Air plants, often known as tillandsias, are perennial plants. This indicates they survive for an average of more than two years (source), with a lifespan ranging from two to five years.
How do I know if my air plant is dying?
The name “air plant” is a little deceiving. Members of the Tillandsia genus are named after the fact that they may grow without any soil at all. In reality, one of the most common misconceptions we encounter in air plant care is assuming that Tillandsia just require air to survive.
Air plants are epiphytic (meaning they grow on other plants without harming them) and emerge from the curves and branches of trees in their natural habitat of South and Central America’s forests, mountains, and deserts.
Air plants are among our favorites; they look great on their own and are included in many of our Plant Craft items, such as aeriums and mounts.
The following are the best methods for air plant care that we advocate. We’ll start with an overview of how to care for air plants in general, then move on to specific adaptations for aeriums, terrariums, and mounted Tillandsia.
Air plants require strong, indirect light to grow. Rooms with southern or eastern facing windows are ideal because they will be brilliantly lit by the sun for the majority of the day. North-facing windows also perform well, as long as the plant is close to the window and the window isn’t obscured by trees or a neighboring apartment complex. Western light arrives late in the day and can be extremely hot and strong. You don’t want to fry your air plant, so be careful!
As a general rule, the more light the air plant can tolerate, the higher the humidity in your environment. This implies that if you’re going to put your air plant somewhere where it’ll get a lot of light, you’ll need to spray it more frequently – twice a week, if not everyday. Because the humidity from your shower will take care of most plant misting, a sunny bathroom provides a great home for an air plant.
Many customers question if they can keep an air plant in an office or basement room with no natural light. Yes, however there are a few guidelines to follow in order to assure your plant’s success.
It’s essential to use full spectrum (fluorescent) lighting. Regular incandescent bulbs do not produce the quality of light required for photosynthesizing by these plants. Your Tillandsia should be no more than 3 feet from the source of light. Also, if you’re using fluorescent lighting, the plants will need at least 12 hours of light per day.
If you live in a basement or want an air plant in your office, we recommend purchasing a dedicated bulb for your plant (such as a Gro-Lux, Repta-Sun, or Vita-Lite) and placing it on a 12-hour timer to ensure that your plant receives all of the light it need.
Watering an air plant is the most difficult aspect of air plant upkeep. Some individuals swear by misting, while others swear by soaking, and still others combine the two in their air plant care routine.
Watering air plants is difficult in our experience because the plant’s needs vary drastically depending on the location in which it is situated. The first step in watering your air plant is to assess its surroundings. What kind of light does your plant get? At this time of year, what is the temperature in your home? Is the environment excessively dry (does your plant have access to a heater or fireplace?) Is it hot and humid?
After you’ve answered these questions, you can tailor the air plant watering schedule to your specific requirements. As a starting point, we recommend the following:
- Soak your air plant in room temperature tap water (or rain/pond water if you can find it) for 5-10 minutes every one to two weeks.
- After soaking, gently shake your plant to remove any extra water. In a light area, turn it upside down and place it on a towel. This is vital information! If you leave your air plants in too much water, they will quickly rot.
- The plant should be able to dry completely in no more than 3 hours after the soaking is finished. If your plant is left wet for an extended period of time, it may rot. To help things dry faster, try putting it in a brighter area with better air circulation.
- Mist your plant thoroughly once a week to ensure that the entire surface is wet (but not so much that there is water dripping down into the plant).
- The more water you need to water as the weather gets hotter and dryer (summer, early fall). The less water your air plant needs the cooler and more humid the air is (winter and spring). But keep in mind that heaters and fires dry out the air!
- Do all of your watering first thing in the morning. Evening soaking or misting interferes with the plants’ capacity to breathe overnight, resulting in a longer drying time.
The browning or crisping of your air plant’s leaf tips is a sign that it’s been under-watered. When air plants are under-watered, their inherent concave shape becomes more pronounced.
Unfortunately, it’s generally too late to salvage your air plant if it’s been over-watered. Your plant has likely succumbed to rot if the base of the plant turns dark or black, and leaves are dropping out or off from the center.
When it comes to temperature, air plants are relatively laid-back. They thrive in temperatures ranging from 50 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures should be around 10 degrees colder at night than they are during the day.
Once or twice a month, incorporate orchid or Bromeliad fertilizer into your watering routine to keep your air plant happy. Simply sprinkle a pinch into your water and carry on as usual. Fertilizing your air plant promotes blooming and reproduction (or pup more on this later)
Air plants only flower once in their lives, did you know? These blossoms can last anywhere from a few days to a few months, depending on the species, and can come in a wide range of vibrant colors, including pink, red, and purple. Flowering is the highest point in an air plant’s life cycle, but it also signals the start of the plant’s old age: after flowering, the plant will die.
