Tillandsia gardneri
Tillandsia gardneri is an elegant, soft-leaved species from eastern South America, particularly Brazil, Venezuela, and Colombia. It was described by John Gilbert Baker in 1856 and named after the English botanist George Gardner, who researched in Brazil in the 19th century.
Characteristics:
Tillandsia gardneri forms loose rosettes with silvery-gray, velvety leaves that are soft and flexible. The plant appears delicate and elegant overall. The upright inflorescence is usually simple, with pink bracts and delicate violet to lavender tubular flowers. It is considered to be rather slow-growing, but easy to care for.
Care Instructions:
Light: Bright to partially shaded – no direct midday sun, ideally with filtered light.
Water: Spray or soak thoroughly 2–3 times a week. Allow to dry completely afterward.
Humidity: Medium to high (60%+) – sensitive to dry air.
Fertilizer: In spring and summer, 1–2 times a month with our special Tillandsia or orchid fertilizer in diluted form.
Temperature: 18–28 °C, sensitive to cold – keep above 12 °C at all times.
Note: A decorative species with a soft appearance – particularly beautiful in airy holders or partially shaded terrariums. Does not tolerate waterlogging.
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.
