Tillandsia Get Funky With The Funckiana Airplant!

Published on 1 November 2021 at 04:01

With such a vast array of Tillandsia Airplants it can be difficult to choose just one to focus on. However, in this weeks blog, we are highlighting the amazing, unusual and vibrant Funckiana!

Tillandsia Funckiana is a wonderfully attractive airplant. Its leaves, rather than branching out, grow along long stems in a needle-like fashion reminiscent of a pine tree. This unusual plant is an epiphytic or saxicolous species, which enjoys being hung upside down and as you can see from the photograph above, does produce 'pups'.

The leaves of the Funckiana are long and soft to the touch. The lovely hues of silvery-green turns a blushed colour at the tips in the right conditions. When hung, this plant likes to wind itself toward the light and this 'reaching' produces some truly fantastic wild and curved forms, especially when the 'pups' are left to form a cluster or clump.

Tillandsia Fuckiana is especially prized for its cherry-red blooms. A rare colour amongst airplants, the vibrant, tubular flowers are pollinated in the wild by hummigbirds. The single flower appearing at the stem tip particularly when clusters or clumps are formed, really put on a most glorious show. You can encourage blooming to occur with the use of a suitable plant feed. We stock a fantastic Tillandsia Organic Feed and Conditioner in our shop.

In its natural, native environment, Tillandsia Funckiana grows at elevations of 1500 meters above sea level. Found across Columbia and Venezuela, it can be seen growing on rocks or on other plants. Funckiana prefers bright light, good air circulation and moderate humidity. When misting or bathing, its best to hang this plant upside down to dry to prevent water becoming trapped within the leaves. A rapid dry (no longer than an hour) is prefferable. Funckiana doesn't particularly enjoy longer soaks compared to some other airplants, however, this plant is a great starter or beginner plant for novices as it is fairly hardy.

Tillandsia Funckiana is a delightfully funky and vibrant airplant to add to your collection and it can be mounted onto a wide variety of surfaces. Grow it hanging from a simple wire hook, mount it to a choice piece of wood or bark or add it to a shell display. Funckiana is happy to grow and readily cluster on a range of display choices. Use wire to attach this airplant to your chosen media or use a plant safe fixative such as the one we offer in our shop.

We hope you have enjoyed this weeks blog and would love to hear about your favourite airplants. Community is important to us, we are always happy to talk Tilly's.

Keep an eye out for our new Blog next week for more fun information, care tips and discussion topics.

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