Sunday, November 8, 2009

By robin robinson Key West Garden Club

Ironically, the one plant with the word "land" in its name is a plant that does not need any land at all. Tillandsia does not need anything but air and water to grow.

The Key West Garden Club has mounted a number of the air plants from this prolific genus from the Bromeliad family on driftwood and will have these unique pieces for sale at the Garden Club's Fall Plant and Art Sale Nov. 21-22.

The Tillandsia genus is native to Central and South America and has more than 400 members. As you can imagine, with that many plants, there is a wide variation in how it may look.

Spanish moss is a T. usneoides with its small, pale-blue or green, fragrant flowers, as is Medusa's head (T. caput-medusa) with its snake-like arms that emerge from a bulbous base, and blushing bride (T. ionantha) whose leaves blush red before it blooms with a vivid, violet flower. All of these will be available at the Garden Club sale.

A Tillandsia lives on nutrients gathered from the air through structures on its leaves called trichomes. It likes to be misted so that its leaves can efficiently extract nutrients. Here in Key West, the air is often so humid that the plants need no special care during the summer months.

Let your misting water sit a day to evaporate the chlorine before spraying on air plants Watering is tricky. If they do not have enough water and you can see the leaves curling under, you can submerge the plant in water overnight, and then let it dry out. Go light on the fertilizer.

A Tillandsia likes a lot of indirect light. With so many varieties in the Bromeliad family it is important to check carefully on a plant's specific needs as it may vary considerably.

Their sizes vary as well. The shape of a plant's leaves could be twisted, undulating or curved or grass-like. The informative book "Bromeliads for Modern Living" by Louis Wilson calls them "peculiar" and "curious." That's why so many people like to collect them.

An air plant can be propagated from seed, but it will take seven years to reach maturity. Most air plants reproduce by having pups. The mother may have as many as 15 pups. In nature, many air plants live in colonies.

If you want to transplant one, wait until the pup is one-third as big as the mother and then remove it. This often will stimulate the mother plant to produce more pups. After blooming spectacular spikes of pink, red, lavender or purple, the mother plant will die over the course of a year.

An air plant can grow on a tree, rock, shell or almost anything. It is not parasitic, using its base only for support.

When re-mounting a pup, be sure that it has good air circulation. First, coat the cut end with rooting powder. Then glue the plant to the medium of choice with Liquid Nails and tie it firmly. Small roots need to grow into its host's surface, and if it wiggles, the roots won't take hold. This does not hurt the tree or driftwood.

One note on driftwood: If you get the driftwood from the ocean, soak it in water overnight to remove most of the salt before tying your air plant to it.

Tillandsia was named by the noted botanist Carolus Linnaeus after the Swedish botanist Dr. Elias Tillandz (1640-1693). It is used as the primary ingredient in an herbal supplement that treats pollen allergies.

Artists at the Key West Garden Club have designed a series of these curious portable gardens available at the Garden Club's Fall Plant Sale. An air plant makes a great gift as it travels and ships well. It is not toxic to animals and can be kept in the house.

Stop by the Garden Club to see the unusual Halloween flower arrangements. The Garden Club is open from 9:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. The club also welcomes volunteers to pull weeds, propagate and play in the sandy soil from 9 a.m. to noon Mondays.

Key West Garden Club's master gardener Robin Robinson was a columnist at the Chicago Daily News and syndicated by Princeton Features. Her book, "Peeling the Onion: Reversing the Ravages of Stroke," can be found on Amazon.com. This column is part of a series developed by the Key West Garden Club. Visit http://www.keywestgardenclub.com.