Air plants are truly unique and beautiful plants of various shapes and with different types of leaves. But are your air plant’s leaves turning brown, black or crispy? In this post, you will find reasons of air plant leaves turning brown, black, crispy, developing spots and what you can do to fix that.
Why are my air plant leaves turning brown?
There can be few reasons why your air plant leaves are turning brown. Two of the main reasons of your air plant turning brown is under watering and aging.
Signs of under watering in air plants include:
- If leaves are brown, but also dry and shriveled/extra curly, it’s a sign of under watering.
- Tips of leaves will also become dry and shriveled.
- Air plant will start curling inwards, and look circular and clumpy.
- Leaves might look bent, and after you water more deeply – they will straighten out again.
Please note that your air plant’s leaves will also turn brown at the base as time goes on due to aging. Aging leaves will be primarily found at the base of your air plant, and slowly turning yellow and then brown & crispy.
This is normal, and you can snap them from the base. However, always check behind leaves before cutting off any – you might find a pup that you can damage.
Yellow leaves are also dying leaves, so you might decide to cut them off with disinfected scissors. That will help your plant to spend more energy on growing new foliage, instead of holding on to dying leaves.
However, browning leaves are normal when you notice them at the base, behind new leaves, only. If middle or even upper parts of your plant are turning brown, that would mean that your plant is highly likely needing more water.
Make sure it’s not soft either – try to squish it a little. If you don’t feel slight resistance, then your plant might be rotting inside.
Please note that some air plants might have dried brown tips, which is also an indicator of aging. You can cut the brown tips without any problem to the plant, and it should not deter you from getting such a plant with some brown leaf tips.
Spotting and discoloration on air plants
If you notice small spots on your air plants, this can mean that your air plant is not receiving enough sunlight. With lack of light, your air plant will slowly lose its functions, and won’t be able to photosynthesize.
Most air plants don’t show symptoms of low light for a long time, then fall apart suddenly. Another sign of low light is color fade throughout the plant.
It might be possible for you to save the plant if you have noticed some spots on the air plant. Think about where you display your air plant, and what you display it in.
Is it positioned somewhere with lots of bright but indirect light, or is it sitting on a dark shelf? Do all parts of the plant receive sunlight? Make sure to move it to a brighter spot as soon as possible.
Some displays might have your air plant sitting deeply, where lower part of the plant (base) is not getting enough light. Due to this, you might notice falling leaves. In winter, due to lack of sunlight, you should use full-spectrum plant lights like this to keep your air plants happy.
On top of that, if any water gets trapped at the base, you might lose your whole plant to rot. Signs of rot is mushy or soft base, plant falling apart, unusual smell.
If you notice any brown or yellow spots on your air plant, it could indicate burns. Does your air plant get too much direct bright light? Make sure mesic types don’t get direct sunlight, while xeric types – not more than 30-60 minutes per day in an open spot (with air exchange, not in a terrarium or similar) and more frequent watering.
Why are my air plant leaves turning crispy?
If your air plant leaves are turning crispy, that is most likely caused by under watering. Tillandsias require deeper watering around once in 7 days for mesic types, and once in 10 days for xeric types, during warmer months of the year.
Misting in between is also necessary, but make sure not to rely on misting only (unless your air plant variety must not be soaked, such as Tillandsia tectorum).
Another natural reason why air plant leaves are turning brown and crispy is because plant is aging and dying. Once parent plant reaches maturity, bloom and produces 1 to few pups, it will start drying up and dying.
If you don’t separate pups from the parent plant, the parent plant will eventually shrink. Then, pups will form a clump.
Why is my air plant turning black?
If your air plant is turning black, it could be due to few reasons, including rot, freezing and low light.
Rot is one of the most common reasons what tillandsia owners lose their plants to. While it is not easy to overwater an air plant, it’s possible. When watering your air plant, you must make sure that you shake excess water after watering.
Your air plant must dry within 3-4 hours after watering – otherwise, it might become susceptible to rot and fungus. Air exchange is also crucial to help your air plant dry properly – so make sure ventilate the space or even use a dryer to help dry your plants.
Never position your air plants on wet substrate or moss. Substrate retains moisture, that will cause your air plant to start rotting at the base. If your air plant is black at the base as well as soft with falling leaves, it is probably rotting inside. At this point, it is rarely possible to save a plant.
And if your plant is showing any signs of brown/black rot, stick to misting only and let your air plant dry properly.
Another reason why your air plant might start turning black is because it has been freezing. If you leave your air plant outside in very cold weather, it will soon decline to the point that it will become black and soft, without a chance or revival.
Most air plants prefer warmer temperatures ranging from 60-80 degrees Fahrenheit (16-27 Celsius). If you keep your air plant outside when it’s lower than 45 F (7 Celsius), it is likely to freeze and die at temperatures below 28 F (-2 Celsius).
Make sure to take your air plant inside once it hits 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 Celsius) and colder. Normal room temperature in winter in sufficient to winterize your air plants and to prevent them from freezing.
As mentioned above, your air plant will show discoloration if it’s not getting enough light. However, your air plant might also start turning black due to low light, later falling apart. If you are sure that your air plant has not been overwatered and is not in cold or wet conditions, then it could be due to low light.
If your air plant is falling apart, this could be due to few reasons. You can read more about it in this post.