Our secret Ken

Here are few Air Plants hanging in the house of my friend

Love the plants. Great Air Plant set up.

I got one of these recently and realized it fits right in the juncture of this little tree's trunks.

That's one of the neat things about tillandsias. They can grow almost anywhere and almost thrive on neglect! Ken

I saw a really neat setup for the Tillandsias in a mag, yesterday - someone had put them into a flat wall structure a lot like we have seen the small succulents in. He also mentioned that the very popular glass bubbles that people are keeping a lot of their air plants in will sooner or later spell death as the Tillandsias thrive on high air flow.

Good stuff. Even more happy with the placement of mine. Wondering how long it will take until it seems (or actually is) attached to the tree trunk...? Is that a wrong expectation?

Aquariums and glass globes will ultimately produce only dead tillandsias. All epiphytes need some air movement to dry between waterings.

'Purple', are you actually going to mount your tillandsias directly onto tree limbs and trunks? Though Opp is in the southern third of the state, I would imagine you still get pretty hard freezes occasionally, and epiphytes don't like frozen feet. It would be far easier to mount your plants on wood and then hang or attach the mount in your trees. That way you can bring them in when necessary. That's what I do with my epiphytes here in NE Mississippi. But yes, they will ultimately grow into the surface they are on. The softer/more porous the surface, the quicker they will root into it. I am sending you a Tree-Mail for mounting ideas. Ken

Thanks, Ken! I appreciate your efforts to be helpful very much. I was hoping to leave it in the crotch of the little Dracaena tree, pictured a few entries above. The tree comes inside for a few months when it gets cold out. What do you think of that idea? I LOVE the look of them on a tree, like they would naturally be if I was a bit farther south.

It was much more green when I first got it, but has developed the red hue after being outside for a couple months. It gets a little direct sun early in the morning, then is in shade until the last few minutes of the day. Hoping that's good, the red-ness...? I could put the whole pot under a large tree where there would be dapples of light throughout the day if the tilly would much prefer that. The Drac isn't terribly picky.

I think you are giving your Tillandsias a perfect sun/shade combination. The red color could be because of strong light but many varieties will turn red before blooming. Several of mine do just that. As long as you know to bring in the Tillandsias when freezing weather is coming, that's fine. Tillandsia leaves come in all colors and those colors may change with the season, stimulated by heat and light. I have some that will be green while in the greenhouse and they will turn gray when hanging under my oak trees.

Here's one that really turns red several months before blooming. Like many "air-plants", the plant dies after blooming, so you want pups to continue the life of the plant.

Oh that's so pretty! It doesn't look like that one has any pups, and the purple flower is there... so are you saying yours in the pic will soon die?

I would be thrilled either way, to be graced with a pup or a flower. Is there a better time of year to buy them that would give them the most possible time to establish a pup before flowering, or is that a wrong idea to begin with? I admired them for a couple months at the garden center before giving in and taking one home. I think I want more next time I'm at that store.

When I water the tree, 2-3x per week, I dribble some on the tilly also, never when the sun is shining on the pot. Coupled with morning dew, does this sound like a good plan?

Sounds like an excellent plan. I was out early this morning watering approximately three dozen orchids, a dozen tillandsias (I have just about sold all I have), and fifty or so miscellaneous tropical plants that are either hanging under or sitting under several large oak trees. My watering is very scientific. I spray everything down with a garden hose!

Generally speaking, the "mother" tillandsia will flower before starting pups. Apparently the flowering triggers the propagation cycle. Some of my tillandsia will flower for a month but it will take a couple of years for the mother plant to finally wither and die. She will have lots of time to form pups during that time. None of my plants have died within 6 mo. of flowering and all have formed pups, at least those that I hang onto long enough. Often I sell them while in flower and thus never see the pups form, but I am sure they did. I have never had anyone complain about lack of pup formation.

LOL scientific garden hose, me too when I run out of rain water!

Thanks so much for the info. I think I get it now. It's always so confusing to break into a new kind of plant, and I've done that with a few just this summer. A lot to take in at once even for someone who's been "doing" plants for a long time. Really appreciate it!

I found air plants (tillandsia) to be quite intriguing. It about makes me ill when I see them hanging in all the trees out in the countryside in Mexico. Makes me wish I could try bringing some back in my checked luggage. However, a nice lady on another site is sending me a whole bunch. Actually, she has already sent me a whole bunch, but a bigger bunch is coming this week. This is what I am doing with them. Someone sent me some really small ones a couple of years ago, she called it "Spanish Moss" and that is what is in the wreath. I want to fill it out with the air plants the other gal is sending me. The form that looks like a big Christmas ball is the one I'm wanting to fill up. This is what I have so far. This isn't wanting to let me post the wreath photo. I'll try later for that one.

Ohhhh, I like them.

A try for the wreath again. You can see that I need a few more to fill in the top. But these plants that are in it already are different from what the gal in Florida has sent me. What is in there now was called "Spanish Moss" by the person that sent it.

Can't wait to see it when it is filled out.

I should take a picture of some of the trees on the main boulevard here, they are full of tillandsia. I try and remember to go and look under them after a storm because I can often find some that blew down. They also grow on electric and telephone wires making them look like fuzzy yarn lines.

I haven't actually done very well at growing them here at the house, I think I don't give them enough light. If I put them out in the elements they would probably do fine but I always want to put them on something that is hanging out of the sun and rain and then I forget to water them.

I think I need some tillandsia!
The Spanish Moss grows high up in our trees. If a branch breaks I am often "given" bits of the moss. Next time I might have to move them to where I can see it better. I do love the stuff!