# Tillandsia cyanea help



## qdude46 (May 1, 2013)

So I wish to make room for one of these in my crested gecko viv as my local Home Depot always has them and I could use some color. I've got mixed answers on planting them. Some say they are one of the few tillys that can be in soil, others say to mount them. Can you do both? I want to put one in the bottom right of my viv so it will bush outward with a big flower. Any help is appreciated, thank you!


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## Groundhog (Dec 17, 2006)

I would not plant a _Tillandsia cyanea_ in the substrate. _T. cyanea_ grows as an epiphyte in semi-shaded, moist conditions, somewhat more humid than that of crested geckos. The reason it is usually sold and grown in small pots is because it will dry out in normal home conditions. Conversely, like many bromeliads, it will rot in moist substrate. 

Let's get busy:

1) While it has a nice spike, it does not last forever; as the mother plant dies it will pup;
2) Since your tank is probably not super-humid, I would not mount it like a grey-leaved tillandsia. Still want to use it? Plant it in a small net pot in coco chips or seedling orchid bark. Elevate the pot off the floor in good light (leave room for the inflorescence). You can easily hide the pot with cork ;
3) Spray with aged water or bottled water (tap water will burn its leaves). Spray every other day in winter; every day in summer. Feed occasionally with a foliar fertilizer that is animal-safe; I use and recommend Dynagro.
4) A better choice for the floor spot would a smaller fern, like Korean rock fern, button fern or heart fern. If you "have" to have color, then get a cryptanthus (Home Depot often has "red starlite").

There are also better tillandsia choices for your set up than _T. cyanea_; I realize these are not readily available. If you are ever at a herp expo with a plant vendor, look into _Tillandsia melanocrater_ (form. T. tricolor melanocrater),_ T. geminiflora_ and _T. punctulata_ (of these, melanocrater is probably the easiest, i.e., most tolerant and forgiving). However, if you can provide the cyanea with good light and decent humidity, it should be okay. Hopefully, Antone will see this and chime in. 

Hope this helps.

P. S.

When buying a small bromeliad in a big box e.g., Home Depot, be patient and go for the plants in low bud; these often seem to adapt better to planting/mounting (plants in full flower spend all their energy on flowering).




qdude46 said:


> So I wish to make room for one of these in my crested gecko viv as my local Home Depot always has them and I could use some color. I've got mixed answers on planting them. Some say they are one of the few tillys that can be in soil, others say to mount them. Can you do both? I want to put one in the bottom right of my viv so it will bush outward with a big flower. Any help is appreciated, thank you!


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## qdude46 (May 1, 2013)

My background that I currently have is an exo terra foam one on the back and the sides is just silicone with coco fiber on it. I've heard it doesn't but does silicone stick to cured silicone? Could I maybe push it up against the silicon with coco fiber do you think or is that not good enough for grip for the roots?


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## Groundhog (Dec 17, 2006)

qdude46 said:


> My background that I currently have is an exo terra foam one on the back and the sides is just silicone with coco fiber on it. I've heard it doesn't but does silicone stick to cured silicone? Could I maybe push it up against the silicon with coco fiber do you think or is that not good enough for grip for the roots?


Silicone does not bond well to cured silicone. I recommend that you trim the plant's roots and plant it in a small net pot with orchid bark--it needs a bit more moisture at the roots (think of a small guzmania or vriesea). You can hang this on the background, and hide the net pot with a log or piece of cork. 

*-OR-*

--you have seen those cork rounds and cork tubes? Or those tree fern pots? You can orient one vertically and plant the tillandsia in that. use orchid bark and/or tree fern fiber as substrate; good for the roots but still drains well. 

If your tank is so humid that you can mount this plant, that is probably too much ambient humidity for a crested gecko. Cresties appreciate humidity, but they do need some fresh air. (If you look up New Caledonia, you shall find it is more similar to Hawaii than to south Florida).


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## qdude46 (May 1, 2013)

Thank you! You don't think a two inch net pot would work do you? I could probably just get a cork round though, they sell them at a pet supply near me.


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## Groundhog (Dec 17, 2006)

You mean the small net pots they use for aquatic plants? Why not? Either should work--have fun!



qdude46 said:


> Thank you! You don't think a two inch net pot would work do you? I could probably just get a cork round though, they sell them at a pet supply near me.


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## epiphytes etc. (Nov 22, 2010)

It's been my experience that T. cyanea does best mounted to very porous wood (hygrolon would probably work well, too), in low (ok) to medium (much better) light. Air circulation doesn't seem to matter much, as they grow and bloom equally well, for me, in sealed terraria and the greenhouse. They will suffer if kept too dry, hot or bright.


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## Groundhog (Dec 17, 2006)

This is all true, Jason--but the OP says this is for a *crested gecko* set up, which should not be that humid. I would be hesitant to mount a _T. cyanea_ in an airy cage.




epiphytes etc. said:


> It's been my experience that T. cyanea does best mounted to very porous wood (hygrolon would probably work well, too), in low (ok) to medium (much better) light. Air circulation doesn't seem to matter much, as they grow and bloom equally well, for me, in sealed terraria and the greenhouse. They will suffer if kept too dry, hot or bright.


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## qdude46 (May 1, 2013)

The net pot I have is from the plants that you can buy at petco, they had a dracaena I liked so I bought it. My worry is the roots will be to big for it though. For substrate, I inow you said orchid bark and I know neherp mix has that in it. Could I just pull out the bark in my leftover bag and use that, I just feel buying $8 bag of orchid bark would be wasteful when I'll only use a little bit of it.


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## Groundhog (Dec 17, 2006)

Trim the roots and use the NE Herp mix, it drains well.



qdude46 said:


> The net pot I have is from the plants that you can buy at petco, they had a dracaena I liked so I bought it. My worry is the roots will be to big for it though. For substrate, I inow you said orchid bark and I know neherp mix has that in it. Could I just pull out the bark in my leftover bag and use that, I just feel buying $8 bag of orchid bark would be wasteful when I'll only use a little bit of it.


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## qdude46 (May 1, 2013)

Could I just put it in the neherp already at the bottom or just the bark?


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## qdude46 (May 1, 2013)

Also, how do i process it? Do the bleach solution or soak it in purified water for a few hours like most tillandsias?


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## Groundhog (Dec 17, 2006)

1) NE Herp Mix: Simply use it! It is already clean, I see no need to sterilize it. It drains well, but you can clear out some coco to make it 50 % bark.

2) The plant: Look, I Just rinse and soak my plants; the double-secret sterilization protocol is for the other cats. A short dip in bleach solution followed by a rinse, 2-3 hr soak, rinse should be more than enough. 

btw: Where do you live? unless your water is hard, aged water should be fine--no need for "purified" water.


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## qdude46 (May 1, 2013)

Thank you! I'll just put it with a bunch of neherp bark. I'll let it root for a week or so and add the gecko. The tank has cycled for over a month and the crestie is currently in a quarantine tank. Here's a pic, I just added the schefflera and moved the peps to make space for he cyanea in the front right corner so it will bush out towards the middle. (The tilly wrapped by the wire won't stay like that, just until I get the cyanea and I can visualize a place for it)











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