OFFLINE Tillandsia Zacapa
Tillandsia zacapa is an attractive hybrid of Tillandsia brachycaulos and Tillandsia caput-medusae, which is naturally found in Guatemala. It is named after the Departamento Zacapa, where it was originally described. There, it grows epiphytically on trees in dry to seasonally moist forests and is adapted to warm temperatures and good air circulation.
Chracteristiscs:
Tillandsia zacapa forms a medium-sized rosette with robust, silvery-green to light green leaves, which are slightly bulging at the base and elegantly bend outward. Just before blooming, the inner leaves often turn bright red to orange – a legacy of Tillandsia brachycaulos. From the colorful center, violet flowers appear. After flowering, the plant usually produces several offsets and over time develops attractive clumps.
Care Instructions:
Light: bright to very bright location; morning or evening sun is well tolerated. Water: regularly mist or occasionally soak; allow to dry completely between waterings. Humidity: prefers moderate 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: optimal 18-28 °C; in winter, ideally not below 10-12 °C.
Note: Tillandsia brachycaulos × caput-medusae is excellent for cultivation on cork, wood, or as a decorative single plant. Good air circulation and complete drying after watering are particularly important for healthy growth.
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.