Air Plants, or Tillandsias, are in the Bromeliad family. They live natively in areas such as tropical forests, mountains and even deserts. Most of the popular and cultivated varieties found for sale are from forests in Mexico, Central and South America.
They are popular as houseplants because of the variety of shapes and sizes found among the various species. Also, because they are fairly easy to care for.
They can be grown outdoors in warm climates and seasons in a shaded area. Rain water does them good and even when grown indoors, soaking them in rainwater is a wonderful treat for them.
Here at The Herb Cottage, I have been marketing Air Plants for several years and have discovered effective ways to care for them.
Soaking once a week for about an hour is what I have found to be the most effective way to keep the plants healthy. Simply fill a bowl with water- non-chlorinated is best- so if your tap water is highly chlorinated, I recommend rainwater or Spring Water- remove the plants from wherever they are being displayed and place them in the bowl. I push them under to make sure the whole plant gets wet, then they sort of float around in the bowl for the hour or so that I leave them. Shake any excess water off the plant before you place it back in the display. That’s it! Easy, peasy.
Spritzing almost daily is another way, if your plants are in some sort of permanent arrangement and cannot be removed to be soaked. Again, if your water is highly chlorinated, it’s best to use rainwater or Spring Water.