Simply because, really. Look at how adorable these air plant jellyfish are.
We stumbled onto a boardwalk artisan fair this summer while we were visiting the beach. Additionally, this woman was selling air plants hidden within various little shells. Although they were all quite adorable, the air plant jellyfish really attracted my attention. I simply had to make a few of my own because they were hanging there looking so darn cute.
All you need is some glue, sea urchin shells, air plants, and clear thread or fishing line.
If you are unfamiliar with them, air plants are tiny plants that can grow without soil because they obtain the majority of their nutrients from the atmosphere. If your grocery shop doesn’t carry them, investigate the greenhouse sections of stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot or other nearby greenhouses. I purchased mine in the floral section at Wegmans. Additionally, you can find them at a ton of internet stores like Etsy and Amazon.
If you’re really fortunate, you might be able to discover shells on a beach somewhere, but I purchased mine from a small gift shop in Ocean City, New Jersey. Similar shells are typically available at craft shops, and once more, Etsy and Amazon are fantastic internet shopping destinations.
I simply started by weaving my transparent sewing thread through the pre-existing holes on top of the shell to make my tiny cuties. You can secure the thread with a tiny dab of hot glue if your shell doesn’t have a hole or if the hole is too large.
I just hung it up after adhering the air plant to the interior bottom of the shell with glue.
I attempted at first to figure out how to just squeeze the air plant into the shell so I could remove it for soaking and wouldn’t have to get the shells wet. I understood that you need soak air plants often to make sure they have adequate water. The plants wouldn’t stay in, and I was becoming really angry when I noticed they were SEA shells. They exist solely to provide shelter for a species that lives in the sea. IN THE SEA.
Anyway, once everything is adhered where you want it, put your adorable air plant jellyfish up and allow them to brighten your day!
Do you have any experience with air plants? Do you have any advice or techniques to help them prosper?
Are there actual jellyfish air plants?
The illusion that each “jellyfish” is magically floating in the air is created by hanging an air plant (tillandsia) upside down on a looped, clear line and encasing it in a sea urchin shell.
Can an air plant be grown from a cutting?
What could be better than a cute little family of lovely air plants? a sizable group of air plant puppies and plants! Your air plants will soon begin to grow little since they wish to pass on their genes “pups at their foundation. As your family of air plants expands, these genetic copies will eventually develop into a new plant that can be removed and grown separately, saving you money!
An air plant will begin its reproductive process by developing a very small leaf after the first bloom cycle “at its base, a pup. After birth, the bloom cycle can last anywhere from six months to several years. When it comes to caring for air plants, patience is unquestionably a virtue. They appear to take their sweet time with everything. You can promote puppies in a number of ways, but we’ll get to that in a moment.
These puppies mark the beginning of a brand-new air plant that will grow, blossom, and reproduce pups of its own in the future. Pups are a simple way to expand your collection of air plants, even if they can also seed and propagate traditionally. Allow the cute little puppies to reach a size between one-third and half that of their mother. They don’t function well on their own until they have a little more maturity.
These pups would remain tethered to the mother plant until it passed away in the wild. This will result in stunning air plant clumps. It’s not necessary to remove pups if you wish to let them develop naturally. Large balls of plants are extremely sought-after and hard to come by. They look particularly nice when planted in trees and can be hung with wire or rope.
A pup is often born on Tillandsia Caput-Medusae one month after the bloom has dried up.
You will need to undertake a kind of surgery if you prefer the concept of raising your pups separately. Don’t worry; perhaps there won’t be any bloodshed. All you require is a knife or blade with a sharp edge, decent lighting, and a new location to raise the removed pups. Just sever the pup’s connection to the mother at its base. Always err on the side of cutting more from the mother than the pup and try your best to avoid hurting the pup. Actually, it’s a fairly easy technique that anyone can complete. Sometimes you can simply snap the pup off between two fingers depending on how it is positioned.
