AIRPLANTS

Airplants (Tillandsia sp.) encompass around 650 species of plants- from the tiny Spanish moss (yes, you’ve been lied to- Spanish moss is not a moss) to the huge Xerographica. Care for these plants is about as easy as it gets due to the unique way they capitalize on their environment in the wild.

Tillandsia are all epiphytic plants- meaning, they do not grow in the ground as most plants do, but on other plants. They mainly grow on the branches or trunks of trees, or sometimes even stones. Despite being called airplants, these plants can actually grow roots and firmly attach themselves into these surfaces.

This is great news for the home grower, because it allows you two options for growing these beautiful plants. You can simply set them in any brightly lit spot, or you can express your creative freedom and mount them to pieces of driftwood or cork bark in an artistic way.

Tillandsia sp. mounted to moss ball. Note the wire clips used to temporarily hold them on until they take root

To mount them, firmly tie the base of the airplant tight against the driftwood or bark with twine, and in a few weeks the roots will set strong enough for you to remove it. You can also use metal clips to pin them on like pictured above.

Any way you decide to grow these plants, the care is the same. They are understory plants, most often shaded from the full sun by the tree canopy above, so they thrive best in bright, indirect light and humid air.

The best way to water these plants, in our experience, is to fill a bowl or the sink with water and briefly submerge the entire plant to saturate it. Then, flip the airplant upside down and shake off any excess water, and return to growing spot. For best growth, you can add some very dilute balanced fertilizer to this water bath once a month or so. Frequency of watering varies from species to species, and depends on your ambient humidity- but as a general rule, we have found about once a week to be effective for most airplants.

Mounted Tillandsia sp. in bloom alongside micro orchid

Finally, airplants are all capable of flowering too. Some flowers may be boring or insignificant, while others really put on a show and can even be fragrant. To encourage flowering, ensure you are giving the plant appropriate lighting and humidity, and of course fertilizer will help too. Most often after flowering, your airplant will propagate itself and make ‘pups’ from the base of the original plant. Some species will die after flowering, leaving only the pups to continue growing.