So they say succulents, cacti and air plants are the easiest plants to look after, just leave them to their own devises and they will be fine. Yes, many of these little friends of ours are used to living in the middle of no-where, with little water and interaction. But there are a number of variables that can make caring for them a little more difficult than just leaving them be. Here are a few tips to help you when caring for your little green friends, in particular Air Plants.
Air plants are native to mountains, forests and deserts. Their little root system is formed to adapt to their surroundings so that they can cling on, and lock into whatever is around them, whether it be a tree branch or a rock, or even other plants. This make them extremely versatile and able to adapt easily to the environment in which they find themselves.
Despite the name, air plants do not live on air or oxygen alone, they do still need watering regularly and you can even spray them with a spray fertilizer. Here’s some pointers to help you out, it’s pretty simple once you know.
Water:
Watering air plants is a little different to potted plants. Instead of pouring water into the plants container, you need to take the plant out and place it in the water. This is because air plants don’t like too much water and are likely to rot if left in too much water.
- Just fill a bowl with water and leave the plant in it for up to 20 minutes at least once a week.
- Then gently shake the excess water off the plant and place it back in its container
In warmer months, you can mist your plant daily to keep it hydrated, taking care not to let too much pool in with the plant.
If you are going away for a few weeks, you can also leave the plant in the bowl for longer, even over night, so that it doesn’t dry out too much whilst you are away.
Keep well ventilated – Terrariums are the perfect habitat
Air:
As the name suggests, air plants are big fans of air… Make sure to keep them in well ventilated areas, where they wont get too stuffy and sticky. They do like quite warm conditions, so indoors is always best. But like most plants, areas above radiators or places with intense heat are not ideal.
Light:
As they are used to being in warm climates, they do like to have a good amount of sun. They should thrive on window sills and conservatories, but again, they do not like too much direct sun light so be careful not to let them get scorched.
Light is important – Place your air plant 1-2m from a window
Feed:
You can treat you little air plant to some feed. Spray fertilizers are easy to get hold of and easy to use. Just spray you plant once or twice during the summer months. Please see some fertilizers that are available by clicking here.
Hopefully that helps with some of your misconceptions about air plants, please note these are only guidelines and your plant may have specific requirements, Google is always a great way to get further, more specific advise.
To check out how we used air plants to bring one of our projects to life by clicking here.
