Saturday

Day 119: This is Saturday, the one and only Tillandsia I have been able to keep alive longer than a month. Saturday has been with me five years now, and when I look at the photo I took of him when he was only a year old, I am surprised by how much he has grown. If you'd asked for a guess, I'd have said he looked almost identical to the plant I brought home from the nursery in 2017, but in fact, he has doubled in size (not that he'll ever outgrow his dish). He's much bushier now, if not much taller, and although he's not particularly impressive or showy, he brings me great joy simply by having stayed alive. The key to this horticultural success is in his nickname: every Saturday, he gets a light spray of plain water before being returned to the indirect light of a west window. The window receives little afternoon sun, blocked as it is by tall evergreens from 2 PM onward. I thought it was time this little stalwart received his due as a feature on my blog. Thanks for being there, Saturday!

Saturday

Day 57: This is Saturday. No, I don't mean "today." I mean the plant. This little Tillandsia ("air plant") has survived a year under my casual care, the first time I've ever been able to keep one alive for more than a few weeks. The secret to success is in its nickname. Every Saturday, it gets a light spray of fresh water. I realized where I had gone wrong with its predecessors, giving them the soak recommended by the seller and thereby causing them to rot; too much of a good thing is as sure a recipe for failure as not enough. Saturday, cheerfully gracing the west window of my bedroom, reminds me not to indulge in excesses.

Shower With A Friend

Day 40: Several times in the past, I have attempted to keep various Tillandsias alive with only very short-term success. I would either forget to soak them or would put them down to soak and leave them too long, practices which respectively caused them to dry out or rot. I've had this one a year now, and I've learned something: they don't like to bathe. They like to shower instead. My little friend sits in the bathroom window where I am reminded of the care requirements daily, and when I take my shower, I give it a thirty-second rinse in the spray. It is worth mentioning that I take a rather hot shower and surprisingly, the plant has not objected to the temperature of the water and appears to be doing quite well.