Where To Buy Air Plants In Store

Air plants are one of nature’s many wonders and by far one of the most unusual plant species. We will discuss what they are, how to best care for them, how to display them, and our top three favorites in this journal.

A Brief Overview

Tillandsia, the Latin word for air plants, are indigenous to South and Central America’s mountains, deserts, and woods, and certain varieties can even be found in the southern United States. Air plants grow on and around trees because they are epiphytic, but they are not parasitic. Instead, they absorb nutrients from the air and sporadic rainfall through their leaves. Their leaves have layers of trichomes, which are small, hair-like structures that are silver in color and help the plants easily absorb water. Unexpectedly, the tiny roots that air plants have serve to hold the plant to a surface rather than to absorb nutrition. It’s normal practice to trim the roots off of plants before bringing them indoors for a cleaner appearance.

Life Cycle

Air plants have a predictable life cycle, in contrast to many other tropical indoor plants. Years after reaching maturity, the air plant will blossom, with the majority of the blooms featuring extremely strong violets, pinks, reds, and oranges. After they have blossomed, the mother air plant will gradually start to generate offshoots known as “pups.” You can carefully remove these pups, which will grow into new, healthy air plants once they are roughly one-third the size of the mother plant. Following this stage, the mother plant will gradually start to die, leaving behind a sizable number of baby air plants, and the cycle will then begin again.

Care

You can be sure that air plants don’t require (or even particularly appreciate) that kind of harsh, direct sunlight, despite the fact that some of them may resemble succulents, cacti, and other light-loving plants in appearance. Since air plants typically grow around the shady canopies of trees in their natural habitat, they enjoy bright indirect light when housed indoors [find out more about lighting here].

Contrary to popular belief, air plants do need water to survive and can’t thrive on air alone.

Once a week, immerse your air plant in water for about an hour. After giving the air plant its weekly wash, gently shake it out to get rid of any extra water that may have gotten between its leaves. Before returning your air plant to its normal position, turn it upside down for a couple of hours to let any remaining water drain from the plant. By doing this, your air plant’s risk of developing rot is significantly reduced. Your air plant will have a longer, happier life if you follow these maintenance advice.

Ways to Display

Because air plants don’t require soil (i.e., a container) to survive, one of its most intriguing characteristics is that they may be placed almost anyplace. They can be displayed in a transparent glass container with pea gravel to support them or left alone on a desk or countertop to give off a more natural appearance. There are countless options.

Our Favorites

This tiny T. tectorum specimen resembles a fuzzy snowball. Because of the abundance of its silvery trichomes, it can tolerate extreme heat and drought.

T. xerogrpahica: These air plants, sometimes known as the queen of the air plants, can grow to be quite large. They form a rosette and have long, silvery-green leaves that spiral around one another.

T. streptophylla: This air plant, which is bulbous and has ringlet-like leaves, curls more tightly the longer it goes without water.

I hope this post has helped you learn a little bit more about air plants. They are wonderful plants that everyone ought to use. Please feel free to ask any more questions regarding them in the section below.

How can air plants be obtained?

Here are 5 easy guidelines to remember when taking care of tillandsia:

1) Give your air plant regular waterings. Your air plant will require routine watering.
2) Supply light to your air plant.
3) Allow your air plant to breathe.
4) Maintain a Pleasant Temperature for Your Air Plant.
5) Don’t harm your airplant by doing this.

How long are air plants alive for?

Perennial plants are tillandsias, also referred to as air plants. According to the source, they have a lifespan of between two and five years, which indicates that they normally survive longer than two years.

The type of air plant and the growing conditions have an impact on how long they live, though. They reside in deserts, on various surfaces, and on tree branches in their natural habitat (other surfaces they can grow on).

Air plants only experience one flowering during their existence, which marks the culmination of their development and maturity.

Depending on the species, the flowers might remain in bloom for a number of months. However, the air plant will begin to die when the blossoms start to wilt and fade. Air plants develop pups or offsets before they die to carry on the same growth cycle.

Despite the mother plant dying, you can take the pups out and raise them separately. Separating the pups from the mother is referred to as “division is a method of air plant propagation.

Alternatively, you can leave those puppies together, so they form a cluster or clump (also known as “tillandsia balls) (also known as “tillandsia balls).

Succulents: Are they air plants?

Succulents and air plants have become perennial favorites for gardeners. They are quite unique due to their odd appearance, which also lends an enticing tone to any interior design. Additionally, they require little upkeep to survive, making them perfect for people without green thumbs. But a lot of people confuse the two kinds.

Succulents and air plants are not the same. While air plants are a particular kind of plants with spiky leaves, succulents are plants with puffed or juicy portions. The main distinction is that while succulents rely on the soil to live and grow, air plants get their nutrients from the air and are watered by spraying.

Are bugs attracted to air plants?

Even the most experienced growers of air plants can encounter some challenges because they are among the easiest plants to care for. Discover some of the most typical problems that could occur when taking care of your air plants and how to prevent them!

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any queries about your specific plants; we are pleased to assist!

