Tilly of the Month: Tillandsia xerographica

The King of Tillies! Woohaha! I have been looking for a good specimen of this species for more than a year, and I finally found one this week at our locally owned nursery, and at a good price, too.




Tillandsia xerographica, with inflorescence.

 Tillandsia xerographica is a showy beast, true. The name means "dry writing"--how on earth do they come up with these names? I can only imagine the poor, thirst-mad botanist who discovered this was not in his right mind when he named it. Or he had abominably curlicued handwriting and saw a resemblance.

Among gardeners, it's known as the "King of Tillandsias", and this seems appropriate. They grow slowly, but majestically, to about a third to a half-meter in diameter, and occasionally, up to a meter. The inflorescence, as you can see, is quite remarkable. Tilly xerographica is native to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. The leaves are silvery-white with pinkish highlights. And of course, the leaves are delightfully curly!

One reason it's hard to find good specimens in nurseries is that T. xerographica needs some special watering. In nature, they are often found at a diagonal. In nurseries, they are upright. Why is this a problem? Because if water stays trapped at the top of the plant (meristem) and does not drain out, the plant drowns and rots rather quickly. So if you are a proud owner of a T. xerographica, all you need to do is tip the plant upside down to drain the water after you soak it.  A once-a-week soak of about 15 minutes to an hour, and occasional mistings, should do fine. The water should be about 5.5-6pH, and have some bromeliad fertilizer in it about twice a month during the growing season, at about half strength.

T. xerographica needs a fair bit of light, also. These tillies grow on only the highest branches in their native environment. It should be near a sunny window, but not in direct sunlight.  It blooms once, then pups, like all Tillandsias. But the inflorescence and flowers can last for months!

Speaking of showy inflorescence, my T. concolor, now an outdoor Tilly, is looking pretty bloomy.

I can't wait to see the flowers on this one!

Not Particularly Pensive Tuesday: Ready To Bloom!

After a scary-big storm with multiple tornados swept over my sand dune this weekend, I was too tired to be pensive. I needn't have worried about the outdoor garden, however. Springtime plants are full of enthusiasm for whatever weather comes their way. They didn't mind the 8 inches of rain; in fact, they're ready to bloom!

Lantana, aka "stinkflower", does very well on the beaches; its glowing flowers belie its tough resilience.

Parodia uebelmanniana has been quiet for months. Suddenly, it's tufty and full of spring spirit!

Tillandsia concolor is nearly there. Can't wait to see the flowers.

Here's a Haworthia and a Gymnocalycium enjoying some sun, and growing some fine buds.

This little Mammillaria was a rescue- had some rot. But it's doing fine outside, and has put forth its first flower. It's a beauty!

And lastly, a Senecio articulatus. Senecios in general do very well in this beachy, subtropical climate. They don't mind the salty, alkaline soil, and they can take the heat well. This one put out buds in less than 24 hours, amazing!

Here's hoping all my readers are feeling ready to bloom as well. For the Southern Group, it's time to start getting warm and cozy, as autumn approacheth. And that's a wonderful season, too.

Tillandsia of the Month: T. concolor

March is a tough month. First lovely warm weather is here, then it's rudely taken from you by Mother Nature, to be replaced by more tiresome winter. If you're in the southern hemisphere, reverse that. If you're in the tropics, you may not care, or even notice that it's March. I don't know. I'm subtropical. Anyway, March is a transitional month. It's prickly and often difficult. And so is the Tillandsia for March, T. concolor ("with color").  Or sincolor ("without color"), as it started out on my Tableful of Tillies....

Tillandsia concolor, in sincolor mode.

T. concolor comes from Mexico. It has exceptionally brittle leaves that are very sharp and pointy. They can break like spun glass, or poke your eye out (never play catch with a T. concolor)! So they are trickier to care for then most. But they are supposed to have wonderful red coloring and huge crimson bracts and flowers. Mine was clearly languishing indoors, so I moved it outside a month ago.

Now it has its true yellow-green color, red edges, and it's blooming! While most of my Tillies can't bear to be outside in the harsh sun and salt spray, T. concolor loves it. Every species has its ways. Tillandsia concolor is beautiful and tough.