Air Plants

A plant that lives on air? So cool!

Air plants are a group of plants called epiphytes, which absorb the water and nutrients they need through scales on their leaves. They have no roots, don’t grow in soil, and can live just about anywhere with bright light! These fun and funky plants are easy and rewarding to grow: place them in bright light, water them about once a week by dunking them in a bowl of fresh water, and mist occasionally in between watering’s for best success.

Air plants (Tillandsia spp.) are epiphytes, meaning that in nature they grow on other plants, usually on tree branches. There are hundreds of species and varieties of air plants. They usually have strap-shape or slender triangle-shape leaves that grow in a rosette pattern with new growth appearing from the center. Those with silver foliage tend to be the most drought-tolerant; greener types dry out faster. You can also find colorful species, like Tillandsia maxima that can have coral leaves. Most species produce attractive, tubular or funnel-shaped flowers, too.