One of the most frequent causes of air plants starting to die is overwatering. Although air plants rarely experience overwatering, the main issue is retained water. In general, air plants absorb all the water required when being watered (by soaking, misting, or immersing).
You shouldn’t experience any problems if you remove your air plants from the water, let them dry, and then display them regularly. On the other hand, rot can occur if you just watered your air plant and there is water trapped between the leaves.
After watering your plants, be sure to brush off any extra water and allow your air plant to dry (particularly if immersing or soaking). You can place it on a tissue to dry, flipping it after 10 minutes to allow each side to finish drying. To let all the water drip down, you can also hang your air plants upside-down.
The important thing is to make sure to give it a quick chance to dry. Your plant could suffer if water is retained even for a short period of time. Air plants need to dry in 3 to 4 hours.
The majority of tillandsias require occasional deeper soaking or dipping. Some tillandsias, like Tillandsia tectorum, like daily mistings in contrast and are prone to decay if often wet.
Large bases on air plants require less soaking to prevent rot because water can easily become trapped there. If you decide to soak it, hang it up upside down so that it may dry completely.
Tillandsias that are xeric (silvery-fuzzy appearing), like t. xerographica, typically have more trichomes and are better suited to surviving in hotter climates. Less watering, less humidity, and greater heat are all they need.
Mesic (greener) tillandsias prefer more watering and more humidity because they are native to settings with a higher relative humidity.
Reason #2: Under watering
Your air plants won’t live for very long if you submerge them. During the warmer months of the year, most air plants, especially mesic ones, need deep watering about once a week.
Your tillandsia won’t get all the water it needs if you only spritz your plants. If it’s a type that can rot easily and does best with regular mistings instead, such as T. tectorum, you should mist in between waterings, but as a main source.
Brown, shriveled leaves and drying leaf tops are indicators that your plant needs to be watered more. Dry tillandsias begin to curl inward, and the leaves of certain plants begin to bow or coil.
Please check your watering schedule if you have been observing those symptoms. Long-term underwatering will prevent your air plants from photosynthesizing, and eventually they will just die.
Reason #3: Lack of air exchange
As you are surely aware, stagnant, moist air results from poor air exchange. Tillandsias like the air’s dampness (especially green mesic air plants that come from rain forests etc.).
However, they also have proper air exchange in their native environment when there is significant humidity. Air exchange is substantially less at home. Therefore, if you overwater the plant and there isn’t enough air exchange, your plant may begin to decay.
In fact, air plants benefit from enough ventilation and breeze. Make sure to open the window in the room where your plant is at home. Every chance you get, you should take it outside; it will love it.
When temperatures are high (85–90 F/29–32 C), ventilation is absolutely necessary. It may be a good idea at this stage to water more frequently and keep your plants outside in a sunny yet shaded place. At home, a room with adequate ventilation or a bright windowsill are also good choices.
Reason #4: Wrong display options
Your air plants can be displayed in a variety of ways. The display surface should, however, always be dry. Place or mount your air plants off of damp surfaces, such as wet moss, wet coconut fiber, wet bark chips, etc.
Your air plant will begin to decompose if you set it on a moist or wet substrate. If an air plant has roots, those roots shouldn’t be allowed to become wet because air plants don’t absorb water through their roots. Some air plants have large bases that are easily susceptible to water accumulation and rot, including tillandsia xerographica.
Additionally, terrariums with closed lids are not appropriate for displaying air plants. Although air plants can be placed in terrariums, they must be open and have dry filler to allow air to circulate. Additionally, don’t overstuff the terrarium with moss or additional plants (no over stuffing).
Plants or moss that is too wet will rot more frequently. Tillandsias look best when they are displayed alone, together with other dry decorations and figurines. It is not a good idea to display air plants beside succulents since they need soil that will be too wet for them. On top of other plants, though, you can affix your air plants.
Reason #5: Low temperatures/low light
Low light or temperature is another factor that could trigger a fungal infection or decay in your air plants. Medium to high levels of light and warmth are necessary for tillandsias. Your air plant may begin to wilt or lose leaves if it is not given enough light.
If not, your air plant may not dry out entirely and may begin to wilt. Home air plant temps should be between 60 and 80 F. (16-27 C). Make sure to move to a warmer area, drink extra water, and provide shade if the temperature falls below 50 F (10 C) or rises above 95 F (35 C).
Please make sure that all of the air plant’s sections receive light when showing it. Avoid burying air plants in deep containers; otherwise, the leaves at the base will start to wilt and become brown.
Please use a full-spectrum fluorescent plant light like this if there is little light, especially during the winter. Please refrain from using standard bulbs as they will not encourage photosynthesis. Watering air plants in winter might lead to decay because of low light and increased humidity.
Reason #6: Lack of nutrients/wrong type of water
Tillandsias acquire nutrients from waste products, dead leaves, and other debris in their natural habitat. When you keep air plants at home, this does not take place.
Although a plant rarely dies (especially abruptly) from lack of fertilization, its lifespan will be considerably shortened. This is why fertilizing your air plant once a week or month is a smart idea (depending on a fertilizer). Use just this kind of water-soluble, non-urea fertilizer, which your air plants may use.
Watering air plants with distilled or softened water is another way to deprive them of nutrition. Salts in softened water prevent your air plants from absorbing essential nutrients for growth and health. Your tillandsias need certain nutrients, which distillate water lacks.
Additionally, avoid watering your air plant with tap water that you have just poured. Chemicals in tap water will gradually weaken and possibly kill your air plants.
Before using, let tap water sit in an open container for two hours. The best sorts of water to utilize include pond, fish tank, rain, and bottled water.
Can I save an air plant that is falling apart or splitting?
You can no longer save the plant if its leaves are breaking readily, which indicates that the plant is in danger of dying.
