Description
About Catopsis morreniana
Catopsis morreniana is not a Tillandsia at all. Catopsis is a separate genus within the same family, and the difference shows immediately in colour: where Tillandsias run silver or deep green, Catopsis is a soft translucent yellow-green.
Many species in the genus carry a fine white waxy bloom across the leaves, giving them a powdered, almost frosted surface that is quite unlike a trichome coat.
Morreniana is one of the smaller species. It forms a neat cup-shaped rosette of smooth, broad leaves, and like all Catopsis it is a tank type that holds standing water at its centre.
The genus is also unusual in being dioecious, meaning individual plants are either male or female rather than carrying both. Very few bromeliads work that way.
Growing Catopsis morreniana: Care Guide
This is a shade plant from humid forest, and it is the least sun-tolerant thing we sell. Therefore treat it as a small bromeliad rather than an air plant.
- Light: Shade to bright indirect light only. Direct sun scorches the soft leaves within a day, and it needs markedly less light than any Tillandsia.
- Water: Keep the central cup filled at all times.
- Flushing: Empty and refill weekly with fresh water.
- Do not invert: Never drain the cup. The reservoir is the plant’s water supply.
- Airflow: Gentle airflow with high humidity. This one genuinely likes damp air.
- Temperature: Comfortable from 60°F to 90°F. It has little tolerance for cold.
- Feeding: Add heavily diluted TillyBoost Fertilizer to the cup water monthly. Small plants need very little.
- Mounting: No soil. Mount level so the cup holds water, and handle carefully to avoid rubbing off the waxy bloom.
- Pups: Offsets form at the base after flowering. Separate at one third the mother’s size.
Find more tank types in our Bromeliads, and general guidance on our Air Plant Care page.
