Evergreen, succulent-like leaves that drink straight from the air, sitting on a piece of wood or a slab of volcanic rock without a single root in sight: that is tillandsia, the plant everyone calls an air plant. Mist it two or three times a week with rainwater, never let it chill below 40°F (5°C), and it will grow and bloom.
| Name | Tillandsia |
|---|---|
| Family | Bromeliaceae |
| Type | indoor plant, epiphyte perennial |
| Height | 12 to 20 inches (30 to 50 cm) |
| Exposure | light, no direct sun |
| Foliage | evergreen |
| Flowering | depends on the variety |
A plant without roots, definitely the reason this plant goes by the air plant nickname.
→ Set it up near or with a home-made kokedama for a double-wow effect
In the wild, tillandsia grows where no other plants can. It’s found hanging off rock cliffs and tall trees, or prickly cactus… and even along electric poles, iron fencing and phone lines!
So your tillandsia won’t be very interested in whatever soil mix you have to offer.
Tillandsia leaves are able to extract moisture from the air, and rain trickling down from higher up provides whatever trace elements it needs to grow and bloom.
It’s thus perfectly fine to just plop your tillandsia on a piece of wood, or something more mineral like a slab of volcanic rock.
Some tillandsia species also like growing in pots.
The ideal season to propagate tillandsia is either spring or summer.
After separating these basal shoots in spring, let the wound cure for 1 or 2 days, and then plant in a mix that contains equal parts of leaf compost, crushed bark and peat.
Because tillandsia has no roots at all, the question is not which soil mix to buy but what to sit it on. Here are the supports the plant will accept, and what each one asks of you.
| Way to grow it | What you need | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| On a piece of wood | Nothing but the wood itself | No soil mix needed at all, the plant simply sits on it |
| On mineral rock | A slab of volcanic rock | Leaves take moisture from the air, and water trickling down brings trace elements |
| In a pot | Orchid substrate, or failing that a succulent mix | Only some species take to pot life |
| Hanging on a natural support | A branch, a rock face or even a cactus | This is how it lives in the wild, where nothing else grows |
Whichever support you choose, the watering routine stays the same, and that is the part worth getting right.
Tillandsia care is relatively easy, especially once you’ve caught on how to water it.
Note that tillandsia resists temperatures that reach 85°F or 30°C, but will die if it gets any colder than 40°F or 5°C.
Keep in mind during this entire watering section that tillandsia hates calcium deposits, and always prefers watering with either rainwater or bottled water.
Watering, for tillandsia, is different than for other plants: the goal is more to mist water on its leaves, than to actually water it.
Spray water, preferably non-hard, on its leaves 2 or 3 times a week, sometimes more often if the weather is very hot.
Once a week, in addition, soak the tillandsia in water for a few minutes.
Most often, you’ll encounter all the usual indoor plant disease culprits: red spider mite, scale insects, aphids and even powdery mildew
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Don’t use any “leaf shiner” products on leaves, because those products tend to block up pores and the plant can’t extract moisture from the air anymore. Just use rainwater, or distilled water (the one used for ironing clothes, if pure).
