Tillandsia Argentea, catalogue of Bromeliad plants

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

This is a catalogue of bromeliads used by Lloyd godman for his various installations and photosynthesis projects - the collection of pants he accessed in New Zealand from 1996 - 2004 was collected from a wide range of sources, while most were brought from Greens Bromeliads, some were also donated by the Dunedin Botanical Gardens. Later in 2004 these plants were either sold or given away with his move to Australia.

Lloyd is at present re-establishing his collection where he now lives in Melbourne.

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.

Tillandsia argentea

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Family: Bromeliad

Sub-Family: Tillandsioideae:

Native distribution: It grows in dry, woodland in Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba and Jamaica

Habit: This species has a bulbous base and tends to grow singly or in clumps of just a few plants. An adult species is normally 10-12 cm in diameter.

Foliage: The leaf blades and sheaths are silvery blue-green.

Flowers: The floral cluster is smooth and not hairy. The blooms few in number. The scape and floral bracts are cherry and the flowers are grape violet.

Seed:

Pups:

Cultivation: It grows well under moderate tillandsia conditions. The plant should receive bright light and sufficient air movement; the amount of water will depend on the humidity and temperature of the grower’s microhabitat. With proper cultivation, the plant grows to be beautifully symmetrical; soft and fragile in appearance yet hardy and fast growing. It usually does not grow well as a year-round houseplant. As with other filiform-leaved species, such as filifolia and juncea, it prefers an airy, outdoor environment.

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.)

Availability:

More information HERE