Air plants prefer bright, indirect sunlight, and their ideal temperature is anywhere between 60 to 80°F. Anything below or above that will stress them out.
one way to test. to see if your air plants are still viable. is to give them a good soak, a nice watering like you normally would, and then gently grasp the base. and the very top cluster of leaves. and give it a gentle tug. a healthy air plant with a little bit of pressure. will stay fully intact. but if you pull.
Always use a gentle touch when handling these delicate little plants. While many plants can handle being, well, man handled, air plants cannot. Touch them as little as possible, and when you do be sure not to crush or bend any of their parts.
A light application of water, such as misting, will not fully absorb through the plant's leaves and the water will most likely evaporate before it can nourish the plant. A deeper, more thorough method of dunking or soaking is recommended for most plants every week to ten days to ensure proper hydration.
Grow air plants in bright but indirect light, such as near a window. They can tolerate some direct sunlight, but too much can cause their leaves to burn. Air plants require temperatures between 10-32°C and moderate humidity levels, around 40-60 percent, making them ideal for growing in terrariums and bathrooms.
Tip: Tillandsia don't love to be handled. Besides our clumsy hands snapping the occasional leaf, the oils in our fingers actually clog the air plant's sensitive leaves. All Airplantman designs keep this in mind so that it is easy to give your Tillandsia the water it needs without touching it directly!
Identifying Overwatered Air Plants
The most obvious signs to look out for are soft, mushy leaves and discoloration. If your air plant's leaves feel more like wilted lettuce than the stiff, healthy texture they're supposed to have, you could be dealing with overwatering.
Keep the temperature between 10-30 degrees Celsius, and remember to mist your Happy Plant occasionally with water to maintain humidity levels. Inadequate humidity can lead to brown tips on leaves and stunted growth, so ensuring a warm and humid environment is crucial for the health and growth of your Happy Plant.
Roots: Air plants anchor themselves to objects by their roots and need to be attached to something in order to grow.
Reviving a Dying Air Plant
Switch to rainwater or unchlorinated water. Move the plant to a well-lit place away from direct sunlight if you suspect lighting issues. Finally, spray the plants with Tillandsia fertilizer to provide nutrients and allow the plant to thrive.
The average lifespan of an individual air plant is between two and five years, depending on the type, propagation method, and level of care—but a single plant can produce enough offshoots (or pups) to live indefinitely.
Air plants are sometimes glued to a decorative support. They can do quite well in this situation, but it can make watering the plant a little awkward. If possible, soak the air plant without submerging the wood or other material attached to it, and be sure to invert the plant afterward so it dries thoroughly.
Therefore, any kind of wood-based container or surface is absolutely ideal for the Tillandsia variety. If you search online, you'll get some attractive options—for example, wood air plant holders with curved wires at the top. Simple rustic style wooden vases go well too with all kinds of indoor decor.
Air plant display can be quite simple because they do not require a soil medium to grow. Instead, air plants absorb nutrients from the air around them. Hang them in glass ornamentals from your ceiling or simply display them on a bookshelf. Not to mention, Mosses pair well with air plants!
Air plants can die from being over-watered, too. Plants should be fully dried before being soaked in water again. Your plant can also rot from moisture if returned to an enclosed space before they fully dry, but avoiding these things will keep your plant healthy!
A good rule to follow is most air plants that have an abundance of trichomes (xeric plants) should often be dunked or misted, while plants with bright green leaves and less trichomes (mesic plants) prefer to be soaked once a week.
Do not allow the plant to get extremely dry, this additional shock could be enough to kill the plant. If the plant is wilting badly, you can mist or syringe the plant's foliage with water which will prevent too much leaf scorch.
Boron, Zinc, and Urea-Nitrogen
Look out for ingredients such as boron, zinc, or urea-nitrogen as these elements are considered harmful to air plants. Just make sure that your fertilizer does contain nitrogen in a usable form.
Air plants do best with at least a few hours of bright, indirect sun daily. Placement within 1 to 3 feet of an east- or west-facing window, or within a foot or two of an artificial light source is ideal. If you keep them well watered, they can have hotter, more direct sun and longer exposure. Avoid dimly lit locations.
Use any water-soluble plant food such as Jack's Classic or Miracle-Gro – mix half-strength with water and spray-mist all over the plant, or use it in the soaking water. If you need an insecticide or fungicide, wet table powder is the best, and use at half-strength.
Air plants are a growing trend and a must-have in every bathroom to brighten up your space and bring a little bit of nature into a room where you typically do not see much “natural green.” Air plants are perfect for a bathroom - they do not require soil, just occasional watering and lighting from either a window or ...
Feed them once a month by adding water-soluble fertilizer for epiphytes, bromeliads or air plants to the water you dunk them in. These specialized fertilizers contain nitrogen in a form they can absorb. Air plants like temperatures ranging between the 50s and 90s. They thrive with temperature fluctuations.
Light Needs
All air plants like bright, indirect light but xeric plants can also tolerate direct morning sun. A south-, west- or bright east-facing window is the best. Place them no more than 5 feet away from the light source, adjusting the difference depending upon “how bright” your actual light is.