflorescence appears. The bracts are pinkish or purple in shades, and blue or purple or blue flowers appear along their edges. They fade very quickly. Floral rhomboid petals have a slight bend. Usually 1-2 flowers bloom. The height of the whole plant is no more than 25 cm.
- Tillandsia dyeriana. With the arrival of summer heat, a long flowering stem appears from the center of the rosette, the top of which is crowned with an inflorescence in the form of a loose spikelet. The bracts are deep orange-red.
- Tillandsia lindenii (Tillandsia lindenii). It looks like blue tillandsia, but differs in the color of the bracts - pale pinkish or bright scarlet, the flowers are bluish, with a white eye.
For more on caring for tillandsia, see this video:
