Tillandsia xerographica
Tillandsia xerographica , usually known as the tycoon or pouf of airwave plants , makes a much more telling financial statement than its bantam relatives .
While many genus Tillandsia remain compact , this species can reach three feet in both height and width , pass water it one of the largest atmosphere plants in culture .
We yoke to trafficker to help you find relevant products . If you buy from one of our links , we may earn a mission .
T. xerographicahas strike silvery - grey rosette that can be mounted on outdoor trees in Zones 10 to 11 , displayed on indoor barque arrangement , or simply positioned on a ledge .
This various giant adapts well to both outside and indoor growing conditions , though gardeners in coolheaded regions bringT. xerographicainside during winter calendar month .
What You’ll Learn
Quick Look
How to Grow
Where to Buy
Propagation
Pests and Disease
Xerographica is native to Mexico , El Salvador , Guatemala , and Honduras where it spring up in raging , passably humid areas with little pelting .
This is n’t an gentle wind plant for a terrarium or other region with mellow humidity . It needs good air circulation and restrained humidity .
As with other air plants , it does n’t grow in stain . It ’s known as axerophytic aerophyte , which have in mind it is attached to trees and other flora , and survives with very little water .
You ’ll find it in its endemic range in high spirits in the upper limb of marvellous trees and in the crevices of cliffs and big rocks .
Common name(s):Queen or King of air plants , xerographica
works character : HHerbaceous epiphytel
Hardiness ( USDA Zone):10 - 11 ( outside )
Native to : El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico
Bloom time / season : Spring
pic : Full sun
water supply Needs : modest
Tolerance : Drought , heat
meter to maturity:6 years ( from seeded player )
Mature size:3 ft wide x 3 ft high
respectable use : Specimen , idiom , rock gardens , xeriscaping , houseplant
Taxonomy
parliamentary procedure : Poales
Family : Bromeliaceae
Genus : Tillandsia
Species : Xerographica
T. xerographicaforms a russet scab of wide silvery greenish leaves that curl and twist from a bulging base .
reckon on the amount of pee and temperature in its environment , the leaves can take on a blush hue .
Each stem canker can mature up to three feet in diam on root word that can be a little over a foot tall , defecate it one of the largest air plants in cultivation .
The leaves are covered in fine pilus known as trichomes .
Trichomes are a defining equipment characteristic of tune plants because they serve the specimen immerse nutrients and water , enabling them to live in highly ironic environment .
These trichomes also facilitate protect it from the sun .
Indoors , they rarely blossom , but outside they will post out red or purple heyday that can last for months .
After bloom , the plant dies , which is sleep with asmonocarpism . Do n’t occupy , yourT. xerographicacan populate 20 year or so before they blossom and they will put out destiny of offset that you’re able to use for propagation .
Xerographica became extremely popular in the seventies and to keep up with the requirement , groundless specimens were harvest extensively .
By the late 1990s , this coinage was apace becoming rare in the wild and was declared nearly out by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ( CITES ) .
It was placed on the qualified leaning , which meant that few leave Central America and Mexico for about a decade .
Eventually , in the other 2000s , farmers were let to cultivate theT. xerographicawith stern rule to ensure that populations never dropped too broken .
In the past few days , growers have been research how to diffuse the queen of tillandsia via semen which is much more sustainable than from offsets .
Now have ’s look at how to originate these telling air plants !
When you take soil out of the equation , it make water cultivating houseplants a lot well-fixed , whether you grow them indoors or out .
I ca n’t help but marvel if that ’s part of the reasonTillandsiaspecies are so democratic .
Support
Being an melodic line plant life , there ’s no indigence to deal with soil , but you might require to mount yourT. xerographica .
I do n’t advocate using glue because it can contribute to rot , and you will damage the specimen if you decide to move it .
Instead of glue , I prefer to use telegram , rather a pliable , bendy charge plate - coated wire . Do n’t apply copper unless it is coated .
Cut a two to three - foot duration and gently wind the center surgical incision of wire around the bulb and perhaps a infrastructure leafage or two . apply the ends of the wires to attach it to your opt mount .
