Since air plants get many of their nutrients from water, it's best to use water rich in minerals and nutrients. Rainwater is ideal, but if you can't capture rainwater, spring water is a great alternative. Creek, lake, or well water can also work. Avoid using distilled or filtered water, as they lack essential minerals.
Water When watering your air plants never use soft or distilled water. Tepid tap water will work, but rain water or pond water is ideal. I'm pretty fortunate in this regard, in exchange for a couple of tic-tac candies my son happily fills a bucket of water from the creek behind our house to water our air plants.
The best water for air plants is rainwater. Pond or aquarium water will also work because they all contain some nutrients. Regular tap water is okay, too, but first, let it sit in an open container overnight. "This allows chlorine to dissipate and the water to reach room temperature," says Steil.
Leafy tropicals turn glossy and springy. Spider plants shine and stay green to the tips, monsteras grow new leaves, and ferns thrive. It makes sense that fresh, bubbly rainwater is better for your houseplants than chemically treated tap water and you can see the difference.
Is It Better to Mist or Soak Air Plants? Both misting and soaking are two different watering techniques for air plants. Misting provides hydration and helps simulate your plant's natural environment, and should be done 2-3 times a week. Speaking of soaking, it ensures thorough hydration and nutrient absorption.
Rainwater is slightly acidic—naturally!
Green gardeners know that most organically grown plants prefer soil pH levels between 5.5 and 6.5. This is on the acidic side of the neutral pH 7, and by nature's design, it is the exact pH range for rainwater.
It the rainwater is kept in a storage container without light or ability for other matter, animals, or insects, to enter, it can be stored forever. But that would not be useful. Usually you want to move water from one season into another. So usually you would not store water for more than a year.
So, don't be fooled by rain! If you think it's rained and you don't need to water a container, you're probably wrong. Remember you do not want sprinkle the leaves, instead you want to water at the root of the plant. House plants and interior plants need water even when it's raining.
Look for Bromeliad or Tillandsia fertilizer. Ours has a formula ratio of 17-8-22 or nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium, all things that air plants love and need to bloom and reproduce. Make sure the fertilizer you use contains a non-urea-based nitrogen. Fertilize once a month in addition to weekly waterings.
Remove any damaged or diseased parts with sanitized shears, put the plant in a sunny spot in the room, and hope for the best! If it looks like it's making a recovery, resume watering after two weeks, and be sure to shake off all the excess droplets thoroughly!
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.
It might not come as a surprise that there's no water plants love better than rainwater. Imagine your thirsty plants doused in droplets fallen fresh from the sky, their leaves expertly channeling the bounty down stalks and into the soil—right to the root zone where it is needed most.
Planting Air Plants
Because they don't need dirt, you can put them in creative places. Place one in a shallow bowl or vase filled with rocks or sand, place one in a tiny container with a magnet and put it on the fridge, or tie them to driftwood with a translucent fishing line. Don't put them in an enclosed terrarium.
Tip: Watch your plants' leaves for clues on whether they are thirsty or not. Curly leaves are drier and a healthy white fuzz actually means your plant is healthy, not necessarily drying out. Brown leaf tips and a general shriveled appearance are other clues you are under-watering.
That's because rainwater has benefits for plants that tap water simply cannot deliver. Make the most out of the recent rain and use it to re-energise and refresh your indoor plants! You can either collect rainwater in a bucket to use later, or pop your indoor plants outside for a couple of hours.
Too much water, however, injures plants, compacts soil, and leads to erosion. Root loss occurs when excess water reduces oxygen in the soil. A plant cannot grow without healthy roots. Extreme summer rain can leach nitrogen out of the soil; nitrogen is vital for photosynthesis.
A common rule of thumb is that most plants need the equivalent of one inch of rainfall a week, on average—enough to soak into the soil about six inches. However, in hot weather, plants may need more. Some areas of your yard may be dryer than others, because trees, roof overhangs, and buildings can intercept rainfall.
Distilled water is healthy for your houseplants because it's free from chemicals, metals, and other impurities. But—distilled water also eliminates beneficial minerals, so your plants won't grow as quickly as with rainwater or filtered water.
Normal, clean rain has a pH value of between 5.0 and 5.5, which is slightly acidic. However, when rain combines with sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxides—produced from power plants and automobiles—the rain becomes much more acidic. Typical acid rain has a pH value of 4.0.
It's easier to damage air plants through overwatering than under-watering, as they are prone to rotting if left in standing water for a long period. To water them properly, you can opt for misting or soaking.
Look on the bright side
Bright filtered or indirect light is ideal for indoor air plants. Some direct sun works, too (morning is better), but they shouldn't be baking all day. Think “rainforest” and do your best to reproduce those conditions in a small space.
Since air plants get many of their nutrients from water, it's best to use water rich in minerals and nutrients. Rainwater is ideal, but if you can't capture rainwater, spring water is a great alternative. Creek, lake, or well water can also work. Avoid using distilled or filtered water, as they lack essential minerals.