Well all i can say Paul, is that mine hangs in a pot outside gets water when it rains ,when i water most days and i never empty it out,so does Tamera's plants and the thing just grows and flowers,and does'nt seem to mind one bit so ? how xeric is it ? Jack

Jack, those are comforting words. If yours and Tamera's made it through the last six months of rainfall that you've just had, I reckon 'aquatica' would probably be a better name! Do yours get full sun? Bright shade? I'd be really interested to know. Cheers, Paul

Hi Guys

Same goes with mine as per Jack's for watering, however I've found they don't like to be in mix in the pot, I just sit them in an empty pot & hang'm, I tend to use Vanda pots for Xero's now & some other Till's that do like pot culture, as these pots have much better air flow through them, or just leave them sitting on an open bench bare rooted/loose. They don't seem to like wet feet very much.

Pinkbroms

Hi Paul,mine and Tamera's get almost full sun ,we grow them in a slatted basket or pot they sit on top of it but do make a great root system ,lots of air movement ,and there is some coarse mix in the pot,air movement is important.and i put about heaped teaspoon of Osmocote in the plant,for us it does not seem to fussy ,dont think you 'll have any problems. Jack

I like hanging plants like that by twine. Anything that is either round or bulbous enough to 'sit' on a circular piece of twine. Here is a T. capitata x xerographica.

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I like hanging a bunch of plants like that...sure I'm going to have to replace the twine every couple of years or so, but I'll probably also be moving the plants around that much anyways. I hang other Tills like that (capitatas, somnians, etc) as well as Neos and stoloniferous tank-type broms...
(sorry, no matter what I try, photobucket won't let me rotate these in the forum)

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Might be a little too 'junky' looking for some people, but it suits my style.
-andy

I don't grow many Tills, but my limited experience with xerographica has been pretty similar to what everyone else has said. It doesn't seem that touchy about getting wet.

Andy, I've been having problems with Photobucket rotating my images lately too. I click "edit" and correct it, but then sometimes it's still sideways when I go back to the album/upload page. I've found that refreshing the page at that point usually corrects this problem. Have you tried that?

BTW, what is that last hanging Neo?

What a novel way to hang a plant(s) Andy, what gave you the idea ? and the plants are doing well,so it works and thats important, Jack

Hi again, thanks everyone for your great info. But damnit, you've given me another problem!

Jack & pinkbroms, putting them in slatted/Vanda pots is just great and Andy, the string thing is a ripper. I just gotta do'em both AND it's made me realise that I have a whole lot of new plant spaces that are now glaringly un-occupied ...... ah well, I guess I'll just have to try to fill them up!

Cheers, Paul

Personally I think it's an urban myth that giving Xero just the tiniest bit too much of water will make it go "POOF"! It all depends on what 'look' you're after, some (like me) like the Shirley Temple look with all the curls when water is held back while some like it as shown above. Either way it's a regal plant. The same culture applies to streptophylla too. My pups get watered along with all the rest of the gang but Mom gets hers rationed. Since Xero comes from So. Mexico where rainfall is all but absent 3/4 of the year it is xeric by nature during this time. Come the rainy season though it can handle the rains nicely since it's leaves are quite succulent. It's only in cultivation where the plants are often subject to watering and heat extremes that the plants may rot. If you've got 'em on a regular schedule of watering you'll be fine, just don't overdo it during the cool months.

Hey Paul and all, I started doing this so I could maximize vertical space in a narrow 'enclosed porch'. I started with some pots (seen on the left of the third and fourth pic), and then as I got some plants that were shaped conveniently it just kind of happened. One of our Study Group members inspired me to experiment with hanging Tills in a bunch of ways with wire, so I'll probably have to give him credit for starting me in that direction. I was trying to find any way to hang stoloniferous Neos and it seems to work with big Tills as well. I've had to lengthen the leads on the T. somnians as the flower spike has been growing. Nice that they are infinitely adjustable (length, location, etc).

