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I did okay by separating, right?

21 years ago

I separated my pup streptophyllum x bulbosa from the parent and it should be okay, right? I had to tear it away from the parent plant, but I think it should be okay. I hope I didn't do wrong :-) I still have two new ones growing off the parent plant. It still hasn't bloomed, but I hope that by tearing it away that I didn't do much damage. It's rather large and almost the size that I purchased the original. Here is a photo parent plant on right with two more pups, older pup removed on left:

{{gwi:492192}}

Whadda ya think? I think it should be fine (I hope!) Will this pup finally bloom again? Sorry for the newbie question, I'm just tired of waiting for a new flower :-)

minibot

Comments (6)

  • 21 years ago

    Don't get anxious waiting for hybrids to flower, they've got their own timetable. Good job of separation. If you're going to attach the parent (w/pups) to a surface, you might lose one or both pups by accident. Either be very careful attaching the plant or (as I sometimes do) glue the plant regardless, knowing that more offsets will sprout.

  • 21 years ago

    Great, thanks! I never want to glue the things, I just lay them in a sunny spot on a wire rack or hang them using wire sling made from old Dry Cleaning hangers. I guess I could conceivably glue the old one since it's dying anyway :-) Aha!, re: the blooming, I know very little about tillandsias so any information is expanding my knowledge.

    minibot

  • 21 years ago

    From your photo it looks like your plant has grown kinda one-dimensional by laying down. To fully appreciate Tillandsias, gluing the plant with the likes of 'Liquid Nails' or 'Goop' to a piece of cork bark or wood allows the plant to fill out with leaves in all directions. Hanging them with thin wire (20-25 gauge) works well also as the wire is not too apparent. Wrap the wire and tie off at the base snuggly and let hang. T. bulbosa is what's called ageotropic, meaning it will grow irregardless of gravity. I have mine and it's hybrids mounted either sideways or pointing down so water doesn't collect between the leaves and induce rot. Bulbosa can take low light, it's red bloom scape attracts pollinators in the dark of the jungle.

  • 21 years ago

    Interesting Gonzer! It was growing upright with the one that I separated off growing out the bottom. Then it got too big to keep putting back in the hanger, so I took it down and laid it down for the past month. I've hung them up again and I assume it will become a problem once those two pups get a little larger. I separated the larger pup because I figured at this point it was growing its own arial roots and so it was time to move out of mom's home :-) I've got them back up again, but the shap seems to be spreading out a bit even a few days after separating them. Maybe its the separation. See photo for example:

    {{gwi:492193}}

    Notice how it's spreading its wings after being detached? It looks like the other pups have gotten bigger too! I swear, these are the same two plants in the other photo (I couldn't afford to buy another, this original was $9.99 of all prices...I don't know what came over me, but those pretty peach and purple flowers must've bonked me over the head :-)).

    minibot

  • 21 years ago

    Another great hanger is the light green monofilment fishing line

  • 20 years ago

    Sniff...I can still see photos of my newly departed T. streptophyllum x bulbosa :-( Here I am about a year later. I wanted to let anyone know not to do what I did...that would be; during a hot spell, thinking they needed more moisture...laying them down in a shallow plastic pan and adding a low layer of water. They all rotted except the two pups that were still on the original. The other separated one rotted too, along with my original. Stupid, lazy, careless minibot!! I hope the little ones hang in there and survive! Darn that's disappointing!

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