Tillandsia butzii bloom and a cool spider moves onto the deck

This Tillandsia finally bloomed, one flower at a time unfortunately. Maybe once it gets larger it'll be more exciting when it blooms?

Kind of boring, sorry. I'm growing Tillandsia more for the foliage than the bloom anyway. So while we're  waiting on some more things in bud to flower, there's this spider living out there on the deck now. It's a Gasteracantha cancriformis, or "Spiny Orb Weaver," native to the Southeast US.

Gasteracantha cancriformis from the back

The underside

Not venomous to humans or animals, she can stay as long as she wants. I'm hoping she'll help keep the creepers off the orchids to her left.

Woot! Birthday Gifts!

I know I said that if my Tillandsia bulbosa did well here that I'd probably look into getting some more. They're nice and wacky looking, plus small sized ones work well for the space issues of apartment growing. A super nice friend sent me this Tillandsia butzii for my birthday. So hooray, my collection has increased to two! Thank you again!

The whole plant

Flower spike!

What a cool pattern!

My husband had to import this CD for me, Black Sun Empire: Lights and Wires. For those that know me personally you know how much I listen to D&B and how much I love Black Sun Empire, so this is right up there on top of the list of things I really, really, like.




Last but not least, from my mom, (who clearly let me pick out this gift,) a Nepenthes I'm waiting on. It's a good one, I'll share when it gets here. I keep obsessively checking the USPS Track & Confirm website like a crazy person. I cannot handle the anticipation of a package coming in the mail. It's even worse when I can check on it for updates of every sort facility it comes into and leaves en route. I swear Track & Confirm is like a blessing and a curse because I want to know, but can't handle seeing a package get to my post office, but not be out for delivery yet. Or, even worse, it get sent to the wrong place and get rerouted like when I ordered my N. robcantleyi and it took an extra three days to get here. That was a rough one. That was back when robcantleyi was limited in numbers, tiny, and the most expensive plant I'd ever bought, (still is to this day.) Straight up fear was involved.

I have no idea what I'm doing again (Alternate Title: New Plant! Tillandsia bulbosa)

There's a certain Farmer's Market Store that has a really nice garden center, but you have to cross a bridge ($1.50 to get back over, not bad, but something to consider) and it's about 35 minutes from me. Occasionally I have to go that way anyway, like today, so I stopped in on my way home.

I haven't really considered Tillansia until just now. Sure they are pretty, but I guess being used to seeing them glued to fridge magnets and other tacky decorations over the years has turned me off to them. This is unfortunate because it's really not the fault of Tillandsia, so I shouldn't take my distaste out on them.

Today they had tons of little plastic bags with *GASP* CORRECTLY LABELED SPECIES! Just kill me now, you've spotted my weakness. They were all really nice too, especially xerographica and streptophylla. But this little guy was the weirdest looking one I've ever seen so it had to be mine.

Whole plant

Close up of the nice purple lining the leaves have. Wish I could find better lighting, wasn't working out today.

So now I have a Tillandsia bulbosa. I'm considering hanging it, or I'll find a tasteful mount for it. No magnets, ceramic lizards, or glass globes with sand, (That's cool if that's your thing, but it's not my taste, so don't get offended here.) I also refuse to glue it to anything. I know this is fine for the plant, but I can't do it, so no.

If it does well I'll probably end up with a few more. Care seems pretty easy, if anything it won't get watered as often as it should, but it should be able to handle that sort of neglect.

It seems to me like Tillandsia falls in and out of favor with the plant crowd. I used to see them everywhere when I was a kid, then haven't seen them in years, now they are everywhere again, (lately unlabeled and in some sort of home decoration piece where it's almost certain to not get enough light.) It's interesting how certain types of plants are "cool" for a while and sold everywhere, then you can't find them at all. How do these trends work and who pushes them? Seasonal trends are one thing, but "tropical" plants seem to be popular, or not, for years at a time.