How often should I soak my plants if I have them indoors?

It depends on the levels of light, heat, and humidity. The less light and humidity and/or the more heat, the more frequently you will need to soak the plants. It could be once a week in hot, dry conditions or once a month in cooler, humid conditions. The leaf edges will begin to curl up more than normal when the plant starts to dry out too much. Watch for this sign. If this happens, it means that the plant needs to be soaked AND that it should be soaked a little more frequently.

How often should I water my plants if I have them outdoors?

First of all, most people water outdoor plants with a hose because it is easier and faster and this is almost always fine. For watering frequency, the same guidelines apply as those above. Because there is normally more air movement outside, the plants will dry more quickly, except for very hot, humid conditions, it is safer to water more frequently.

What room temperature do they like?

The ideal growing temperature range for the Tillandsias is between the low 70's to mid 80's although they will tolerate temps from close to freezing to over 100 degrees with an adjustment for care due to the more extreme conditions.

How much sunlight do Tillys need?

Tillandsias require bright light although they do not need direct sunlight. You can have them anywhere for a month-even in a shoebox!, but, eventually, Tillys need bright light to thrive. The white fuzz on the leaves reflects up to 70% of the light that hits the leaf.

I live in the North East and it snows here, how can I ensure their survival?

Grow the plants outside when temps are above freezing and then bring them indoors when it gets cold. You should keep them near a window that gets lots of bright light or have the plants a foot under a broad spectrum flourescent fixture for some 14 hours a day.

I live in the desert and it can get extremely hot here, any suggestions?

If you live in a hot, dry climate, the plants will desiccate more quickly. The solution to type of climate is to make sure the plants stay hydrated. Overwatering is not usually a problem. Soak the plants in bottled or rain water overnight every week or so AND run them under the faucet every day or two. Also, if you can keep other, soil-bound plants or other water source nearby, the evaporation of that water will slow down the rate of transpiration of the Tillandsias because there will be more humidity in the air.

How can I tell if my plants need something?

If a Tillandsia is not "happy", the easy physical change to notice is that edges of the leaves will begin to curl up more than normal. When this happens, the plant needs to be submerged overnight in bottled drinking or rain water.

Will any fertilizer do or does it have to be epiphytes?

Epiphyte's Delight is specially formulated for plants that do not need soil to grow. Nitrogen is the fertilizer component that promotes foliar growth and in many, if not most, fertilizers it is made from urea. This is fine except that this urea based nitrogen needs bacteria in soil to break it down into ammoniacal or nitrate nitrogen so that plants can use it. Since Tillandsias don't have soil, the urea nitrogen isn't broken down into the other forms and therefore the Tillandsias can't use it.

What do I do if my plants new offsets?

When your Tillandsia produces vegetative offsets, you can leave them attached to the mother plant and all of them will grow into a beautiful clump OR you can separate the offsets from the mother plant when they are a 1/3 to 1/2 size of the mother plant and mount them on whatever you want.

Are these plants harmful to pets or animals?

As far as is known, no Tillandsia is harmful to any pet or animal.

How do I go about cleaning the dead leaf or bloom material off of my plant?

To clean off dead material from the plants, simply cut off the dead parts with scissors. This will not harm the plant. You may also cut off excess roots with no deleterious effect.