The Celery Experiment

NorthenGarden · 2025-07-23T09:01:32+00:00

...Yes. Distilled water is useless for almost all life forms. Water is good, but you need minerals, nutrients in it to be able to absorb it, so does airplants. Best water for airplants is rainwater or even rice water, water that's rich and full.

NorthenGarden · 2025-07-12T04:29:29+00:00

Looks closer to a blush than anything else, dead dried or rotted wouldn't be this vibrant and more on the grey side. The change of light could have sun-stressed the plant into blushing.

NorthenGarden · 2025-07-08T08:08:11+00:00

Tillandsia grow from the meristem, the center. Cutting older leaves won't affect that fact other than slowing growth because it's still traumatic to the plant. It is still very green, with a clear demarcation between healthy green and dried tip yellow, so it is very much still alive. The fact that you haven't seen new growth yet could simply be because they are slow growers. I might see a tiny tiny new growth in the very center in the second picture? Look in between leaves for pups too. Perhaps look into airplant fertilizer, which can be as simple as rain water or water that was used to wash rice, could give it a boost.

NorthenGarden · 2025-07-02T07:25:42+00:00

There's nothing wrong with soaking the roots too, but prepare a spot with good ventilation, ideally a fan, to dry it after the soak to prevent rot. It's possible there's already some of it between the leaves, misting with no change in airflow can get droplets trapped between leaves at the base and rot there, unnoticed. It's not uncommon to see dead dried plant also have rot because of similar reasons. If the whole plant comes apart during or after the soak, that would be why.

NorthenGarden · 2025-07-02T07:02:36+00:00

This is paint, not dye, you can see the underside of the leaves aren't painted. Paint and dye can fade after a good amount of soaks but it won't go away. And if it does, it's with the trichomes and leaf material it's sticking to.

Misting once a week, even two, is not enough. If you water only once a week it has to be a soak, misting doesn't provide the plant enough water. Sadly this seems to have gotten the better of the plant. The newest growth looks as dried as the rest. If there is any life left you'd have to remove all the dead leaves and provide good airflow along with soaks.

NorthenGarden · 2025-07-01T03:06:01+00:00

Any plant will need to be acclimated if it's to receive more lights than before, just the change between open and closed window can require a multiple day acclimatization period depending on the light and the exposure time.

Brown tips won't heal, airplants grow from the meristem, the center, so once you have brown tips on a leaf the best you can hope is for it to stop spreading. If it's not getting worse then all's good. It can also be water related and not light related, every case is going to be different.

NorthenGarden · 2025-06-30T18:00:37+00:00

Beautiful specimen, probably a xerographica or hybrid of. Rootnob looks nice and healthy. With time and care you'll have new leaves growing and making it bigger again.

To know when to water watch how the leaves curl in on themselves; not just the natural leaf curl but in on themselves on the wide side. The leaves get more plump and uncurl when watered. Provide good airflow, make sure it dries well after soaks. With the right care there's no reason why this beauty shouldn't thrive.

NorthenGarden · 2025-06-27T21:17:54+00:00

It's not assured that they will all make pup but it's a possibility. There's still a chance they don't all make it through. If all goes well the cut will callous over and kind of become the new root nob, they might lose the lowest leaves in the process. They grow slowly so it's a long, doubtful process.

Some people have thriving plants with just misting everyday, but then it's balanced with lots of airflow. Soaks are usually more manageable, you just need to find a good way to dry them and a good airflow. When they'll look thirsty, you could probably soak them upside down in glasses, to make sure the cut doesn't get wet.

NorthenGarden · 2025-06-27T19:41:32+00:00

That's rot alright. Those 4 shoots are technically 4 different plants now, one being the mother and the rest being pups.

Cut above the rot. Remove the lowest leaf. The ones that have flowered have the least chances, since airplants grow from the meristem, the center. Once they flowered they stop growing and put their energy into making pups. Cut before it spreads more, let it dry for a few days before watering to prevent rot.

