Uncharted Greenery
It all started out from an emotionally distressed mind and a whim to visit the nearby nursery to distract myself. With some money in my pocket and 1hr of browsing, i bought myself one adorable, ungainly yet striking little red moon cactus. I know… ‘She spent 1hr of browsing for this?’ — LOL
It was so adorably cute and ungainly, strikingly red and alien looking that i cant help myself but be enchanted.. Of course it is also because of the kid in me that cant help but be attracted to bright colors that i chose to get it.
So after a month or so having the moon cactus and not dying on me, i got a little bit more confident. Yeah i think i can do this.. maybe i have green fingers after all…
Taadaaa!!! I bought 3 tillys. Of course before buying them i did actually do my homework to research on Tillandsia aka Tillys aka Air Plants. The more i studied them, the more i’m convinced that Tillys are the way to go for me. Compared to the moon cactus, whenever i knock it accidentally, it will definitely topple over cus of the top side heavy moon head…and the mess from the soil that fell out right after was really annoying me. While for tillandsia, it doesnt even need any container or soil to grow these magical plants. What it does need was just bright filtered light and a not so loving parent when it comes to watering.
“But plants need loving parents that water them everyday to grow healthy and strong right?!” —
NO! Unlike normal plants, tillys do not need to be watered everyday.
“Then should i mist everyday?” Well, you can… provided that it is lightly misted once or twice a day.
What Tillys really need though is a good soak, submerged in a pail of water for a few hours or even overnight once a week. And pretty much they’ll be good left to themselves in a bright area. Tillies are drought tolerant so they are very forgiving when it comes to watering them. I usually feed my tillys with 1/4 strength liquid fertilizer every once a week that i soak them and lightly mist them when i noticed they’re a bit dry.
This understanding and knowledge of caring for my tillys only come after a few heartwrenching death of my precious tillys, flowering, and growing of new pups. Till this day i am still learning more about these amazing Tillandsia that turn a beautiful red when its flowering.
Fast forward, now I have a bunch of plants that I take care of and love dearly. Even the beautiful yet notorious succulents that tend to etoliate, die and break my heart. Currently I did manage to successfully grow them in my room. (Will update in another post about them soon).
I love all my plants growing in my small room. Of course my darn cats that like to chew on my plants and drink from my bucket of water for watering my plants are like my constant evil enemy to my helpless plants just waiting for the opportunity to strike. Don’t worry, i treat my fur babies very well despite it. :)
