Tillandsia ID x 5

[andrew__]

So I've been (compulsively) collecting Tillandsias for a little over a year now but none have really taken off for me (a number of reasons I'm sure! - and I'm pretty sure what most of those are ). I was just sort of wondering what types I have so I can maybe look after them a but better. They're kept at about 70% humidity with infrequent misting.

My stick:



plant 1





Plant 2





Plant 3





Plant 4





Plant 5





For size reference the stick is 10 inches tall. I guess the top's a little cut off but that's somewhere around 8-9 inches of the stick.

[andrew__]

I just found an old picture of Plant 4, it used to be a purple colour:

[Frogtofall]

I'm horrid with Tillies. I guess b/c I don't grow them but Plant 1 *looks* like one of the many T. ionantha clones. I think there are many species that look alike foliage wise and perhaps posting again once they bloom would be a good way to solidify their IDs.

Good luck! I'm sure there are some others here who have better guesses on all of them for you.

[andrew__]

That's what I was leaning towards with that one as well. Most of these are HD types, all should be very common

Plant 5 was a garden center rescue (it had fallen off a display piece and one of the people in tropicals gave it to me) but I think I got and killed one that came with Plant 4 from HD that was the same.

So... I'll increase light to try and get them to flower. Sounds good

[andrew__]

After looking around a lot (with little luck) I'm leaning towards plants 1, 2 & 3 all being T. ionantha clones. No real leads on plants 4 or 5 yet though. Maybe Tillandsia juncea for 5?

[AlexD]

I would guess stricta on 5, but I could be way off.

[back2eight]

The numbering on your pictures is hard to figure out. I can't tell if the number for the plant is below or above the pic. Throwing your numbers out the window, what it looks like you have is an Ionantha Mexico, Ionantha Guatemala, Ionantha selecta cross, another ionantha-probalby guatemaula again (that s what the 2 pics with the baby plant look like) , then the next 2 pics look like an albida, and then the last 2 look like juncea. None of them look very healthy though.

Since you are on a tillandsia buying spree, you definitely need to check back with me later. Right now I'm almost completely out, but I'm expanding my greenhouse and getting ready to put in another big order for some more very soon. In the meantime, if you can think of one you would like to have, let me know and I will try to add it to my list when I order them.

[back2eight]

on further consideration of that last picture, I think it is a festucoides instead of a juncea. They look similar, but the juncea is fuller, a little bigger. I can't tell detail in the pic, but if it has green leaves going towards pink at the end, it would be juncea. If it seems like it might be green with stripes or polka dots along the leaf, then it is festucoides. If it is a juncea, it is a small one. Probably festucoides as they tend to be smaller.

[andrew__]

Thanks for the IDs. I've been keeping them in pretty low light which is probably one reason they don't look so great. #s were above the images, 2 pictures per plant. Recently moved them near a window and misting lightly daily to improve health.

The festucoides / juncea was a very recent rescue and most of the leaves look dry and brown some good new growth on it (big improvement) and hopefully with the higher light it'll start to look more like one or the other.

Plant 1 Ionantha Mexico looks about right
Plant 2 Ionantha Guatemala ok, also looks right to me

Now it's my turn to get confused!
Then you mention an Ionantha selecta cross - I'm not sure which plant you're referring to here!

Plant 3 (with pup) another ionantha-probalby guatemaula again
Plant 4 albida also looks reasonable
Plant 5 festucoides/juncea we'll have to see once it grows a bit more.

As for ordering new ones I'm going to try to get culture down for these before I start getting new ones!

Thanks for the help

[back2eight]

Plant #4 is the one I was saying is probably Ionantha selecta. It could be a straight selecta, but I'm leaning more towards the cross. Higher light and very frequent mistings will bring out the color in these and perk them up some.