I have had a xerographica for a few years now pretty successfully. Then I ended up getting a second, bigger one (as pictured). My routine was: dip in water every two weeks and then let dry out.
I started to worry it wasn’t enough water, though, because it was staying very tightly curled, and the tips were brown. I ended up starting to soak it for 1/2hr to 1hr every other week.
Now my big guy looks like this and I’m disappointed, to say the least.
Other context:
-I spray with fertilizer when I remember (maybe once a month during watering)
-I moved apartments but nothing really changed. Lighting is same, humidity (lack of) is the same, temp is the same
-I dry them upside down in front of a fan
Anybody successful with helping xerographica thrive? I love them so much but I seemed to lose my way.
Booksarepricey
In the wild xerographica gets most of its water through morning dew rather than rains. This dew tends to dry by the time the sun is really up.
I find that Xeros and streptos are some of the best air plants for misting for this reason. Xeric plants don’t necessarily need soaking unless incredibly dried out. Sometimes misting them twice a day for a couple days gets them healthy again without a soak.
The way that the bottom is dead but the top is still green does indicate that this was maybe watering issue, but every other week isn’t too much soaking usually and you dried them upside down so I’m not sure. I’ve had Medusas be super happy in the same place all year until the cold came and they didn’t dry as well. They all rotted come winter.
I’m sorry about your beautiful plant, OP ❤️ it happens to all of us at some point.
dogwoodandturquoise
It was probably the soaking. I like to mist mine and when ive been bad about remembering to do that I’ll soak it upside down in a half an inch to an inch of water , so only the leafy bits are in the water, and then let it dry in that position so the water doesn’t run into the base. It’s also pretty humid where i live for 8 months out of the year, so i try to take that into account with all my plants.
Babydoll0907
This one is toast, but for the next one, it’s not only about watering. People like to blame watering for everything when it comes to tillys, but xeros are also high light plants. They need a lot of indirect light. If they don’t get enough light, it makes them way more likely to rot or die in general.
I soak mine regularly and have had them for years without issue. But I also have them in front of a window that gets bright light from sunrise until about midday.
No matter how careful you are with watering, if they don’t get enough light, they will suffer from it. Idk your lighting situation, but this may be helpful for next time. And the key to watering is just making sure there’s no standing water left. After I soak mine, I put them upside down for about an hour to make sure all leftover water gets drained out.
4 Comments
I have had a xerographica for a few years now pretty successfully. Then I ended up getting a second, bigger one (as pictured). My routine was: dip in water every two weeks and then let dry out.
I started to worry it wasn’t enough water, though, because it was staying very tightly curled, and the tips were brown. I ended up starting to soak it for 1/2hr to 1hr every other week.
Now my big guy looks like this and I’m disappointed, to say the least.
Other context:
-I spray with fertilizer when I remember (maybe once a month during watering)
-I moved apartments but nothing really changed. Lighting is same, humidity (lack of) is the same, temp is the same
-I dry them upside down in front of a fan
Anybody successful with helping xerographica thrive? I love them so much but I seemed to lose my way.
In the wild xerographica gets most of its water through morning dew rather than rains. This dew tends to dry by the time the sun is really up.
I find that Xeros and streptos are some of the best air plants for misting for this reason. Xeric plants don’t necessarily need soaking unless incredibly dried out. Sometimes misting them twice a day for a couple days gets them healthy again without a soak.
The way that the bottom is dead but the top is still green does indicate that this was maybe watering issue, but every other week isn’t too much soaking usually and you dried them upside down so I’m not sure. I’ve had Medusas be super happy in the same place all year until the cold came and they didn’t dry as well. They all rotted come winter.
I’m sorry about your beautiful plant, OP ❤️ it happens to all of us at some point.
It was probably the soaking. I like to mist mine and when ive been bad about remembering to do that I’ll soak it upside down in a half an inch to an inch of water , so only the leafy bits are in the water, and then let it dry in that position so the water doesn’t run into the base. It’s also pretty humid where i live for 8 months out of the year, so i try to take that into account with all my plants.
This one is toast, but for the next one, it’s not only about watering. People like to blame watering for everything when it comes to tillys, but xeros are also high light plants. They need a lot of indirect light. If they don’t get enough light, it makes them way more likely to rot or die in general.
I soak mine regularly and have had them for years without issue. But I also have them in front of a window that gets bright light from sunrise until about midday.
No matter how careful you are with watering, if they don’t get enough light, they will suffer from it. Idk your lighting situation, but this may be helpful for next time. And the key to watering is just making sure there’s no standing water left. After I soak mine, I put them upside down for about an hour to make sure all leftover water gets drained out.