Tillandsia macbreideana
Tillandsia macbrideana is a rarely cultivated species from the Andean regions of Peru and Ecuador.
It is named after the American botanist James Francis Macbride, who made significant contributions to the study of South American flora. The species thrives preferably in moist cloud forests at mid-elevations.
Characteristics:
Tillandsia macbrideana forms loosely upright to overhanging rosettes with narrow, greenish to gray-green leaves. The plants are soft-leaved and noticeably less silvery than xerophytic species. Its striking, long inflorescence bears red to pink bracts, from which bright blue to violet tubular flowers emerge. The flowering can extend over several weeks.
Care Instructions:
Light: Bright to semi-shady – no direct midday sun, ideal are east or west-facing windows.
Water: Spray or soak 2–4 times a week. Avoid waterlogging and allow to dry well.
Humidity: High (60–80%) – ideal for greenhouses, display cases, or protected outdoor areas.
Fertilizer: In spring and summer, 1–2 times per month with our special Tillandsia or orchid fertilizer in diluted form.
Temperature: 16–28 °C – sensitive to dryness and cold, keep permanently frost-free.
Note: A beautiful but somewhat demanding species for advanced enthusiasts. Particularly well-suited for more humid cultivation systems with good air circulation.
Our greenhouses are equipped with modern energy screens and double glazing to efficiently save on heating costs. Additionally, we collect rainwater over the entire roof area of 9,000 square meters and use only this water to irrigate all our crops. We collect the rainwater in underground tanks with a total volume of 600,000 liters.
Since 2007, we have been heating our entire operation with a fully automated 850 kW wood chip heating system and a 100,000-liter buffer storage tank. Environmentally friendly and CO2-neutral. Only to support during very cold winter days and nights is a conventional oil heating system available.
Since 2014, the heating has been supported by a solar thermal system with an annual yield of about 20 megawatt-hours.
In 2020, we installed a photovoltaic system with 30 kW peak and have been producing more green electricity per year than our entire operation requires.
Since 2021, we use exclusively pots for our self-produced plants that are not only 100% recyclable but are also entirely made from recycled pots. To this end, we collect all used pots that arise in our operation and have them picked up in big bags by our pot supplier Göttinger. There, the pots are cleaned and processed in a water-free recycling facility into new pots that come back to us.
