Tillandsia ionantha
The spectacular sky industrial plant , Tillandsia ionantha , is an unusual , colorful air plant that grows on the torso of Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree in its natural habitat and in the home is like a colourful opus of endure art .
When it matures , it puts out vibrant outgrowth in colors like royal , cerise , and yellow .
In addition to being a stunning addition to your indoor interior decoration , the sky plant is stunningly wanton to produce . Give it the conditions it love and you’re able to pretty much set and forget about it .
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Plop it on a shelf , dim it in some water now and then , and you may basically sit back and delight the show .
Well , it ’s notquitethat light , but almost ! Here ’s what I ’ll cover :
What You’ll Learn
Quick Look
How to produce
Cultivars to Select
multiplication
Pests and Disease
Sky plant are members of the bromeliad kinfolk ( Bromeliaceae ) , which also includespineapplesand Spanish moss .
They areepiphytes , which mean that they grow anchor onto other plant , like tree . They are not parasites that draw nutrients from the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree or shrub , like , say , mistletoe .
They just apply the tree diagram or shrub as a support so they can reach all the moisture and nutritious kickshaw that fall down from the canopy . They are also lithophytic plant , which think they can grow attached to rocks .
The long , narrow farewell are covered in fuzzy growths known as trichomes that catch pass detritus and moisture from the air .
It has acaulescentgrowth habit , which means that there is a salient prow supporting the foliage .
Common name(s):Sky works
Plant type : Epiphytic succulent
Hardiness ( USDA Zone):9 - 11 ( outdoors )
aboriginal to : Mexico , Central and South America
Bloom time / season : outflow or summer
Exposure : Bright , indirect sunlight
piss motivation : Low
Tolerance : Drought
clock time to maturity:3 - 5 age
matured size:4 column inch wide x 12 column inch mellow
Best use : Houseplant , mounting
Taxonomy
social club : Poales
kinsfolk : Bromeliaceae
Genus : Tillandsia
Species : Ionantha
Sky plants can uprise up to a foot tall give way the right maturate environment , but most delay small when grown indoors .
These air plants start out silver and pallid green , but as they mature , the leaves turn darker gullible . Once they get ready to blossom , the leaf can take on pink , red , and even orange chromaticity .
T. ionanthais monocarpic , whichmeans it blooms once and then perish , which is uncouth among bromeliads .
The blossom are vibrant down and violet with yellow stamens . After flowering , the sky plant will transmit out whelp before cash in one’s chips .
This species is xeric , meaning it comes from ironic climates and is adapt to period of drouth . you could larn more about what this means inour pathfinder to growing air travel works .
T. ionanthais autochthonic to Mexico , South , and Central America , and has also naturalise in Florida .
Remember how we mentionedT. ionanthais an epiphyte ? That ’s important because it inform us about how we should give care for sky industrial plant in our homes .
If you ’re in Zones 9 to 11 , you’re able to choose to crop your tillandsia outside .
Support
Sky plants do n’t do well in land because that ’s not how they ’ve adapt to grow in their native surroundings .
They apply their root word to cast anchor onto the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree or perhaps in some moss growing on the tree , but not in dirt .
So you need to give them the same sort of conditions by placing them on an object or else of pot up in dirt .
These days , you ’ll see supports made specifically forTillandsiaspecies . These might be hang up glass ball or woodwind instrument tripod - corresponding objects .
Something cute like a piddling alloy stand or small piece of music of wood or even a shell would be ideal .
Or , intimately yet , mount them on a bit of moss on a wood board or piece of barque . That way , it give them the space to produce scores of pups !
Light
When you ’re retrieve about where to place your sky plant life , essay to picture the eccentric of light that it would receive rise under the canopy of a large tree .
It would in all probability receive a few hours of sun in the early sunup or recent eventide and some dappled sunlight throughout the sidereal day . essay to recreate that by give it brilliant , collateral light indoors .
A little break of day sun is fine , but do n’t expose it to good afternoon sunlight , which is far too live and acute . Too much luminousness might induce the leaves to rick brownish or it can even kill your tillandsia .
Water
Provide water by placing the sky plant in a trough or plugged sump for about 30 minutes .
Remove it from the water and place it upside down on a towel . You want it to run out out so there is n’t any water accumulate in the base .
Spritz the leafage once or twice a workweek to give it a mo of moisture and gazump it once a month .
It can be a little hard to narrate when you need to water but if you end up over- or underwatering , take our pathfinder abouthow to revive a neglected aviation works .
Temperature and Humidity
Keep your tillandsia in a spot with good atmosphere circulation and where temperatures are consistently between 50 and 85 ° degree Fahrenheit .
Sky plants like a little bit of humidness but a once or twice hebdomadal spritz is enough to offer this .
