Hi everyone.

MrBlubs - I'm so sorry to hear your bad news and if it's any consolation, I can tell you that you aren't the only person this has ever happened to, as I've heard this story several time from other growers who became distracted in some way and forgot about the plants in their car.

Many years ago I took some Cattleya orchid plants to a friend and they were squeezed in the toe (trunk) of a VW beetle in an open cardboard box. When I arrived it was a very hot day and my friend was helping a neighbour "push start" a car with a flat battery and called on me to help as well.

Once we got the car started the neighbour invited us in for a cold drink, and after a couple of beers and an hour's chatting, I went to get the plants out of the car and they had all turned a brown jelly-like mess, the result of being cooked by the intense heat inside the toe of the car. I was so amazed that this degree of destruction could happen in just one hour I found it hard to believe, but the evidence was there before me.

The only good thing to come out of this experience was that I learnt to give much more respect to the heat which can build up within a car or a car boot once that car has stopped. Ever since then I always transport plants in a sealed polystyrene box and have never had any problems again.

I don't know anything about Tillandsias or their ability to survive such disasters, but perhaps Gonzer can give you some advice?

All the best, Nev.

Thanks Nev.

Yeah, if it does that to plants, I can't imagine how a dog would feel. First time it's happened to me. I've left pop and frozen food in the car before though!

I always thought they would die from my care, not from being in a car. Oh well, lesson learned I guess.

At least this gives me an excuse to get more ;)

MrBlubs - And another thing; I'll bet you never do it again either. Ha! Ha!

All the best, Nev.

Haha! I guess not! Well I hope so.... As long as if there's no giant zucchinis in the mix

I never have much luck trying to save broms like that but it is worth trying to dust them with cinnamon powder and keep them dry for a while.

Cinnamon powder? What does that do?

It can help to stop rotting, but I doubt it will resurrect baked tillandsias ...

Oh well.. I think it's too late anyways.

The Bulbosa looks terrible but I still have some hope it might push through.

The big one (I can never remember their names) the majority of its leaves dried out and curled. I cut them off and it looks awful (maybe I shoukd have just left it) but the whole growing tip is dried out as well.

The two Small Ionanthas look fine still..

The bigger Ionantha looks really bad. Don't think it's going to make it.

And the other medium sized one all its leaves are dried out and crispy... So I don't think it made it either...

I'll still wait to see what happens with them but it doesn't look good

Just an update...

Both of the small Ionanthas didn't make it.

The other Ionantha didn't make it and the medium sized one didn't make it either..

Bulbosa and the big one are still pushing through, if you can call it that but still unsure about their future. I finished decorating my Driftwood with lichen and moss and stuff and I've decided to leave out the big one and the Bulbosa.

They'll be in rehab untill they get better, but I will attach my Juncea as he seems fine except for a few burnt leaf tips. Gonna go buy more Ionanthas and other greener smaller types to attach to it. Will try to find a replacement for the big one..... Hopefully my store hasn't run out by the time I get there!

I was thinking recently about your tilly-finding problems, and I was wondering if you have florist stores in your area? If they sell plants and cut flowers that they get from the US, you may have a source there that will order on your behalf, especially if you can show them how they might be able to use Tillandsias in decorative ways (dish gardens, wide open terrariums, etc.) My local seller gal is so busy, I hardly ever see her, so I broke down and ordered a bunch from Plant Oddities, in Kentucky. I expect to get them by the end of the week, because the owner is quite good :) My herd of Tillies is going to be big... and soon I'll have to bring them all inside! Yikes! Good thing they don't need pots!

I've actually never paid attention to see if there's any florists.... I know there's one near me but theyre a local company that home grows it's stuff. I guess I'll have to look around when I get back!

Good luck with your new arrivals! It's a fun problem to have too many! Wish I had that problem

I'm sure it's easier and cheaper for florists to grow and buy locally, but if they offer more exotic or tropical items, they may look south across the border, and thus they may have all the paperwork done that allows them to import plants. If they can see turning a profit on ordering something out of the ordinary, they may consider it.

Once you get started and the plants are happy -- or, sometimes, if they feel threatened ("he's gonna kill us -- quick, have seeds and babies!") -- they'll bloom and pup and maybe eventually you can go into business (selling or trading) for yourself just to get rid of them! :)

That would be a lot of fun! Hopefully, maybe one day.

So here's a final update on their progress....

All have been lost but the two. My Juncea and the big one (not so big now)

The Juncea tips have all dried up and are in funky positions due to this. Didn't notice that it got burnt this bad untill a few days ago. I will try to trim the brown bits off when I get back tomorrow.