But don’t give up! Depending on the species, your air plant will reproduce by putting out 2-8 flowers just before, during, or after flowering “Puppies.” These tiny air plants will eventually grow into their own mother plants, despite their modest size. When the pups are about 1/3-1/2 the size of the mother plant, they can be securely separated. Take care not to pull them out too soon, since they are absorbing nutrients from the mother air plant!
Above: A brass mister is a stylish and classic Tillandsia Xerographica companion.
While larger air plants look great on a windowsill or tabletop, we prefer to incorporate their smaller siblings into our living art “Aeriums” are a type of terrarium that is solely dedicated to air plants! Here’s everything you need to know about air plant care in glass.
- Simply take your plant from the aerium, terrarium, or glass to mist/soak it, then allow it to dry before putting it in the glass, as directed above.
- Keep in mind that maintaining your air plant in glass will produce a microclimate in which the glass vessels will be more humid and hot than the surrounding space.
- Avoid placing glass vessels too close to a window. The sun’s beams are amplified through glass. You don’t want your plant to cook!
- You won’t be able to soak your plant because it won’t come out of the glass, so you’ll have to rely only on misting. This is perfectly OK.
- Smaller glass means less air circulation, which means longer drying time for the plant and less misting.
- Larger glass = more air circulation = faster plant drying time = more misting.
- When misting your air plant, make sure to mist around it rather than directly into it. You don’t want to overwater it; instead, you want to keep it moist.
- We recommend starting with weekly misting and adjusting as needed, depending on the vessel.
You won’t be able to wet your mounted air plant like you can with air plants in small glass pots. Mounted air plants, on the other hand, will require more regular misting than aeriums because they are not enclosed in a humid microclimate. Starting with twice weekly misting and adjusting as needed, depending on how long it takes your plant to dry in your location, we recommend starting with twice weekly misting.
If you follow these air plant care instructions, your Tillandsia should thrive in no time! Do you have any queries or tips regarding caring for air plants? Let us know in the comments!
How long do air plants live without water?
Mesic air plants can survive for up to two weeks without being watered. Keeping in mind that in most circumstances, the plant will survive but not thrive. Watering is required on a regular basis for the majority of the mesic air plants.
Recommended Watering: Holding the plant under a stream of water for a few seconds once a week is sufficient for Mesic Air Plants, while soaking the plant for an hour or two once a week is recommended if you’re trying to revive a plant.
Keep in mind that the species and the environment in which it is housed can have a major impact on watering requirements. Because these plants are found on the rainforest floors beneath the canopies, they may require more frequent watering if exposed to bright light or arid circumstances. Even if you give your plant extra water, the increased light levels may harm it.
How do air plants stay alive?
Tillandsia, or air plants, are native to the southern United States, Mexico, Central and South America, and have the ability to survive in hot environments despite neglect. Tillandsias come in over 650 different varieties, and they can grow without soil or water.
Air plants rely on their unique leaves to absorb the water and nutrients they require from the air. The air plant’s roots are only utilized to attach themselves to rocks, trees, shrubs, and the earth. Most air plants grow with long, triangle shaped leaves and boast stunning funnel or tube-shaped blooms, creating beautiful architectural aspects.
Although air plants are simple to care for, they do require special attention in order to live a long and healthy existence. Tillandsia types require constant air circulation as well as very little irrigation to thrive. This can be accomplished by spraying the plants regularly or soaking them in water once a week.
Air plants thrive in bright light and are best suited to indoor environments with lots of it. Wild versions like to thrive in regions with moist ground and partial shade, such as under trees. Tillandsia species are also good companions for orchids on a planted branch because they prefer similar circumstances.
Because air plants prefer to grow in trees, they can be tethered to a piece of driftwood or another plant’s trunk with translucent fishing monofilament and a little sphagnum moss to supply moisture. Air plants hung from the ceiling are a common architectural accent.
Do air plants keep growing?
When produced from seed, air plants develop slowly, only expanding less than an inch in their first two years. They only bloom once, but they can produce offsets (pups) for years after that.
Can you bring an air plant back to life?
How can I revive my air plant is a common concern that most people have at some point during their tillandsia growing adventure. The first step in revitalizing any air plant is to figure out what’s causing the problem. Then you can take the necessary steps to address the issue that is causing your air plant to die.
