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A catalogue of Bromeliads used for various projects by - © Lloyd Godman 

 

A Lexicon of Bromeliads: A resource by Lloyd Godman

Genus - Tillandsia: Sub-Family - Tillandsioideae: Family - Bromeliad

Tillandsias are regarded as true air plants and as such are among the most unusual of the Bromeliad family. They range from bulbous forms and grass like structures to silver tufted masses. Typically they grow where there is free air movement like high treetop environments or across open rock faces, and often they are heavily covered in silver trichomes that help reflect the high levels of sun light they receive in these locations. While some tolerate temperatures as low as 5 degrees C (40 degrees F), or even lower, most prefer temperatures of around 10-32 degrees C (50-32 degrees F). While they require high levels of humidity, they need to dry out quickly and completely between misting or watering. As the trichome scales open to absorb moisture and close to retain it, it is important that the plants are given time to dry out and most plant deaths occur because of over watering.

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Tillandsia ampala ( now lajensis) André

Tillandsia ampala, Lloyd Godman

Tillandsia Ampala, beginning to form a flower spike

flower head of Tillandsia Ampala or Lajensis, Lloyd Godman

Tillandsia ampala, lloyd godman

flower spike Tillandsia ampala, lloyd godman

Tillandsia ampala ( now lajensis)

Family: Bromeliad

Sub-Family: Tillandsioideae:

Genus: Tillandsia

Sub-Genus: Allardtia

Native distribution: From the Nariño region of Colombia - the plant has been reported growing in a volcanic crater near Quito, Ecuador, at about 3,000 meters above sea level.

Habit: A large bold plant that produces long tapered leaves about 40 to 70cm long 6.5cm wide. The plant can get up to 1m wide 600cm high and form a spectacular flower spike rising 800cm or more above the crown. After flowering I have had plants that then form up to 12 pups. In some situations, the leaves can be green in others they produce a silver trichome bloom.

Foliage: The tappering leaves are long and fairly stiff.

Flowers: While the purple flowers are small and short lived - a day or so, the tall flower spike lasts for about 9 months to a year with flower after flower opening over this time. The flower head can become so heavy it can topple the plant over, so it may need support. Although the flowers are long and tubular, they have confined stamens, and the petals are not keeled. The visible part of the long tubular flower is quite small, and inserting a small twig down inside the flower reveals that about 3/4 of the flower is hidden inside the sheath.

Seed:

Pups: The plant is a prolific pup producer

Cultivation: The plant will grow as an epiphyte but grows smaller. The plant produces many pups, sometimes as many as 12. The leaf tips can suffer and turn brown from frost. It is a great feature plant with a strong architectural from.

Fertilization: A mist every week with Epiphyites Delight or Epsom salts during the growing season will help the plant.

( Epiphyte’s Delight fertilizer was developed for a special reason. Nitrogen promotes foliar growth. If you have Tillandsias, Orchids, or other epiphytes and you feed them, take a look at the nitrogen content. If it’s high in urea, the plants can’t use it because the urea needs a bacteria in soil to break it down into ammonia and nitrates. Since the epiphytes don’t have any soil they can’t break down the urea. It was for this reason that we had Epiphyte’s Delight formulated. It contains only ammoniacal and nitrate nitrogen which is immediately accessible and usable by the plants.)

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