Tillandsia Problem Solved!

My Tillandsia addiction was a lot easier when I had a greenhouse. I could buy whatever I wanted, just get another dragonfly clip, stick the new plant onto some part of the greenhouse and call it good.

I find that the Division Street Portland Nursery is the best place to buy them. They periodically get shipments of nice sized mixed plants that the sell for $5.99. You can't beat that price. They have the really big gray ones (Tillandsia xerographica) but they tend to be in the $24 range.

After loosing the greenhouse in February (break up, long story) and have not yet figured out a new one. I hated to leave behind my Tillandsias, so I grabbed about a third of them and brought them home. Many of them I have had for 5-7 years already.

I plead ignorance when it comes to the names of any of the varieties. I just buy what I like and what looks good.

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They spring and summered outside under a potted rose bush in the shade of a black walnut tree. They did well and occasionally got hit with the hose or got water from the ponds sprinkled on them. They are easy to care for outside when you don't have to worry about getting everything wet.

Now that fall is here - they needed to come in, but what was I going to do with them? My house is very small and there is not a lot of room for extra plants. I also tend to think that I have too many plants outside already and I don't really want to care for plants in the house.

I did recently breakdown and buy a plant stand for the living-room for a few of the outside plants that needed to come in. But that is already filled with hot pepper plants, agaves and plumeria.

The best possible new home and also the strangest, was the bathroom!

I got the roll of chicken wire (the anti-raccoon kind I use for the ponds) from the shed and made sort of a living valance. It acts as a home for the plants and a partial curtain. Nobody can really see into the bathroom anyway and the frosted film on the bottom half of the window covers the naughty bits anyway.

I screwed small hangers into the woodwork to hang the wire from. The little old lady (me) that lives in this house hates to mess up the woodwork. The woodwork is far from perfect, as the house is 78 years old, but I hate to make it worse. 

Hopefully the humidity from the shower and an occasional misting with a spray bottle will be enough moisture for them and the light will be bright and indirect.   

Best of all - Now I can poop and water Tillandsias at the same time!