Addendum: Clumping Ionanthas

Here are a couple varieties of Tillandsia ionantha that have been allowed to clump peacefully.

Varieties of T. ionantha, clumping. MR2014

These pups are big enough that they could all be separated from the mother plants. Use a clean, very sharp, small knife and cut the pup off at the base. Let the plants heal in plenty of circulating fresh air. Once the wounds are healed, the plants can be watered again. That usually takes just a couple of days. Enjoy your Tillies!

Tillandsia ionantha in Bloom

Tillandsia ionantha and its various hybrids are probably the most commonly sold Tillie on the planet. They are even found in drugstores like Walgreens at the checkout counter, stashed in little shells or bottles. They are tiny and very tough, so they can survive with very little water or light for at least several months. But one should never treat a Tillie so unkindly! With proper conditions, they do this....

Ionanthas need moderate light and a thorough soak once a week, with a mist or two in between. Monthly fertilizer (for bromeliads) once a month helps, too.

The flowers are really amazing, and very weird. They bloom just once, but several weeks after the flower dries up, several pups can be seen at the base. You can break off the pup once it's half the size of the mother plant, and give it to a friend, or, if your friends aren't hankering for a Tillie, just let them grow into a nice clump (the ionanthas, not your friends).  Here's a closer look at the flower:

Tillandsia ionantha blooming, MR, 2014

Tales o' the Pups (Tillandsia Pups, That Is)

Tillandsias, or Tillies as I like to call them, have two methods of reproduction. One is the usual method, with flowers and seeds (apomictic or not, I do not know!). Here you see a Tillandsia juncea, a large (30-40cm) Florida native, in the seed-throwing phase of its life:

Tillandsia juncea with seed pods, MR 2013

T. juncea's flowering phase lasts a long time. The inflorescence takes several months to grow and the blooms last for several weeks in early summer (for Zone 9b). The seeds take several months to ripen, then the pods burst in fall and the seeds fly everywhere. You can see one flying away in the upper right corner of the photograph.

But Tillies also reproduce asexually, by pupping, or offsetting. Pups can grow from almost anywhere on the mother plant. For T. juncea and T. ionantha (a petite Central American Tillie), multiple pups grow from the base. They can stay attached to the mother plant more or less permanently, or drop off and grow in a new spot. Here you can see a T. juncea with pups (right) and T. ionantha (left), with pups growing from the base of the mother plant:

Tillandsias with Pups Growing From the Base of the Mother Plants, MR 2013

There are many other styles of offsets, which I'll be sharing over the course of time....

The Progress of Tillandsia ionantha: Bloom!

The pretty and petite, silvered Tillandsia ionantha hails from Nicaragua. It's a hardy and beautiful Tilly which is frequently crossed with other species because the results are so lovely. (Many crossed Tillies are rather dull by comparison.)

I have several ionanthas and crosses.  This is the first to bloom. First phase, it blushes pinkish red, and here comes a bud!



T. ionantha in bud

More buds follow:



T. ionantha, with ionantha fuego and friends

 And finally, a triple bloom!



T. ionantha in full bloom

On the left is another ionantha, T. ionantha fuego, very fiery indeed!  Once the bloom is over, the plant itself will continue blushing for a while, then a pup will appear at the base. Once the pup is about half the size of the parent plant, it can be removed to grow on its own. And so on it goes....