This list will assist you in selecting your next air plant, identifying the ones you already have, and learning about the unique care that certain varieties demand. The numbers next to each air plant in the photos correspond to the list’s numbering.
T. stricta ‘Black Tip’
T. stricta ‘Black Tip’ is a small to medium-sized dark green air plant with vertical, pointed leaves that deepen in color toward the ends.
Special Notes: This is one of the simplest air plants to grow, making it ideal for novices.
T. ionantha v. rubra
This is a small, ball-shaped air plant with brilliant green leaves that deepen to a scarlet color in the center. It has a fuzzy appearance because to the abundance of trichomes.
T. ionantha ‘Conehead’
The Conehead air plant is a huge, spiky pinecone-shaped air plant. When it flowers, the leaves turns a bright red color and produces a lovely purple flower spike. The leaves of this air plant grow more erect than those of many other air plants, giving it its distinctive compact cone shape.
T. ionantha v. scaposa
The foliage of this pant grows straight up and makes a compact bundle shape. It has pale green foliage that can appear practically white at times. The inner leaves turn crimson when it blooms, and it produces a beautiful purple flower bract.
Special Notes: The leaves on this species of air plant are more delicate than others, so handle it with care. T. ionantha v. scaposa prefers cool weather and frequent watering.
T. magnusiana
The slender, silver leaves of this plant branch out into a wild mane. It has a purple flower that develops on a red spike that shoots up from the center of the plant.
Cool temperatures and plenty of air circulation are preferred by this air plant.
T. ionantha Fuego is the sixth species of T. ionantha.
T. ionantha occurs in two sizes: giant and tiny. With spiky upward-reaching silvery green leaves that turn blazing red while in bloom, it has a rounded, stubby base.
Special Notes: These are fantastic air plants for novices to try their hand at because they are easy to grow and propagate in a variety of situations.
T. tectorum (AKA Snowball)
The snowball is a fluffy, white air plant with trichomes (hairs) on its leaves that give it the snowball impression. It hails from Peru, where it thrives in a more arid climate. Snowball does not thrive in hot, humid climates, making it an ideal indoor air plant. T. tectorum is an uncommon species, hence it’s more expensive than other variations.
Give T. tectorum enough of air circulation and let it dry completely between waterings. This air plant should only be bathed; save the misting for humidity-loving types.
T. stricta ‘Stiff Purple’
The stiff purple ar plant produces thick, cylinder-shaped pastel pink blooms with sprawling, spidery green leaves with a purplish color.
T. stricta thrives in a humid area with plenty of air circulation. You can even keep them outside if you live in a warm climate.
T. argentea
This air plant is small and has a mass of thin, wispy, hair-like foliage. The blossom is bright red and protrudes directly from the plant’s center. Special Notes: Because of its small size, T. argentea is ideal for keeping in terrariums or other small containers.
T. harrisii
The pale glaucous leaves of T. harrisii are narrow, pointed, and curve downward. They reach a height of three to five inches and a width of three inches. The flowers are crimson and purple in color.
Special Notes: These plants grow in bright, full sunlight on rocks in their native Guatemala, so keep them somewhere bright in your home.
T. brachycaulos v. abdita
This plant is modest in size, with soft green leaves that turn a vibrant red color when it blooms. Purple, yellow, and pink flowers are produced by T. brachycaulos v. abdita.
T. xerographica (AKA the King of Tillandsias)
This Tillandsia is renowned as the King of Tillandsias for a reason! It’s a rosette-shaped air plant with silvery-blue leaves that may grow up to three feet in diameter. T. xerographica is found in Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala’s dry woodlands.
When this air plant blooms, it generates a massive red and bright green flower spike that lasts for months.
T. plagiotrophica
This air plant has glaucous green foliage and grows to be four to six inches tall with a magnificent starburst shape. It produces a pure white blossom in the heart of its foliage when in bloom. T. plagiotrophica, a native of San Salvador and Guatemala, prefers colder temperatures and strong air movement. For optimal results, place it in a well-ventilated area.
T. streptophylla (AKA Shirley Temple)
Shirley Temple’s leaves are a pale green color with a purple tinge. It gets its common name “Shirley Temple” from its broad leaves that curl downward and sometimes transform into ringlets.
Shirley Temple air plants enjoy dry surroundings, so water them less regularly than other Tillandsia and avoid misting them because they dislike being overly damp. Instead, give them a bath every now and then.
T.flabellata rubra
This is a huge air plant with beautiful crimson flower spikes and wide green leaves with ruby-red tips. It normally reaches a length of six to nine inches, although it can reach up to eighteen inches.
Special Notes: Like other air plants, it can be cultivated in soil in a pot or without soil.
T. capitata ‘Peach’
The peach air plant is a medium-sized air plant with silvery foliage that becomes peach as it blooms. They feature a conical rosette shape that is symmetrical.
