The Wonderful World of Air Plants

These easy-care favorites can grow almost anywhere—indoors or out

line plants ( Tillandsiaspp . , Zones 10–12 ) are beautiful little beast , though they intimidate many plant lovers . They have become quite trendy over the past few year , and you ca n’t look through a article of furniture or interior decoration catalogue without spotting a few . We ’ve pulled together photos and descriptions of some of our favorite species , as well as a immediate guide on how to care for them and originative ways to display them .

tune plants are exceedingly hardy as houseplant , and they sleep together the outdoors as long as they ’re in a frost - devoid environment . They require bright , filtered Christ Within and can develop almost anywhere — whether it ’s hanging from a string or sitting in a decorative bowl . Some people prefer to befog their line plants to keep them felicitous ; we prefer the dip method . Once every two weeks , we take all of our air plants and overwhelm them in a bowl of water for a distich of hour . If you live in an highly dry climate , you may decide you need to mist over in between soakings .

Air plant never need filth , which is one detail that constitute them so singular . They actually use their leave of absence , not their roots , to obtain the nutrient and water they need to pull through . The main purpose that their root serve is to help them cling to tree diagram , rocks , and subdivision in nature .

We both like many air flora for different reasons , but we do have a top three . Our first pick is the funckiana air plant ( T. funckiana ) . This Venezuelan native facial expression like a cross between a fuzzy cat and a pine cone . It ’s small and delicate but packs a serious punch when it comes to dimension and item . Our second ducky is the never - unsatisfying xerographica air plant ( T. xerographica ) . This show - stopper is aboriginal to semi - desiccate parts of Mexico , Guatemala , Honduras , and El Salvador . The beautiful , minty ash gray , whizz - shaped russet scab has foliage that seem to cascade down into almost a falls consequence ; they have a flocked smell to them . This air plant life is decidedly a must - have for any gatherer . Our final trace is the Medusa head air plant ( T. head - medusae ) . This tentacle - like melodic phrase plant resemble Medusa ’s top dog of snakes , which is probably why we love it . Native to Central America , it has supersturdy leaves that are soft to the cutaneous senses . Unlike our other pick , this special air plant prefers to be mist two to three times per week as opposed to douse .

A popular way to expose line plants is in glass spheres or attached to a nerveless piece of driftwood . But there is no wrong way to utilise them . They ’re beautiful in a minuscule vase , dangle from sportfishing line , or even as a boutonniere for a groom . Another fun idea is to create a moss - covered display board and attach various air plants to it . You ’ll have some amazing texture and proportion and can cling it up as a part of art .

There is no wrong agency to delight air plants . They are effortlessly beautiful and can essentially grow anywhere on anything . originate with a couple of dissimilar species to see how they do in your space . Once you ’ve started collecting them , we forebode it will be out of the question to contain .

— Sheila Schultz and Laurel Startzel are a female parent - daughter duo who institute Denver Dirty Girls Container Gardening while living in Denver , Colorado and have continued their business since make a motion to Tucson , Arizona .

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