Ultimate Air Plant Care Guide And Tips

There are around 391,000 plants species already exist in this world. Every year scientist discovers around 2000 new species. Among all of those species, some are very special. Today we will talk about one of the special plant named “Tillandsia”. Tillandsia is mostly known as “air plant”. They are called air plant because they are not grown on soil. Most of the species of air plant grow open a plant or hang in the air on tree branches in nature. Gardener loves this as an indoor plant because they need very little care and gives beautiful flowers. Though Air plant needs very little care, some misconception and extra care sometimes become the reason for their death. Today in this article we’ll talk about everything that a gardener needs to know about air plant. Moreover, we’ll provide a complete guideline about air plant care. So you can say, this article is an Ultimate air plant care guide.

Types of Air Plant:

Arguably there are around 450 types of air plant exist in nature. We are not talking about all those wide ranges of air plant. In below we’ll going to discuss, some of the most common air plant that is popular among the gardener.

i)Tillandsia ionantha:

Another name is sky plant. It’s mostly grown in the tropical climate. Is produce bright flower at the end of the life span.

ii) Caput-medusae:

Due to its distinct leaves shape its name after the greek monster “Masusae” which means snakehead. In early summer it produces red or blue flower.

iii)Tillandsia xerographica :

Mostly found in Mexico, Is require less water than other varieties of air plant. Normally produce a spike in spring that turns into yellow or red flower over time.

iv)Tillandsia bulbosa:

Because of its bulb-like appearance, it’s named  “Tillandsia bulbosa” . It is mainly a central American air plant. Normally produced violet color flower in let summer.

V)Tillandsia funckiana :

They are a  unique type of air plant because they produce quills shape leaves which is quite uncommon. They normally bloom in late summer.

Basic care for air plant :

 Air Plant Watering:

Absorbing water system in air plant is quite different than a usual plant. Yes, we already know that air plant does not need soil for its survival but they need water to live like all other plants.Though Air plant has some root they mainly absorb water through plant leaves. Watering your air plant is always an important thing that you need to know. Because the rule of thumbs for an air plant is to water them one in a week.If the Weather condition is dry spray it three times in a week. It’s always important to sink tillandsia in a large pot or basin that is full of water at least once in a month like the below-shown picture…

Kept them in this condition for half an hour or for an hour at least. After putting them out from the basin or pot gently shake the whole plant to drop down the access water. Its always good to put them in a dry towel after the water bath as shown in the picture.

It is important to note that they need to completely dry within the next four hour after their water bath. Take a good look to the base of the plant and make sure its completely dry and then put it in its natural position.

In an alternative basis, after the water bath, the plant can also put on an invert position that is shown in the picture for half an hour to drop down the excess water. If the plant is not dry out within the next four hour then there is a high chance for rot, so be careful …

Lighting :

Tillandsia always hates direct sun or excessive heat. Bright indirect light is ideal for air plants growth. elect a place for Tillandsia where a t of bright and filter light comes all the time.

Air Circulation :

Tillandsia always loves the place where lot of natural air comes all year round. Kept it in a place where natural air circulation is not sufficient is not a good idea.

Air Plant Fertilizer:

Fertilizing is not an essential part of Tillandsia. In fact, it’s a difficult thing to do… Because most of the time people overdose it and as a result the whole plant rot. So If you are not using fertilizer for your tillandsia it’s completely ok.

Bromeliad fertilizer is mostly used for air plant. The process is pretty simple, mix the liquid fertilizer with water and mist it in the whole plant. But overuse of fertilizers is harmful to Tillandsia and harmful for its natural growth.

We personally like to use pond water, aquarium fish water, rainwater as an alternative of fertilizer. And trust us… It’s work better than any sort of fertilizer. But don’t use distilled water for air plant

Some Common Indication that an air plant needs water

There are some common signs that help us to know that an air plant needs water. For example, the leaf tips turning brown or crispy, or wilting the leaves of Tillandsia indicate lack of watering but underwatering is better than overwatering in case of Tillandsia. Because if your tillandsia is over watered, when you realize the fact, in most of the cases it’s too late to save it. So our advice is simply misted it every two or three days a week when it’s hot outside.

Trimming Air Plants

Trimming is always important for an old air plant. Most of us have a misconception that the Tillandsia need root. They need root in nature because it helps them to cling with different object or trees. So you can simply cut those root. Cutting the dead leaves from an old air plant helps them to grow first and help to produce new leaves. So trimming an old air plant is always keeps them healthy.

Life Cycle of air plant

“How first air plant normally grow?” This question’s answer is mainly depending up to the owner. If they take care of their air plant on a regular basis and if it’s got its ideal environment its grows very first. Normally within a year air plant start blooming. And once those flowers falls down its normally start to produce pups…!!! In most of the cases,baby plant comes from the bottom part of the mother plants. Sometimes pups come out from the protected under dying leaves. so take proper caution when trimming up the mother plants.

Some people think to separate the baby air plant from the early stage of life from is mother plant is a good idea. But in real life,it’s not. Baby air plants gather proper nutrition from its mother’s plant. And after a certain amount of time when the mother plant give all their nutrition to the new pups its died out. So Keep them the baby plant as it is, at least four to five month and then if you think it’s necessary you can separate them.

Last words:

Air Plant is one of the easiest plants to grow. No matter if you are a beginner or expert gardener if you follow the above mention rule you can easily grow your air plant. That’s all from this article. Hope you people will get all the necessary information that you need to know about air plant from this article. However,if you have any question feel free to ask us in the comment section.