To catch aerial Tillandsia seed that can easily blow away on the wind, I devised these seed cages made of fine fly mesh. They wrap around the ripening seed pods and then when the seed pod is ripe and splits releasing the seed it is contained within the cage. The openness of the mesh allows the seed to ripen and air to circulate but also for me to see through when the seed pod splits open.
Once all the seed has been released I cut off the flower spike.
The mesh is stretched out across the container, and the lid snapped into place which holds the mesh taught.
The seed is misted with rain water and a small reservoir of water allowed to accumulate in the bottom of the container. As the mesh is some distance from the water, this allows the air and moister to circulate past the seed which hastens the germination process.
