purpleinopp said:An air plant would never be under water out in nature.

Not underwater but they do get really, really soaked during heavy rains and then dry out; so soaking for a bit and then letting them air dry is good. The important thing is really good air circulation!

All my Tillandsia appear healthy and happy.

I am going with the instructions they gave me so there is no question about the guarantee.

Here are a few ofmy air plants, I need to move them for a better pic, but this shows a few of them. I see some growth. At least I have kept them alive for 6 months.

Is that cholla wood?

drdawg said:Is that cholla wood?

Yes sir it is, local craft store has/had some.

How about that. I had to get mine from Mexico and I just mounted a couple of plants on two gorgeous pieces of cholla wood.

drdawg said:How about that. I had to get mine from Mexico and I just mounted a couple of plants on two gorgeous pieces of cholla wood.

I think it is a reptile (pet) item as well.

Yep, that's really the only thing I have ever heard of this wood being used for. Also, the two pieces of wood I used to mount orchids on are not those pieces with all the holes in them. Those are as light as a feather whereas the pieces I used are extremely dense and extremely heavy. Heck, when I drilled the holes to run the wire through, the drill bits literally smoked the wood. That's hard wood! I do have a couple of those light ones too, with all the holes, and I wired them together to form a mount. I am quite certain the "hard-wood" ones will never rot, not in a lifetime, but I don't know about those lighter pieces. Time will tell.

madcratebuilder said:Here are a few ofmy air plants, I need to move them for a better pic, but this shows a few of them. I see some growth. At least I have kept them alive for 6 months.

I am still worried about the new ones I got that were so dried out. They are not a pretty green, they seem to have a whitish look to them like a film on their leaves. I can only pray and mist them maybe. What do you think.

Jacquie, many of my Tillandsia have that whitish film, in fact, most of them do. That's just normal. Have you every grown staghorn ferns? They have the same "film" and it is a protective coating. Some of my customers ask if they can remove that film (just rub it all off). No, no, no.

Here are just a few examples of Tillandsia that are not so green. If you soak them, the green is more evident, but when they dry, well, they are back to their more white coloration.

Jacquie, I mist my tillies almost every day. About every ten days they get a 5-6 hour soak, I add tillie fertilizer once a month to the soak. Ken is the expert on these and I defer to his advise.

The whitish stuff is the trichomes. The trichomes are how the plant absorbs moisture & nutrients. I mentioned above about my fear that they could be damaged while handling the plants, and is one reason why I don't handle mine, just water them in place.

http://www.airplantsupplyco.co...

http://www.air-plants.com/blog...

No expert here. I grow my plant a little differently since they are outside, under trees, for 6-7 months. But when they are brought inside, my care is generally the same as what you do, but without the regular misting. I might spray them once a week but sometimes not even that often. I only soak my plants for 10 minutes or so (I simply turn the mounts upside down in a large sink filled with tepid water and a couple of tablespoons of fertilizer), and then hang them up to drip-dry. Since I assume they are at least semi-dormant, I only do this every 2-3 wks., feeling that they don't require the water they did when outside during the spring and summer months.

purpleinopp said:The whitish stuff is the trichomes. The trichomes are how the plant absorbs moisture & nutrients. I mentioned above about my fear that they could be damaged while handling the plants, and is one reason why I don't handle mine, just water them in place.

http://www.airplantsupplyco.co...

http://www.air-plants.com/blog...

That is interesting. I see this on my stag horn leaves and at first I thought it was dust but that couldn't be it because they get a misting every day. I'm glad I didn;t try and "clean" them. My 'Lemoinei' is almost white with this fur, my 'Netherlands' not nearly as much.

Yes, the lemoinei is also called "French Staghorn" and "Silver Staghorn". The "silver" term is because of the heavy trichome coverage.

This is sooooo nice. I learn something new everyday. Here are pictures of the new plants in their temporary homes for the next 30 days so I can keep an eye on them and make sure they are all alive. I mist once or twice a week and soak once a week. My house humidity is between 35 and 45 with the temp at 72 most all year. In the winter I need to mist more often if the humidity drops. I do think it all depends on your environment how much you water.

The little one in the barnacles is the one I think may not make it. It just is so curled up. Maybe it is to be that way.

Jacquie, keep in mind that Tillandsia come in many forms, colors, and sizes. Some leaves will be straight, some cupped, and some grow in an almost corkscrew pattern. Some will be wide and some extremely narrow. These photos show just a few examples of mine, showing different leaf-forms. I apologize for the rotation of some of the photos.

drdawg said:Jacquie, keep in mind that Tillandsia come in many forms, colors, and sizes. Some leaves will be straight, some cupped, and some grow in an almost corkscrew pattern. Some will be wide and some extremely narrow. These photos show just a few examples of mine, showing different leaf-forms. I apologize for the rotation of some of the photos.

Fantastic!

These are all native to Florida (some found in only 1-2 counties in the entire state and no where else in the world). I am trying to collect every Tillandsia that is native to the US. I have made a good start but have more work to do.