Air Plants Care: Basic Do's and Don'ts
Light
- Make sure you locate your new air plants at a place where it can receive a good amount of bright, indirect light. Do not leave them in a dark, window-less room. Artificial lighting won't be sufficient for air plants to thrive
- Artificial grow lights (LED or CFL bulbs) can be helpful for darker growing conditions. Many options can be found at local hardware stores or online.
Water
- You might have heard that "air plants don't need to be watered and that they just need air." This is actually incorrect because they are tropical plants and prefer high-humidity environments.
- Spraying your plants every 2-3 days (mist until whole plant is wet) might be enough for some plants, but is actually insufficient for most, especially if you're growing indoors in Canada or most of North America.
- Weekly soaking is recommended: Prepare a bucket of water and dunk the plants in for a good 1-2 hours, then take them out, lay them on a towel and wait for them to dry completely before placing them back into their homes. Prevent rotting by making sure the plants have completely dried out
- The best combo: weekly soaking + regular spraying
- Spanish Moss require more frequent watering indoor to stay healthy, soaking every 3 days or spray daily
- Water quality: Straight tap water is often hard and not optimal for the plants in the long run. Rain water works best, but if that is hard to obtain, then filtered water, or tap water after it has been sitting for a few hours.
- Tip: Save rice water and soak your plants in it once in a while. It is a natural fertilizer for air plants.
- Fertilizing is not required but recommended for faster plant growth and blooming. Fertilize once every month. We carry Tillandsia fertilizer in our online store!
Airflow, Blooming and Offsets
- Air plants take nutrients from the air through their leaves, so they need ample airflow to truly thrive. If growing indoors year-round, make sure you have your windows opened every now and then, or use an oscillating fan to improve air circulation.
- Air plants produce flowers too! And for some species the leaves will blush red when they are ready to bloom. Colours of the bloom can range from violet to red and/or white!
- After or during their blooming cycle, air plants often begin to produce offsets/pups or baby plants. You can leave it be and let them grow in bigger clumps, or separate the baby plant when it is at least one-third (1/3) to half (1/2) of the size of mother plant.