Your options are reasonably measureless for what to ride it on – I might avoid metal because it could get too spicy , and some fabrics , like wool , might retain too much water . Otherwise , habituate your imagination .
If you affix yours to a piece of driftwood or bark , it will finally ground itself into the wood with its source . When that bump , you’re able to remove the telegram .
If you do n’t require the xerographica air plant to anchor itself , for example , if you want to bring it indoors during the winter , you could trim off the roots .
Light
This finicky species can tolerate more direct light than many otherTillandsiaspecies .
So long as you protect it from hot good afternoon Dominicus , it can handle several hours of verbatim sun in the morning .
If yourT. xerographicahas been in shadowed or low idle conditions , move it to brighter light gradually .
Water
The trickiest part of keepingT. xerographicahealthy is water . It helps to remember that this plant is xeric , which mean it thrives in dry conditions .
I love water air plants because I do n’t have to concern if I ’m overwatering or not watering enough .
There ’s no need to stick your digit in the soil and seek to determine if it ’s too teetotal or too tight .
you’re able to simply soak the flora in lukewarm water for 20 to 30 minute once every two workweek during the spring , summertime , and accrue , and once a calendar month in the wintertime .
Be sure to turn it as it soaks so that all of the leaves are saturated .
On the weeks you do n’t water , spritz the foliage to give them just a bit of extra moisture .
While pawn is best , if you ca n’t remove yourT. xerographicabecause it ’s mounted , thoroughly spritz it with a atomiser bottleful until it ’s dripping blind drunk once a calendar week .
If it starts to look crinkle or droopy , give it more water . You might find if you have air conditioning or heating system running all the clip , you ’ll have to water more often .
seek to use rain , pond , or filtered water if possible . Do n’t apply distilled water because it ’s free of nutrients . Municipal piddle can carry chemical and metallic element that are n’t good for your this species .
A reverse osmosis filter is best , but you’re able to also boil the water system for a few moment and then impart it out to cool for a while .
After tearing , gently shake off the excess water and set theT. xerographicaupside down on a towel or flow it upside down for 10 mo or so .
This foreclose water from becoming trap in the bulbous base , which lead to crest rot .
If you need to be extra safe with a mounted specimen , you’re able to use a rooter on a low setting for about half an 60 minutes to dry it .
Fertilizing
Once a calendar month , put some liquid fertilizer in the piddle . you may utilize any meek , balanced fertiliser .
A product with an NPK ( nitrogen , daystar , and K ) ratio of 1 - 1 - 1 or 2 - 2 - 2 is fine . you’re able to use a stiff fertiliser , but be sure to dilute it so that it ’s right around these numbers pool .
I prefer to use a fertilizer made specifically for air plants because these products are formulated to be gentle and they have the right balance for their singular needs .
Air Plant Fertilizer
you could find Air Plant Fertilizer in eight - ounce , 32 - ounce , and gallon sizesfrom the TPS Nutrient Store via Amazon .
Do n’t feed yourT. xerographicaat all during the wintertime .
With the increased ability for growers to breed and export this metal money , it has become much more common on the marketplace than it used to be .
Many on-line retailers carry untried , small choice .
For lesson , you’re able to find three- to five - inch specimensavailable from Amazon .
Tillandsia Xerographica
Or , if you ’d like something a bit elder and bragging , grab six- to nine - column inch plant life , alsoavailable via Amazon .
Mounted Xerographica Air Plant
If you want a pre - mounted one on a wreath with moss , that ’s uncommitted from the Bubbleblooms storevia Amazon .
By the way , if you see a specimen with a funky color or colors , it ’s dyed . That coloration will melt or spring up out as the air plant sheds its leaves .
Propagating via offsets is , by far , the easiest way to go about regurgitate an air plant .
But sometimes , it pay off off to take the road less journey . If you desire to propagate from seed , it ’s a dead practicable way to spawn newfangled specimens , but it takes a long sentence forT. xerographicato reach its mature size .
I would also propose against purchasing seeds online as they are often mislabeled .
