Central Virginia Organic Gardener

"And 'tis my faith that every flower enjoys the air it breathes." - William Wordsworth, 1798

Friday, January 29, 2021

ES Peasey House Plants

 Tillandsias!




If you are like me, you love many kinds of plants, including houseplants. One of the easiest groups of plants to care for are air plants, or tillandsias. Cool, aren't they?  These are easy care plants and, as a bonus, have no soil in which to breed fungus gnats or ants (this seems to be a recurring problem in my house: some ants find my potted houseplants and, voila, we have a colony. Or three).

Air plants are most often glued to a woody substrate, like a heat treated, kiln-dried grape vine or tree branch.  They can also be suspended on a wire, placed in a glass terrarium. or glued onto a novel surface (something that does not mind getting wet).  I use E-6000 glue, which is harmless to the plants and is waterproof, though it does take a day to fully cure. After they are set in place and secure, simply soak the plants and substrate monthly for an hour in warmish water, let drain, and mist every few days with distilled or filtered water. There are water-soluable fertilizers you can buy, but the plants require very little. In summer, they can live outdoors in a shady area, but I mostly keep mine inside.

Tillandsias produce cute little blooms. After blooming, the plant is spent, but will soon form an offset, or "daughter" plant (genetically the same as the "mother") to start the cycle anew. The plants themselves come in a variety of greens, reds, and purple.  

I order my tillandsias online, and have had good luck with the following nurseries:

 Air Plant Supply Co: https://www.airplantsupplyco.com/collections/air-plants-all

and

Air Plant City:  https://www.airplantcity.com/pages/our-story

but there are many other sources!

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