The big one was badly burned everywhere and 90% of its leaves dried up. I cut them off and this is what it looks like now. D

n't know yet if it's gonna make it as the growing tip is burnt also but it's still green and firm.

you should be able to save them they are not dead

Yes, the Juncea and the other are still alive.

Look fine considering. If they were dead,you would have seen them do a total collapse. They might look a little worse as time goes by- shaking off the cooking- then,they will start with new growth.

good luck.

Yeah, the whole ordeal was a month ago so they've pretty much have done what they needed to do..

I knew the Juncea was going to make it, just was unsure on the other one as most it's leaves and the growing tip were burnt.

They Have started to put out new growth, but it will be a loooonnngggg time before they look good again!

Talking about Tillandsia murder, I almost killed all of them again! I put them all for a soaking in my fishtank. Was going to retrieve them 15 minutes later but I ended up forgetting about it untill 4 hours later! I almost left them in there over night! Agh, not getting a good Rep around here.....

Soaking them in a fish tank? I bet they would love the nitrates. Does anyone else do this?

That was my thinking too. I also have CO2 and some liquid fertilizer that I add to the water so I was wondering if that was good enough as a fertilizer or too much or to little

Lynngun, I hardly ever add fertilizer to my aquarium unless the plants look like they'd appreciate it. They're growing thickly and I don't have any place to put the extras, so I don't fertilize often. Also, the plants outcompete any algae, so if I feed them, they may get lazy and the algae may sneak in (though it's been years since I've seen any). I have only about... 4? tetras (oh, I see two black neons right now!) (I just haven't felt like getting more in the last few years) and 3-4 pygmy catfish, so not much poop from them, though the snails do add some plant food (and eat the old plant remnants).

MrBlubs, it may depend on what is in the liquid fertilizer, if it's anything a tilly (or brom) wouldn't like, but otherwise you could dilute it even more and try it slowly...

Oh, I totally forgot! I have one that does contain copper but it's like 0.003 percent or some odd number like that... Plus 10ml of that in a 20 gallon tank filled with other plants.... Doesn't seem to affect them....Though I'll switch back to pond water, then I guess snow melt to be on the safe side.

I think that 0.003 (or whatever it is ) is such an insignificant amount you probably have nothing to worry about. I've read where one shouldn't use copper in aquariums, but I think that's along the lines of copper pipe, copper decorations -- like one shouldn't use copper wire to hang Tillandsias or bromeliads. As your aquarium is doing fine, I think it's okay to use that water. Pond water will be fine also probably, though more likely to have radiation [as is everything these days... :(] Maybe you can switch back and forth, using whatever is convenient for you (use aquarium water in the winter so you won't have to chip ice off the pond to get to the water), and whichever shows promising results. I have a basket of bigger tillies sitting outside in the sprinkle we're enjoying this morning.

Sad about your plants :( but good of you to pass on the detailed warnings! I haven't used much wood in plant decorating and none in my aquariums, preferring rocks like jasper (for it's red colors) and petrified wood... because it looks like wood and won't rot or attract bugs. I have the pieces of driftwood I bought recently, one piece of grape vine wood, and various pieces of tree bark that I find here and there. We just had a thunderstorm with pea-size hail roll over (thunder in the clouds sounded like a UFO invasion!), so there may be some fresh tree bark available among the torn up leaves. I had a basket of bigger Tillandsias out and they got good and rain wet until I realized it was starting to hail, so in they came. We get a storm like this about 2x a year.

OK, good! I didn't even think about the copper be8ng in it untill now. Duh! Probably will only be able to use pond water for another month or so.... Before it freezes solid down about 30''!

Nice info Nev! Sorry to hear about your plants though.

Yikes on the frozen pond! Maybe you can save some water aside to use now and then, to provide variety. The aquarium water is probably safe as you have plants in it and I bet they're doing well. You could dilute it (in a bucket or bottle) with pond or tap water (what's in the tap water?) if you're nervous. For my aquarium I've used from time to time "Leaf Zone", which has only potash and iron. I also have used in the past without problems "Kent Freshwater" and I note it has .00001% copper (Cu) (Min), plus potash (3%), iron (.24%), manganese (.01%), molybdenum (.0009%) and zinc (.00014%). Excruciatingly small amounts. And the only thing I can blame plant death on is me thinning them out because the grow too much or have gotten old and yellow (the snails love that though)! I've given extras to the pet store and one of my business customers was an aquarium. So I bet you're okay. Gonzer might have some advice, too.