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Tillandsia
Polita is an obscure and rare species. Medium sized to 12
in or so, with an attractive inflorescence consisting of
bright reddish orange branches on an erect stem.
The bracts are purple. The many leaves are silvery over
green and somewhat speckled on the underside. The plant
comes from Honduras, where it occurs in the far north.
This plant is a really nice specie, rarely seen.
The culture of the tillandsia in a vegetative state is
rather easy if the humidity of the atmosphere is high.
However the flowering of the plant is more difficult to
obtain. Moreover, the plant decays slowly and dies a few
years after its flowering. The rejections which appear at
the base will flower in their turn a few years later.
Recover the rejections when the plant mother is
desiccated and place them in small pots.
Hardiness zone: 10 (1°C/35°F). The tillandsia requires
a sharp light in summer and sun in winter. Place it close
to a window directed at the west in summer and the south
in winter. The ideal temperature in summer is 22 to 24
ºC. In winter the temperature can be cooler (18 to 16
ºC) but it should not go lower than 13 ºC. The
tillandsia is demanding on the level of moisture. Keep
the water content of the air high. If you do not have a
humidifier, regularly vaporize the plant with water at
room temperature. If you cultivate it in a pot, place it
on a wet gravel bed. Eliminate the yellowed leaves, cut
the inflorescence after flowering and vaporize the
foliage regularly.
The tillandsia develops few roots. This is why it is
often fixed on pieces of wood or plates of bark using
wire, with the roots surrounded by foam of sphagnum. Its
installation can take place anytime in the year, except
during flowering. The tillandsia can also be cultivated
out of a pot if the substrate is porous and drains well.
In this case, you can use fibers of Osmond, sphagnum moss
or sphagnum peat, and pearlite like substrate, and gravel
for the bottom of the pot. This plant once out of pot
should almost never be repotted.
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