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fancyapplesauce

Air Plant Progress

9 years ago

Hi,

I am new to growing air plants. I have a feeling all three of my tillandsias (aeranthos miniata, brachycaulos, and ionantha guatemala) are dying. Here are some pictures. Please advise! Thank you!



Comments (9)

  • 9 years ago

    Hello ... Aeranthos looks relatively fine. Dry leaves might be just old. But there is also possibility of fungal infection in the stem.
    Brachycaulos - leaves look pretty bad, but plant center still seems to be ok.
    Ioanantha looks fine.
    Can you tell us more about your care and where are plants placed? There are 4 important factors - light, air flow, watering/humidity and temperature.

  • 9 years ago

    The nursery where I receive them said to soak overnight in the instructions. I initially started doing that (about once a week). I didn't mist in between. Then I noticed the leaves were getting crispy and dry at the edges so I tried misting in between. I've read many different things about watering so I try to soak up to 30 minutes during the day and not overnight. I use regular tap water and I haven't looked into feeding them fertilizer yet - is there one you would recommend? They're in a room with southern facing light. They're on top of a bird cage. Is there any way to revive the Brachycaulos? It has changed from its red hue to this dull purple/green? As for the Aeranthos...what should I do if it's a fungal infection? Thank you so much for all of your help!

  • 9 years ago

    Soaking is good for reviving dehydrated plants, but I can't recommend it as regular method of watering. Proper misting is better, once per 1-4 days depending on season and weather/conditions indoors.
    T. aeranthos is probably fine. Fungal infection would cause continuous withering of the leaves that doesn't stop. (The only way to stop it is cutting infected parts away.)
    T. brachycaulos should be green. It dislikes too much direct sun, bright diffused light is much better for it. Red color is protective, when the plant has too much light. (Blooming plant gets naturally red too.) It also likes a bit more water than other two plants.
    About fertilizing - use fertilizer for bromeliads/orchids or for decorative plants, but 10x weaker. So if instructions on the bottle say 0,2% for orchids, use 0,02% for tillandsias. Once per 2-3 weeks in growth season.

    fancyapplesauce thanked raxidor
  • 9 years ago

    For T. Brachycaulos what would you recommend to get it back to shape? Just the misting, more indirect light? And possibly the diluted fertilizer. The T. aeranthos fell apart, the base was pliable and not stiff...do you have any advice on that? Thank you again for all of your help.

  • 9 years ago

    Yes, for T. brachycaulos as you wrote - regular misting, indirect light and some fertilizer. On T. aeranthos maybe remove everything that is visibly dead and doesn't hold firmly.

    fancyapplesauce thanked raxidor
  • 9 years ago

    Thank you!

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    If you happen to have freshwater aquarium, you can also put some "old" water from that in your mister and mist with that as it would have trace fish and snail urine (even snail poop!). Are your plants actually in holders of some kind or are they lying or a surface or hanging up or...? How they are displayed may help folks understand more about what is happening. Also, some idea of the area of the world where you live, as you may find a forum member iiving nearby :) (I'm in Albuquerque, NM, USA and it is currently dry [14% humidity], warmish [65F] and quite windy, i.e., normal for Spring here)

    fancyapplesauce thanked debbyabq
  • 9 years ago

    Hi debbyabq! Thanks so much for your response. I am new to air plants/plants in general. My air plants were doing okay until recently. Update: my aeranthos fell apart :(. I'm still trying to save the Brachycaulos. Fingers crossed. I live in Los Angeles, CA. Usually dry, warmish as well.

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