Tillie of the Month is back! Today's Tillie of the Future is T. araujei, a hard-to-spell and harder-to-pronounce (ahr-OO-zhay-ee), thin and spiky creature.
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| Tillandsia araujei, a tough, tall Tillie. (MRobb) |
T. araujei grows south of the Rio de J area, on the coast, in Brazil. The leaves are thick and waxy and it reminds me a lot of rosemary, which is also a tough coastal plant. They are supposed to eventually grow into clumps, but I've had mine for several years and it just keeps getting longer. It's about doubled its length from the photo above. It's now about 30cm and shows no sign of either blooming or clumping.
Araujei is one of the toughest Tillies you can grow, and doesn't need as much tender care as some, such as T. argentea fineleaf or magnusiana, which are beautiful but high-maintenance creatures.
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| Tillandsia magnusiana, a showy diva Tillie. (MRobb) |
In its native environment, araujei grows sideways or upside-down. Maybe if I hang mine upside-down, it will start to bloom and clump? But I am lazy, and I like it just as it is.
