Hello and T tectorum

[yctan118]

Hi all,
I am YC, a newbie from KL. After seeing so many of the nice foto in this forum... finally can not tahan any more and bought a T tectorum....
but did not realise that this is a difficult to grow species.

I guess I need lots of helps and advice from the gurus here....

Anyway, here are the pictures. I got so attracted by the white white hairs.

[atmccmn]

Yctan, I must agree with you on how could one cannot 'tahan' to get our hands on this white fluffy powder puff thing.

From what I've known, those 'hi-tech' white hairs are actually speciallized part of the epidermis cells called trichomes designed to capture dew droplets and also as a defending mechanism against harmful uv rays.

Actually this is a true desert plant which require only minimal care and watering to grow well. I think due to our constant attention and unpredictable monsoon raining seasons will spoil it's look (also disintegreted due to rot). I grow mine high up among tree top which get full day sun all day long. Unfortunately it still look pathetic as all the trichomes are 'glued' to the leaf blades looking like a 'lidi' plant!

From what I've read, this is a native desert plant in Peru at altitude from 980-2700m alt.
Well, I've attached a superb specimen insitu in its' type locality for all of us to drool over! (A pic from from The New Tillandsia Handbook by Hideo Shimizu & Hiroyuki Takizawa)

Sorry for the glare!

[funkychips]

Interesting species!! They grow so uniformly it looks like they were plastic plants arranged on a rock.

I have heard of a smaller variety of tectorum that actually does well locally. Although like Andy said, the plant will lose much of its fuzziness and will look more green because of lack of arid conditions that makes the trichomes well fluffed.