Air plants are beautiful low-maintenance plants. They have become very popular with different people, and suit most with busy lives. Even though tillandsias require less care than most other plants, they are very attractive and can be displayed in many exciting ways. Air plants also help purify the air in your room – they release oxygen and absorb air contaminants while photosynthesizing.
In this post, we will cover everything that you need to know about caring for your air plants. We will cover air plant watering, growing, fertilizing, pests and diseases, light and soil requirements, and many other aspects. We will also talk about air plants and their use in terrariums.
What are air plants?
Tillandsia is a very popular genus of plants that are in the Bromeliaceae (or bromeliad) family. There are more than 650 species of tillandsias worldwide. In this post, we will cover everything you need to know about caring for your own tillandsias, or commonly called, air plants.
Where can you find air plants in the wild?
Natural habitat for air plants include both tropical and desert locations – such as United States, Mexico and Argentina. They can also grow on lands or high mountains, forests, swamps or even deserts.
What types of air plants are there?
There are few different types of air plants. Xeric air plants inhabit dry areas and look fluffier and can survive severe dryness by only absorbing the water from the fog.
Mesic air plants inhabit rainforests and get a lot of rainfalls regularly. Mesic air plants also need to be watered more regularly. They have less fluff on them and look greener. This ‘fluff’ consists of a large number of trichomes, openings that absorb water on the leaves.
There are also different cultivars and hybrids which have been created by crossing various air plants. Some of Tillandsia include bromeliads, orchids, Spanish mosses, ball moss or Tillandsia recurvata, T. stricta, T. Cyanea, T. capitata, T. harrisii and many others.
Where can I buy air plants?
Buying air plants is always exciting. If you are just starting out, choose an assortment of small pups and try growing all of them. If buying in a shop, avoid getting faded and weak looking plants with lots of brown leaves on the top of the plant. Brown leaves on the bottom are often normal – they become brown because the light gets blocked and doesn’t reach them.
Here are some assortments of air plants:
and many other options… Some search should bring you to the plants that you like.
Do air plants have a root system and how do they absorb water and nutrients?
Most tillandsias are epiphytes – which means that they attach themselves to trees or other objects (wires, fences, etc.) Most air plants have no or only minimal root system that they only use for attaching and holding themselves.
Air plants are not parasitic and only attach themselves to other trees to survive.
Air plants don’t absorb water same way as other plants. Instead, they have special openings in their leaves (called trichomes) to absorb water and nutrients from their surroundings and air. So, they only use other objects or trees for holding themselves in a good position.
It is fine if your air plant has no roots at all – it doesn’t affect its health. Some air plants can have roots and use them only for attachment to a host. These roots look like small straws. If your air plants have roots – don’t remove them, as it can damage plant’s structural integrity.
What exactly are air plant trichomes and what is their function?
Trichomes are special hairs that lay across the surface of leaves in air plants. These trichomes give air plants the soft, hairy look. Air plants have been created this way to adapt to different conditions that they live in – in drier areas, air plants have more prominent trichomes to catch more water from the rain or air.
Do air plants take other plants’ nutrients?
No. All air plants are not parasitic and only use other trees or objects that are high enough to get more sun and water. They only use other trees to get the water and nutrients from the air, or their surroundings.
Do air plants need water and light?
Yes, you must water your air plants around 4 times a week. This will depend on a watering method. There is a myth that air plants don’t need any water – that is not true. Watering once a week is still a low maintenance and won’t take much time.
Air plants also need light – that is why they attach themselves on top of the trees, as high as possible.
How much light and sun do air plants need?
Air plants need a lot of indirect sun light. This is what they get in their natural habitat – and that is why they attach on top of the trees to get as much light as possible. They usually live in between the trees too, getting lots of indirect light. You should try mimicking these conditions.
You can keep them outdoors or indoors. Indoors, the best spot will be on a windowsill. If your air plant is in a terrarium in an office, place artificial fluorescent lights. It will also enjoy outdoors for extra air circulation and indirect light.
Don’t expose your air plant to many hours of direct sun – one hour of direct sun a day is more than enough.
Otherwise, it can burn the plant quickly.
If you have a chance, take the plant outside once a week for fresh air and lots of indirect light. Air plants appreciate good air circulation, too.
Make sure you take care of lighting from the beginning – most air plants that don’t get enough light show symptoms too late. Don’t leave your air plants in dark places. Some signs of lack of sunlight are faded leaves and lost color of the plant. Without proper lighting, air plants can’t photosynthesize.
Which temperatures do air plants need?