It’s possible that your air plant will turn quite white or gray at times. While a covering of white or gray hair or trichromes on your air plants is typical in most situations, a naturally green air plant that is going excessively white or gray could be an early symptom of your air plant drying.
The good news is that if your air plant becomes very white or gray, it is not dying. When the air plant lacks water, the trichromes simply become more apparent, causing the plant to appear paler than usual.
A dry air plant can be revived by immersing it in water for 5-8 hours. After the soak, shake off any excess water and allow your air plant to dry within 4 hours of watering. Rep the long soaking every 2-3 days until the plant no longer seems to be dry.
If your air plant is drying up again after being rejuvenated with a series of extended soakings, check the light, temperature, and humidity levels of the surrounding environment.
To assist your air plant maintain moisture, keep it away from direct or very bright indirect light. Air plants enjoy temperatures between 50 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. If you expose your air plant to severely cold or hot temperatures, it may be difficult to revive it. Extreme temperatures can dehydrate the air plant to the point where it can no longer thrive.
Root rot is usually indicated by brown or black leaves on the air plant. When air plants are not thoroughly dried out after watering, they might get root rot. When the air plant’s leaves are persistently damp, fungal infections can develop, causing lasting damage to the plant’s cells. The air plant would eventually turn brown or black as a result of these dead cells.
You may resurrect your air plant by gently plucking the brown or black leaves as soon as you notice them to prevent the infection from spreading. To avoid root rot, keep the air plant in a location with sufficient air circulation and allow it to dry quickly after each watering.
Severe occurrences of root rot that spread to the plant’s center can cause the air plant to die. If the root rot is severe enough that the plant begins to fall apart, you’ll need to start over with a new plant.
Growing air plants is a trial-and-error procedure that can take some time. While air plants might wither due to dryness, lack of light, or a lack of nutrients in the water, the most common cause of death is root rot, which is caused by the air plant not drying out correctly.
To avoid the risk of root rot in the future, try other approaches and situate your air plant somewhere with more air movement.
Should I cut off brown leaf tips?
Is it necessary to remove dead leaves? Yes. Remove brown and dead leaves as quickly as possible from your houseplants, but only if they’re more than 50% damaged. By removing these leaves, the remaining healthy foliage receives more nutrition and the plant’s beauty improves.
What is toxic to air plants?
Make sure any fertilizer you use on your air plants is particularly prepared for bromeliads or Tillandsia plants before applying it. Ingredients like boron, zinc, or urea-nitrogen should be avoided because they are toxic to air plants. Just be sure your fertilizer has nitrogen in a form that may be used.
Our fertilizer is specially developed for air plants and comes in a convenient spray bottle.
Use water that is free of salts and chlorine for watering your air plants. We recommend utilizing rainwater, aquarium water, pond water, or tap water that has been left to sit for at least a few hours to allow the chlorine to disperse.
Because tap water contains chlorine, which is not good for happy air plants, we recommend letting it sit for a few hours. Also, keep away from water that has been softened. While this is beneficial to our hair and nails, it might develop salt deposits on the leaves of your air plants. If this salt is left on the leaves of air plants for an extended period of time, it can suffocate the plant since the trichomes will be unable to absorb water and nutrients.
Do you soak air plants upside down?
When it comes to watering air plants, the bottom line is to bathe the leaves every week to ten days. Then, before returning the plants to their original location, make sure they are totally dried upside down.
How do you feed air plants?
- Use rainfall or bottled water as a source of drinking water. Softened water contains salts that can burn air plants, while tap water has minerals that can clog the trichomes on air plant leaves, preventing them from collecting nutrients.
- Dry out the air plants. This is a critical point. After they’ve soaked, shake off the excess water and dry them in the sun for a few hours.
- Add water-soluble fertilizer for epiphytes, bromeliads, or air plants to the water you soak them in once a month to feed them. These specialist fertilizers provide nitrogen in a form that can be absorbed by the plants.
- Temperature swings are beneficial to them. They’ll thrive if the temperature drops by ten degrees, simulating cool nights in their home jungle.
- They aren’t able to resist a freeze. They’re completely tropical and must be brought indoors for the winter.
- Ensure that they are exposed to at least 4 to 6 hours of bright, filtered light per day. A space with lots of windows will appeal to them.
What are air plants good for?
Because they photosynthesize at night, air plants are ideal plants to have in your bedroom. As a result, they release fresh oxygen into the air while you sleep. Being in the presence of plants can help you relax, lower your blood pressure, and increase your focus at home or at work.