- Once a week, submerge air plants in water and let them sit there for hours.
- Use rainwater or bottled drinking water. Softened water is high in salts that will burn the air plants, and tap water has minerals that can clog the trichomes on air ...
- Dry the air plants out. This is very important. After they soak, shake off excess water and put them in a bright spot for a couple of hours to dry.
- Feed them once a month by adding water-soluble fertilizer for epiphytes, bromeliads or air plants to the water you dunk them in. ...
- Air plants like temperatures ranging between the 50s and 90s.
- They thrive with temperature fluctuations. Give them a 10-degree temperature drop that mimics cool nights in their native jungle and they’ll flourish.
- They cannot withstand a freeze. They’re totally tropical and need to come indoors for winter.
- Make sure they get at least 4 to 6 hours of bright, filtered light per day. They’ll love a room with lots of windows.
What is the best fertilizer for air plants?
Tip 2 – Fertilize with the right nutrients!
- Carbon – This is found in the air and is essential for plant growth
- Hydrogen – This is found in water and again is needed for plants to grow strong
- Oxygen – This is found in water and air. ...
- Nitrogen – This is the most lacking nutrient in garden soil. ...
- Phosphorous – This nutrient helps stimulate root growth
How to grow and care for air plants?
To grow air plants in your own home, consider the following air plant care tips:
- Mist regularly. Water your air plants by misting the leaves. ...
- Grow air plants in hanging planters. Since air plants don’t require soil, you don’t have to grow them in traditional pots. ...
- Grow air plants in terrariums. ...
- Provide good air circulation. ...
- Ensure that your air plants get ultraviolet light. ...
- Fertilize occasionally. ...
- Propagate your air plants. ...
How to care for your air plant?
These 6 Simple Tricks Will Keep Your Air Plant Alive
- Dunking is best. I know you thought you’d be fine just spritzing your tilly every few days, but that isn’t enough. ...
- Always air dry. After they soak, Tillandsias need to dry out fully. ...
- Look on the bright side. Bright filtered or indirect light is ideal for indoor air plants. ...
- Plants get hungry, too. ...
- Nice and cozy. ...
- Open up. ...
Why are plants good for air?
“The fact of the matter is that all plants help with air filtering because of the normal photosynthesis process where they take in sunlight and carbon dioxide and they let out oxygen," Ryan Lee, founder of Rooted NYC, said. His company ships plants from its nursery to anywhere in the United States.
Should I Feed My air plant?
To fertilize air plants, use an air plant-specific fertilizer or a bromeliad fertilizer a few times a year. Another option is to use a regular, water soluble houseplant fertilizer at 1/4 of the recommended strength.
Can you use Miracle Grow on air plants?
Use a fertilizer specifically formulated for bromeliads or air plants once a month, or dilute Miracle-Grow or similar water soluble plant foods to 1/4 strength. Add the fertilizer water to a spray bottle, and mist thoroughly with the food water once a month.
How do you make air plant food?
Combine 80% of the moss to 20% of a blood meal and put in a ziplock, plastic bag. If dried blood in the mixture gets settled at the base, give it a good shake before applying. The sooner you are going to use the fertilizer, the better it is. Add this DIY air plant fertilizer to the water before dunking your plants.
Do air plants need nutrients?
They require no soil to grow but do need water, light and nutrients. Air plants capture moisture and nutrients from the air through tiny vessels in their leaves called trichomes.
How do I get my air plant to bloom?
Submerge entire plant in room temperature water for 5-10 minutes once or twice a week. Let plants drain upside-down on a towel after their bath for at least 3 hours so they are dry to the touch. Fertilize every 2 months with epiphytic/bromeliad/non-urea nitrogen fertilizer for better blooms and daughter growth (pups).
How often should I mist my air plant?
Mist your plant every 4-5 days with one spray for tiny globes, 2-3 sprays for globes 3-5 inches, more if the plant is in a large open globe. The key is to judge the drying time, the smaller the globe, the less circulation, the longer the plant will hold the moisture. If you over water the plant will die.
What is the lifespan of an air plant?
between 2 to 5 yearsEnd of dialog window. Tillandsias, commonly known as air plants, are perennial plants. This means that they typically live for more than two years (source), with their lifespan ranging between 2 to 5 years. However, their lifespan varies depending on the type of air plant and also the growing conditions.
How do you make air plants grow bigger?
