lorax

Erronious! I'll tell you right now, the little Tillies that live on the lamppost outside my window are very much alive - if they were dead, how would they be blooming? It's equally wrong to call them either "ferns" or "moss" because they are neither - bromeliads, represent!

The problem comes in that "spanish moss", T. usneoides, is commonly used in the florist and craft trade. At that stage, yes, it's dead, although it does stay green. Let me tell, you, however, when it's alive it most definitely grows, and very rapidly - for you, the quickest way to confirm that would be to travel to New Orleans or further down the bayou, and have a look at their trees - spanish moss is a pest species there.

Try researching "Tillandsia" to get an accurate picture of the genus and its members. In particular, T. juncea and T. usneoides carry the specific epithet "air fern" although there are a number of others, most of which are weed species in Ecuador.

I joke with Tog about getting paid to remove T. juncea from the phone lines here, and selling it in Malaysia - this is the magnitude of my country's problem with the bromeliad, and the scarcity of it overseas.

Certainly, you can keep Tillies and not water them, without any outward change in appearance. However, they will die, just like any other plant that you don't water. A misting a day, however, will stimulate a live specimen to bloom, which is colourful and exciting.