Tillandsia brachycaulos is distributed from southern Mexico to Venezuela (Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Venezuela). It grow in lowland deciduous, semi-deciduous forests (oak and pine-oak forests) and desert shrublands and thickets but also occurs in gallery, wet montane and cloud forests, on roadsides, in riparian habitats, and as saxicolous on rocky slopes, cliffs, in fields and pastures at elevation from sea level to 2000 meters.
Tillandsia brachycaulos, also called as Tillandsia cryptantha, Tillandsia bradeana, Tillandsia flammea, is a species of the genus Tillandsia. This species was described by Diederich Franz Leonhard von Schlechtendal in 1845.
IDENTIFY TILLANDSIA BRACHYCAULOS AIR PLANT
Tillandsia brachycaulos is distributed from southern Mexico to Venezuela (Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Venezuela). It grow in lowland deciduous, semi-deciduous forests (oak and pine-oak forests) and desert shrublands and thickets but also occurs in gallery, wet montane and cloud forests, on roadsides, in riparian habitats, and as saxicolous on rocky slopes, cliffs, in fields and pastures at elevation from sea level to 2000 meters.
It an atmospheric, mainly epiphytic, bromeliad, medium sized air plant (25-30 cm), with numerous, triangular, 20 cm long on average leaves that form a non-regular rosette. The leaves are a beautiful light green but can turn red, even before flowering, if the brightness is quite strong.
This species blooms from the inflorescence that does not emerge from the plant, carrying few flowers (1 or 2). The bracts of the flowering stem and the primary bracts are similar to the leaves and very bright red-orange. The floral bracts are streaked and glabrous. The flowers are sessile, tubular, 4 cm long, dark purple to pale purple.
TILLANDSIA BRACHYCAULOS AIR PLANT CARE AND CULTURE
Cultural information should only be used as a guide, and should be to be adapted to suit you. Your physical location; where you grow your plants, how much time you have to devote to their care, and many other factors, will need to be taken into account. Only then can you decide on the cultural methods that best suit you and your plants.
Light:
Tillandsia brachycaulos requires good light, avoiding full sun in the summer afternoon. Place the plant very close to a window indoors in winter and preferably outside in mid-shade in the summer.
Temperature:
The required temperature ranging from 10 to 32°C. Get it early enough in the fall if you grow it outside, so that it does not face night temperatures below 4 or 5 ° C, especially if it is wet. The plants can faced temperatures close to 0 ° C (sheltered and dry) for a few hours without damage.
Humidity:
It need a moderate level of humidity. Good aeration is required, the plant must dry quickly (in less than an hour).
Substrate, growing media and repotting:
Tillandsia brachycaulos refer to be mounted on a solid substrate that does not retain water. You can glue the plant directly to the surface with a strong adhesive, or you can wire the plant to the base. Don't cover the base of the plant with moss or it may rot. It can be grown on almost any imaginable decorative mount, including shells, rocks, slate, driftwood, etc. Group them in decorative clumps for maximum effect.
Watering:
Twice a week in summer, once a week in winter according to the luminosity and the ambient humidity. Obviously when it rains and if you grow it outside, it counts as a watering.
Fertilizer:
This air plant can be fertilized with the moderate doses. 1 to 2 times a month in the summer and 1 time a month in the winter.
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