What are the care methods and precautions for air plants?

Air plants grow in the air and can purify the air. They have extremely strong adaptability and are drought-tolerant. Usually, care just requires a little misting, making them very easy to look after, which is why they are called lazy person's plants. So how do you grow air plants? What precautions are there?

1. How to grow air plants

1. Light

Varieties with grayer leaves and more numerous, thicker, harder white scales need stronger light; not intense direct light, but rather a fairly large amount of bright light. Placing them on a south-facing or east-facing windowsill is a very good approach. Bright light and a suitable temperature difference are the key to air plants developing alluring colors.

2. Water

Air plants can be roughly divided into thick-leaved and thin-leaved types according to the thickness of their leaves. Thick-leaved ones such as the king air plant and intermedia prefer a relatively dry environment, so the frequency of watering should be reduced; thin-leaved ones such as nana greatly enjoy a humid environment, so the frequency of watering can be increased.

For air plants grown indoors, watering two or three times a week is basically enough, and misting is best; in the dry season, mist once a day. Outdoors, increase or decrease appropriately according to the local climate (for example, during the plum rain season in Jiangnan, you can water less or not at all).

After misting, it is best for the plant to dry completely within 3-5 hours. When misting, just spray until the leaf surface is fully wet, and be careful not to let water accumulate in the center of the leaves. Using tap water can easily cause calcium ion poisoning, so purified water is best, and rainwater is even better. If too much water is sprayed, the plant can be turned upside down to let the excess water drain out.

3. Temperature

Air plants can withstand low temperatures of 5°C, and below 0°C the plant will die. The suitable growing temperature is 15°C-25°C. Above 25°C, ventilation should be strengthened and humidity increased. Under dry conditions, they can tolerate lower temperatures and harsher climatic conditions even better.

4. Pests

Air plants have relatively few pests and diseases, but spider mites are a rather nasty thing that suck the water from inside the leaves. However, if the environment is slightly more humid, they seem to disappear on their own.

Common ones also include scale insects, snails and slugs. For small air plants kept at home, it is recommended to improve ventilation conditions and remove pests by hand. On a large scale, for scale insects you can use targeted pesticides such as acetamiprid. Snails and slugs are killed with 10% metaldehyde.

5. Diseases

Sunscald in air plants often occurs in environments with ample light. The cause is improper handling: when water is sprayed on the leaf surface and does not dry in time, the water droplets act like a convex lens and burn the leaf surface beneath them, but it does not spread. During routine care, just pay attention to ventilation.

2. How air plants absorb water

If you look carefully, you will find that there are many small white scales on the leaf surface. These scales are mostly shield-shaped and sunken, and moisture or rainwater in the air is intercepted by the stomata in the sunken areas and penetrates through the gaps between parenchyma cells into the plant body.

Usually the stomata in these scales are half-closed during the day when the temperature is higher and the air is relatively dry, in order to reduce water evaporation; by night, when the temperature drops and the air humidity increases, they open completely and absorb moisture from the air.

3. How to care for air plants just bought online

1. When an air plant from elsewhere is bought online, it is usually in a water-deficient state when it arrives. Replenish water in time. If the transport time was long and it is severely dehydrated, it can be soaked in water for 2 hours, then shake off the excess water.

2. After that, it can be given a new home and labeled. Iron wire oxidizes and rusts, which can cause harm, so you can choose a painted metal wire holder, aluminum wire, fishing line, or a flower pot, glass cup, or shell, but be sure it is breathable and well ventilated, otherwise the roots will rot.

3. Place it in a cool, shady spot and mist it lightly; once it has revived, it is not too late to give it sunlight.

4. Precautions for air plant care

1. Air plants will not die of dryness. They usually die from rot in the center caused by too much water on the plant and a poorly ventilated living environment. In cities with a lot of spring rain, they need to be placed in a ventilated environment. In spring, when sunlight is insufficient, the leaf color will be slightly darker.

2. The lifespan of air plants is much shorter than that of succulents. Once the mother plant blooms and sets seed, it will gradually wither. Yet the more precious the air plant variety, the slower it grows. After finally waiting for it to bloom and set seed, the mother plant is very likely to die. Because its life is limited, we should cherish it even more.