Tillandsia incarnata (large)
epiphytic dry Tillandsia from South America. It requires no soil, thrives well in bright locations, and absorbs moisture through its leaves.
Characteristics:
Tillandsia incarnata forms a loose, funnel-shaped rosette with narrow, slightly drooping, gray-green leaves. The plant has fine trichomes that give it a slightly silvery appearance. Particularly striking is the elegant flower spike with pink to salmon-colored bracts, from which violet to blue-violet flowers emerge. The species typically grows medium-sized and produces several offsets after flowering.
Care Tips:
Light: bright location with plenty of indirect light; some morning or evening sun is well tolerated
Water: regularly mist or occasionally soak; allow to dry well between waterings
Humidity: prefers medium to high humidity with good air circulation
Fertilizer: in spring and summer 1–2 times per month with our special Tillandsia or orchid fertilizer in diluted form
Temperature: ideal 15–26 °C; in winter, preferably not below 10–12 °C
Note:
Tillandsia incarnata loves airy cultural conditions and is excellent for mounting on wood or cork. Good ventilation is particularly important to avoid waterlogging and rot.
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.