Air plants do pretty well in different temperatures. If your air plants are outside in freezing or hot conditions, they might not survive. Minimum temperatures should be around +5 degrees Celsius (41 degrees F), and maximum – around 35-40 Celsius (96 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit).
In very cold or hot temperatures, bring your air plant inside and give plenty of water (in severe heat).
Try to shield the plant from sudden changes in temperature. Ideal temperatures for tillandsia are 25-30 degrees Celsius in summer and 15-20 in winter. If you can’t provide you tillandsia with ideal temperatures, do your best to avoid temperatures that are below optimal.
If your plant is on a windowsill, avoid sudden changes in temperatures or cold wind when opening windows or doors.
What is the growth cycle of air plants? Growth and propagation.
Growth cycle in air plants is very interesting. Air plants often grow all year round.
Air plants only flower once in their lifetime.
After air plants mature and bloom, they produce baby plants called ‘pups’. These pups grow besides the parent plant. After blooming and producing a pup or few, parent plants die. If you separate a mature pup from the parent plant, it might produce another pup plant. If you leave the pup beside the parent plants, it will die, and the brown leaves can be removed in some time.
When pups become bigger and strong enough, you can separate it from the parent plant and then pup will grow independently. Often, pups grow on the bottom of the plant, around the sides.
Air plants bloom after around two years (from pups).
With air plants, parent plants slowly die after their pups reach maturity. This growth cycle repeats with pups – they become mature plants that produce their own pups.
If the parent plants have already produced 2-3 pups, it is not obligatory to separate them – they can grow in the same spot. Parent plant will die, and you can remove its dead brown leaves in some time.
When should you separate an air plant pup from the parent plant?
Many owners find it hard to decide when to separate a pup from the main plant. If you separate a pup too early, it will be too weak to survive on its own and will die. Leaving a pup with a parent is usually better until the parent plant starts declining fully.
Generally, pup’s size should be at least half the size of a parent plant before you separate them. It should also have few leaves (around 5). These signs mean that plant is ready to be removed.
After you remove the pups, transfer them to their new containers straight away. Provide with light and water.
Can you propagate air plants from seeds?
Yes. Mature air plants also produce seeds from the blooms. Growing air plants from seeds is harder and takes more time.
Take the seeds and place them in a container filled with some sand and peat moss. Place the seeds on top of the medium (don’t cover) and spray some water. Close the container lid and place it on a sunny windowsill with temperatures above 75 degrees Fahrenheit. If needed, use artificial heat and light bulbs.
Germination takes around a month. After that, it can take up to 5 years for seedlings to become mature plants.
How to water air plants? And often to water air plants?
There are few ways that you can water your air plants. Each of these methods depends on how dry your air plant is and when the last watering time was. You don’t need to water air plant’s flower – only its leaves.
The three ways to water your air plants are:
- Misting
- Soaking
- Dunking
Watering frequency should depend on…
- the weather (more frequent in summer and less in winter) and,
- type of the air plant – xeric or mesic. Xeric air plants can survive with less water, but mesic plants need more water to thrive.
Misting air plants
If you need to water your air plant lightly, misting is the best option. For misting, use a spray bottle and spray lots of water on surface of each leaf (not only roots, if there are any). Misting is a good watering option for xeric air plants which are used to dry conditions and will suit busy people.
Other types of air plants will also appreciate misting between deeper watering. Most water will drip form the plant, so make sure to spray a lot. Trichomes in air plants need a good misting to be able to absorb some water.
Misting two to four times a week will be enough for both xeric and mesic air plants. On top of that, perform a deeper watering (dunking or submerging) at least once a week for xeric and twice a week for mesic air plants.
Misting is also a perfect option for air plants that are inside a terrarium. If your air plant is attached to other elements inside a terrarium, you don’t need to remove the plant for watering. Just spray the surface of the air plant frequently (every day or two).
Dunking or rinsing air plants
Dunking air plants is also easy. All you should do for dunking is to place your air plant under the tap with cool water for around 2 minutes. This proper watering will ensure that water has reached all spots and leaves on the plant.
You should rinse your mesic air plants around 3 times a week + mist them in between. With xeric air plants, rinse twice a week.
Shake off any water that gets trapped between the leaves and let it dry before you return the plant to a terrarium or other display.
Submerging air plants
Soaking air plants is only required if your plants have become very dry or have not been given any water for a long time. Deep watering will help your air plant refresh and absorb a lot of water in one watering session. You can submerge your large air plants once a week or as required.
To do this, place your air plant in a container full of water. Make sure all the leaves are in water and leave it in the container for 30-50 minutes.
Submerging is a good option for large air plants that can be hard to water by misting or rinsing.
How can you tell your air plants are underwatered (thirsty) or overwatered?