T. capitata ‘Peach’ prefers to be misted as well as bathed because it is native to wet portions of South and Central America.
T. baileyi (AKA Bailey’s Ball Moss)
Biley’s Ball Moss grows in trees and is native to Mexico and the southern United States. Air plants with tentacle-like spherical brilliant green leaves stretching upward and outward are long (six to eight inches) and thin. The leaves acquires a rich purple color while in bloom.
Special Notes: This Tillandsia produces a lot of pups, so it’s a wonderful choice if you want an air plant that will reproduce.
T. circinata
T. circinata is a medium-sized plant with silver-green leaves that eventually wrap all the way around forming circles (six to eight inches tall with a one-inch base). Their flowers have a vivid yellow or purple color.
Special Notes: T. circinata is a hardy, easy-to-care-for plant that thrives in low-light environments.
T. pruinosa (AKA Fuzzywuzzy)
Fuzzywuzzy is a tiny air plant with trichomes all over it, giving it its distinctive “fuzzy” appearance. The dark green, silvery-tinged cylindrical leaves twist in different directions but mainly grow upwards. Purple flowers bloom on a bright pink stalk.
T. butzii
This form of air plant has a spherical, speckled base with thin, curly green to yellowish foliage that shoots upward. It reaches a height of five to seven inches and a width of up to four inches.
Special Instructions: Because this air plant prefers cool, humid weather and frequent watering, give it a bath and mist on a regular basis.
How do I know what type of air plant I have?
Tillandsias, or air plants, are unusual plants. Their small size and lack of visible roots distinguish them. Air plants develop by combining air and water, although they aren’t as reliant on water as typical plants are. Air plants, unlike ordinary plants, are epiphytes. This means they don’t need soil to thrive. As a result of this characteristic, they are popular as indoor plants, presents, and home decor.
Air plants grow by attaching themselves to trees or bushes in their natural state. They are native to the warm areas of the south, Central America, and South America. Some air plants develop neon colored flowers for a few months of the year as tropical plants.
How many types of air plants are there?
Any of the nearly 500 species of flowering perennial plants of the Tillandsia genus, which is part of the Bromeliad family, is referred to as a “air plant.” Their roots do not require soil. They take moisture from the air instead. Epiphytes, such as Spanish moss, are plants that grow on other plants. Air plants grow on trees, fastened to the bark, in their native habitatwarm, arid places where they thrive in bright, filtered light. They’re typically grown as indoor houseplants, where they thrive under fluorescent illumination, despite the fact that they’re perennial in a sufficiently warm area.
Air plants, which were once uncommon in commercial use, are now highly fashionable and are employed in a number of hanging garden applications. While a few species can be cultivated in pots, the majority are suspended in the air and placed on bark or driftwood. Because it brings together a collection and allows for adequate air circulation, a hanging grid is also a popular display for air plants. Garden centers now stock a wide variety of air plants. Some are quite little and require close inspection to fully appreciate.
Although Tillandsia has a large number of species, many of them do not have common names. They’re simply referred to as “air plants” or “sky plants” instead. Alternatively, they could be offered solely by species name.
Here are 25 air plant types to consider for indoor growth, regardless of what you call them.
What is the rarest air plant?
Recurvifolia. This is the rarest Tillandsia Funckiana variety, and it’s easy to see why! It has very distinctive leaves that resemble pine branches.
Are purple air plants real?
- When exposed to constant bright light, Tillandsia Aeranthos Purple becomes a stunning air plant with a rich purple hue all year. When the plant blooms, it produces stunning purple-pink flowers. It grows to a maximum width of about 6 inches and is an extremely prolific species, producing more than 10 offsets before the mother plants die. This easy-to-grow air plant tolerates frequent watering and drought well. This item is ideal for any terrarium or dish garden.
- Indoors, Tillandsia Aeranthos Purple thrives, but prefers bright, indirect light. Keep this plant out of direct sunshine to prevent it from drying out too quickly.
There is no need for dirt. Instead of soil, you can use sand, sea glass, rocks, pebbles, and bark chips.
How do I know if my air plant is healthy?
Tip: Keep an eye on your plants’ leaves to see whether they’re thirsty. Curly leaves are drier, and a healthy white fuzz on your plant indicates that it is healthy, not that it is drying out. Under-watering is also indicated by brown leaf tips and a withered appearance. Take note of how your plant appears following a nice soakhow does it compare to how it seems now? Because each plant is unique, pay attention to what it is teaching you right now.
What color should my air plant be?
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 you soak an air plant?
While most air plants benefit from weekly soaks of 15-30 minutes, others prefer to be misted or plunged rather than immersed.
Can air plants live in low light?
Air plants are touted as perfect plants for introducing some greenery into dark spaces since they can live in low light. Air plants thrive in strong indirect light, despite the fact that they can survive in low light.