Description
About Tillandsia Fire Sticks
Tillandsia Fire Sticks is a cross of zacapanensis and the red giant form of flabellata, and the name describes what it does at bloom. It throws multiple upright red spikes from a single plant, standing well clear of the foliage.
Flabellata is the parent that matters most here. It contributes the fan of branching spikes, the green foliage, and something buyers need to know about: this is a tank type.
Rather than drinking through its leaves alone, Fire Sticks holds a reservoir of water in the cup at the centre of its rosette, exactly as a bromeliad does. The upright leaf bases overlap to form that well.
Plants ship at 12 inches and up, so this is substantial. The flower display holds colour for a long stretch, and a blooming plant moves off a retail bench quickly.
Growing Tillandsia Fire Sticks: Care Guide
This plant is watered the opposite way to our silver desert species. Therefore do not soak it and turn it upside down.
- Light: Bright indirect light. Some direct morning sun is fine, but strong afternoon sun burns green foliage.
- Water: Keep the central cup topped up. Fill the well at the middle of the rosette and let the plant drink from it.
- Flushing: Empty and refill the cup weekly with fresh water. Water left standing too long goes stagnant.
- Do not invert: Never turn this plant upside down and shake it out. Emptying the cup is the opposite of what it wants.
- Airflow: Good airflow around the foliage. It tolerates humidity far better than a xeric species.
- Temperature: Comfortable from 60°F to 95°F. Protect from frost.
- Feeding: Feed monthly with diluted TillyBoost Fertilizer at quarter strength, added straight to the cup water. Well-fed plants throw more spikes.
- Mounting: No soil. Mount or stand it upright so the cup stays level and holds water.
- Pups: Offsets follow the bloom. Leave them attached for a clumping display, or separate at one third size.
As a tank type, Fire Sticks sits naturally alongside our Bromeliads. See our Air Plant Care page, or browse our Rare Air Plants for more flowering hybrids.
