Air Plants Care Guide

Air Plant

Family: Bromeliads

Genus: Tillandsia

Durability: Low maintenance

Light

Air plants love bright, indirect light. They are perfect for your desk and other places that get fluorescent lighting.

Water

Air plants are about as low maintenance as they come. You should water your air plants once a week or less. Frequency depends on the humidity in the area you’re keeping them. Remember, drier environments with less humidity will dry out your air plant, so you should mist them as you notice them starting to dry out.

Climate

They love to be kept in warmer environments that range between 50 and 90°F. Your house or office temperatures are the perfect environments for them!

Pests and Diseases

Air plants that are kept inside are pretty resistant to pests! Usually, if your indoor air plants have pests, they are coming from an outside source that just brought them into the area. They can occasionally attract mealybug and scale. If your air plant is infected, quarantine them from your other plants to prevent any spreading.

Tips

• Keep your air plant looking fresh by grooming back their lower leaves every once in a while. They will even do this themselves, so don’t panic if you notice the bottom level of leaves browning and falling off.

• Display them in something that won’t allow them to sit in water.

• Mount them to displays with hot glue or liquid nails to arrange them in a variety of ways.

• Dry them upside down after watering.

Signs your air plants are unhappy

• Rotting, mushy base: over watered

• Leaves falling off: under watered

• Curled leaves: under watered

• Fading color: not enough sunlight

Fun Facts

• Air plants will produce pups, and some even flower!

• They can develop trichomes (fuzzy little hairs) that help them absorb water and regulate their temperatures.

• Air plants can live outdoors too!