Sometimes it might be hard to keep up with the watering sessions and this might make the plant dry and
underwatered. But some owners also tend to overwater the plants. The signs of underwatered, or thirsty air plants are curled leaves (usually inwards) and in worst cases, brown leaves with dry ends. If your plant is underwatered, submerge it in the water for 40-60 minutes and remove any dead leaves.
Overwatering with air plants happens rarely if you remove any trapped water between the leaves. Trichomes in the leaves absorb as much water as the plant needs. The only issue is often the trapped water that owners don’t shake off before returning the plant to its display. Excessive water without any air circulation can cause the plant to rot.
Make sure that your air plant doesn’t stay wet for too long – this can often happen in a terrarium with other humid elements.
Do you need to fertilize air plants?
Yes, fertilizing air plants is important. This is because in the natural habitat, they absorb their nutrients from the surrounding debris, various excrement and dead leaves. This possibility is minimized if you keep your plants indoors or even outdoors. Air plants in a small terrarium have even less chance of absorbing nutrients.
Choose a water soluble fertilizer and use it few times a week by spraying on the leaves. The best way to apply it is to spray the leaves just after soaking or misting your air plants. If your air plant is in a terrarium, you can remove the plant or spray directly on the leaves.
Fertilize your air plants from twice a week to once a month. The strength of a fertilizer will dictate how often you can fertilize the plant.
This fertilizer is only intended for use once a month. If your air plant is embedded in a terrarium with other plants, fertilizing once a month can be a more convenient option.
Are you wondering what 3 numbers on the packaging mean? Numbers like 17-8-22 mean ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the fertilizer. These elements are very important for healthy plants and promote growth and flowering. Nitrogen is somewhat more important for air plants to promote healthy foliage growth.
If you don’t want to get any sprays for air plants, you can use other water soluble organic fertilizers.
Don’t buy fertilizers that go in the soil, as your air plants will not be able to absorb these nutrients.
What pests and diseases can attack air plants?
Air plants are quite resistant to many pests and diseases. However, there are few different types of pests that can attack air plants. You should always try to notice any pests from the beginning as they will be easier to remove. There will also be less damage to your tillandsias.
Rotting and fungus
Air plants don’t like sudden changes in temperatures, bad ventilation or cold windowsills. If the humidity is too high for too long, or if there is any excess water on the leaves – it can cause rotting and fungus. Always dry your air plants, other elements of a terrarium and surfaces after watering sessions.
If you leave your air plant in wet conditions for too long, leaves will become black and fall out. Fungus can develop in humid and poorly ventilated space such as terrarium. Make sure to ventilate terrariums with air plants to avoid fungus formation.
Mealybugs on air plants
Very common pests attacking air plants are mealybugs. Mealybugs are white and round, and their colonies look like white fluff. You will notice a white fluff on top of leaves that looks like cotton. At first, there will be some fluff and in no time, you will notice small bugs if looking closely.
You must treat your air plant as soon as you notice mealybugs as they are will destroy the plant by feeding on its juices. Use water to flush out any bugs, but if the infestation is serious, use insecticide to kill the bugs. Keep repeating the treatment as re-infestation can happen.
Mature air plant not growing
If your mature air plant is not growing, then you will need to assess the conditions where you are keeping the plant. Air plants that are kept in dark rooms with no natural or at least artificial lighting will fade. You should also ensure that humidity levels are bit high – very dry conditions are not optimal. 60-80% humidity is optimal.
How to prune air plants are remove old leaves?
If you find any brown leaves on the bottom or sides of your air plant, don’t panic. This is completely normal, and you just need to remove the old leaves. Snip off brown leaves with your fingers – this should be easy to do. Removing dead leaves will give new plants energy to grow.
With other leaves that are slightly yellow but still look fine – you can either cut them off with shears or leave them until they become brown.
Be careful when cutting at the base where you can usually find pups. If you cut a pup that is not yet mature, it will not survive on its own.
How to attach air plants? And how to display air plants?
Growing air plants in terrarium is a number one option for a nice display. As air plants don’t need soil, they are perfect for small or large terrarium containers.
Fun terrarium options for air plants include hanging glass bulbs and wall planters.
Other exciting ways to display air plants are on wall displays or various shaped stands.
There are lots of ways to be creative with displaying air plants. Wall hooks, vases and planters with sand, pebbles and moss are also great.
You can also use other plants for attaching air plants to their tops or sides. Examples of host plants are bromeliads, Opuntia, Rebutia and Aloe Vera. All these plants need part sun – same as air plants.
Thank you for reading this article! If you have found it useful, please share and read more about other plants and creating terrariums!