Genus Tillandsia: The World's Most Unusual Airplants

bark, shells, ceramics, etc. also serve the purpose of providing an attractive background and mounting for tillandsias. In recent years beautiful and realistic figurines of animals, fish, birds, Halloween pumpkins and skulls, and special skulls for Day of the Dead have become more and more popular. Glass globes of various shapes and sizes with air plants inside have become mainstream.

Mounting most species of Tillandsia on grapewood or some other wood material is simple. The smaller species may be glued directly onto the surface of the wood. If there is a small, natural depression in an appropriate mounting spot, use it for the root base. If you like, a drill can be used to sculpt a small hole or depression to better anchor the plant. However, be careful to avoid attaching the plant deep into a hole that will cover up much of the plant base.

A word of caution! Plants that are stuck into holes often rot when the base becomes wet and does not have an opportunity to dry from a lack of air circulation. This mistake often occurs when people put the plants too far down into the opening of a seashell. Another problem is sometimes encountered when a giant swath of sphagnum moss is wrapped around the Above: Tilly HangerTM is a soft flexible wire offered in a dozen colors that is used to hang tillandsias in the air to show off their true epiphytic nature and to effectively utilize vertical spaces indoors and out. Epiphytes DelightTM is a well-balanced fertilizer that is specifically made for plants that grow without soil bound roots.

Tilly TackerTM is a styrene based adhesive that is water proof, permanent, and is applied at room temperatures which makes it an ideal material to use for attaching tillandsias to a mount.

Paul T. Isley III 25