Tillandsia bulbosa blooming

[jeffrey6115]

Such a nice color contrast with the purple and red.

[playtime8978]

Oh wow that is really very beautiful, now I am going to show my ignorance and ask what kind of plant it is, it looks as though it is some kind of air plant or succulent, I know very little about a lot of the different kind of plants as there are so many, can you give me a little info on it, and how you care for it?

e2a did a bit of googling and found its a bromeliacea (sp?) and it doesnt need soil so is what I thought loosely termed an air plant, it says it likes a minimum temp of 12-15c and prefers temps of 24c-26c and bright light it is an amazing plant I didnt know anything about these and it is truly amazing, I do not appear to have the right conditions for them sadly, except in the height of summer my house does not get that warm.

[jeffrey6115]

Tillandsia are "air plants". I have mine mounted on driftwood and hanging in a bright but shaded place in the greenhouse. I mist them daily and fertilize weekly with my orchids.

[mycologist]

Wow, such a cool plant!

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Love it, Jeff! Tillandsias are really neat plants to grow. Love the vibrant colors.

Cheers,
BD

[blrnut]

Lovely. Looks like you have collection of them! I have one Tillandisa. Not sure which sub-species though. It is for sure not a bulbosa. Waiting for it to bloom.

[pavel]

Nice pics, Jeff.

[Molly Taco]

Mine is in spike too if it doesn't get frozen out in the next 2 days. It is attached to a date palm out front.

[Moreliaviridis]

Hiyas,

I know it is a super old thread but I have alway been wondering where can i get Airplant awhile back but it wasn't until 3 months ago i found my first tillandsia Ionantha, Tillandsia Butzii and Caput Medusae in a florist (somewhere in paris) and also just found this thread TODAY. Tillandsia Ionantha was already blooming when i got it and it don't look healthy at all almost like it is falling apart... I brought it home but didn't get to really enjoy the bloom oh well i keep it alive till now and just last week i saw something bulging between the foliage what could that be? It is tiny and growing bigger by the day.

I also just celebrated my 34th birthday last week and a friend of mine bought me out for some kind of small 'celebration' and she bought me 2 Tillandsia Bulbosa and a rather large Tillandsia Xerographica which i love so much as it is bigger than what i have :P

Couple of questions now:

- Can my tillandsia as mention above (except Xerographica) be hanging upside down with fishing line? Reason due to insufficient place and like in the room. The brightest spot is on the window which i use suctions cup to hold the tilly suspended in the air.

- I haven't fertilise my tilly's before what kind of Fertiliser should i get for them? I've been told Orchid Fertiliser do the trick. If so, how should i apply it on them?

- I travel a lot and what i did is i put my tilly in a paper bag and up in the car :P. For example, Switzerland to paris and return. Can't leave them as i usually be in a certain country for couple of months. Do they do well with moving and new environment?

Would be greatly if someone could help me and i will post picture of my tilly as soon as i can

[delilah]

Congratulations on having a friend who knows what to get you for a b'day present!

You can hang tillandsia plants from fishing lines. Just take them down and give them a good soaking regularly, depending on your conditions.

I fertilize by adding some soluble orchid fert to the water when I soak the plants.

I don't know how they would do in new environments if you traveled with them- but if you spray them and put them in a bag and make sure you don't leave them in a hot car (w/o a/c) for long periods of time, it should probably be OK. I thought I'd read somewhere that you have to glue a plant immovably to a mount for it to start growing pups, etc., but I'm not sure.