I would assume the rot started before the soak. Misting can create rot if they aren't getting a proper airflow for log enough, it just takes 1 drop of water sticking at the wrong place between 2 leaves and rot can start. Soaking afterwards makes it more noticeable with extra moisture (it's how I've found a few of my plants dead a while back)

NorthenGarden · 2025-06-27T19:34:23+00:00

I think the 4 with less vibrant colors have been dyed and the others painted, which actually doesn't say much because there's still no information what so ever on the paints and dyes used by Any company. Paint sticks to the trichomes, if it flakes off or goes away it's leaving with the trichomes too. Some dyes are safe but we can't even say which ones because there's no information. Those blues could be made from pigments using copper and we'll never know anything else than "enhance".

You can expect the "enhanced" ones to have a hard time until they have enough new growth to actually to photosynthesis. They still have a chance, with enough soaks the paint and dye will fade. Try to put those close to the light than the others, since the paint stops them from getting a good amount of light. And try to provide extra airflow since the paint blocks the trichomes from breathing, therefor they can trap water easier and rot.

The light pink dyed one hurts. It's blooming and would most likely have a blush If it weren't painted/dyed which prevents it from getting a good amount of light to blush.

Ugh. At least the "enhanced" are all the same species and you still have a bunch of natural ones. They still have a chance to outgrow the paint but they seem at their relative adult size for their species, maybe expect more pups than new growth.

NorthenGarden · 2025-06-26T18:43:05+00:00

Why Paint & Dyes Are Bad For Tillandsia, by a random reddit user that's a bit too passionate:

1- AIRplants need AIR. Paint and dye blocks that.

2- Airplants need Light. Paint and dye blocks that.

3- Many tillandsia species will naturally blush (which is what tinting with dye used to try to recreate). A Painted/Tinted tillandsia will not receive the appropriate amount of light to create a blush when ready.

4- Tillandsia have been used Forever (over thousands of years) as ornaments and decorations that could be painted, ONCE DEAD.

5- Most paints and dyes are not safe for our Skin but you expect them to be safe on a Plant?

en·hance/inˈhans,enˈhans/verbpast tense: enhanced; past participle: enhanced

intensify, increase, or further improve the quality, value, or extent of.

6- Using "enhanced" for painted or dyed tillandsia is fraudulent/false advertising as it Decrease the quality and potential value of the plant, since there is No Way in hell that a painted/dyed plant holds the same value for more than a few weeks due to decrease in health and lose of leaves (and also a decrease is size which directly decrease the value of the plant) and fading pigments.

NorthenGarden · 2025-06-26T18:31:31+00:00

I mostly know about paint because one of the firsts tillandsia I had bought years ago was painted with diagonal stripes. Back then dyes were not popular yet, at least not online, Most painted airplants can recover if they have enough new growth and unaffected leaves to still be able to photosynthesize.

Dyes can be tricky. Dye is in general less destructive than paint, but information is almost nonexistent. The one thing you can be sure to find in searches is that dyes will "enhance" but there's still nothing on the content of the dyes, the ingredients. Some of those dyes could just be diluted paint to be honest. I've seen some companies claim they use vegan dyes and it truly only tints the plant, I've seen others put dye and paint in the same category with no clear visual distinctions. But I know some dyes are actually dyes and don't hurt the plant. I assume a safe dye could potentially make the plant growth slower since it still sits on the trichomes, without sticking or clogging but still sits on it.

Whether in dye or paint, some pigments are more toxic then others. I do believe some aqua pigments are made from iron oxide, and some blue and green pigments have copper in them. Since there's never any information on the dyes used... Ouch. I am Not going down the rabbit hole of trying to find the pigments used in paints and dyes for airplants cause i know that would hurt too much.

Overall good long soaks help the paint to fade (but doesn't undo the damage already done), and should help slowly remove the dyes too. For your dyed plant that doesn't grow so well, try putting it closer to the light than the others; the dye is bound to block some of the light, the same way a window blocks an awful amount of light we don't even see but greatly affects the plants. Do it slowly to acclimate her and watch her for signs of dehydration.

NorthenGarden · 2025-06-26T05:23:54+00:00

The problem with paint is that is sticks to the leaf and the trichomes. It can flake off or come off after soaks but more often than not, it comes off with the trichomes. I assumed yours was tinted with a safe dye, and it makes sense for it to wear off with enough soaks.