The plant’s structural integrity has probably already been lost due to decay or fungus by this time. You can no longer save this plant if the center is also disintegrating.
You might try to salvage your plant only if the outside of it is rotting. To stop the spread of rot, you could try to remove the leaves at the base. However, it might be too late to salvage your air plant if it is mushy or squishy and is disintegrating.
Use a fungicide but avoid using any colored fungicides if you just see rot on the lower leaves. This is so that leaves won’t get stained by colored fungicides. Opt for transparent fungicides instead.
Avoid using copper-based fungicides since tillandsias are poisoned by copper. Always make an effort to stop rot or fungus, and stay away from all-purpose fungicides. Physan 20 is a fungicide, bactericide, and algaecide that works well when diluted.
Additionally, avoid soaking all air plants in the same water, particularly if you think one of them may have a fungal illness or anything similar. If you soak them both at once, spores will spread to other plants, and you risk losing all of your plants.
Signs of rot in air plants
- Plant that is very soft and mushy at the root
- Falling leaves quickly
- The outer leaves have black dots (not drying tips)
- bad odor (wet rot)
- Especially at the base, the leaves are dark.
Please be aware that the air plant’s inside rots the most frequently. It might be harder to notice it this way. The air plant may be rotting if you press on the base and there is no slight resistance.
Do not mistake dried, removeable black leaf tips for rot; they are not the same thing. It’s common for some air plants to have darker bases.
Please be aware that air plant rot frequently goes undetected since it occurs on the interior of the base. It’s possible for your air plant to appear fine for a while before it suddenly starts to deteriorate. Don’t worry if this has happened to you—all it’s part of learning.
There could be other causes if your air plant also has brown leaves or patches. This post has further information on that.
How can a dead air plant be revived?
It all comes down to watering, or more specifically, drainage, when an air plant is dying of rot. Although they do not like to stay wet, air plants need to be watered by misting or soaking in water. The plant needs to be given time to dry after being soaked or misted. Fungus takes hold and the plant dies if the plant’s center is left damp.
Regardless of how you water your air plant, after you’re done, make sure to tilt the plant so that water can drain and give it about four hours to fully dry off. This can be done using a dish drainer or by turning the plant over onto a dish cloth.
Although different types of air plants require varied amounts of watering, none of them should be immersed for extended periods of time. Last but not least, to promote adequate airflow and lessen the possibility of an air plant going bad, if your air plant is in a terrarium or other container, leave the lid off.
How is an air plant reattached?
The fact that air plants can be used in a variety of ways when it comes to decorating is one of the things we love about them. They are simple to attach to driftwood, wreaths, shells, and pretty much anything else you can think of! It’s good to have some greenery within your home, and since air plants don’t require soil, they make it a little bit simpler.
You’ve arrived to the right site if you’ve ever wondered how to install or attach air plants. We’ve prepared a list of some of the simplest mounting options for your favorite air plants below.
Wire:
When practical, we often advise using wire to secure. Just be careful not to use copper wire, which is harmful to air plants and can even cause their death.
If you are using wire, carefully “loop the wire through the bottommost leaves of your plant and wrap it around the base, then attach to your wreath or whatever item that you are attaching to.
We prefer this approach since it makes it simpler to move or water the plants if necessary than if you used adhesive.
Bok Tower Gardens has a stunning hanging display that you should see. Fishing line can be used to make lovely things both inside and outside.
angling line
This is a simple technique to fasten air plants to a wreath or piece of driftwood, and since it’s clear, no one will be able to see it. Simply follow the same procedure as with the wire; pass the fishing line through the plant’s leaves before tying a knot to attach it. If you hang air plants at the end of a long piece of line and fasten it to the ceiling or a shelf, you can also create some stylish floating arrangements using fishing wire.
Roots:
The primary function of air plants in the natural is to attach plants to trees; they do not use their roots to draw in nutrients or water. Our article, All About Air Plant Roots, has further information on air plant roots. If you have some free time, you can accomplish the same thing. Your plant may naturally cling to a piece of driftwood, a wreath, a tree, etc. (Be patient; this may take some time.)
If you’re feeling a little more impatient and don’t want to wait for the plant to anchor itself organically, you can use use wire to affix plants to an object by wrapping the wire around the plant’s roots rather than looping it through its leaves.
Glue:
Because it makes it more difficult to water and care for your plants, we typically don’t advise using adhesive to attach air plants to something. But it is possible! When using adhesive, you can use a plant safe glue that is also waterproof, such E6000. When gluing, be particularly careful to avoid getting glue on any of the leaves; instead, dab the glue on the plant’s base and wait for it to dry before attaching.
Although it’s not our preferred or advised method, you can use hot glue if you need to attach anything quickly. Hot glue won’t hold up as long as other anchoring methods and isn’t watertight.
Final suggestions:
- T. bulbosa belize, T. caput medusae, or T. pseudobaileyi are examples of plants with bulbous bases that should be mounted horizontally or upside down to assist prevent water from accumulating in their bases, which could cause them to rot.
- If you decide to mount your air plants with glue, remember to submerge or spray them rather than soak them. Since you can’t take the plant out to water it, soaking could cause it to decay against the place where it is anchored. Always try to shake away any extra water from your plant to reduce the likelihood of it rotting.
- Be sure to keep an eye on how much sunlight and moisture your wreath is receiving throughout the day if you are mounting and exhibiting air plants on a wreath that will hang outside on your front door. We advise bringing your wreath inside during the warmest part of the day if you see there is a lot of direct sun. For individuals who reside in colder climates, the same holds true. Since they are tropical plants, they do not like extremely low temperatures. Therefore, to prevent them from dying, if you’re using a wreath in the fall or winter, consider hanging it inside your door.