Tillandsia & Bulbo

It is increasing difficult to ignore the fact that new tilly purchases can sometimes be a little frustrating. However, it does not apply across the board but certainly some are more demanding than the rest. This 10-minute digest will critically trace and provide a simple yet effective articulation of how to smoothen the transition.

When we all first pick up a Tillandsia from a seller, we ought to have question ourselves several times if we’re able to keep them alive and perhaps a place for them to thrive in. Most believe that by sticking to the rule and norm will certainly provide a great elucidation for their pondering questions! In a way, this perspective is certainly a great way to expand your collection and unbelievably, many have continued to stick to the general ones to prevent the fallacy from happening.

What happens to those that are slightly tougher in terms of care & what happens to those really difficult ones? For the purpose of this digest, we will touch on the slightly tougher ones and how a smoother transistion will provide a certain amount of success in future.
Let us start with the paradox of Tillandsia. Mid level or intermediate growing Tillandsia.

Despite various warning, I’m quite certain that many of us have ventured on the broad array of intermediate growing Tillandsia. This is not surprising as we want more of them, and to provide a slight challenge during our process of growing Tillandsia. So how can we grow some intermediate ones without the heart-breaking process? From a very general experiment, if one is able to provide 7 – 10 degrees (Celsius) difference between day and night time, I’m quite confident to say that the intermediate ones are able to grow and thrive. This is certainly an advantage for growing indoor as the humidity is much lower as compared to outdoor.

The purpose and understanding of a lower humidity will act as a means to prevent rotting to occur for intermediate ones. The key finding is to have lower humidity and lesser water that aids in the growing of intermediate Tillandsia. This 2 pronged approach is evidently understood when intermediate Tillandsia do not receive as much water as their forest counterpart (bulbosa) and have a lower humidity to begin with.
Consequently, it is a matter of reducing the watering frequency to once a week or even up to once every fortnight! Yes, surprisingly, isn’t it. This make watering even easier as they do not require so much water as the usual ionantha species and cultivars. Hence, this 2 pronged approach might give you a glimpse on the insights of what constitutes the possibility of growing intermediate Tillandsia even in hot & humid Singapore.

We’re experiencing an uphill battle with high humidity and heat from the outdoors, thus an indoor grower might consider this alternative. A less watering Tillandsia to begin with.

So how does a smoother transition helps in growing these intermediate Tillandsia? The transition provides the Tillandsia a chance to realign its habit into our culture; this process should be as stress free as possible. In other words, choosing a place for it and let it grow without watering for a week or so. A bright place is great but certainly no direct 7 hours of sunlight. On the other hand, please check if the seller did any previous watering or soaking prior to your purchase because it makes a HUGE difference if the seller had soak it for 12 hours before you purchase. Imagine this; you water your newly purchased Tillandsia and start watering them and within the month they die on you. Why is this so? Yes the initial shock of continuous watering happens when we water them after the purchase when the seller had already watered them copiously.

More often than not, sellers water their Tillandsia very well before selling as they give them the robust look. So the next time we purchase a Tillandsia do remember to ask if these Tillandsia had any prior soaking done. If they’re soaked or watered before, please leave them alone in your new environment for at least a good 1 week (intermediate types) before commencing its watering (once a week or once every 2weeks).

What triggers this experiment is that i often heard complaints about their intermediate Tillandsia death. Hence, GF and I went out to try to understand this prodigy and myth that intermediate Tillandsia are impossible to grow. However, we will like to prove that it is actually on the same continuum as those of ionantha. Easy and fuss free. The only difference is that they dislike continuous watering on a daily basis, but given bright light, great air circulation and minimal watering, their growth can be seen within the month!

However, a major limitation to this experiment is that the sample size is small and cannot be a direct recommendation across the board. In addition, that is the joy of growing Tillandsia isn’t it? We win some we lose some; we cannot win them all, can we?

In sum, this digest had let us understand the fundamental elements of what intermediate Tillandsia like and how a transision process might augment the survivability of intermediate Tillandsia in Singapore. Hence, the next time you pick up an intermediate Tillandsia, give it a second though that it might even do better than your ionantha! Possible? Your call.

Cheers!