@Drdawg Ken, sending thoughts and prayers your way for a successful surgery and speedy healing!

Thanks, Lin. I am doing somewhat better now. I just can't do a doggone thing.

Glad to see you post!

Hi Ken! Glad to see you back! Take care!

Ken, so glad to see you ... hope your back surgery went well. Rest and patience ... follow the doctor orders, Dr Ken. You will be able to get around and do plant stuff again soon!

Yes, wishing you a speedy recovery, Dr. Ken. And Thanks for checking in.

I have often heard about air plants but never really knew What they were! My Mom had a big bowl of bright green ferny stuff that didn't require water, or at least I don't think it did. She said it was an air plant. now I'm thinking my mom's plant was fake.

Well I bought some Tillandsia the other day and they just arrived. Oh my gosh they are sooo cute! And they feel really weird,
Do they need to be soaked right away? The tips feel quite dry.
These look nothing like what my mom had, that she called airplant.

We have a tub of water out in the back for our crows that we watch and feed, it's probably all rain water in it at the moment.

Should I soak them in tap water? I do have a large jug of tap water that sat out overnight,.

I'm wondering how fast they grow...

Hi Cat, they will resume more active growing in Spring when weather warms up better. During winter, I try to be careful in watering, ambient temps are easy to get cold. So I would dunk them in water for an hour and really shake them dry, so no water is pooling in the crown/center, and continue on to air dry.

During warmer days, I can dunk water them overnight. They can take it, and again, shake them dry, tip them over, and allow to air dry. They really like good humidity levels.

Rain water is really good, I just use tap water since we don't get rain here often. Typically adjust watering as seasons change.. lesser during the cold months, more during summer. You can also mist them often, if you have them outdoors during summer months. They like part shade, but if you really want to see good blooming, the will need good bright light, not too much direct sun, it may fry them, especially during the summer months. They are not too heavy feeders, so I just spritz them orchid fertilizer..if I remember But remember they are monocarpic so once they bloom, it is the start of its downhill life span, but it will/may grow pups, cradled in the lower leaves, then mommy plant dries out in the next year or so, and babies will be almost half the size of mommy plant by then.

Thanks Tarev!

I soaked the group for an hour yesterday and they look happier, I have them sitting in a pot on the kitchen window sill. After reading loads yesterday about these amazing plants, I may have found my new plant interest.

Welcome, @Atabby. Tillandsia are indeed an interesting family of plants, and though they are generally thought of as (the) "air-plants", all the epiphytic plants (such as orchids, staghorn ferns, and bromeliads) are also "air-plants". At one time I had a lot of hybrids (some man-made, some from far-off places). Last year I began to collect only those tillandsia native to the USA, mostly a few counties in Florida. I now have eight of those varieties. I decided to mount all of the varieties on a single mount so that one could see the diversification of the native plants and chose a huge slab of natural cork to mount them on. The only native variety that I have collected that is not on the cork is Spanish moss. Two of the varieties are now coming into bloom.

Very pretty ... nice job Ken!!

I just watered that sucker and thank God I used cork. My wife would never have allowed me to lift it and soak it in the S room sink otherwise.

Oh my, thank goodness you used the big cork slab for mounting those Tillies. After just having back surgery you shouldn't be lifting anything heavy!

I am careful with weights and leverage, but am feeling better today. I have my post-op checkup with the neurologist tomorrow, early AM, and I hope he'll tell me (and my "nurse") that I can do whatever I feel like within reason. I know I will have to be somewhat cautious for several months at least. Heck, with a 50 year history of back problems, being somewhat cautious has been a way of life for me.

Wow, 50 years of back problems??? Must be from all that bending over looking into your patients mouths.

That did not cause the beginning of back trouble but I am quite sure it contributed to it during the 42 year dental carrier. Dad and Mom both had terrible lumbar spines and I guess I was luckily enough to inherit a genetic tendency to this malady. By the way, back problems are endemic in the dental community but the majority have cervical disc problems. My (16 year) younger brother developed significant cervical spine problems which ultimately led to arm and hand dysfunction. He was forced to go on 100% disability at the age of 53 and now helps train Dental Hygienists at the Mississippi School of Dental Hygiene. I lasted until I was 68 when I was forced to retire, not due to back problems but due to arthritic thumbs and chronic hand cramping.

drdawg said:Welcome, @Atabby. Tillandsia are indeed an interesting family of plants, and though they are generally thought of as (the) "air-plants", all the epiphytic plants (such as orchids, staghorn ferns, and bromeliads) are also "air-plants". At one time I had a lot of hybrids (some man-made, some from far-off places). Last year I began to collect only those tillandsia native to the USA, mostly a few counties in Florida. I now have eight of those varieties. I decided to mount all of the varieties on a single mount so that one could see the diversification of the native plants and chose a huge slab of natural cork to mount them on. The only native variety that I have collected that is not on the cork is Spanish moss. Two of the varieties are now coming into bloom

Hello Drdawg, Thank you, What a lovely display of your tillandsia. Very attractive,
I'm wondering how you water them? Do you soak the whole board with te plants or pour water on the surface of the cork?
Since mine are quite little I've soaked them once since I recieved them, but they would look nice on board and hanging on the wall next to the window .

I currently have the group of them, on the window sill in my kitchen, which gets good light, but I have a florescent fixture over the sink above the window that is on all night, kind of as a night like for my daughter, we have to tromp through the kitchen to the bathroom.

Will this light being on all night adversely affect the tillansia's ? It doesn't seem to bother my other plants that are kept on the sill.

I hope you are healing well after your back surgery!


Atabby/ or Cat

Cat, I am not at all sure that a smallish fluorescent light would affect tillandsia whatsoever. There really is not all that much light generated by a small wattage fluorescent fixture and the further the plants are from that light source, the lumens diminish quickly.

I remove that large slab of cork and soak it in my S room sink every two weeks. It just fits into this oversize sink, which measures 30x16x8". I do the same with all the other plants in the S room, some 50 plants (well, not the six plumeria, 'Alii' Ficus, and "mother" Ficus lyrata.

Thank you.

I've been admiring all the wonderful tillandsia posted here. I have a small specimen in a hanging glass bottle that I received as a gift that seems to be doing fairly well but have a question in regards to an impulse purchase of some clearance Christmas globes ( meant to hang on the tree I suppose ) with teeny tillandsia that aren't looking so good. The plants are not green so I'm not sure they are even alive. The globes I assume are meant to represent a little terrarium I guess. The plants were securely nestled in some sphagnum moss in the globes. They seemed to be drying out despite spritzing with water so I pulled them out to soak in some water in the hope they would perk up. They look marginally better since doing that.Think these little fellows have any chance? I didn't pay much for them so not a huge loss if they die but thought they were interesting and worth a try. Likely just a marketing ploy.