How to care for a Tillandsia (air) plant

The original home of this little fella is the jungle! You mainly find them in the rain forests and deserts in the South of the United States, Mexico and Central and South America. Tillandsia plants are part of a group of 650 evergreen perennial flowering plants. They are also known by the name 'air plant' because they cling to whatever surface they can find and do not need soil to grow. Tillandsia plants are epiphytes which literally translates to 'upon a plant' and refers to the fact you'll typically find them clinging to other plants.

The Tillandsias don't score too high in the air purification department. They don't typically grow very large and that's kind of a big deal in the world of air purifying.

No worries, tillandsias are not toxic!

Wow, how about that! Tillandsia mainly gets its water from the air. He notices the humidity in his environment through "trichomes", the small downy hairs on its leaves. If your living room often uses heating or a fireplace, it's certainly advisable to spray it with water from time to time. A spray once every two weeks is enough. In the warmer months it'll also need a spraying more often; once or twice a week. You can also spoil your air plant with a wonderful bath! Just submerge it once a month in a bowl of (tap) water. During its spa moment, the Tillandsia sucks itself up completely with water, after which it will blossom again! But remember to cut the bath short if it's more than 30 minutes. It only has its level 1 swimming diploma and we don't want this little guy to drown! After the bath session, gently shake the water from its leaves and give it time to dry completely.

Tillandsias love light a lot. Choose a spot with plenty of daylight for your green amigo, but watch out for direct sunlight. They don't like it when the bright sun rays shine on their leaves.

Growth spurt' is not an entry in the Tillandsia dictionary. These guys grow veeeeeeery slowwwwwwwwly and therefore don't need any extra food. To give them a little extra boost every now and then you can use some mineral dense fertilizer spray. These sprays contain extra minerals that keep the air plants in top condition and promote flowering.

Ha! Gotcha. No need, as Tillandsias do not grow in pots!

Pruning isn't really necessary, but a beauty sesh every now and then doesn't hurt. Brown, dried leaves at the bottom can easily be removed by cutting them off. Ditto for any brown dots. Try to keep the pointed shape of the leaf when trimming!

These strong guys are extremely disease resistant. Just to be sure to check them for bugs once in a while, but you won't have to be very wary of them.