Follow these easy steps and learn how quickly you can mount your own air plants.

I have to confess to being quite addicted to air plants (botanically known as Tillandsias). I stopped counting when I reached over 50 of these beauties in my collection. I pick them up from flower shows, bromeliad society meetings and online suppliers. To save money I almost always buy them unmounted and do it myself. It’s fun and easy. Just follow the steps below:

Materials Required
Air plants
Backing Material
Glue (the correct type)
Wire
Label

Step 1 – Select your mounting material
You can pretty much use anything you want but common materials are cork bark*, rocks, freshwater driftwood and other random pieces of wood. My preference is for anything that looks natural. I’m not really into air plants glued to a crystal and used as fridge magnets!

*Cork bark can often be purchased from your local bromeliad society.

Step 2 – Clean up your plants
Gently remove any dead or dying leaves from the base of the plant. You want to make sure that the glue has something solid to adhere to do.  Have a look at the image to the right.  See how the plant on the left has a few dead leaves clinging on and the plant on the right has a clean stem?  That’s what you want to aim for but don’t go overboard and pull off living leaves!

 Step 3 – Positioning the plant(s)
Spent a few minutes working out where to place your plants on the mounting material. Try a few different angles and spots to work out what looks the best.

Step 4 – Drill a hole in the backing material
Chances are you’re going to be hanging your airplant somewhere so drill a small hole now before you attach your plant. It’s easier to do it now as the plant can get in the way and you may damage it.

Step 5 – Attach your plant
Apply a small amount of glue to the mounting material and then push the base of the plant on to it. Hold it firmly until the glue begins to set. You may need to prop it against something so the plant stays in the right spot until the glue really hardens. How long this takes will depend on the glue you’re using. I always leave my for several hours or overnight.

There are two very important things to note regarding the glue:
* Not all glues are suitable. Some contain toxins which can harm your tillandsia and are best avoided. I use the green Selleys Liquid Nails which was recommended to me by the Bromeliad Society of Australia. It must be the green version. If you can’t get this type ask your local bromeliad society for other recommendations. Do not use hot glue guns as the heat can easily damage the plant tissue.
* When pushing the plant onto the glue do not entirely cover the stem or end part. These are the areas where the tillandsia will produce roots and covering in glue will restrict this. Have a look at the photos below to see how I have left an area clear of glue. Some tillandsias don’t produce roots at all but it doesn’t hurt to play it safe unless you know for certain that your particular plant will always be rootless.

Step 6 – Make a hook and label
If you are hanging your tillandsia then thread some wire through the hole you drilled earlier and fashion it into a hook. I like to keep track of the species or variety name so I also put a label on the wire and hide it at the back.

You are now ready to hang your air plant wherever you like! I told you it was easy.

PS Don’t forget to check out The Plant Addict Shop while you’re here.

You’ll find great gift ideas for garden lovers and fellow plant addicts!

Fancy a trip to the land which inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous book The Lost World?

The Guiana Highlands is a remote part of the world predominantly in Venezuela but stretching into Brazil and Guyana as well. It is an area of rainforest and savannah but dominated by over 100 immense sandstone plateaus.  These plateaus, locally called tepuis, are extremely difficult to reach.  Some are bounded by cliff faces up to 1,000 metres high. It is this isolation which has put them into evolutionary bubbles and lead to the creation of some amazing plants and animals.  Up to 65% of all plant life on top of these plateaus is endemic to the region.  More amazingly up to 33% of plant species on each plateau is endemic only to that plateau.

The plateaus are rich in bromeliads and orchids of all shapes, colours and sizes.

There are also fascinating geographical wonders like the red Jasper Creek (below) and barely explored caves of crystals.

Many of the plateaus have nutrient starved soils as the high rainfall literally washes it off the plateau edges.  As a result carnivorous plants have evolved in high numbers relying on trapped insects for their nutrients. There are even carnivorous bromeliads to be found here.

As remote as these plateaus are (most can only be reached by helicopter) there is still research being done.  The potential to learn from this untouched world is enormous and one day if we’re lucky we’ll have access to grow some of these amazing plants in our gardens. 

Ibex Earth is a not-for-profit organisation which assists with research in this area and is running a Lost World Expeditions this April.  A good friend of mine has just booked to go on the 10 day adventure and seriously can’t stop talking about it.  I am very envious!  There are still spots available so visit their website if you’re interested – just don’t brag about it too much when you return.  As for me I’m thinking 2012 will  be my turn to do it.

PS Don’t forget to check out The Plant Addict Shop while you’re here. 

You’ll find great gift ideas for garden lovers and fellow plant addicts!

Really, can you ever have enough terrariums?  Naturally Mike thinks YES but well I just can’t help myself… 

I have been wanting a ‘goldfish bowl’ terrarium for ages but baulked at the price of them in florist shops. However when I found this bowl in a home decorating store and it was super cheap there was no holding me back!  I’ve filled it with a type of bromeliad commonly called Earth Stars but their botanical name is Cryptanthus. These guys are mostly native to Brazil and are almost all terrestrial (they grow in soil rather than clinging to trees like other bromeliads).  They like high humidity and for their soil to never dry out making them perfect for terrarium culture.

