How to care for Tillandsia after it blooms

Flowering period of Tillandsia

Tillandsia blooms in early spring, with the flowering period concentrated from January to March. The viewing period is very long, up to 70 to 80 days. There are purple bracts on the Tillandsia, but these are not flowers. Its flowers are dark purple and relatively small, extending from the bracts.

During the flowering period of Tillandsia, it should be placed in a place with scattered light indoors. The temperature should not be too high and the soil should be kept dry. This can extend the viewing time of Tillandsia. After the inflorescence loses its ornamental value, move it to a sunny place for maintenance. After the Tillandsia blooms, it needs to be handled promptly.

How to care for Tillandsia after it blooms

The flower stalks of Tillandsia that have bloomed will not bloom again in the current climate, so it is best to cut off the remaining flowers and flower stems. The main purpose of cutting off these flower stems is to prevent these remaining flowers and stems from consuming too much nutrients and causing poor growth, as well as withered flowers and flower stems, which may cause some diseases and pests, so timely pruning is necessary.

If seedlings grow again on the plant, you can cut them off when they are a little bigger and plant them separately to make them new plants.

After cutting off the dead flowers, the old plants can be repotted with new soil. When repotting, you need to cut off the diseased leaves, dead leaves, and diseased and rotten roots of the iron orchid. After cleaning them, replace the potting soil with new one, water it thoroughly, and place it in a cool and ventilated place for a period of time. Then move it to a sunny place. Be careful not to water it too much to avoid root rot.

If you do not repot, loosen the soil with dead leaves, insert the soil loosening tool into the soil, and then gently shake the pot to create gaps in the soil. Add some fertilizer to the soil one month after loosening the soil to supplement nutrients.