If you want to give your plants an extra boost, you can fertilize them once a month in addition to regular waterings, which will encourage faster growth, blooming, and pup formation. Take a look at and purchase our specially formulated Tillandsia fertilizer to promote your air plant's growth!
How do you take care of air plants for beginners?
0:2110:00Air Plants for Beginners + Tips! - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipCare is bright light and sufficient water. And that's it and you don't want to freeze them either.MoreCare is bright light and sufficient water. And that's it and you don't want to freeze them either. But if they get bright light and sufficient.
Should I soak my air plants?
It's important to remember that air plants take in all their nutrients through their leaves not through the roots. The roots serve only to attach the air plant to a host tree or rock or even the ground, nothing more. Soak your air plants in a bowl of water for 20 minutes to an hour every week to 10 days is best.
How do I know if my air plant is healthy?
To tell if your air plant is healthy, hydration of the plant is crucial to prevent underwatering. Regularly check for discolored leaves or dry or wet rot to tell if the plant is not receiving enough moisture or too much. If an air plant blooms and displays fuzz, this is a sign of good health.
Why does my air plant have brown tips?
Your air plant may be getting too much sun. While they do enjoy being in nice filtered sunlight, if they are in direct sun all day long, this can cause your plant to get sunburned and turn brown. Browning leaf tips can also occur from not watering your plant enough.
How to fertilize air plants?
Try to use rainwater or purified water without added minerals whenever possible. Your plant food should have a balanced mix of trace minerals for your to fertilize the air plants. If you are watering with tap water, let the water sit in a container overnight to allow the chlorine in the tap to dissipate before watering.
Why is it important to let water air out?
Letting your water air out also allows the carbon dioxide in the air to interact with the water. This increases the acidity of the water as carbonic acid form in the water. Slightly acidic water is the best water to use to fertilize air plants.
Does air plant fertilizer help plants grow?
Since most municipal tap and purified water lack the essential nutrients that are found in natural rainwater, air plant fertilizer provides the great way to add back the essential trace elements your air plants needs to grow.
If you know How to Fertilize an Air Plant correctly, it is very easy to maintain it. Here are some of the best ways to do it!
As air plants do not require soil to grow, fertilizing air plants is one of the most prominent questions of first-time growers. If this is your query too, this article will serve all the solutions. Learn How to Fertilize an Air Plant in the correct way!
How To Fertilize an Air Plant
The answer lies in the way air plants absorb nutrients, clearly not from the soil. All tillandsias absorb nutrients and water from unique leaves and not their roots. So the application of fertilizer should be on the leaves, in the same way as watering air plants.
Best Fertilizer for Air Plants
There are many fertilizers explicitly made to fulfill the need of air plants. The instructions are provided on the packaging. You can also use bromeliad fertilizer monthly or quarterly. If you can’t get your hands on these fertilizers, use your balanced water-soluble fertilizer diluted to one-fourth of its recommended strength.
Natural Way to Fertilize
Still, if you are worried about the growth and health fo your epiphytes, use aquarium or pond water from time to time for dunking or misting air plants. This water is rich in many minerals and nutrients that are beneficial for the growth of these plants. Plus, it’s an all-natural approach that won’t harm your air plant!
How to Make Air Plant Fertilizer?
Get a handful of fresh, moist moss having a vibrant green color. You can get moss from a tree, logs, yard, sidewalk or order it online. Or, check out this YouTube video to grow your own moss.
Do Air Plants Need Nutrients?
Yes, air plants need the nutrients they obtain from the sunlight and rain to live.
Fertilizer Components for Air Plants
A fertilizer for air plants needs to be different from regular fertilizers because air plants cannot rely on soil to break down nitrogen.
When and How Often to Fertilize Air Plants
It’s not advisable to feed your air plants every time you soak or mist them.
Soaking Method
If you prefer watering your air plants by soaking them, then dissolve the liquid air plant fertilizer directly in the soaking water. Either follow the instructions on the packaging or reduce the strength to 1/4.
Misting Method
Dilute the fertilizer to 1/4 of the strength recommended in the label and add it to the lukewarm water that it’s in a glass mister (which doesn’t degrade it’s contents) or spray bottle.
No soil? No problem!
Cori Sears specializes in houseplants and houseplant care. For more than 10 years, she's been on a mission to transform her urban apartment into an indoor jungle. She's been a contributing writer for The Spruce since 2019.
Air Plant Care
There are a few general rules when it comes to care that can be followed for any air plant.
Do Air Plants Need Soil?
