Air Plant Air Quality
You may have heard of the song by the Hollies with the lyrics: all I need is the air that you breathe. While it may be tempting to apply those same principles to the care of air plants, the results won’t be thriving air plants. When caring for air plants in terms of air quality there are 3 considerations: air circulation, humidity and temperature.
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Air Circulation
Air circulation is important to the health of your air plants. That’s why enclosed terrariums aren’t the best option for your air plants. Fans are fine as long as your air plants aren’t directly in the fan’s line of fire. Avoid heating and cooling vents. Just being out in the open air of your home provides adequate air circulation for your air plants.
Humidity
Moderate humidity levels are optimal for air plants. If you live in an arid climate, you may want to consider investing in a humidifier. Since I live in the desert, I use a humidifier. I set the humidifier to its lowest setting and refill the tank about once a week. Be careful not to crank up the humidifier to the point that you start to grow mold.
Humidity levels will also determine how often you water your air plants and for how long you soak them. If you it’s humid where you live, you’ll need to water less frequently than those who life in a dry climate.
Temperature
If you grow your air plants indoors, then you won’t have anything to worry about. Normal home temperatures are just right for your Tillandsias. Just as you should avoid heating and cooling vents, take care that your air plants aren’t too close to a cold window in the winter.
If you live in a temperate climate and want to grow air plants outdoors beware of extreme temperature, both hot and cold. Keep your plants between 50 and 90º Fahrenheit (10-32º C).
When growing Tillandsias outdoors, keep an eye on the temperature during the summer. If it is above 90° keep your air plants well hydrated by spraying them off with the hose at least once daily. If it’s hot and windy, you may need to spray them off several times a day.
Avoid freezing temperatures completely. If you’ve left your air plants out overnight and it frosted you’ll know it because they will turn black and mushy. There is no saving an air plant if it’s been nipped with frost. Keeping air plants above 50º is recommended.
Air Plants Are Adaptable
Use care and your air plants will be fine. Tillandsias can adapt to less than optimal surraoundings. The key is not to shock them with vacillating environmental conditions. Although you may not live in a climate native to your air plants’ habitat, it is most likely that they will adapt. Do your best to provide good air quality for your air plants and success will follow.
