Ionantha guatemala has thin, spiky leaves with many trichomes on them. The trichomes give the leaves a white or silvery look. When in bloom these little guys display a blushing beautiful red to orange color with purple tubular flowers.
Ionantha guatemala is a beautiful air plant with thin spiky leaves with many trichomes that give the leaves a silvery look. When the plant is about to bloom, it changes to shades of vibrant deep red to orange and eventually displays yellow/purple/white tubular flowers. Ionantha guatemala blooms 2 or 3 times a year. It creates many offsets or pups which will clump into a ball as it matures. Tillandsia is a genus of around 650 species of evergreen, perennial flowering plants in the family Bromeliaceae, native to the forests, mountains and deserts of northern Mexico and south-eastern United States, Mesoamerica and the Caribbean to mid Argentina. Air plants are epiphytes, meaning that in nature they grow on other plants, usually on tree branches.
Soak your Tillandsia ionantha once a week in a bowl of water for 20 minutes each time. You can also mist your plant with a spray bottle 2-3 times a week if it needs more water between the soakings. Tillandsia Ionantha absorbs water through its leaves instead of roots. So flip them upside-down when you give them a bath. Gently shake off any excessive water from the center of the air plant after each watering. Place your air plant somewhere with good air circulation to dry it completely within 4 hours of watering.
Tillandsia Ionantha likes bright, indirect light. Display your Ionantha somewhere near the window where they can get some indirect light during the day. If you don’t have natural sunlight coming in, office fluorescent lighting would do the job too. Just avoid direct sunlight since the plant can get burnt.
For lush-looking plants, feed your plants once a month by adding fertilizer to the water mix. Use a bromeliad mix (air plants are in the bromeliad family)
