Meet our new little friends...air plants! These little guys bring a touch of nature, whimsy, and joy to your space and ask for very little in return! A few frequently asked questions are answered below...
Most frequently asked, "Are these real plants?" The answer is YES! Air plants tend to be found mainly in Mexico and Central/South America. They have developed to rely on obtaining nutrients through their leaves rather than from roots and soil. They're found in desert and humid tropical locations. The thicker the leaves, the drier their natural habitat is since they need to retain moisture for long periods of time (kind of like a cactus).
Another question, "Do they need water?" The answer is again yes! They still need water like any other plant - the only difference is that they absorb the nutrients from water through their leaves instead of roots.
Ok then, "How much water?" That depends on the air plant and there are several recommendations we've seen. But in general, we've seen great success with the plants we sell by soaking them in a bucket of water for 30 minutes once a week.
The thicker the leaves, the more moisture they generally retain and less frequently they need water. But...we have so many different varieties, we didn't want to make our job too complicated. We water all our plants Wednesday afternoon for 1/2 an hour and all of them are thriving! So that's our general and easiest recommendation for you.
"How about sunlight? Do they need sunlight?" Another yes answer! Again, we've developed an average answer that they really just need some light either from outdoor light or indoor lighting for an average amount of time each day.
No baking in direct sunlight and no sitting in the dark, but otherwise just living in the average house or office they'll usually be just fine. Some varieties blush with different colors when they get more sunlight (like the red Tilandsia Velutinas shown above).