Saturday, January 4, 2014

Somebody Stop Me! Three More Tillandsias Join the Herd/Flock/Gaggle....

So what do I call a group of Tillandsias, anyway? A grouping? As far as my living room goes, a forest might be the apt word...But when Gardener Lindsay received a new box of Tillies from Russell's Bromeliads, I had to drop in, chat, and of course, buy a few. I mean I don't actually have one of every species yet, so it's OK. I photograph them with their nursery tags when I bring them home, before watering and housing them.
Here they are:
New Year Tillies
From right to left, the first is Tillandsia tenufolia surinamensis, also known as the "Amethyst Airplant". The middle Tillie is actually T. schiedeana (the nursery assistant found some trouble with the species names, as do all sane people). The one on the left is T. festucoides,  the Fescue Airplant, which reminds me a lot of T. juncea.

If any alert gardeners out there know what to call a large group of airplants, let me know! Because if not, I'm going to make up a new word....

PS: I was just emailed by Alert Gardener Alex that the appropriate term might be a Tangle of Tillandsias. Sounds good to me!

2 comments:

  1. You know you can't stop collecting tillandsias! Mine have overrun parts of my greenhouse, but I love them. A tillandsia cyanea (big!) has been blooming for the past week. I'm waiting for the pups to start growing.

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  2. Oh, how pretty, Ellen, do you have a photo of the blooming Tilly?? I think it's sad that each only blooms once, but that makes the event more special, and even a little poignant.

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