And Lisa, its Neo fluminensis. You can see it before its started going downhill after flowering in the third picture. I jumped at the opportunity to get it (and Blushing Tiger in the same meeting...it was a good day!) when I saw it on the plant table this spring. And thanks for giving more encouragement about photobucket. I spent way too much time fighting with it this morning.
-andy

Hi Paul, yes we grow our Xero with no special treatment. And as for space if you have a Frangipani in your yard i have found it to be a wonderful hanging structure for plants. That is where my xero resides rain hail or shine. I have Tillandsias, Neo's and Aechmeas all growing in , on and under this wonderful tree. It provides winter light and warmth for the plants and in summer when in full leaf the plants are all protected.

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This tree is about 12 years old and faces west.

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Till Xero. AT the moment it has 3 new growths coming away. It should make a great sight when in flower.
Cheers Tamera

Hmmm....... maybe it's the angle, but that doesn't look quite like my fluminensis, Andy. Top view?

Tamera, there is a Tillandsia grower here who says the same thing about Plumeria (Frangipani). He swears it is the best thing to grow Tills on!

oNES MOUNTED ON LARGE GRANITE BOULDERS do really well here in the wet tropics ..

Here it is when I got it Lisa...on its last flower. The petals were very light but with tips hinting toward blue I think. The picture doesn't quite show it very well (but I guess you can see the petals on the spent flowers are bluish)

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Thanks, Andy. I guess it was the scurfy underside that was throwing me off. I'm not used to looking at that part!

Hi Andy,

Your plants look great suspended at different levels inside your green house.

My concern would be that if they were in an area where they got any wind at all, the twine could mark or cut into the leaves, so I guess that puts me out of the picture as I don't have a green house.

Tamera, do you find the wind causes the twine to mark the leaves, or are yours also in an area where they don't get any wind ?

Thanks for the ideas, all the best, Nev.

Hi Nev, The tree is exposed to all wind directions and i have had no problems, We get cold southerlys during winter and strong NE ALL Summer. I have used plastic coated wire, stockings, and twine to tie the tills on. No problems with any of them. I only have about 6 tillandsias and they all are on this tree and growing very happily.
Cheers Tamera

Thanks Nev. I have a small table and pair of chairs set up to look right at that wall of plants. My favorite seat in the house! I wouldn't worry too much about the leaves. But I guess it would depend on the plant. The Neos, Bills, and Aechmeas that I've hung up outside all summer seem to be fine. They spin a bit, but they aren't really too heavy if they are hanging bare root. But even in a pot, the mix shouldn't be too heavy. And I don't have them so close outside either. I have some hanging mixed around like ornaments in a tree and some under the eaves spaced at different heights. But if you have really tender leaved plants, it might not be such a great idea.

Always worth an experiment or two!
-andy

Hi again everyone - loads of great info.

Gonzer, those points about T. xerographica habitat help it all to make sense - thanks a lot for that. Tamera, I've been starting to plan what I can put out in the front yard now I finally have my new fence up to keep the @#$%! deer out. Hadn't thought of a frangipani (deer chew them up and I'm still trying to get my head past that), but that would be just absolutely perfect! Especially terrific with no leaves in winter - and nice big leaves that won't clog up all the broms when they fall off. A trip to the nursery will happen shortly. Thanks a lot for the idea.

By the way, that tall silver Aechmea? looks fantastic in that setting - the one with 2 or three different plants in the pic. Can you let me know what it is? Thanks.

Cheers, Paul

HI Paul, The Aechmea is Nudicaulis Silver streak, great colour in sun and takes all the wind with no problems.
I just had to cut a couple of pieces off the Frangipani (hitting heads as we walked past lolololol)its a lovely pink would you like me to stike them for you Paul
Cheers Tamera

oi oi oi, just cut down the last frangi.....the thing was massive and didnt have the best flower you have ever seen.

I like Pachira aquatica for hanging goodies on.

mine I just bought its large and I made sure I sprayed it and shook off the plant for excess water in the middle and the middle leaves are slowly falling out what did I do wrong..I had it about 3 weeks done and read everything I can think of of I am so upset I went more into detail under the "misting" post. what should I do? I been reading post all day. will it stop or is it a goner the inside loos fine now... am slowly learning...I have a few more and they are doing fine treat them all as needed that I know about them or I look it up for reference. please not my Xero. hes my favorite. I do have a medium and small ones also, they are fine..