How to Grow and Care for Air Plants for Your Home

Indoor gardens are a great way to spruce up your home and keep fresh air circulating in your HDB flat or condo unit all day long. However, maintaining an indoor garden can take some practice, skill, and most importantly, patience.
So when you don’t have the time, or if you simply don’t have the green thumb for keeping indoor plants growing and healthy, air plants are the best option for you.

This is because air plants are epiphytes, meaning that they don’t need soil to grow, and attach themselves instead to trees and rocks. And because they’re also native to tropical climates, which means they’re right at home with Singapore’s humid climate.

Taking Care of Air Plants
Even though they’re relatively low-maintenance, air plants still need to be taken care of at least once a week. Here’s what you need to do to keep your air plants growing healthily:

• Watch for thirst – To know whether your plants are thirsty, look for the curvature of their leaves. If they’re a little too dry, they will start to curl. It’s usually best to fully submerge them once a week in a large container, and let them soak overnight.

• Air dry – Allow the air plants to dry out fully by shaking out excess water and placing in a well-lit area for about four hours. However, be sure to take the plants indoors after this, as any longer will cause them to wilt.

• Filter the light – Air plants have adapted to hanging from trees underneath thick canopies, so they tend to do best with only a few hours of bright, indirect sunlight in a day. Even with indirect sunlight, they shouldn’t be baking all day.

• Mind the climate – Air conditioners aren’t good for air plants, either – if it’s too cold, they’ll start to wilt. Try opening your windows instead or using an electric fan if you want to keep cool.

• Add in fertilizer – While air plants don’t require as much moisture to grow, it certainly doesn’t hurt to add a little bit of liquid fertilizer when you’re soaking in water once a week. Be careful not to apply too much – only a few drops will do.

On Styling Your Air Plants
Because they are naturally suited to attaching their roots, air plants look great suspended as architectural elements or inside their own dedicated terrariums.

You can even attach them to all kinds of things, such as large rocks, or pieces of driftwood, as long as air is circulating through their leaves regularly. When you do choose to place your air plants in a glass jar or container, choose one with as wide an opening as possible.