Ignore the potted succulent. That mf will survive anything- but as for the others, I soak them all in distilled water for about 15 minutes once a week, and if they're especially dry I sprinkle them half way through the week too. Then I keep them all upside down for about half an hour. Big one probably has a rotted core, but the purple striped one is just having such a hard time it's making me so sad. It's so fucking brown at the tips. Same for the blue (dyed?) one.
I've already killed one. Please. I just want my damn plants to live 😭
by Trops1130
1 Comment
My opinion is that brown tips are unavoidable for most at home growers. The natural range of most tillandsia is hot and humid. The closer you get to the equator the more species you’ll find. Growing in 85-95% humidity means they’re not used to getting all their water in bulk, once or twice a week, but rather by wicking it out of the air constantly. The big nurseries will harden the plants they sell to a dryer environment, but even then they’re growing outdoors and in greenhouses where they can be watered more frequently and dried slower. You can increase the frequency of watering but if you’re growing indoors you’re making yourself more susceptible to rot.
FWIW, turning your plants upside-down to dry can help but isn’t an all encompassing means to avoid rot. It’s important to get any water trapped in-between the leaves out, but more important is high light and constant airflow. The plant won’t dry adequately if it doesn’t have the tools to use the water you’ve given it, regardless of whether you’ve gotten the pooling water out or not.