You are in zone 8B, and while I don't know where that is, I suspect it may be rather (or a lot) humid, so your plant may get quite a bit of moisture from the air already and as gonzer says, you can cut back watering it. I live in a high, very dry area of the country (except during Monsoon season), 7b, I think, but even then I've been relaxed about watering (misting and/or soaking), not quite neglecting , and most of my Tillandsias are doing just fine. I do have to remind myself that my Spanish moss should get extra water even though I think it is a tough plant and has been surviving the high-desert challenge -- except I'll bring it in for the winter as usual.

Oops! I guess I've been misreading its signs (drying tips, curling) as underwatering, lol. I live in BC and just checked the humidity, 64%!

Thanks both! c:

One might think of them more like cacti than like regular house plants, even though cacti, as succulents, can store water and the most Tillandsias can do is store a bit in any cup-like structures or capture it with the trichomes. In either case, too much water can lead to rot :( And, very occasionally, even when one does everything exactly right... the plant will begin dreaming of the compost pile, I guess,

Oh, it just occurred to me, you might position your plant so it is more horizontal than vertical, to encourage any water collecting down in the plant to drain out (this goes for any Tillandsia that might collect rot-causing water). I have one rather large ionantha (for that is what yours is) that I wired to some cholla wood and the plant sticks out perpendicular to the wood, or horizontal (I'm not certain the roots have grabbed on yet, it has only been about 5 months since I mated the plant to the wood). I hung wood & plant outside in my bright, north-facing porch for the summer and have kind of forgotten about it. The plants there get sprayed with water every 3-4 days, and lately get some monsoon humidity and cool nights. The plant (perhaps a Rubra) is about 3-4" long now and has 3 flowers and a pup or two, so it seems happy to me :)

Putting it on a similar water regime as my succulents I can do, or at least on the drier side.

Mounting it on a peice of wood sounds nice! Is there a limit to the size of the wood? I'm assuming it should be salt free else I'd go down to the beach and grab some. XD

I bought some cholla ("choi-ya") from a fellow who told me he liked to collect it for arts/crafts use. He finally brought me some and the holes were smaller than I expected. I've found nice pieces of dried bark and branches (a lot of elm and cottonwood, I think) out in our bosque (forest area along the Rio Grande). Also petrified wood can look quite like a piece of wood but it will never rot or get bugs :)

Avoid any wood that has been treated (like fence posts or painted wood). You might be able to use driftwood if it is soaked enough to eliminate salt (or it drifted in from a river rather than the ocean). Also I've bought nice pieces of wood at a pet store in the aquarium/fish/reptile area of the store (Clark's here in Albuquerque). I know it will be safe to put in an aquarium, so safe for my plants.

I have one ionantha that has rooted into the inside of a piece of tree bark as though the bark were a small boat. If a tillandsia sits long enough it will root on bark, rocks (large and small gravel size), ceramic bowl, just whatever. The roots are not looking for sustenance but just to hang on, so a plant can be removed if you don't like where it decided to set down roots.

I just remembered I have posted pictures here so you can check out [https://www.houzz.com/photos/tillandsias-phvw-vp~51631564[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/tillandsias-phvw-vp~51631564) and see one picture with a lot of plants in all kinds of containers and on some bark and just hanging, under two 18" grow lights.