Larry, I like. Thanks Toni! How many Tills are mounted altogether? I'm not sure what you mean. There are 14 tillandsias on this piece of mopani wood. They are all glued on separately. You mentioned soaking. Do you mist and soak? If so, is wood and all submerge 'under' water? I do not soak my tillandsias, I only mist them. Yes if you soak them you would submerge the wood. The only reason I would soak my tillandsias would be If they got too dry and started to go dormant. Then I would soak them for 12 hours to re-hydrate them. What happens to Tills after flowering? I've divided and rooted Bromiliads but never Tills. Tillandsias only flower once like most Bromiliads. When they do they usually produce pups. The mother plant does eventually die, but not necessarily right away. How do you locate the area that needs separating? Toni When the pups are at least one 1/3 to 1/2 as large as the mother plant they can be separated. It's really pretty obvious where the pups are joined to the mother plant. You just gently pull them apart. Larry

I think the guy who sold it to you had one too many shots outta that glass! You can wrap the roots with very thin gauge steel wire which is more flexible than fishing line and hang it in a well-lit area (no direct sun) where after a few years you'll get the making of a nice clump. It can be used as a temporary houseplant for a couple of days (to impress your guests) but then it's back outside with it. Bulbosa is a lover of very frequent misting and like all Tillandsias, constant air circulation, since it's habitat is in the jungles. The reason they are usually mounted sideways or upside down is to prevent water from collecting in the leaf bases, which can rot the pseudo-bulb tills like bulbosa. The greener the Tillandsia, the less light is needed. Good luck....and find another person to buy from ;-)

As Hdd says Xuan, the wood HAS to be totally clean of any salt. Soaking the pieces will remove any residual. No need to worry about the wood rotting, you won't live that long. Nice airy, well-lit room will do but take them outside often for a breath of air and a good squirt of water.

I appreciate your ideas! Petco I just happened to be near one day, and it was expensive but the one piece I bought there is nice. Clark's is a local decades-old business, and they have a huge selection of woods in comparison to Petco. Those two and a few others sell reptiles (thus they had wood for them and for aquarium use). I think there is one more reptile store that might be on the bus lines. Ebay and Craig's list are good ideas, but I'd prefer to see and feel the wood to make sure I can use it. I don't know if we have a JoAnn's, and we had a Michael's but it closed years ago. We have at least one Hobby Lobby, but out of the way and too complex a bus ride to wind up disappointed. I wish we had plant shows! I've been downloading bromeliad society newsletters (they are usually pdfs and easy to find), and they all have shows and sales at their meetings; I'm jealous! We'll have a harvest fair/garden market at our Garden Center early in October (on the same weekend as the free Gem & Mineral Show, where one can get cool rocks and petrified wood). Maybe they'll have something I can use. Also two weeks ago I walked down near the Rio Grande and found a few nice pieces of old wood probably dumped there by the City because they trim or cut down trees and chip them. A fellow might bring me some dried ocotillo branches, too, since he uses them in craft projects he sells. We just have to keep our eyes open for opportunities :)