Have you seen an Air Plant (Tillandsia) before? Well before Pinterest and a bunch of fantastic design sample sale sites came along, I hadn't either. But once I saw them, I knew I wanted one! Now, several years later, I finally got one...now to keep it alive!
This combined my love of gardening and unique things into one!
Let me give you the 'cool' scoop...An Air Plant doesn't have roots! Mine doesn't look as healthy as this, so I need to nurse it back to health. I don't think it was in the right conditions in the shop I bought it from. The reason for this, I believe, is I was told that they needed to be submerged for only about 15 seconds in water...it turns out from many websites I've seen, that at least once (up to 2-3 times) a week, you submerge the Air Plant in water for 20-30 minutes! Shake them a bit to discard the water, and set them in a sunny place with good circulation to dry.
They need to be placed in bright, indirect sunlight or under fluorescent lighting. If the plant is in pretty direct sunlight, mist them every couple of days to replenish. My Air Plant wasn't in much sun at all, which I think was the problem. It also looks very, very dried out!
Air Plants love temperatures between 50-90 degrees. If your plant has very light leaves or wrinkled leaves, it is most likely dehydrated. There can also be dry tips on the leaves (mine has dry tips on *all* the leaves) and they can be snipped off at an angle. Fertilizing your plants (March-October) can help them stay in tip-top shape and bloom more often. A bromeliad fertilizer can be bought at most garden stores.
There are a myriad of ways you can mount your Air Plant as well. Below are some super creative ways. Just remember, it still needs to be watered, so make sure it's detachable or waterproof! The possibilities are endless and I'd love to know what creative display methods you come up with!
Peace & Joy!
This combined my love of gardening and unique things into one!
They need to be placed in bright, indirect sunlight or under fluorescent lighting. If the plant is in pretty direct sunlight, mist them every couple of days to replenish. My Air Plant wasn't in much sun at all, which I think was the problem. It also looks very, very dried out!
Air Plants love temperatures between 50-90 degrees. If your plant has very light leaves or wrinkled leaves, it is most likely dehydrated. There can also be dry tips on the leaves (mine has dry tips on *all* the leaves) and they can be snipped off at an angle. Fertilizing your plants (March-October) can help them stay in tip-top shape and bloom more often. A bromeliad fertilizer can be bought at most garden stores.
There are a myriad of ways you can mount your Air Plant as well. Below are some super creative ways. Just remember, it still needs to be watered, so make sure it's detachable or waterproof! The possibilities are endless and I'd love to know what creative display methods you come up with!
Great article! I was pretty bad at keeping plants alive until I was introduced to air plants, and I have been using them all around my house since! I get mine online from Air Plant design studio(www.air-plants.com). I normally just buy the plant and then make my own displays but they also offer kits, a friend of mine just bought a kit and was really happy with it!
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