Looking for a guide on how to take care of air plants? Look no further! In this post, I’ve gathered the best tips on how to care for air plants for beginners.
Air plants (aka Tillandsia) make excellent indoor plants because they can thrive under artificial lighting and require little care. They are small, require no soil, and will live for several years with proper care.
Air plants are the perfect house plants! Although simple to take care of, air plants will still need regular weekly maintenance and an appropriate amount of light, water, and nutrients. To keep your air plants healthy, follow these simple tips below!
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How To Take Care Of Air Plants
Below, I’ve gathered the best tips on how to take care of air plants for beginners. Under some tips, I’ve also recommended a few helpful products to care for your air plants. I only included products I felt had the most value for the cost.
Let’s get started!
1. Fertilize Your Air Plants
Although most air plants will survive without a fertilizer, fertilizers will help maintain healthy air plants, as well as, encourage blooming and healthy pups. One of my best tips on how to care for air plants is to use a fertilizer. If your air plant is dying and struggling to thrive at home, I highly recommend reviving a dying or dead air plant with fertilizer.
When selecting a fertilizer, choose one that is specifically made for air plants (like this air plant fertilizer from Cute Farms). Note that fertilizer will NOT replace weekly watering. If you plan to use a fertilizer, continue watering your air plants regularly as normal.
I recommend only using as much fertilizer as suggested by the fertilizer brand. Although fertilizer will greater improve the health of your air plants, you should never overdo it. Too much fertilizer can be harmful and cause nitrogen burns to your air plants!
Best Fertilizer For Healthy Air Plants
Looking for a quality fertilizer for your air plants? I highly recommend this air plant fertilizer by Cute Farms. This 8 ounce stray bottle of fertilizer is made specifically for air plants and is gentle enough to be used once a week.
You can use one bottle of this to feed one air plant for up to 6 month! A fertilizer will help improve the health of your plants and encourage blooming. To use, simply spray directly onto your air plants once a week.
I would note that air plant fertilizers are formulated differently across brands, so it’s important to stick to the brand’s recommendations on how often you should use their fertilizer. Although you can use this specific fertilizer once a week, some fertilizers will strictly limit fertilizer use to up to once a month.
I highly recommend treating dead or dying air plants with a fertilizer. Air plant fertilizers are inexpensive, will last a long time, are easy to use and will help your plants thrive. It’s a low cost for healthy air plants!
2. Don’t Place Air Plants In Enclosed Containers
One important tip on how to take care of air plants is to NEVER place them inside enclosed containers. An enclosed container is a death sentence for air plants because they cannot survive without proper air circulation. Air plants need AIR.
Air plants absorb nutrients and moisture from the air. If you plan to place your air plants in a terrarium, make sure there is a hole or opening large enough for adequate air flow. If you are an air plant beginner, I highly recommend using a plant holder that is exposed or contains large holes like this geometric air plant holder set from Amazon.
Although air plants are easy to take care of, they need the proper conditions to survive and thrive. This includes basic clean air circulation.
Best Budget Air Plant Container Set
If you don’t already have a container for your air plants, I highly recommend this budget geometric air plant holder set from Amazon. This air plant holder set comes in a pack of 5 for a great price! The geometric frame securely supports your air plants while providing adequate space for your air plants to grow.
The open concept of these air plant containers allows plenty of air circulation and space for your air plants to absorb moisture from the air and grow. I love the clever design of these geometric air plant holders! Not only do they look stylist and minimalist to look great in any room, but they are designed specifically for air plants.
All the air plant holders from this set are identical, but the unique geometric styles makes these plant holders look different depending on how you choose to hang or lay them. These plant holders are the perfect size for most air plants. This is a great product to incorporate your air plants into your home decor!
3. Keep Air Plants In Indirect Sunlight
So how much light do air plants need?
Air plants should be always kept in bright, indirect sunlight or under artificial lighting. Direct sunlight won’t kill your air plants, but too much will dehydrate them. If your air plants are looking a little parched and wilted from the sun, make sure to either water or mist them more often.
Air plants make excellent indoor plants because they can thrive with indirect sunlight and indoor lightening. Although simple to care, it’s important that they get an adequate amount of light to survive.
One important tip on how to care for air plants, is to make sure they get enough daily light. As a rule of thumb, air plants need at least 8 hours of bright, indirect light or 12 hours of artificial light. To raise healthy plants, make sure to follow these basic air plant light requirements.