It ’s best to reap your own from existing plants , but this is hit or leave out , as it can take decade for yourT. xerographicato flower .
If you need to advance flowering , there are a couple of tricks you could use . The first is to double the amount of plant food to the piddle when you soak the flora .
you may also increase the sunlight photograph just a bit . If yourT. xerographicaisn’t already receiving four hour or so of verbatim light , make it happen .
From Seed
Once your xerographica is flowering , let the flower pass off and the seed will develop .
The seeds themselves are small and svelte , and are topped with a coma , which is a fluffy top that helps them wing on the duck soup .
They look a lot like dandelion seeds , hold in a cluster on the long bract .
When the cum are dry and fluffy , softly remove them from the flora .
try the seed carefully , and if you see a bantam bit of green at the basis of any , these are already germinating , so set them aside .
Any that do n’t have unripened nubs should be soak in weewee for 24 hour to encourage sprouting .
Set the seed individually on a textile that hold just a scrap of piss but allows air movement . Jute , gunny , thick cotton , and a tenuous level of nylon over wool all work .
I ’ve also seen multitude apply strips of come-on - and - cringle tape measure because it holds the come up and tolerate fantabulous tune circulation . Spritz the seeds daily or any time the growing textile feels wry .
And then you ’ll have to be patient !
From Offsets
Most xerographica strain works put out between three to five offshoots over the course of their lives .
When the plant starts bloom , you ’ll detect little offshoots developing at the base . If you do n’t be after to harvest the source , cut off the flower bract as soon as the flush start to disappearance .
Let the pup grow for a few more weeks or months until they ’re about a 6th of the size of the female parent .
The endangerment of leaving the puppy on a parent too long is that you might reduce the number of offsets it assign out .
Taking them too early will bring down the chances that the pup will pull through on its own . Once they are the right size , mildly pop them off or cut them aside with a shrewd tongue .
Set the pup aside in a coolheaded , dark area for two or three Clarence Shepard Day Jr. to allow it to shape a callus over the cut area .
When the cut area find dry , you’re able to mount it or simply set the plant in its growing area and give care for it as you would an adult specimen .
Managing Pests and Disease
strain plants are wondrously problem - free most of the metre .
Mealybugsandscaleboth provender onT. xerographica . These pests are similar in that they use their nurse mouthpart to feed on the leaves and stem .
They both move extremely slowly and clump in radical . Since they are mat and oval , they can look more like symptom of a disease or stinking growth than a pestilence .
symptom admit yellowing and wilting , as well as a awkward substance cry honeydew that attract jet mould .
On the disease front , crown rot is your biggest enemy . Crown rot is the air industrial plant ’s version ofroot rotand it can be induce either by water suffocating a portion of the works or one or more pathogens .
There are multiple timeserving pathogen that will assail Tillandsia , including those in theRhizoctoniaandSclerotiumgenera .
you may forefend jacket rot by watering appropriately and turning the plant life upside down to drain afterwards . If crown decomposition does seem , spray the specimen once a hebdomad with a fungicide until the symptoms stop over developing .
I strongly hint using a biofungicide , since these air plants are tender to rock oil and chemicals .
There are many options out there , some of which harness beneficial bacteria to do their good work .
I ’m partial to product that contain a peat - ground bacteria calledStreptomycesStrain K61 .
I ’ve yet to see any problem in my air plants so with the right care , you should be capable to avoid them too !
Bow to the Queen
you could exhibit this air plant the same way you ’d any other , only on a grander scale leaf .
As a houseplant , it ’s beautiful just sitting on a shelf , chimneypiece , or windowsill . go up on a lei , frame , or piece of bark , it ’s even more eye - catching .
out of doors , put it in a rock garden , drought garden , or xeriscaping . you may aggroup multiple together for bigger shock , or apply them as accents .
Andfor more selective information about growing air plants , add these guides to your reading list next :
© postulate the Experts , LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.See our TOSfor more inside information . Product photos via BubbleBlooms , Ragnaroc , and TCS Nutrient Store . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock .
About
Kristine Lofgren
