Air plant is one of the unique houseplants that you can acquire. It can be displayed in your house in variant ways. You can mount them on a wall, hang them in a ceiling basket, put them in a sphere glass container or just place them on your desk. Its true scientific name is Tillandsia and it has many types. It is called air plant because it takes most of its needed nutrients from the surrounding air and it can grow on any surface type. It can even grow on no soil at all. In this article, we will handle some specific caring and watering tips about this special unusual houseplant.
A common rule about the sunlight requirement of the air plants different types is that the greener the air plant is, the lower the light it needs to flourish such as the Tillandsia Ionanthia and the whiter (or greyer) it is, the more the light it needs such as the Tillandsia Tectorum. Some types, like the Tillandsia Ionanthia, probably grows in a rainforest environment where there is more humidity and less light exposure.
You may keep it around 6-9 feet away from a south-facing window. On the other hand, other types such as Tillandsia Tectorum with its fuzzy appearance, usually grow in a windy and sunnier environment. You can place them much closer to a south-facing window at your house.
When it comes to watering, you need to water it at least once a week and avoid neglecting it for more than two weeks. GreenHub mobile application can help in reminding you of when to water your plant easily.
One of the common ways to water your plant is to spray them. While doing so, make sure to fully spray them from all sides. Another way of watering is by soaking your plant fully in water and leaving it for about 5-10 minutes.
Either this or that, make sure that you shake your plant gently afterwards especially if it is the kind of air plant that has thicker leaves. If the plant is thin or doesn’t have much space between its leaves, such as Tillandsia Ionanthia, then you can leave it on its side to dry. However, if it is large in size and has thick leaves, such as Tillandsia Harrisii, you may keep it upside down on a surface to allow for better dryness so that no water stuck in the crevices which may lead to a rot. You can leave the plant to dry for around 1-3 hours after spraying or soaking.
An additional step, but not a necessary one, that you can do is that you can place your thick-leaved plants in front of a fan if you would like to make sure that no water stuck within it and avoid leaving it to dry for a long time.
In order to make sure that your plant is sufficiently getting its needs of nutrients, you can use foliar fertilizer twice a month at least. Also, fertilizing the air plant makes it easy for it to blossom.