The small green one at the front is a hybrid called ”Earth Angel” and the one at the back to the right is “Cascade”.  The large striped one I found at a big box hardware store and was unnamed so its a mystery to me.  Does anyone know it? 

 Its going to be a bit of trial and error to determine just how much light these guys will require.  As they are hybrids from unknown parentage I don’t know what their preferences will be.  But that’s all part of the fun of gardening.  For now they look great sitting in my loungeroom!

Bromeliads are great low maintenance plants but there comes a time when they do need a bit of love and attention.  This is particularly evident when it comes to repotting and dividing them up. 

Most bromeliads produce offsets (called pups) from the ‘mother’ plant after it flowers.   Each plant will only flower once and then put its energy into producing these pups.  Eventually the mother plant runs out of steam and dies but you are left with the pups to carry on.  How quickly this process occurs and how many pups are produced depends very much on the variety of bromeliad and the growing conditions its kept in.

Ultimately you end up with a crowded pot as new pups fill it up.  Also as the mother plant slowly goes into decline the foliage will deteriorate to the point where you’re better off removing it altogether.

Division and repotting is done to keep the plants looking their best and to maximise their flowering/pup production.  Over time the potting media will breakdown and compress reducing its drainage ability.  Good drainage is essential for bromeliads so repotting is necessary at some stage, even if its a slow growing variety.  How quickly the potting media breakdowns will depend on what its made up of and how much water its received. 

No matter which way you look at it your broms will thank you for repotting them at least every couple of years.  The good news is its pretty straightforward and you can be ruthless!  Choose a time of year when your broms are actively growing.  This means doing it during the warmer time of the year, unless you live in a more tropical area when you can do it year ’round.

Before you start getting your hands dirty make sure you pull on your gardening gloves and a long sleeved top. Many bromeliads have sharp spines on their leaves and trust me, your skin will come out second best!

Pull the plants out of the pot and assess the plant for which parts you want to keep and which parts are past their best.  It usually pretty easy to tell which are the mother plants and these are the ones you should consider ditching.  They often have some reminant of the flower left and will have pups grow from the base.  If the pups are at least 1/3 the size of the mother plant then they can be safely removed.  If they’re smaller its best to leave them attached to the mother plant and to wait until they grow some more before separating.  Small pups sometimes don’t survive the division process.  Larger pups almost always survive.

You can use a hand saw, a sharp knife and/or secateurs to divide up the clumps.  Just make sure that you leave a bit of a stem on the new pup when cutting it away from the mother plant.  If you look closely you can usually see where the new roots are starting to form on the pup.  Make sure you cut below this point.

Clean away any dead or damaged leaves as well.  Then decide which pieces you want to keep.  If the mother plant is still looking vigorous you can keep her too and hopefully you’ll get more pups.  Some people dust the freshly cut roots with a fungicide and/or let the cuts seal by waiting 24 hours before repotting.  I have never done this and haven’t had any problems but you might want to be cautious particularly if you’re dealing with a precious variety.

Now you’re ready to plant your pieces.  How many you plant in each pot will depend on how vigorous that variety is and how often you plan to repot it.  I usually put quite a few in as I like them to look good almost straightaway. The potting media you use needs to be well drained, as mentioned earlier.  Most growers have their own prefered mix but if you’re starting out you can’t go wrong with a coarse orchid  bark mix. There will be plenty of time in the future to start experimenting with different mixes!

Pot up the pieces and water them in with a seaweed solution.  If you have large pieces that aren’t very stable inserting some small stakes can be helpful until the plants stabilise themselves.  Keep the plants in a sheltered spot for a couple of weeks until they have recovered and you should start seeing growth in no time.

PS Don’t forget to check out The Plant Addict Shop while you’re here. 

You’ll find great gift ideas for garden lovers and fellow plant addicts!

I’m just back from the Spring Show of the Bromeliad Society of NSW (www.bromsocnsw.org.au) and as expected I’ve been bitten by the bromeliad bug again.  Whilst enviously eyeing off the  prizewinning Tillandsia tectorum and T. duratii I had to contend myself with purchasing less exotic tillandsia types as the others had already all sold.  I never seem to learn when it comes to these flower society shows.  You need to be there on the first day jostling for pole position before it opens if you want to buy any of the unusual varieties.  Honestly its more competitive than the post-Christmas sales.

I’ve had numerous bromeliads (broms for short) over the years but had to give them all away when we moved to Canada in 2007.  Now that we’re back in Sydney, and after seeing today’s show, my broms passion is back.  I bought six different tillandsia as I have never tried them before and also a couple of earth stars (Cryptanthus).

There’s such a huge variety when it comes to broms that there’s something for everyone to love.  The diversity on display at today’s show was simply extraordinary.  Best of all many of them require very little care yet deliver stunning foliage and flowers year after year.

Garden shows are great places for getting excellent growing advice.  You’ll often get to talk directly to the grower and learn all of the tricks specific to that plant.  None of the incredibly vague (and unreliable) label descriptions you get on a store bought plant.   On top of this plants are usually cheaper, higher quality and available in a wider range than you’ll ever see in your local nursery -just remember to arrive early if you’re after something rare.

PS Don’t forget to check out The Plant Addict Shop while you’re here. 

You’ll find great gift ideas for garden lovers and fellow plant addicts!