Species library β€Ί Tillandsia β€Ί Tillandsia ultima
Other Partly documented

Tillandsia ultima

A high-Andean epiphytic Tillandsia of cold, wet montane cloud forest and treeline scrub in Colombia and Ecuador, found at about 2100–3200 m. It is listed as Endangered in the Colombian Red Book of plants and is rarely cultivated. Unlike the silvery air plants sold in shops, it needs cool, constantly humid conditions.

Tillandsia ultima
Photo: Phytophilus, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Humid airBand in Plantistry
Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

Herbarium labels describe rich montane forest, cloud forest in ravines and high-altitude forest at the treeline. These include the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and PΓ‘ramo de Frontino in Colombia, and the Otavalo and Mojanda cloud forests in Imbabura, Ecuador. It grows as an epiphyte on trees and shrubs in these misty forests.

Specimens are from 2110–3200 m: about 2100–2450 m on the eastern slopes of Ecuador, and 2950–3200 m in Azuay, Imbabura and at the Colombian sites.

Colombia (Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Antioquia)Ecuador (Imbabura, Napo, Azuay, Morona-Santiago, Zamora-Chinchipe)

πŸ”’ Growing it like that

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

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

Grow Tillandsia ultima? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

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 Public domain licence, unmodified.