10 Things Nobody Tells You About Air Plants - Gardenista

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I’ve never met an air plant that I didn’t think was adorable. Tillandsias are the tribbles of houseplants—no matter whether a variety is fuzzy, furry, spiky, rounded, or has long, trailing foliage that looks like a ponytail, it’s irresistible.

With nearly 600 known varieties of these low-maintenance houseplants which call tropical climates home, there’s an air plant to make any houseplant collector happy. But Tillandsias can be tricky, too. They have a few secrets of their own. Learn them, and your air plants will thrive.

Here are 10 things nobody tells you (but should!) about air plants:

1. An air plant will not grow in soil. Don’t even try it.

Tillandsias are epiphytes, which means that in nature air plants grow on other plants—clinging to tree trunks, for instance—rather than by rooting in the ground. Air plants will grow on bushes, rocks, and shrubs. Other epiphytes include orchids (which grow on tropical trees) and many kinds of ferns.

2. Air plants use roots to attach themselves to things (rather than to absorb nutrients).

You can mount a tillandsia like a trophy to hang on a wall or arrange several together in a single planter suspended from the ceiling.

3. Air plants need sunlight like any other plants.