Air plants often grow on trees or in moist areas with partial shade. In these conditions, they receive bright, indirect light. This means that indoors they do best in high light environments. Rooms with southern or eastern facing windows are best.
How to care for air plants: They need bright light, especially in northern climates. Put them in the brightest place in your home. But they do not need direct sunlight. Rooms with south- or east-facing windows are best. Some direct sun is okay, but avoid a hot western exposure or hours in direct sunlight.
Air Plant is very sensitive to dry soil, so choose a potting soil that retains moisture. A good soil will still drain well and contain lots of organic matter such as coco coir or sphagnum moss.
You can use any material you like, but wood is a great one to use because it does keep that more natural look. Air plants grow on trees and the wood recalls the details of nature.
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.
If you have air plant displays that do not allow for the soaking or dunking techniques and misting is the only option, be sure to water the plants more frequently. A heavy mist is recommended every one to three days and always be sure there is plenty of indirect light and ventilation so the plant dries properly.
Air plants require a precise watering schedule for optimal growth and blooming. Overwatering can cause fungus rot and fall apart, while underwatering can cause foliage curling and wrinkling.
Every one to two weeks, soak your air plant in room temperature tap water (or rain/pond water if you can find it) for 5-10 minutes. After soaking gently shake excess water from your plant. Turn it upside down and place it on a towel in a bright space. This is very important!
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!
A healthy air plant will have wide open leaves while a dehydrated air plant will have closed and curled leaves! Never submerge the bloom or flower, as it can cause the flower to rot. If you are using tap water, let the water stand for several hours to dissipate any chemicals prior to watering the plants.
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.
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.
In their native habitat of tropical and subtropical North and South America, these epiphytic plants will be found clinging to trunks and branches of other plants or anything else they can sit on including rocks and buildings. While they use other plants to sit on, they do not harm or take from their host.
Plants need to breathe for the same reason people and animals must breathe – they need oxygen to convert food into energy. The relationship between air and indoor plants is crucial to keeping your plants looking their best.
Air plants (Tillandsia) need no potting compost, so are full of creative potential when it comes to their display. With these plants you can make indoor arrangements unlike any other by attaching them to wood, nestling them in the branches of other house plants, or growing in a hanging mobile.
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.
You should soak your air plants every week to ten days as a rule of thumb. Air plant leaves tend to feel a little stiffer after you water them, and one of the most telltale signs that your air plant is dehydrated is if its leaves are wrinkled or starting to curl a lot more than they usually do.
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.
Conclusion. Air plants, despite being soil-free, require regular watering to stay happy and thriving. Soaking and misting are the two easiest methods you can use. If you're unsure how to display these intriguing plants in your indoor space, mount them on a wooden board or grow them in a decorative terrarium.
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.
For best results and an extra boost of nutrients, add one pump of Miracle-Gro® Indoor Plant Food to the soaking water or mist your air plant once a week with Miracle-Gro® Ready-to-Use Orchid Plant Food Mist.
The most common pests that plague air plants are mealy bug, and scale. If an air plant is infested with mealy bug it will have a waxy cotton like substance on its leaves. Mealy bugs cause damage to the soft leaves of Tillandsia and Bromeliads by attacking the leaves to get to the "sap" inside.