A member of thebromeliad family, sky plant blooms once in its lifetime with a small purple inflorescence.
This plant can be kept outdoors in warm climates year-round or kept indoors as an attractive, low-maintenance houseplant.
Tillandsia Ionantha Care
Here’s how to care for tillandsia ionatha:
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Light
Air plantslike tillandsia ionatha require bright, indirect light or dappled sunlight.
Direct sunlight is too strong and can burn their foliage.
Soil
Sky plants grow without soil, so no potting mix or container is needed.
Water
Tillandsia ionatha absorb water through their leaves, not their roots.
Avoid using tap water, filtered water, or distilled water.
Instead, collect rainwater or use spring waterboth of which contain minerals the plant needsto soak your sky plant.
Submerge and soak plants for 30 minutes to one hour.
Afterward, shake out the plant and place it upside down to dry for several hours.
When plants are in bloom, avoid getting flowers wet.
Instead, soak them with the flower above the water line or mist them.
Group it together with other humidity-loving foliage plants or run a small humidifier nearby.
Older, dying leaves can be pulled or sipped off at the base.
Brown or damaged tips can also be carefully trimmed away while leaving the rest of the leaf intact.
After a healthy tillandsia ionatha has bloomed, it will form offsets if conditions are right.
Ample light, regular water, high humidity, and regular fertilizer can all promote the formation of offsets.
Here’s how to propagate sky plant.
Watch out for signs of scale andmealybugs.
Remove infestations by dabbing insects away with a cotton swab or ball soaked in rubbing alcohol.
Fungal diseases triggered by overly wet conditions can also damage or kill sky plant.
When it’s preparing to bloom, your plant’s leaves will take on a reddish hue.
How Long Does Tillandsia Ionantha Bloom?
What Do Tillandsia Ionantha Flowers Look and Smell Like?
Sky plant flowers are small, tube-shaped, and purple, with tiny yellow stamens in the center.
Blooms may be single or multiple.
This will clean up the appearance of your plant while also helping to promote offsets.
Move the plant further from the light source and double-check it’s not in direct sun.
Tillandsia ionatha can grow up to 1 foot tall and 8 inches wide.
Depending on conditions and care, a healthy tillandsia ionatha can live from 3 to 15 years.
you might touch your tillandsia ionatha as necessary to move, water, or otherwise care for it.
Air Plants (Tillandsia).Cornell Cooperative Extension.