Once they are eliminated, you can cultivate them in the same manner as a regular plant. It really is that easy. Owning air plants can be a highly gratifying hobby, but one of the most exciting parts of caring for air plants is being able to propagate pups. In the comments box below, feel free to ask any questions you may have.
Tillandsia Melanocrater swiftly produces robust pups that can be gently pulled from the mother or can be easily separated from the parent with a sharp knife.
How do you make an air plant Octopus?
Fill the fish bowl’s bottom with sand. Fishing line is cut into 8-inch lengths. Feed the fishing line in between the air plant’s base and a leaf. To secure, tie a knot around the air plant’s base. To position the sea urchin shell above the plant’s base, feed the remaining fishing line through it. The air plant should stay within the shell by itself, but you can glue it to the shell if you think it needs further support.
The best way to enclose an air plant in a shell?
I’ve been buying and building air plant displays for nearly ten years now, and one thing I’ve observed is that a lot of people have questions regarding air plant adhesive.
The air plants are virtually always glued in place when I pick up air plant displays or air plants in shells. This is frequently unnecessary because the plants aren’t being hung upside down or in a container that needs glue to stay in place. So I seldom ever use adhesive while creating an air plant decor piece. In essence, I only do it if it is required for the design to work.
Consider it this way: rather than caring for a houseplant, adhesive air plants are disposable, sort of like a long-lasting floral arrangement. The air plant must eventually be taken out of the glue if you want it to survive. In general, I believe the air plants shouldn’t be bonded into the shells because it will be harder to water and take care of them.
How to Care For a Glued Air Plant
What if you purchased one that was already adhered? How can you be sure to look after the plant properly? Fortunately, there is a reasonably easy fix. You must water your air plant according to the guidelines listed below, completely submerging it.
Then thoroughly shake it out. You will eventually have a healthy air plant after the plant eventually grows out of the adhesive and the attached leaf withers.
Attempting to safely pull the plant away from the glue is another option, however it might be challenging.
How to Safely Glue an Air Plant
When glue is required, it’s crucial to utilize the appropriate kind of adhesive. Never use hot glue, no matter what you do! The plants might suffer harm. Hawaiian Botanicals advises using E6000 glue, however the smells are horrendous. I try to fit them into the shells or display without glue or using wire because I can’t seem to come up with a viable adhesive alternative.
A Beautiful Glue-Free Way to Display an Air Plant
There are so many more simple ways you may display your air plants if fiddling with glue sounds like it won’t be worth the hassle. Keep in mind that there is no need for adhesive; you can simply insert the air plant into the seashell.
The seashell can alternatively be removed, an air plant added, and the complete arrangement placed within a terrarium. They will look lovely no matter where you decide to arrange them. Additionally, you will now have a use for all of your amassed seashells.
This air plant display made of wire and river stone is another popular technique. It looks good and lets you take good care of and water your air plant.
How Much Light Does an Air Plant Need?
Air plants require strong, indirect light to grow. Good possibilities are rooms with windows that face the south or east because the sun will shine brightly in these areas for the majority of the day. As long as the plant is put close to the window and the window is not covered by trees or an adjacent apartment building, rooms with North-facing windows also perform effectively. Western light typically arrives later in the day and has a tendency to be quite warm and powerful. Take care not to burn your air plant!
The air plant will generally withstand more light as the humidity level in your area increases. This means that you should plan to spritz your air plant more frequently, such as twice a week or even every day, if you’re placing it where it will get a lot of light. An air plant will thrive in a bright bathroom or bustling kitchen since the humidity from your shower or boiling water will take care of the majority of plant misting for you.
Air Plants and Artificial Light
A lot of customers ask us if they can put their air plant in a basement or office where there won’t be any windows for natural light. The answer is yes, but there are a few particular guidelines to follow to guarantee the success of your plant.
Fluorescent light must be full-spectrum. These plants can’t photosynthesize in the kind of light that regular incandescent bulbs produce. Place your Tillandsia no more than three feet from the source of light. Additionally, if you plan to use fluorescent lighting, the plants will require at least 12 hours every day.
