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bruggirl

Mounting tillandsias

bruggirl
19 years ago

I just read the message where someone said not to put sphagnum moss around the tillandsias when you mount them. What is the best way to mount them? I just purchased three tiny lovelies in bloom, and would like to make sure they survive. When I bought them, they were just lying in trays in an open air greenhouse, so I'm assuming that they should just be left in the open air, but how do I get them to stay on the driftwood?

Comments (11)

  • martha56
    19 years ago

    If you want to mount your tillandsia use either E 6000 glue that you can buy at any craft store or Liquid Nails that is available at the hardware store. If you want to be able to remove the plants from the wood attach them with a little piece of velcro instead of using the glue method.Tillandsia need good air circulation and most like fairly bright but indirect sunlight and high humidity.They do not like to have water sitting in their crowns or on their base either for that matter,as this can cause it to rot and the plant to die.
    Hope this helps.
    Have fun with your'tiny lovelies'!

  • luxum
    19 years ago

    For some reason it feels wrong to me to glue my tillandsias to the mounting, although that is a very popular method and i don't think there is really anything wrong with it.

    Most of my tillis are simply suspended via hemp twine tied off to the rack my orchids hang in, that way i can hit them all with the watering can at once. I just run the twine under an outer leaf base and tie it off loosely. I have a few "mounted" to some driftwood, they are tied on with the same string. The twine is a natural unbleached color and holds up to watering suprisingly well, the oldest in my collection have been on the same string for 5 years now. The ones that are suspended seem to grow much better for me than ones that are on wood, i have no idea why, better air circulation perhaps.

  • martha56
    19 years ago

    Although i talked about gluing,I failed to mention that I don't glue mine either.....All mine hang from "decorative "chain that I purchased from the local hardware store for pennies.I confiscated some of my daughter's plastic hair clips(flower and butterfly shapes in asst'd colors from Wal-Mart) and clipped the plants to the chain which I can hang from trees outside in the summer or from a hook in the ceiling in the cold temps.To water them I just drop the whole thing into a 5 gallon bucket of water that's been prepared for these plants.I don't want to spend hours of time watering these when I have to spend that kind of time already with my orchids!

  • madabouteu
    19 years ago

    I see a possible problem - the chain may be a source of toxic metals. Copper in particular is poison to bromeliads.

  • martha56
    19 years ago

    uh-oh! THANKS!!!!

  • barbarat
    19 years ago

    Another 'no glue' idea is to put the tils in small baskets found at a craft store.

  • JessMonkie
    19 years ago

    Funny, I don't like the thought of gluing them either. Just seems unnatural to me. I've been wondering about other options. This is great info. Does anyone know another way of gettin' your hands on some "tilli's" without payin' crazy prices for them? I found some ball moss which is everywhere but I'd like to get some pretty flowering ones on a cheap budget.

    Thanks,
    Jess

  • madabouteu
    19 years ago

    Go to the BSI website to find a listing of bromeliad dealers. On the opening page click the line that says "Where to Get Them?"

    Here is a link that might be useful: BSI website

  • grega
    19 years ago

    Below is a picture of a mounting I did using E6000 glue. I got the plants at the Winter Garden Plant Festival last week.
    In the past I have used 6 lb. test monofiliment fishing line. I would tie them onto the mounting surface.
    I think I will like the glue better myself.

    Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:443903}}

  • owlz
    17 years ago

    To give my tills a home i found a dead-wood tree top in the woods and leaned it over my radiator for a week to dry-out. I went to the local hardware store and bought a large pot and a can of expanding foam. Some rocks were tossed in the pot to make it harder to tip over, the tree top placed in and foam applied around it. Some of the tills sit happily on there own around branch stubs or in nooks and cranies, but, for the others I used peat-pots and a staple gun. There have been some problems though. I've found that the peat-pot baskets can retain moisture for too long and lead to rot. So I'm planning on getting some poly-coated screen to build new baskets with. When preparing to apply the foam you should find something to support the dead-wood or be prepared to hold it steady for about an hour. Learned that the hard way. When applying the foam it will expand through the rocks and drainage holes, so have newspaper underneath to protect your floors. Once it sets you can easily cut or break off the foam that leaked out. Also, when I applied the foam I did it at once and several days later the expanded foam shrank so I would recommend working in layers. The last thing I plan on doing differently next time is setting the dead-wood further back in the pot (not centered) so that I have enough space for my hoya at the base so that it can have something to grow up like the epiphyte it is.

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