My experience is mostly with ionathas so I’m not sure how to treat these thicker leaved, crunchier varieties. I noticed the few leaves it has seem pretty curled in, does this mean it’s thirsty and they open up flat when hydrated? Or should I wait to water until it feels wilted instead of firm and crunchy?
Also… slim boi doesn’t fit in my holders! How shall I suspend it near the window?
by ADHD-tax-return
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This is tillandsia pseudobailey and the purple highlights you see on its base mean that the plant is growing under optimal light conditions, so no variegation, sorry! 🙂 It is a very beautiful specimen, not particularly thirsty-looking at the moment but I’m pretty sure it might appreciate some water nonetheless! Contrary to widespread popular beliefs, tillandsia do not die because of overwatering (there’s no such thing with these plants), they simply rot when they’re not properly helped to get dry fast. To prevent this, just put them upside down during and after every watering and make sure they’re completely dry in 3 to 4 hours, using a fan to speed up the process if necessary.
If a tilly is thirsty, the leaves get quite droopy, the colors are more dull and the plant starts to feel kind of weightless. This doesn’t seem the case with your pseudobailey, but again a quick sip won’t hurt it! 😉
For those varieties that I have yet to figure out a watering routine, I weigh them on a kitchen scale that is accurate to 1 decimal place. This will be my optimal baseline reading. About 4 to 5 days later, I will weigh it again before watering it – dunking, under running tap, soaking – whichever method I’m trying out, then I’ll leave it to dry for about 4 hours and then weigh it again. If it regains the weight from water loss, then I’ll stick to that method of watering.
Example – butzii pre soak 2.9g, post soak 3.5g
By about day 6/7 it goes back down to 2.9g so I know it’s time to water again. It looks healthy, I see new leaf and root growth, so I stick to this routine. I’ve killed many butziis and had to resort to this to try and figure it out. I don’t baby all my airplants, just the ones difficult for my environment. Have fun 🙂
I usually water mine in fish tank water…they love it soo far