We advise purchasing a dedicated bulb for your plant (such as a Gro-Lux, Repta-Sun, or Vita-Lite) and setting it on a 12-hour timer if you live in a basement or wish to keep an air plant in your office to ensure that it receives the proper amount of light to survive.
Sand, rocks, and dried wood arranged in a shallow dish make a wonderful air plant display.
What is the life cycle of a jellyfish?
Jellyfish have two distinct body types during their life cycle: medusa and polyps. While medusae spawn eggs and sperm to reproduce sexually, polyps can only multiply asexually by budding. Find out more about the reproduction and life cycle of jellyfish.
Grow air plants?
You’ve had your air plant for a few months, but despite your tender care and attention, it seems to be doing nothing. What is happening? How quickly do air plants actually grow? Don’t give up just yet; air plants called tillandsias actually grow quite slowly. They will eventually grow and blossom if given the right care; it just takes time!
Although certain species of Tillandsia grow more quickly than others, on the whole, they grow quite slowly, which makes them all the more unique when you have a huge specimen plant to exhibit! The growth rate of an air plant will also vary depending on whether it is a tillandsia seedling or an offset from propagation. The first two years of a seedling’s existence are spent growing slowly, rarely exceeding one inch in size. After the first few years, they begin to grow slightly more quickly as they reach bigger in size. Even though plants grown from seeds grow more slowly, they often are larger and better specimens than plants grown from offsets. In comparison to plants grown from seeds, plants developed from offsets or “propagation” grow far more quickly and typically blossom within the first few years as the cycle continues and they create offset of their own!
It can take a long time for the Tillandsia fasciculata tropiflora to reach this size.
Consider the locations where your species of air plant grows in the wild when caring for your air plants. Does the species come from a dry, arid desert with little water (xeric), a cloud forest at a high elevation, or a humid, rainy rainforest (mesic)? Due to the changes in climate, plants located in these particular climates will exhibit particular features and grow accordingly. Plants may develop more slowly in dry climates than in more humid, moisture-rich conditions.
Look at our blog entry (Mesic Vs. Xeric Air Plants) for more information on the distinctions between mesic and xeric plants, as well as what conditions each will require in terms of water and light.
Your ability to accurately recreate the plant’s natural environment will have a significant impact on how quickly it grows. Patience is essential because it might take years for a small air plant to develop and blossom. Although it’s not an exact science, your plant can surprise you and grow and blossom more quickly than usual!
If your plant hasn’t produced pups or offsets yet, don’t worry; it might just be a slower-growing plant. Most air plants will produce pups or offsets during the first year of their existence, after blooming. Just keep giving your plant the attention it needs and making sure it gets enough water and light.
This puppy is developing slowly. It can take a long time for T. xerographica to reach maturity.
T. xerographica is one of the Tillandsia species that grows slowlyest; it can take years for it to reach a size where it can bloom and produce pups. Small T. xerographica plants, which have a diameter of 4-5 inches, may be 3-5 years old! The T. capitata and T. harrisii are two other slow-growing plants that get rather big.
These large-growing Tillandsia plants, which are all slow-growing (top to bottom, left to right): T. harrisii, T. xerographica, T. xerographica in bud, and T. capitata
The T. ionantha variant, T. stricta, T. aeranthos, and T. brachycaulos are some of the air plants with the fastest growth rates. These plants are all categorized as mesic varieties, which implies they prefer more water and filtered indirect light.
These Tillandsia species that develop more quickly bloom and produce pups than other species. (From top to bottom, left to right) T. ionantha, T. stricta, T. brachycaulos, and T. aeranthos
In addition to routine watering, you can give your plants a boost by fertilizing them once a month. This will promote quicker growth, blooming, and pup production. To encourage the growth of your air plant, check out and buy our specially designed Tillandsia fertilizer!
Be patient with your plants; they will grow best with the right amount of light, water, and airflow. When the seasons change, such in the summer or winter, you need alter your care routine. You should have a healthy air plant that eventually blooms and gives birth to pups! You could even manage to cultivate a sizable specimen air plant!