As a general rule, you need only water your air plant once a week. We suggest you fill up the kitchen sink, or a bucket, and leave them to soak. Lots of people suggest 2-3 hours, but we’re always in too much of a rush and rarely do it for that long!! So, whatever soaking you manage works for us! Leave your air plant to drain off, and dry out and then pop it back in its stand.
If we’re in a super hurry, we just hold them (gently, one at a time) under a running tap, we give them a gentle shake, and then leave them to dry out a little bit in a warm, sunny spot, and when drip free, just pop them back into their stand. We do this twice a week if we have not managed to do a proper dunking.
Some inside trading on air plants…
They do not like to stay wet. It encourages them to get mouldy, especially at the core of the plant, which will see them rot. You need to shake off the excess water. And if you can, leave them in a warm, sunny spot to dry out.
They do not like to get dry. You will see when they are dry, they look parched and the leaves start to brown off. At Unearthed HQ we are guilty of this from time to time, sometimes the week runs away from us, and we forget. But watering plants is one of life’s little pleasures, we like to think of it as a small moment of meditation, without too much of the deep breathing!
They like circulation of air. Closed terrariums are out, and our Air Plant Stand is in.
They like rainforest conditions. And whilst most of us would struggle to reproduce these conditions, aim for bright filtered or indirect light. Direct morning sun is ok, but they shouldn’t be baking in the sun all day.
Air plants are easy. Even for those who see themselves as plant killers, you would have to work really hard to mess it up. You just have to keep in mind your environment, if it’s really hot (and dry), you’ll have to water more often (several times a week), and milder climates mean you need to water less (once a week).
Happy air planting!!