4. Trim Dead Leaves Off Your Air Plants
Another important tip on how to take care of air plants, is to occasionally trim and prune them. It is normal for air plants to get dead leaves. When this happens, you can simply remove these dried with sharp scissors or pruning shears (like these gardening pruning shears from Amazon).
Is your air plant turning brown? Sometimes plant leaves can brown around the edges. To care for your air plants, trim around the brown edges using shears (this won’t harm them!). As a beginner, trimming is great way to groom and tidy up your air plants.
Best Budget Pruning Shears
Although a pair of sharp scissors will work fine for pruning and trimming your air plants, a pruning shear is a great tool to have if you own multiple air plants and/or other house plants.
Pruning shears can get expensive, but you can get a decent budget pair for under $10 like this gardening hand pruner from Amazon. These pruning shears are SHARP and allow you to easily trim plants without tiring your hands. These shears are also small and light, so they are perfect to use on small plants like air plants!
If you are a gardening beginner or a plant parent, I highly recommend having a sharp pair of pruning shears at home to care for your plants. Although not completely necessary, It’s convenient tool to own and will make pruning and trimming your browning air plants quicker and easier!
5. To Water Air Plants, Soak Them Once A Week
How long do you soak air plants?
Air plants cannot survive alone on air and light. They will need a sufficient amount of water to thrive and grow. One tip on how to care for air plants, is to soak them in a bowl water once a week.
Soaking is the best method to water air plants. I recommend filling up a bowl or sink with room temperature water and soaking your air plants inside for about an hour every week. Allow your air plants to air dry completely by laying them down on a towel for a few hours before placing them back in their plant holder.
Depending on the humidity, temperature, and light intake, some air plants may need to be watered more frequently. If your air plants are looking a little dehydrated (the leaves are curled inwards), consider soaking your air plants more frequently or misting them in between waterings. Since indoor conditions can vary home to home, it’s important to check up on your plants to determine whether they are adequately hydrated.
6. If Your Air Plants Look Dry Between Waterings, Mist Them
If your air plants are looking a bit dry in between waterings, mist them! Misting your plants is easy way to keep them hydrated without soaking your plants more often. If you are looking for advice how to take care of air plants for beginners, I recommend misting your air plants alongside weekly soakings.
Soaking is still the best way to water air plants, so I don’t recommend using misting as the main source of hydration. Although convenient, misting won’t provide enough moisture your air plants need. I recommend using misting to provide your plants extra moisture if they are looking a little dry in between waterings.
To mist air plants, use a fine mist spray bottle (like this one). You’ll want to use something that will gently and lightly mist over your air plants. When you mist your plants, make sure you mist over the entire plant!
Best Budget Mist Spray Bottle For Plants
This mist spray bottle is an excellent mist sprayer for air plants! It is gentle and sprays an incredibly light mist. If you are looking for a budget, high quality mist sprayer to hydrate your air plants in between waterings, I highly recommend checking out this product!
It is a compact, sturdy, and the perfect spray bottle to use on houseplants and/or air plants. This product has a great price tag for the quality of the mist. Compared to other mist spray bottles available, it produces one of finest, lightest mists!
Summarized: How To Take Care Of Air Plants
This post lists several tips on how to care for air plants. Here are the most important points summarized:
Feeding Air Plants
- To water your air plants, soak them in a bowl of water for an hour once a week. Allow your plants to dry completely before placing them back in their plant holders.
- Mist your air plants in between weekly waterings if they are looking a little dry. Misting is a clever, easy way to give your air plants extra moisture.
- To help your air plants thrive, fertilize them using an air plant fertilizer. Air plants don’t need fertilizer to survive, but it will make a huge difference to their health and growth.
Living Conditions
- NEVER place your air plants in an enclosed container. They need an adequate amount of air circulation to survive. Get a plant holder with large enough holes for air flow.
- Air plant light requirements: air plants need to at least 8 hours of bright, indirect light or 12 hours of artificial light to survive. Direct sunlight won’t kill air plants, but it will definitely dehydrate them over prolong periods.
Grooming Air Plants
- Using pruning spears or sharp scissors, trim off dead leaves and browning edges from your air plants. This will not hurt them.
Conclusion
In this post, I’ve listed several important tips on how to take care of air plants for beginners. Proper care and regular weekly maintenance is important to help your air plants survive and thrive.
Although air plants are one of the easiest plants to take care of, it’s incredibly important they get an adequate amount of nutrients, hydration, and light to maintain their health and grow. If air plants are not living in the proper conditions, they can as easily die.
I hope this post gave you some helpful tips on how to care for your own air plants at home.
Good luck!