One of those things that could occasionally occur is air plant rot. Although it frequently results in your air plant’s demise, there are measures to prevent it. Plants that are either overwatered, underwatered, or even plants that aren’t getting enough light frequently get rot. The leading cause of rot is excessive watering. Rot is frequently to blame if the base of your air plant feels soft and mushy to the touch or if you can easily take the leaves off the base. Even air plants are capable of internal rot. You can have a plant that appears to be healthy one day, but the next it might come apart totally. Typically, internal decay is at blame. So what steps can you take to stop rot? The most important thing is to not overwater your plants. Most air plants only require weekly, and occasionally even less, watering. Never let your air plant remain on damp moss or submerge it in water for an extended amount of time in a terrarium. Shake off any extra water from your plants’ leaves after watering to prevent rot from occurring in the plants’ roots. Dry the plant upside down to allow for complete drying and for any water to seep out of the plant. On our care page, “How to Water an Air Plant,” you can find out more about watering your air plant.

Under-watering can also cause air plants to dry up or rot, which is a major problem. There is a widespread misperception that because these creatures are known as “air plants,” they don’t need much, if any, water. Online, it’s common to find inaccurate information regarding how frequently to water air plants, with many people claiming that they just require misting or monthly watering. It’s not like that at all! It’s important to water air plants at least once a week because they require enough water to live. It’s acceptable to occasionally forget to water your air plant, but avoid making it a habit. Under-watered air plants will exhibit curled leaves, browning foliage, possibly feel mushy to the touch, and may even entirely disintegrate from dry rot.

Lack of light is one of the most frequent causes of death in air plants. Since the majority of air plants are from tropical regions and some even thrive in more intense sunlight, they don’t thrive in low light environments. You may notice that the color of your air plant is fading and that it frequently becomes floppy or wilts if it isn’t receiving enough light. We advise placing your plants on display in an area that gets indirect light at least 4-6 hours a day. Frequently, you can do this outside, by a window, or even in a light room.

Your air plants’ growth, blossoming, and pup production can all be encouraged with fertilization. However, excessive fertilization will burn your air plants’ leaves and kill the plant. A excellent tip to follow is to water and fertilize your air plants at the same time once a month. And keep in mind that fertilizer is quite effective when used sparingly.

Because they love to reside in an environment with high air circulation, air plants received their name for a reason. A closed-off terrarium may make an air plant look attractive, but this could be fatal for your plant because it won’t be able to “breathe” and will die from a lack of air flow. Inadequate air flow can also lead to rot because it prevents moisture from dissipating in enclosed spaces. To make sure that your air plant receives adequate air, we advise placing it in a bowl with a sizable air hole or several air holes.

Even though air plants don’t have soil, which eliminates many pests and problems that bugs can cause, they are occasionally vulnerable to them. Mealy bugs and scale are the two most frequent pests that wreak havoc on air plants. A waxy cotton-like substance will appear on the leaves of an air plant if it is plagued by mealy bugs. Mealy bugs attack the delicate leaves of Tillandsia and Bromeliads to get at the “sap” inside, which causes damage to the leaves.

Small bumps that resemble shells can be seen on the stems or leaves of the diseased plant, which is how scale insects often attach to the undersides of leaves. These insects can also damage air plant leaves, turning them yellow until they eventually fall off. It is a good idea to be aware of the pests that can harm your air plants, even though they are uncommon for plants kept indoors. Keeping plants outside puts them at a higher risk of pest infestation, but introducing lady bugs to your garden can help ward off these infestations.

Sadly, once an air plant has scale or mealybug infestation, it must be confined and pesticide-sprayed. While we attempt to cultivate all of our plants without using pesticides, there are instances when it is necessary to do so in order for the air plants in the greenhouse to survive.

Which air plant is the best?

How long should air plants soak?

It is preferable to soak your air plants in a bowl of water for 20 to an hour once per week to 10 days. Totally submerge the plant. Even though they are constantly wet in nature, if your plant is in bloom, you might want to keep the bud above the water to avoid disturbing it.

Could you simply sprinkle the plants?

The final technique in our series on watering air plants is misting, which you can employ in between regular soaking or immersing. Read more in our earlier blog posts to learn more about the dunk method and soaking.

If you notice that your plant’s leaves are starting to seem a bit dry or if you live in a dry region with low air humidity, misting is an excellent approach to give it a little additional hydration. Misting is probably not enough water for your plant to grow, therefore you shouldn’t utilize this method as its only supply of water.

The T. tectorum, which has a lot of trichomes, is an exception to this rule and prefers misting to soaking or submerging. In a temperate area, you might only need to mist once a month with one of these guys, or once a week in a hotter environment.

In contrast to other plants with bigger leaves, plants with wispy leaves such the T. ionantha, T. andreana, or T. fuchsii v gracilis may require misting more regularly in addition to weekly watering.

It’s easy to spritz plants; just use a spray bottle or hose attachment set to the “mist” setting. Make sure the entire plant gets soaked before misting. As previously mentioned, if this is their sole source of water, this is not the greatest approach for watering. If you mist your plants, remember to additionally soak or dip them once a week at the very least.

A useful generalization to remember is that a healthy air plant will have leaves that are wide open, whereas a dehydrated air plant would have leaves that curl inward. Bring on the mist if you see that your plant is starting to appear a touch dry between your regular waterings!