Description
About Tillandsia streptocarpa Fat Boy
Tillandsia streptocarpa Fat Boy is a selected form of Tillandsia streptocarpa, a species spread across Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. The name says it: the leaves are unusually wide for the species, and they taper quickly to a point.
The result is a tighter, more symmetrical rosette than the ordinary streptocarpa, which has long, twisting, strap-like leaves. Fat Boy looks solid and deliberate, and the silver trichome coat is dense.
The flowers are the reason streptocarpa is grown at all. They are large, violet with a white throat, and strongly fragrant, and they open on a branched spike above the leaves.
We sell it in two grades: smalls from 2 inches and larges from 4 inches. It grows along a short stem, and it forms clumps over time.
Fat Boy is the streptocarpa to stock when shape matters as much as scent. It sits neatly in a holder, the silver reads well from across a shop, and it flowers with the same perfume as the species.
Growing Tillandsia streptocarpa Fat Boy: Care Guide
Streptocarpa comes from dry, sunny country across the middle of South America, and Fat Boy wants the same: strong light, quick drying and a soak every couple of weeks. The wide leaves hold a little more water at the base than the species does, so shake it well and let it dry in moving air. A cool, dry rest over winter brings the fragrant flowers in spring, and a bench of them in bloom can be smelled from the door. Plants left in a humid, still corner will spot on the lower leaves, so give this one the airiest spot you have.
- Light: Bright light with direct sun for part of the day.
- Water: Soak 20 minutes every 10 to 14 days.
- Drying: Invert and shake. Wide leaf bases hold water.
- Airflow: Strong airflow after each soak.
- Temperature: 40°F to 95°F. Cool nights encourage bloom.
- Feeding: Feed monthly with diluted TillyBoost Fertilizer at quarter strength.
- Mounting: Glue or wire to wood, or set in a holder from our Air Plant Displays.
- Pups: One to three pups after bloom. Clumps form slowly.
Browse our other Fragrant Air Plants, or read the air plant care guide.