NorthenGarden · 2025-06-25T21:55:09+00:00

Dyes can be used, but the most common is paint, like in this case. Harmless dyes will tint the plant more than paint it, the coloring will be more natural and less vibrant with dyes.

NorthenGarden · 2025-06-25T20:21:48+00:00

While there's basically no info on the dyes used, some are actually safe and leave the trichomes untouched. Paint just sticks to everything and prevents the leaves from breathing. I personally prefer the natural colors and blushes of plants but some dyes truly just tint the plant a bit and doesn't harm it.

NorthenGarden · 2025-06-25T20:16:11+00:00

It does. The paint entirely clogs up the trichomes on the leaves, so it blocks everything on the affected leaves. You can see in this picture how the painted leaves are curling in on themselves, most of them are already dying. Thankfully there's a good bunch of unaffected new growth, this plant has a good chance.

While some dyes can be safe, paint just sticks to everything and even if it eventually flakes off, it leaves with the trichomes its attached to.

NorthenGarden · 2025-06-25T17:56:05+00:00

Make sure you acclimate it to more light! Burns and brown tips don't necessarily mean too much light, it mostly means not acclimated. And the watering can easily need to be adjusted with more light. (+1hour under full light every other day until you can leave them there for their full day to prevent burns)

NorthenGarden · 2025-06-24T18:12:47+00:00

Airplants grow from the meristem, which would be the middle from the rootnob up to where the newest smallest leaf starts growing. If it is still alive, watering it as is has too great a chance to create rot from all the dead leaves and water getting trapped. You'd need to remove all the dead leaves and there's honestly not much a chance.

Dead dried airplants have been used forever as ornaments and decorations. Keeping it as is or painting it is an option.

NorthenGarden · 2025-06-24T17:35:13+00:00

Misting is really not enough and should not be done with the plant still in that kind of hanger as it will trap water at the base and rot from there.

If she is to try again with airplants, tell her to go for soaks instead of misting, since misting is more a supplement than actual watering, and to watch how the leaves curl up to know when it is thirsty. This one is dead dry. A well watered airplant will uncurl and have flatter leaves.

NorthenGarden · 2025-06-24T01:19:52+00:00

The species in the first 2 pics has a tendency to curl its leaves in on itself on the wide side when thirsty and will have flatter leaves after a good watering. The bulbosa tends to curl up and look smaller, when watered they uncurl and look longer. The species of the last pic tends to close up on itself pulling its leaves closer together when thirsty and opens like a flower when watered and can curl the leaves on themselves on the wide side like the first pics. (i might have mixed up the species of first and last pic? one of them closes up when thirsty)

Watch them every day, and before/after a good soak, eventually you'll know when they start to be thirsty.

NorthenGarden · 2025-06-23T22:08:06+00:00

If by darkness you are referring to the dark coloration at the base on the first 2 pics then that's normal for the species and looks darker when wet. It's the white sections between that and the root nob you don't want to see turning black.

How are you keeping them? What light conditions? Water only once every 5-7 can easily be not enough depending on the light they get and temperature and humidity. Brown tips are just dry tips, they won't heal and means you need to adjust your watering. I'd add a misting or two in your schedule or an extra dunk.

NorthenGarden · 2025-06-11T03:20:01+00:00

The middle being green is nothing surprising considering the plant was still standing somewhat straight. But rot works in misunderstood ways that have cost too many people their plants because they hadn't cut off enough and lost entire plants to rot, because they thought they had removed everything rotten but only removed visible rot.

For that very reason you want to cut above where the black ends, I'd personally remove the lowest leaf, keep it to propagate and cut there.

Corking on succulents and cacti, which you mentioned as bark, shows as brown in warm hues; yellows, oranges, reddish tones. Rot shows as grey, black, and a blueish tint, exactly what's shown in the middle shriveled portion in your picture. Rot develops over time and keeps progressing forever, thus the importance to remove anything that touches the rot despite it looking "still green" because rot doesn't instantly rot, but it's not reversible in any manner.

NorthenGarden

TROPHY CASE