Description
About blooming tricolor melanocreter
This is the blooming tricolor melanocreter listing: plants from our Tillandsia tricolor v. melanocreter base listing, shipped while they are in spike. Stock is limited and appears here only in flowering season.
The spike is why tricolor is worth growing. A tall, flattened inflorescence rises well above the stiff green leaves, with overlapping red bracts and violet flowers opening along it, and it lasts for weeks.
The plant underneath is the hardy, upright species with blackish leaf sheaths at the base. Those sheaths are normal and not rot, in bloom or out.
Blooming plants ship in the sizes and forms available at the time, from singles to clumps; the menu shows what is in stock.
At 75 cents in bloom this is the cheapest showy spike we sell. It is a good plant for a shop that wants colour on the shelf without a premium price, and the mother pups after the spike fades.
Growing blooming tricolor melanocreter: Care Guide
Tricolor likes frequent water, so keep soaking it weekly while the spike develops; only once the flowers open, switch to misting so the bracts stay dry and last. It also tolerates high, bright light, which keeps the spike upright and the bracts red. Invert and shake after each soak, and give clumps extra drying time. When the spike browns, cut it at the base, go back to weekly soaks and monthly feeding, and the pups appear from the base.
- Light: Bright light with direct sun for part of the day.
- Water: Soak 20 to 30 minutes every 7 days; mist while the flowers are open.
- Drying: Invert and shake. Give clumps extra drying time.
- Airflow: Good airflow after each soak.
- Temperature: 45°F to 95°F. No frost.
- Feeding: Feed monthly with diluted TillyBoost Fertilizer; skip while in flower.
- Mounting: Wire the base to wood. Clumps display well hanging.
- Pups: Two to four after bloom.
See the base listing for year-round stock, browse more Currently in Bloom, or read our air plant care guide.
