Tillandsia festucoides
Epiphytic tropical Tillandsia from South America. It does not require soil, thrives well in semi-shaded locations, and absorbs moisture through its leaves.
Tillandsia festucoides is a slender, grass-like species native to Mexico, Central America, and the southern United States. It was described by Steudel in 1825.
The name "festucoides" means "grass-like" and refers to the similarity of its narrow leaves to those of fescue grasses (Festuca).
Characteristics:
This species forms long, narrow, slightly curved leaves in loose rosettes. The leaf coloration is silvery to greenish, with dense trichome coverage. The inflorescence is thin, unbranched, and upright, with pink to red bracts and small violet tubular flowers. It often grows in clusters and quickly produces offsets.
Care Instructions:
Light: Very bright to full sun – loves light and develops particularly compactly under sunlight.
Water: Thoroughly mist 2–3 times a week or occasionally soak. Afterwards, allow to dry well.
Humidity: Medium (40–60%) – drought-tolerant, but good air circulation is important.
Fertilizer: We recommend using our special Tillandsia or orchid fertilizer in diluted form 1–2 times a month in spring and summer.
Temperature: 16–30 °C, relatively robust – can also tolerate temperatures around 5 °C for short periods, as long as it is frost-free.
Note: Ideal for airy mountings or for tying in groups. Due to its narrow, delicate growth, it combines well with other small Tillandsia species – easy to care for and robust.
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.
