Air plants are beautiful and hardy plants, that can even grow in less favorable conditions. But how quickly do air plants grow and why is my air plant now growing, you might be asking? In this post, you will find information on air plant (tillandsia) growth and how to help your air plants grow faster.
Air plants are generally slow growers, especially xeric air plants. If your air plant is not growing, it could be caused by under watering (air plants love good watering), lack of sunlight, air exchange etc.
Reason #1: You have a slower growing air plant type
There are two different groups of air plants – xeric and mesic. These categories separate tillandsias originating from two completely different types of environments. Xeric tillandsias generally grow slower than mesic group air plants.
Xeric tillandsias are naturally found in hot and dry environments. They have larger trichomes (water absorbing openings on leaves), which give them a fuzzy appearance.
Larger and denser trichomes allow them to absorb more water as there’s lack of it in hotter conditions. They also protect from negative effects of direct sunlight. Due to these reasons, xeric air plants have a slower metabolism, leading to slower growth too.
Mesic tillandsias, on the other hand, come from areas that get frequent rainfalls, and generally high humidity. They possess less prominent trichomes, and have a greener look that lacks the silver/white fuzz.
Xeric tillandsias come from harsher environments, so they adapt to survive there. At home, you need to provide them with lots of indirect sunlight (some can tolerate few hours of direct morning/afternoon sunlight per day) and frequent watering. However, mesic tillandsias need more frequent watering. They also tend to grow faster than xeric group air plants.
Reason #2: Air plants are slow growers
Air plants don’t grow quickly – in fact, they are very slow growers. Air plants grown from seeds take at least a month or two to germinate, and then 4-8 years to emerge into bigger to mature plants. Their growth will be especially slow for the first 2-3 of years or so.
Most people propagate air plants with pups, but even pups take 2-4 years to become mature plans. Air plants of medium size that you buy, often grow for few years, after which they produce pups (offsets). Pups later become independent plants and can be separated from the parent plant when reaching half its size.
During this time, the parent plant will bloom for the first (and the only time), starting to form pups after that. This is when your tillandsia has reached reproductive maturity. After forming pups, parent plant starts to decline.
If you wish, you can keep the parent plant without separating pups from it – this will form a beautiful cluster over time. Just think about it – air plants only flower once in the lifetime, after few years of growth. Then, parent plant produces pups, after which its life is over.
If you have just bought a new plant, it will take around 12-16 months for you to notice significant growth. After 1-3 years, you should see blooming.
Air plants grow during warm months of spring to mid-summer, and then early autumn to late autumn. They will be showing insignificant to no growth during the winter and through peak summer months.
Reason #3: Lack of care
Even though air plants are hardy and don’t require much maintenance, they still need to be taken care of. They require lots of bright, indirect light and watering (yes, tillandsias love water and cannot thrive without it). Also, without proper air exchange, watering and light, your air plant won’t grow or thrive at all.
Air plants require lots of light – mostly filtered light. Don’t expose them to bright direct light for more than 1-2 hours in a day, or it will burn the plant.
Air exchange is also very important – make sure you ventilate the room once a day. You can also take your plants outside for few hours a day if you wish (or at least few times a week). However, don’t leave them under AC.
Watering is another serious aspect. Air plants require lots of watering. Xeric air plants will require less watering than mesic air plants.
During warmer months, submerge your plants fully in water for 1 hour for deep watering – once in 10 days for xeric, and once a week for mesic plants. Some plants don’t need deep watering, as they are prone to rot (such as t. tectorum).
You can also water less intensively, but more often, by running lots of water on top of the plants for few minutes under a shower or sink. Do this 3 times a week for mesic air plants, and once a week for xeric air plants.
Just misting air plants will not provide them with enough water. You can mist your air plants every 2-3 days, but soaking or dunking for extra deep watering sessions at least once a week. Always shake off any excess water (you can even leave your air plant to dry upside down).
While this is general recommendation, the best thing to do is to research needs of each tillandsia type.
How to make your air plant (tillandsia) grow faster if it’s not growing?
Tip #1: Promote rooting
Air plants are great in a sense that you can display them almost everywhere, by simply placing on top of various objects.
However, if you attach your air plants to objects that they naturally attach to in their environment, this will promote rooting. As a result, better rooting will promote better and faster growth in general.
For this, you need to attach your air plant to objects such as driftwood/wood, tree fern slab, bark chips, tree and so on. You can mount your air plants to those objects by wrapping the bottom part in moss.
Then, attach using some floral wire like this to wrap the plant around the mounting object. For this, you might need to make holes in the display to put the wire through.
Tip #2: Fertilization
If your air plant is not growing, fertilization might help. While air plants can live without fertilization, it is highly recommended to fertilize your tillandsias.
This way, you will prolong your plant’s life significantly. Without fertilization, your air plant will not live to its maximum. Fertilizing will also improve growth and coloration of your air plants.
In nature, they actually absorb nutrients from the decaying matter (such as airborne debris, dead leaves and bugs) and other sources around them. They absorb nutrients through their trichomes on leaves, from water soluble sources.
Because at home we don’t provide our air plants with natural sources of fertilization, we need to use specially produced tillandsia/orchid fertilizer/food. Air plant fertilizers often contain more nitrogen and potassium for foliage development, like this weekly spray (new tab).
Tip #3: Provide favorable conditions
Make sure to provide optimal conditions for your air plants to thrive and grow. This includes lots of filtered bright light (maximum 1 hour of direct unfiltered sunlight, but not in a terrarium), good air exchange and proper watering schedules.
Make sure there’s no cold draft, but if positioned near a window, that you ventilate the room once a day or take your plant outside for a nice breeze (they love it).
Deep water your air plants and mist them in between lightly, to help withstand higher heat in summer. Don’t place your air plants in dark rooms or shower, they will not last long.