The defining quality of air plants, or epiphytes, is that they do not require soil in order to survive. However, some air plants such as staghorn ferns, birds nest ferns, some species of moss, and some species of philodendron (among others) can adapt to grow in soil, although they require extremely arid, well-draining mixes in order to survive.
Displaying Your Air Plant
Since these plants do not require soil, there are lots of fun and creative ways to display your air plant around your home. They can be mounted on another medium such as a piece of driftwood, a rock, or a wood board; displayed in a terrarium; hung from the ceiling or a curtain rod; or set inside a dedicated air plant holder or planter.
Types of Air Plants
There are hundreds, if not thousands of plants that can be classified as air plants, or epiphytes, from multiple different plant families. The following are some of the most popular and well-known types of air plants.
Propagating Air Plants
Since the term “air plant” covers a wide variety of plants, there are a few ways that air plants are commonly propagated. Most of the time, epiphytic plants propagate most readily through division of pups from the "mother plant," however some species, such as the tropical cacti, can also be propagated by stem cuttings.
Common Problems With Air Plants
The most common problems encountered when growing air plants indoors are usually related to improper watering or humidity conditions. Identifying the issue early is key to saving your plant before it’s too late!
How to keep air plants happy?
Method 1: The Plant Bath. Submerging your air plant is the best way to keep them happy, particularly indoors. People are often surprised that you can place an airborne plant completely underwater, but they love it! This is the surefire way to completely re-hydrate your air plant.
What is an air plant?
The Art of AiR plant Care. Air plants or Tillandsia are a genus of epiphytic plants with the incredible ability to live without soil. Inhabiting niches in the ecosystem where their terrestrial bound relatives don’t dare to go, air plants have limitless opportunities for display and design. However, certain care requirements must be met ...
Why do air plants die?
The number one leading cause of death for air plants by new owners is under-watering. This is closely followed by overwatering. A persistent myth suggests that these plants require no watering at all, pulling everything they need from the atmosphere. While this may be true should you live in a climate like Tillandsia’s native habitat and they are outdoors, for the rest of us some watering is required. No need to worry, with these simple watering tips your plants will thrive. Choose one of the methods below to be a pro at watering your plants.
Why is it important to bring home new plants?
It is important when bringing home your new plants to consider the sun exposure your plant has been receiving. A plant recently arrived from a dim display area can be shocked or burned by suddenly placing it in harsh afternoon sunlight. A transition period is helpful so the plant can adapt to its new surroundings.
Is distilled water good for air plants?
Interestingly, distilled water is death for air plants as it pulls all the nutrients out of the plant through osmosis. Nursery growers typically use reverse osmosis systems to ensure their plants receive the best possible water and ensure the best results.
Do air plants need sunlight?
Air plants are plants, of course they need light! Tillandsia, like all plants, requires sunlight to photosynthesize. In their natural habitat, the southern United States through Central and South America, they inhabit a wide range of environments from deserts to oak woodlands to rainforests.
Can you spray air plants?
Spraying your air plant until dripping wet is another option for watering. The key thing to remember is this isn’t a light misting.Your plant should be completely drenched to be watered properly. While spraying your air plant is an effective way to water it, the frequency will need to be much greater than the deeper re-hydration that comes from soaking.
What are air plants?
Air plants ( Tillandsia spp.) are epiphytes, meaning that in nature they grow on other plants, usually on tree branches. There are hundreds of species and varieties of air plants. They usually have strap-shape or slender triangle-shape leaves that grow in a rosette pattern with new growth appearing from the center. Those with silver foliage tend to be the most drought-tolerant; greener types dry out faster. You can also find colorful species, like Tillandsia maxima that can have coral leaves. Most species produce attractive, tubular or funnel-shaped flowers, too.
What is the shape of an air plant?
There are hundreds of species and varieties of air plants. They usually have strap-shape or slender triangle-shape leaves that grow in a rosette pattern with new growth appearing from the center. Those with silver foliage tend to be the most drought-tolerant; greener types dry out faster.
Can air plants grow in the sun?
As a general rule, keep your air plants out of direct sunlight. Remember, in the wild, many air plant species like to grow up in the sheltered, shady canopy of trees. They will do best if you can put them in a brightly lit spot out of the sun's rays.
Do air plants need water?
Don't let the lack of soil scare you away—air plants are easy to care for once you know what they need. You may not have to worry about potting them, but they do still need a certain amount of water and light, plus the right temperatures, just like any other houseplant.