How To Care For Air Plants | Indoor Plant Guide

Air plants are a stunning and unique addition to any house plant collection! The name “air plant” is actually a bit misleading. Members of the Tillandsia genus are so-called not because they can thrive on air alone, but because they require no soil at all to grow. In fact, assuming that Tillandsia only needs air to survive is one of the most common mistakes we see in air plant care.

When it comes to indoor plant care, air plants (Tillandsia) are supposed to be some of the easiest. For starters, they don’t even need soil, absorbing water and nutrients through scales on their leaves—in the wild they survive just hanging onto the bark of trees and whatnot, catching whatever bit of rain and bird poop that comes their way. But just like succulents and orchids, some people have trouble keeping them alive.

Here are the best practices we recommend for air plant care. First, we’ll talk about how to care for air plants in general, and then we’ll talk about adaptations in air plant care for aquariums, terrariums, and mounted Tillandsia.

LIGHT

Too much sunlight will deplete the moisture from your air plants, and cause them to burn and eventually die if they are left in the sun too long.

Air plants should be kept where they'll receive bright, indirect sunlight, filtered light or under fluorescent home/office lighting. Periods of direct sunlight are just fine, but more than a few hours of hot sun will deplete the plants of their moisture. If your plant will be in a spot with some pretty direct light, try misting them every couple of days to keep them hydrated.

Air Plants and Artificial Light

Florescent light or Grow lights is the ideal artificial light for air plants. Grow lights can be used to provide supplemental light for air plants – or serve as their only source of light! However, note that I said, “grow lights”. This means they need to be full-spectrum fluorescent or LED lights, specialized for growing plants. Standard incandescent bulbs don’t emit the quality of light that air plants need to photosynthesize.

Keep the air plants no further than 3 feet or so from the light source. If artificial light is their primary light source, plan to keep it on for about 12 hours per day in order to provide sufficient light. The use of a light timer may be helpful in that case. 

WATER

Air plants live on air, right? Uh, not right! While air plants don't grow in soil, they definitely NEED to be watered. While the plants can survive for long periods of drought, they will not grow or thrive and will eventually die off if the water is too scarce. Follow the directions below for watering your plants on a regular basis and they will stay alive and well for quite some time. The good news is that since these plants are very forgiving, you shouldn't stress over their care schedule. There's certainly no need to get a babysitter when you go on vacation.

• Water your air plants in the morning to ensure they get enough time to fully dry or it may disrupt their ability to respire at night.
• To water air plants, remove them from wherever you have them displayed and submerge them in a bowl or sink full of enough water to completely cover them. Parts of the plants will float up above the water. Leave them in the bath for one hour.
• Remove each plant, hold facing upside down, and shake well to get rid of any excess water that may be pooling at the base of the inner leaves. Then, turn your air plant upside down on a towel and place it in a bright spot. Let it sit for one to three hours, depending on when it is fully dry.
• Return your air plants to their regular spot until it is time to bathe them again.

Temperature

Temperature changes will not be too drastic for your air plants as you will be moving them inside your home where the temperature is controlled. Air plants are pretty easygoing when it comes to their temperature. They do best between 50-90 degrees F. Ideally, overnight temperatures will be about 10 degrees cooler than daytime temperature.

Air Plant Life Cycle

Did you know that air plants flower once in their life? Depending on the species, these blossoms last from a few days to a few months and can be a whole variety of beautiful bright colors, like pink, red and purple. Flowering is the peak of the air plant life cycle, but also marks the beginning of the plant’s old age - after it flowers, the plant will eventually die.

But don’t despair! Just before, during, or after flowering, depending on the species, your air plant will reproduce by sending out 2-8 “pups”. These baby air plants, which start out very small, will eventually grow into their own mother plants. Pups can safely be separated from the mother plant when they’re about ⅓-½ its size. Careful not to remove them too early, as they’re actually receiving nutrients from the mother air plant!