Tillandsia Sweet Isabel
Tillandsia Sweet Isabel is a cute little caulescent plant which is a hybrid between Tectorum and Paleacea. It grows about 6 to 8 inches long, with 2 inch fuzzy silver leaves. It’s not as fuzzy as the Tectorum parent, but still very fuzzy. In its inflorescence it produces a central flower stalk, with dark red bracts, from which small lavender flowers sprout.
Tillandsia Sweet Isabel is a prolific, fast-grower air plant that produces many offsets and forming clumps fairly quickly. The scape is about 6 inches long with purple flowers. You can grow it hanging from a string or just mount it. It is a very easy plant for beginners, but a nice plant for any collection.
If you want to grow air plants indoors and the air is dry, you will need to mist it frequently and keep it near a window where the air flows.
Soak your Tillandsia Sweet Isabel once a week in a bowl of water for some time. You can also mist your plant with a spray bottle once a day if it needs more water between the soakings. It absorbs water through leaves instead of roots. Gently shake off any excessive water from the leaves of the air plant after each watering. Place your air plants somewhere with good air circulation to dry them completely within 4 hours of watering.
The air plants are unusual, in that they can grow on almost anything without the need for soil. The Tillandsia, AKA air plant, is native to Mexico, Costa Rica, Central America and parts of South America, and has become a popular ornamental plant throughout the world. The small air plant produces a colourful array of shoots, ranging from pink to blue to purple. While these plants appear difficult to grow due to their unusual characteristics, air plants are very hardy and air plant care is simple. In fact, you mostly just need to mist the air plant occasionally.
