haha!! no problem dbarron! You know I have tried these in the past,,,"out in the open" so to speak and I would take it out of its shell (that is what it was in), run it under water once a week as I was told to do, put it back in the shell and pretty soon after a couple weeks, the outer "leaves" would start falling off. With another one, I tried just misting it. Same thing,,,,death. So this time I did this!

At this point I don't know HOW to care for it. Every method I have tried has ended in failure.

But I will take your suggestion and go over to Bromiliads! Thanks! Any help is appreciated!!!! Rosie

Yes, same experience Rosie...i'll "follow" you and see if I learn anything too.

I think sunny, bright, air movement, and frequent rain fit the bill (since the Floridians have lots of them on trees outside). But as to indoor culture...?

I dunno,,,,I got nuthin' !!!! Rosie

Tillies rarely survive long term in humid, stagnant air and are generally high light plants. As such they make poor terr candidates as few people have large terrs with good air circulation and stagnant air coupled with high humidity/moisture tends to result in rot. Furthermore, providing the high light they desire in a terr without cooking them is problematic unless one is using LED lights (most commonly found ones are insufficient in both color spectrum and intensity, btw) or strong fluorescent lights (which still may produce more than the desired amount of heat). I do have some various tillies growing in two of my terrs, BUT my terrs are BIG -- one is a 55 gal tank and the other is a 95gal.

For most folks, it is better to grow them outside of a terr. Having them in a shell, while a cute marketing gimmick, is not in the plant's best interests. Many people understandably water the plant in the shell which allows the bottom of the plant to sit in water which is in a dank dark area usually leading to rot. Tap water is not a good water choice generally speaking. It often is too high in dissolved solids which can quickly build up an "clog up" the pores by which water is absorbed. Furthermore, the build of salts can act to desiccate the leaves. In addition, those who use municipal water have to be concerned about the chlorine and fluoride often present in such. Rain water, RO, or distilled are the best choices. Watering frequency depends on one's RH, amount of air movement, and light/heat intensity. I have this tillie on my balcony for the summer.

It gets full sun from 8am - 2pm. Air movement is high and humidity is 50% or better (considering how muggy it's been lately, far far "better"). In addition, this one is a xeric species (adapted for very dry habitats like scrublands). However, I STILL water almost every day. (If I forget for a few days it will be fine.) In the winter it comes inside and hangs in front of my sliding glass doors and gets no supplemental lighting. Air circulation is high but my winter RH is abysmally low -- typically around 15%. As a result I water almost daily -- if I remember to do so. Oh, and watering, in my case, consists of thoroughly misting the plant.

For something a bit more decorative, you can hot glue your plant to a stick or piece of tile. (Put a blob of hot glue on the mount, then -- before the glue cools too much, press the plant into the blob.)

Rosie, aren't you glad I pointed you here? :)

dbarron, you have no idea how glad I am. I have found the information here very enlightening. Thanks again! Rosie