# Plant ID’s needed



## Ratmosphere (Feb 12, 2018)

Got these a while back. There was no info on them. What are they?


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## mickiem (Feb 12, 2018)

Parlour Palm or _Chamaedorea elegans_; _Philodendron_,_ Tillandsia._  Parlour Palm and Phil. are pretty hard to kill.  The _Tillandsia_ needs bright  light and good air circulation.  Shouldn't be potted (it's an epiphyte).  Nice geodes.  Real nice _Tillandsia_!

Reactions: Like 1


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## Draketeeth (Feb 12, 2018)

#1 is probably a type of palm.

#2 looks like a small swiss cheese plant

#3 is an air plant, but for the life of me I have no clue which one. Got the same type in the bathroom window which does nothing at all after all its years, so kudos for getting one to bloom!


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## mickiem (Feb 12, 2018)

Draketeeth said:


> #1 is probably a type of palm.
> 
> #2 looks like a small swiss cheese plant
> 
> #3 is an air plant, but for the life of me I have no clue which one. Got the same type in the bathroom window which does nothing at all after all its years, so kudos for getting one to bloom!


I was thinking the _Tillandsia_ could be _harrisii_, but I'm not terribly well versed with them.  @Draketeeth do you fertilize yours?  Mine do much better when I do.  I use Epiphytes Delight and spritz them once a month with it.  Then use distilled water the rest of the time I water.


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## The Snark (Feb 12, 2018)

That Phil., Monstera Obliqua, is a serious climber. A shade tree 100 feet tall in your back yard compliments it perfectly. Once established in a tree it turns into an epiphyte.
I love traipsing through the rain forests to come across some old deciduous tree wearing an elegant dress of Phil that completely obscures the trunk and main branches.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Myrmeleon (Feb 12, 2018)

The philodendron looks more like Monstera deliciosa to me...

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## Draketeeth (Feb 12, 2018)

mickiem said:


> @Draketeeth do you fertilize yours?  Mine do much better when I do.  I use Epiphytes Delight and spritz them once a month with it.  Then use distilled water the rest of the time I water.


Never heard of that product, may have to try it. I've tried different types of water, someone told me to put it in a bag with an apple core, I've submerged it in water for various lengths of time at various points in its existence. It's an immortal dud at this point, sometimes the tips brown a little but that's it  How often do you regularly with distilled water? And is distilled really better than spring or tap? I've heard very conflicting information about what's good and what's not.


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## schmiggle (Feb 12, 2018)

I also think the philodendron is M. deliciosa (not really right to call it a philodendron then, but hey, it's convenient). Given that the Tillandsia is flowering, the main plant will die back soon; if it's doing well, you should see between 2 and 8 pups produced from the base (essentially baby plant clones). For what it's worth, I fertilize my T. xerographica with my normal orchid fertilizer (50ppm N) once every couple of days, and it seems to like it. I don't use distilled because it lacks micronutrients; unless you can't use it because it has too many dissolved solids, tapwater is ideal, because it usually already contains the micronutrients the plant needs (the only plants that don't like tapwater are things like carnivorous plants--plants that don't get nutrients from the soil anyway). However, if you use a fertilizer that already has micronutrients it won't matter. 

I agree on the ID to parlour palm, and I think the tillandsia is T. bergeri, based a little on vegetative morphology and mostly on floral morphology.

If you don't know how to fertilize, stay tuned for my upcoming post about it.

Reactions: Like 2


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## The Snark (Feb 13, 2018)

schmiggle said:


> I also think the philodendron is M. deliciosa


Time will tell. If memory serves, deliciosa partitions are of uniform length and width and extend to the central vein.

Nothing wrong with calling them Lover of Tree, is there?

Reactions: Like 1


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## mickiem (Feb 13, 2018)

Tillandsia have trichomes that cover them. These are tiny hairs that trap nutrients and water. Their roots take up no (or very little) water. The trichomes are what give some tillandsia a “frosted” appearance. Generally speaking, the more the trichomes, the less water it needs. But the trichomes are delicate and fine particles can block their efforts. My tap water is very hard and has additives like chlorine and fluoride, so I use distilled exclusively. The really green fleshy types like lots of water. I soak those one a week for 1 hour and spritz them daily. The more xeric types I soak once a month and spritz 2-3 X a week. And they are monocarpic, so the main plant will die but pups will come. I’ve had that take up to a year.

Reactions: Informative 2


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## Ratmosphere (Feb 18, 2018)

Thanks for the IDs and tips guys! Can anyone identify these air plants?

Reactions: Love 1


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## schmiggle (Feb 18, 2018)

They resemble Tillandsia caput-medusae.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Anoplogaster (Feb 28, 2018)

I’d guess the Tillandsia is _Tillandsia bergeri. _It really looks like it, but I think the only thing that makes me skeptical is the absence of pups, which bergeri is known for producing a ton of.

Regarding the use of distilled/rain/bottled water vs. tap water: I’ve never noticed any negative effects of tap water, which I use exclusively for tillies. Of course, tap water quality differs everywhere you go. So I might just have really good tap water

Reactions: Informative 1


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