Teresa's Plants & More Store

Tillandsias air plants-4 individual "pup" plants

Air plants, the common name for Tillandsias, are one type of Bromeliad. They grow without soil, while most Bromeliads do best insoil. They are unusually hardy, surviving temperatures from 35 to 120degrees.

The native habitats of these attractive and fascinating members of the pineapple family are the southern United States, Mexico,and Central and South America, where they grow on rocks and trees,without soil. Their wire-like roots are void of root hairs and are used for anchoring only.

They receive all of their water and nutrientsthrough the fuzzy gray scales on their leaves called trichomes, which can be quite developed (fuzzy leaves) or microscopic (green smoothleaves). Nutrients in nature are provided by dust, decaying leaves and insect matter.      

Tillandsias have a cycle of growth. It begins with a single plant which grows to maturity (different sizes for different species).and then blooms, with spikes lasting from several weeks to many months.This process is very colorful; some air plants turn pink, red, ororange before blooming; the bloom color varies with species.

When the bloom is finished, new plants grow out of the base of the parent plant and up around it (as it slowly dies off), reach maturity, and complete the bloom cycle in one to several years, depending on species and cultural conditions. These new plants can be separated from the parent.

You are getting 4 plants similar to those shown in the seashell photo.

$2.00 only