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One of the hottest trends in houseplants is the humble air plant — tillandsia. The spiky plants adorn hanging glass terrariums, pop up on shelvies and cling to decorative hunks of wood.
They’re easy to grow, but far too many die early deaths because most of us haven’t a clue about how to care for them.
Richard Ward, who has owned and operated Oakland’s Dry Garden Nursery for 32 years, has watched the rise in popularity of the air plant, which remains a big seller among his other cacti, succulents and native plants. Now Ward is offering his advice on growing tillandsias:
Air plants do not live on air alone
That, apparently, is something that needs to be said as thousands of air plants end up in trash bins each year when their caretakers realize the cute little plant that provided just the right touch of trendy decor has turned brown and become brittle because it was never fed or watered.
Spray, don’t soak
Many people suggest soaking tillandsias, but the recommendations range anywhere from 30 minutes twice a week to 3 hours every month. Ward, however, says spraying is the way to go. It more closely mimics the way nature waters tillandsias.
There are 610 species of air plants, 240 of them from Mexico. They grow wild in climates such as Florida, where they receive plenty of moisture from rain and humid weather. In the Bay Area, unless you live in a foggy area and are growing them outside, we need to supplement the water.
Ward sprays his collection of plants twice a week with a mister, partly because there are too many to soak, but mostly because he believes that’s the best way.
Along with water, they need food
In nature, Ward says, tillandsias live on the detritus collected on the plant from the variety of plants and animals nearby. If your plant is outdoors, the detritus comes naturally, but for plants growing inside, you need to supplement the food supply with a very weak fertilizer — a pinch of bromeliad or orchid fertilizer in the plant mister, applied every month or as needed. You should probably also fertilize outdoor plants.
Even air plants need to be rooted
Air plants have almost insignificant roots, but they do have roots, which provide about 10 percent of their nutrition but more importantly, help anchor them to a spot. The plants are classified as epiphytic, meaning they grow on other things. Unlike parasites, which feed on the living object they attach to, tillandsias merely use them as something to hold onto.
When “planting” a tillandsia on a piece of drift wood, for instance, many people glue the plant to the wood. Don’t do that, Ward says. Or at least do it carefully, avoiding the roots. He recommends carefully wiring the plant to the wood. Or, if you’re planting them in glass balls, give them a base to latch onto, such as wood chips or some gravel.
Don’t forget the light
Although there are a few tillandsias that can live in full sun, most require dappled shade. Keep in mind that most tillandsias live on trees, which provide shelter. Indoors, keep the plant in the brightest part of your home, but away from direct sun.
Patience pays off
As many people kill their air plants within a few months, they never get to see the magic of the plant. Tillandsias are monocarpic, producing only one seed in their lifetime. It can take about a year for the air plant to produce a bloom and thus a seed, and then they die. But that doesn’t mean it’s over.
While waiting for the bloom, the plant produces pups, small plants that grow from the base of the mother plant.
