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Tillandsia stand - copper doubt and photos

Verfasst: Mittwoch, 29 April 2009, 18:20
von NunoCampos
Hi everybody,

I just got back from Thailand and brought a few plants with me!!! Also found wire hangers for Tillandsias and couldn´t resist to buy a few as they were so cheap and they are very very handy.
My dilema now is that I know Tillies are sensitive to copper and eventhough the wire on which the hangers are made of it's not copper, it may have a little bit of copper in its constitution. Do you think it will affect the plants? How can I notice that the plants are actually suffering from being in contact with it?
The Tillies seller uses them on many of there plants and they seem to be fine but I can not know for how long were the plants standing on the wire. Attached are some photos of the plants I brought with me and also a detail photo of the hanger.

Any help will be much appreciated. Thank you very much in advance and I hope you enjoy the photos.

Kind Regards,
Nuno Campos

Assorted Tillandsias
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T. stricta "hard leaves" and wire hanger
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T. bulbosa "miniature" pulk
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T. ionantha "peach" pulk
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T. xerographica and brachycaulos
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Assorted Tillandsias
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Verfasst: Mittwoch, 29 April 2009, 20:35
von Ali Baba
That looks like galvanized steel wire to me: I use it to hang Tillandsias and I havent noticed any problems, however when the galvanized coating goes eventually, the wire underneath rusts which can cause sudden breakage. So like me you may occasionally find yourself hunting Tillandsias around the garden after a windy day... :oops:
Ali

Verfasst: Donnerstag, 30 April 2009, 22:27
von NunoCampos
Thanks Ali.

Verfasst: Freitag, 8 Mai 2009, 14:45
von gonzer
Nuno, the stricta hanger (with apologies to Ali) looks like lead wire, easily bent and managable. If you can find steel wire in the 18mm- 25mm gauge range, that's what I'd get. Various sizes are best when hanging plants that range from the tough, thick leaved specimens to the delicate, filiform species.

Verfasst: Samstag, 9 Mai 2009, 9:53
von Ali Baba
Hi Gonzer, no apology necessary, wire composition is difficult to guess at on a photo! :)
However I'm not entirely sure you are correct...is florists wire really made from Lead? This would be extremely toxic to people and not very good for plants either. A quick search on the internet of wire suppliers suggests it might be aluminium which is used to make soft craft wire?
Cheers
Ali

Verfasst: Sonntag, 10 Mai 2009, 0:35
von gonzer
Ali, you are correct, it would be aluminum. I had a temporary lapse of sanity! :edoh I like the aluminum vs. steel in it's ability to get much tighter coils without damaging the plants.

Verfasst: Montag, 11 Mai 2009, 11:41
von NunoCampos
Hi Ali and Gonzer,

I've just compared my wire stands with regular wire that you can buy at hardware stores and it is pretty much the same regarding colour, touch and bending abilities. So I believe it is steel wire or some kind of mixture between to different metals. Though I don't think it is aluminium as they were very cheap and alu is not that cheap I guess.

I hope they don't have any copper in it's composition. So far the plants are doing fine and some have flowered as they were already on spike when I bought them.

Thanks a lot for your help.

Kind Regards,
Nuno Campos

Verfasst: Montag, 13 Juli 2009, 17:40
von janronz
i love the copper stuff you made .its becomes more unique



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Custom copper

Re: Tillandsia stand - copper doubt and photos

Verfasst: Dienstag, 29 Oktober 2013, 7:46
von jacob374
If you can find steel wire in the 18mm- 25mm gauge range, that's what I'd get. Various sizes are best when hanging plants that range from the tough, thick leaved specimens to the delicate, filiform species.