How To Water Air Plants: Watering & Care Tips
Air plants, also known as Tillandsias, are more difficult to care for than other houseplants. However, they are extremely strong and require little maintenance to grow, making them a great plant for beginners or busy office workers. This post will explain how to water air plants and how often you should do so. Hopefully, after reading this article, you will know how to hydrate your thriving Tillandsia of any kind.
What Are Air Plants?
Tillandsia is known as the “air plant” because it grows without soil in the air. One of the most popular myths about air plants stems from the fact that they just require air to survive.Â
It does, however, imply that they must continually absorb water through their leaves. This is caused by either extremely high humidity or frequent wetting.
How To Water Air Plants
While an air plant does not require soil, it does require food. Here’s how to water air plants.
Depending on how hot or dry your air is, you may need to water your air plants more frequently. If the leaves are shriveling, it’s time to water your air plants. But, as with other houseplants, it’s preferable to overwater than underwater.
Your air plant’s watering technique will also be determined by its installation style. Tillandsia can be watered in three different ways.
- Rinsing
- Misting and,
- Soaking.
Know that the last two methods will not work if you have mounted your plant somewhere, i.e., unless the mount is okay to be wet.
Rinsing Method
To rinse the plants, you must remove them from their stand and lay them in a strainer. From the leaves to the roots, all portions must be thoroughly soaked and then rinsed.
How Often Should I Rinse Air Plants?
Rinsing of air plants depends on the weather conditions. You can rinse them once a week during the summertime, and once every three weeks or so during the cool winter months will be enough.
Misting Method
Misting air plants many times a week is another alternative to watering them. If your air plant is part of a mounted display that is difficult to remove for soaking, this may be your only alternative. Some people like this approach. Some don’t. Spritzing is too erratic and does not deliver adequate moisture to the air plant.
However, because greenhouses and plant centers are already humid environments, they just mist them. You can also spray them if you live in a humid climate.
How Often Should I Mist Air Plants?
If your air plants have small orbs, mist them every 4-5 times a week. If it has large orbs, mist them 5-7 times a week. Make sure you mist your plant thoroughly.
Soaking Method
The soaking method is the best approach to water air plants. It’s quite straightforward. Fill a large and deep dish, or you can even use a partially blocked sink with clean water. Soak the air plants for an hour in the water.
To ensure that all areas and ends of the leaves get a long soak, turn it over midway through. Some of the air plants can be seen plumping up as they absorb moisture. When thoroughly watered, the curly variety will lessen their curl. You can add a mild solution of liquid plant fertilizer to the water once a month.
How Often Should I Soak Air Plants?
Soaking is the more comprehensive procedure, but it necessitates the removal of the plant from its display once again. Soak the plant for 5 hours once or twice a week.
The Most Beneficial Water for Air Plants
Air plants shouldn’t be given chlorinated water because it can hurt them. If at all possible, use rainwater or filtered water instead.
Rainwater is the best choice for air plants, but pond or aquarium water can also suffice because they all have nutrients. Allow tap water to remain in a bowl for a day to ensure the chlorine evaporates before using, as it can cause browning of the leaf tips.
Signs of A Rotten Air Plant
It’s possible that overwatering is causing your air plant to suffer. Underwatering may be indicated by brittle tips that are becoming brown. When there isn’t enough water, the air plant’s concave shape becomes more obvious.
Overwatering signs, on the other hand, are difficult to reverse. The air plant has gone rotten if it is fast-dropping leaves and the root has become black or brown. In that case, refrain from watering and keep your fingers crossed!
How to Avoid it
Rot is the sole disease that poses a serious threat to air plants. And with proper care, it can be avoided 99 percent of the time. After soaking your air plants, dry them for at least an hour by turning them upside down on a towel. This keeps water from accumulating in the plant’s crown, which is the leading cause of rot.
Air Plant Care Tips
Light
From April through October, air plants require strong, indirect, or filtered light to grow. However, this is still dependent on the air plant species you have and the humidity in its growth environment. Bright, filtered light is preferred for Tillandsia. The “day length” should be around 12 hours if utilizing artificial light such as grow lights.
Temperature and Humidity
Keep in mind that Tillandsias like temperatures of 50 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 10 degrees cooler at night. In other words, in terms of temperature, they’ll be perfectly content in a normal home.
However, the lack of humidity in a typical home does not make some of them happy. Therefore, air plants should be kept away from heat vents and fires.
In general, they prefer humidity levels of 50-70 percent. So it’s not far off from the usual indoor humidity level, which hovers around 40-60%, but not quite enough for them to survive without additional water.
It also depends on your location and the time of year.
Air plants are about as tolerant as a houseplant gets. They don’t even require you to plant them!
Fertilizer
Tillandsias don’t need to be fertilized. They can survive without one, but it is a terrific method to keep them happy and urge them to blossom and produce offsets more frequently.
Simply add a pinch of Bromeliad or air plant-specific fertilizer to your water once or twice a month to nourish your air plant. You can also apply 1/4 of the suggested strength of standard water-soluble houseplant fertilizer.
Wrapping Up
To keep your air plant healthy and happy, water it about once a week, giving it a good soaking. Allow the plant to dry out completely before watering again. In addition to watering, misting your air plant regularly will also help to keep it hydrated. Be sure to place your air plant in a bright location, but out of direct sunlight. With proper care, your air plant will thrive! Leave a comment if you have any questions about watering or caring for air plants. Thanks for reading!
