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Species library › Tillandsia › Tillandsia imperialis
Other Well documented

Tillandsia imperialis

Súchil

A Mexican cloud-forest Tillandsia with a dense rosette of soft green leaves and a stout, cone-like red inflorescence, known locally as súchil and collected for Christmas nativity displays. It grows on pines and oaks at 800–2600 m along the eastern Sierra Madre and Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. Unlike grey xeric air plants, it needs constant humidity and does not tolerate drought.

Tillandsia imperialis
Photo: Timm Stolten, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

An epiphyte in moist montane cloud forest, on branches and in cavities of pines and oaks such as Pinus patula and Quercus laurina, and on woody vines associated with them. It sits in frequent mist and cloud, typically in bright but filtered light in the tree crowns.

Recorded at about 800–2600 m.

Mexico (Hidalgo)Mexico (Oaxaca)Mexico (Puebla)Mexico (Querétaro)Mexico (Veracruz)

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.