Fertilizing
Strictly speaking , you do n’t demand to fertilise your sky flora , but they will produce better and be more probable to bloom and put out starting time if you give them some food .
select aTillandsia - specific food that is give voice with the right balance of food to encourage levelheaded ontogenesis in air plant .
Tilly Boost is a favourite of hobbyist and experts likewise .
Tilly hike up
MostT. ionanthacultivars are about the same sizing and shape as the species , and there are a telephone number to choose from .
Here are a selection of my darling :
Druid
rather of a crimson pigmentation on the mature leave , ‘ Druid ’ takes on an orange - yellow hue , instead .
The flower is pristine white with scandalmongering stamens .
This cultivar was first identified by plant scientist Drew Schultz in Vera Cruz , Mexico , in 1971 .
When it turn out to blossom in lily-white and yellow rather than majestic , he knew he had something particular on his hands and name it ‘ Druid ’ after his own name .
Fuego
If you need to brush up on your Spanish , “ fuego ” mean fervor , and burn up this sky plant does .
The upper leaves can be almost entirely crimson , and especially when contrasted with the purple bloom , it looks like you ’re star into the dancing flames of a fire .
If you wish the bolshy of sky plant but want more , more , more , ‘ Fuego ’ is the most dazzling option of them all .
Guatemala
Can we all take a slip to ‘ Guatemala ? ’ This endearing petty cultivar is like having a Guatemalan sundown right in your house .
It has green , pink , and red folio with striking over-embellished and yellow blossom .
This cultivar needs a good amount of light to produce this incredible color , so be certain to supply plentitude of bright , indirect lighter for several hours per solar day .
Rubra
‘ Rubra ’ akaT.ionanthavar.rubra , sometimes just called crimson sky plant , maturate a bite tall and has fewer trichomes than the species .
There are really two forms of this case , the soft one and the hard one .
The easy tends to have a across-the-board emergence wont thanks to its pliable leave-taking , while the knockout variant is more erect as it has unbendable leaves .
Vanhyningii
T. ionanthavar.vanhyningiihas the fatheaded leaves of any sky plant . When in bloom , that chunky , corkscrew foliation that grows in a star soma reverse wan crimson .
It was first described in 1957 by botanist Mulford B. Foster , who was well - known for identifying and collecting variousTillandsiaspecies .
Part of what sets it aside , beyond the buddy-buddy leaves , is its cascading growth use , with pups growing all along the curving stem .
Zebrina
Originally calledT. ionanthavar.zebrina , this one was first described in 1975 when Bert Foster happen upon the unusual specimen in Guatemala .
It come out to have stripes on the leafage thanks to bands of trichomes .
The upper leaves turn blush Red River when the blooming period starts , follow by regal and yellow flowers .
There ’s a lot of debate among botanists as to whether to classify this sky plant as its own species or reclassify it as a form rather than a variety .
Wherever it ends up , it ’s an extremely interesting option .
MostTillandsiaspecies put out what are call offsets or pups that can be gently separated from the parent and grown independently .
These form after the plant life has flowered , before the parent dies .
Wait until the new growth is about half the sizing of the parent and then softly tease them apart . That ’s it !
Managing Pests and Disease
Do n’t mislay quietus about cuss and disease . They ’re not super common in air plants .
Pests
MostTillandsiaspecies are pretty unbothered by pests . That say , if they do come around , these pocket-sized specimens can promptly go from fine to very much not fine in a hurry .
The best way to prevent an untimely sky plant death is to inspect them daily or every few days .
You ’re looking formealybugs , scale , or the webbing that can suggest the mien ofspider mites .
Disease
Too much or too small water can both cause rot , which can kill your sky flora . Symptoms let in part of all of the base turning brown or bleak and maudlin .
Sometimes this might only be visible between the leaves , and if you skin off one of the leaves you may even notice a bad flavour .
Rot is one of those problems that commonly ca n’t be stopped once it has come out , and the damage is typically worse than what you’re able to see .
you may assay take out any rotting leaf , but be inclined to say goodbye to your sky industrial plant .
you’re able to avoid rot by taking care not to overwater and insure the specimen dries out thoroughly after watering .
Reach for the Sky…. Plant
strain industrial plant are so cool . you’re able to hang them from the ceiling in groups , sequester them to cosmetic object , or just set them on a windowsill , shelf , or tabular array .
Anywhere you could put a patch of cosmetic art , you could display a sky plant .
The longsighted , minute leaves and lustrous blossom onT. ionanthaare superfluous special . And for an promiscuous - to - grow houseplant ? It ’s one and only .
And for more information aboutgrowing air plant and other epiphytes , supply these guide to your reading list next :
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About
Kristine Lofgren
