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brom_adorer

Sowing Tillandsia seed

brom_adorer
14 years ago

My T. butzii has finally gone to seed, and my question is, how do I go about sowing it? I had heard it can be done on flywire, but does it need to be placed over a moist medium, or just misted daily or what? I have about 5 pods, so am willing to try a few different suggestions. I have been told its a long slow process, but then so has the Vriesea heiroglyphica seed! he he. (which, by the way, ended up on the floor of the fernery in Wednesdays wind!)

All help would be greatly appreciated.

BA

{{gwi:491913}}

Comments (15)

  • turtlewalker
    14 years ago

    I can't hepl, but

    This one way. See link.

    Here is a link that might be useful: DIFFERENT WAYS TO GROW TILLANDSIAS FROM SEED

  • User
    14 years ago

    A simple way is to cut sections of window screen into squares, label the pieces, lay the seed out then mist. Keep in a well-lit, airy place and mist daily or when dry. You might see green flecks in a month. Any tillandsia germination process is excruciatingly slow.

  • bromadams
    14 years ago

    I've been spreading my extra Tillandsia seeds on my favorite tree and some do germinate. The seedlings in the photo are 5 months old and have some nice root growth taking place. Maybe I just got lucky by putting out the seeds right before we had 23 straight days of rain, but maybe getting hit by the sprinklers 3 times a week would be enough too, I just don't know yet.

    {{gwi:491914}}

  • brom_adorer
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks you guys! Turtlewalker, thank you for the link. There is alot of useful and technical info there.
    Gonzer, thanks also, I think I will try the mesh, aswell as the oeser sticks method, maybe using casuarina branches.
    Bromadams, your Tills look very healthy! If I thought we had a chance of rain in the next few days, weeks, or months, I would try a tree too, but its very dry here.

    How would it go if I put the mesh over a container of water to increase the humidity?
    I'll try a batch in the fernery (green 70% shadecloth, in partially treed/shadey area)
    and another in the brom house (beige 70% shadecloth, in full sun, rather warm area)
    I was thinking of using cocoa fibre in the sticks, as I thought it might not rot as quickly as leaves?
    Anyway, I will keep a record and see how it goes. I shall have to be very disciplined to mist them twice a day! I will try though.
    Thanks again for the help and advise and the pictures. (love them pictures)
    BA

  • sunshine_qld
    14 years ago

    You could use a solid [small] tree branch potted in sand to try your seed on also. It would be ok under the shadecloth misted twice a day.

  • bromadams
    14 years ago

    Tillandsias will germinate on coconut fiber mats but I don't know if they will grow happily there in the long term. These seeds were sown about the same time as the ones on the tree but are a different species. I just put a piece of coconut mat in a clear plastic food container and set it on the shelf where they get misted once a day. I have some more seeds coming and I'm going to try the coconut mat hung vertically and see if that makes and difference. They should get more light when the mat is hung up rather than laid flat.

    {{gwi:491915}}

  • sanga
    14 years ago

    Hi BA
    Up here in the far n coast the tilly seeds grow on almost anything but I have to water them twice a day in the warmer weather.I grow mine on mostly old fly screens but I have a few on shade cloth wrapped around pieces of foam. When I get really lazy I just hang shade cloth from the roof and stick the seeds to it.{{gwi:491916}}
    {{gwi:491917}}{{gwi:491919}}

    Sanga

  • splinter1804
    14 years ago

    Hi Brom adorer

    A friend of mine has young tilly seedlings growing all over the branches of a bottle brush tree he has in his garden as the result of self sown seeds from plants he mounted on the branches in the past, so that is maybe another option for you to try.

    Firstly let me say that I don't usually grow Tillys and would never try to claim the success growing seed demonstrated by my northern NSW and Qld neighbours. However a friend gave me some Til. Butsii seed a while back and I tried it using the same method I use for the Neo's, i.e. on top of coco-peat in a plastic take-away container. In this case I used 75% coco-peat to 25% Perlite to open the mix up a bit more than I usually do and just scattered the seed on top. They did germinate and grow, albiet very, very slowly and after about a year I thinned them out, but their growth seemed to stop at that stage and they seemed to have remained at this size ever since.

    They also had a setback last week when the strong winds blew the container off the shelf on which it was situated.Now that they've had a "shake up" I may now try transplanting them onto some tree fern fibre, cork or other type of bark to see if this starts them growing again, so only time will tell. They cost me nothing so anything's worth a try.

    Below is a pic. of them, and they must now be about a couple of years old and as you can see, still very small.This method of growing is pretty slow for me but then it suits me, as I'm pretty slow myself these days.

    {{gwi:491920}}

    All the best, Nev.

  • User
    14 years ago

    Good timing on this post, my varigated T. ionantha gave me a huge pod split open with a ton of seed yesterday.
    Sanga, your set-up is mind blowing! That's a LOT of seedlings ya got there!

  • brom_adorer
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Great info again everyone, and Sanga, what I want to know is, how you get the seeds to stay on the mesh e.t.c. It seems that they dry out very quickly and look to want to blow away in the slightest breeze. The oesser sticks are ok, because I tied the seed on with cotton.
    Nev, if I can get mine to the stage of yours, I would be thrilled. After reading up on all the links e.t.c, I can see it will be a test of patience, but so far, so good. I've watered them 2-3 times a day so far!
    Thanks again, Sunshine, Bromadams, Sanga and Nev, and I'm glad others are getting use from this thread too Gonzer.
    BA

  • vriesea
    14 years ago

    I would grow the Till. seed on a growing medium as for Vrieseas ,it makes them easier to transplant ,and they will get nourishment from the mix,with any of the Tillandsiodii seeds ,you can not afford to let them dry out for any lenght of time ,and they make roots just like any other brom does ,yes they even like a bit of fertiliser eventually . Jack

  • brom_adorer
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    I've been giving my seedlings (aechmea, neo, vriesea, alc) a mist with orchid fert, sometimes before or after I mist with water, and so far all look pretty good. I was thinking of doing the same with the Tills. Is there a better form/brand of fert that would suit broms specifically? Would they need higher nitrogen at this stage, just to grow more foliage?
    BA

  • chuck_greenthumb
    13 years ago

    i just recently bought a till without realizing that it had been seeding (didnt notice til i got home and read some forums about being about to get more of them through that way, also fairly new to tillys.) so im curious as to how do you tell the difference between seed and the casing it's in and whether or not i oughtta try pulling out the seeds. the tilly looks like it's flowered already. and there are at least two little tillys growing on it already.

  • chuck_greenthumb
    13 years ago

    also, could you prop a tilly onto the branch of a ficus?