Yard doc: Giant airplant worth keeping in your Florida landscape

Q: I have this air plant that popped up in my Florida holly. It seems to have started in the Spanish moss.  Any thoughts on what this plant is? It currently has a large shoot that's headed to the top of the holly. Is this a flower stem? Is it worth keeping?—

— Bob

A: Bob’s air plant is a bromeliad, as are most so-called air plants. This one is a native and known as giant airplant, giant wild pine or spreading airplant. To the horticulturist and scientist, it is Tillandsia utriculata and it is by all means worth keeping.

This beautiful bromeliad has a native range from southern Georgia through Florida and south through the Caribbean and into Mexico, Central America and northern South America. It is the largest of Florida’s bromeliads and is listed as endangered as a result of the feeding of the invasive Mexican bromeliad weevil.

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A true giant, spreading airplant grows up to 6.5 feet tall and wide. The leaves grow in a rosette and are light green to gray green in hue. The flowering spikes, which is appearing on Bob’s plant, often grow 3 to 6 feet tall. When the flowers open, the bracts are green or purple with white to purple petals which emerge from the bracts. Like most bromeliads, this one is monocarpic or one-flowered, which means after the mother plant flowers, she produces seeds, a few pups and dies.

Giant airplant is an epiphyte and like other epiphytic bromeliads, the roots are used mostly for support. They can be planted in the landscape, but when planted in the soil, the roots inhabit only the upper couple of inches, when growing on trees, boards or rocks, the roots cling and hold the plant securely to the surface. Due to the specialized epiphyte roots, bromeliads derive nutrients and moisture from the accumulation of organic matter and water in the cup of the plant.

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There are hundreds of bromeliad species, some are airplants, epiphytic, and others grow in the ground, terrestrial. Due to the root structure, fresh air is necessary for good bromeliad health and growth; install bromeliads with plenty of space between individual plants.

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Thin bromeliads as the pups are produced. Remove any spent mother plants and a few new pups so plants are evenly spaced. Donate extra pups to school horticulture programs or garden clubs.

Carol Cloud Bailey is a landscape counselor and horticulturist. Send questions to carol@yard-doc.com or visit www.yard-doc.com for more information.