All About Live Pink Quill (Great for BioActive Tanks)

The Tillandsia cyanea, which is more commonly known as the pink quill, is an easy-to-care-for, versatile, and robust tropical houseplant.

Part of the Bromeliad family, unlike most Tillandsia species, it can be grown in a pot as well as an air plant.

It produces a display of large, long-lasting, showy pink bracts that resemble ink quills, and this is where the inspiration for its common name comes from. The bracts add interest for several months—so you'll have plenty opportunity to enjoy their vibrancy. You'll also get to appreciate the pretty little violet flowers that emerge in the summer; although they only last two or three days.

It usually takes a couple of years for a plant to reach maturity, and it won't bloom until then. Consequently, most people buy the plant at the flowering stage.

As the bracts age, they can start to turn from pink to green, and when they diminish, the plant will begin to die off. However, if you want to appreciate the bracts and blooms more frequently, it's easy to propagate from offsets. So you can grow several generations to have blooms appearing at different times.

In their native tropical rainforest environment, the Tillandsia cyanea grows as an epiphytic species on trees. Having the option to grow it in a pot rather than securing the pink quill to other objects (like wood) or attaching with wires, makes it particularly appealing for some houseplant lovers.

Plant Care

With Tillandsia species, the key care requirements are getting the balance right when it comes to light and watering. If you manage that, your pink quill should produce an impressive display of long-lasting vibrant bracts.

Temperature and Humidity

It shouldn't come as a surprise that this tropical species appreciates warm conditions. Ideal minimum temperatures for encouraging blooms are around 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

They aren't fans of dry conditions either. If there isn't enough humidity, the foliage can develop brown tips.