Get Creative with Air Plants!
Have some fun creating with Air Plants!
Tillandsias (Air Plants) are all the rage right now. This is a plant I haven’t had much experience with and I thought it was about time! Researching Air Plants, I learned they are a cinch to grow. Not even requiring dirt, these little Bromeliads thrive on benign neglect. Native to South and Central America, Mexico and the Southern United States, there are many different varieties available in all shapes, sizes and colors.
Because they absorb water and nutrients through their leaves, Air Plants don’t need to be potted in soil. A daily misting during spring through summer and a few times a week in winter is enough to keep them healthy. Once a week in the warmer months, add a low-nitrogen fertilizer diluted to 1/4 strength and they will be happy campers!
Keep these little sculptural beauties in bright light, but out of full sun so they don’t scorch. Temperatures below 45 degrees will kill them, so bring Tillandsias inside if you live in a climate with cool nights or months. Zone 9 and warmer can keep Air Plants outside all year round!
Six Air Plants cost me just under twenty dollars at a nearby nursery. I decided to have some fun with them. Walking through our home and garden room, I gathered up items to style them in. In an hour, I came up with ten different ways to show them off, all using common household and garden objects.
What a great, inexpensive gift these would be for folks with a brown thumb! And, depending on what they were displayed in, these Air Plants would fit any home decor. How versatile! Come see the little arrangements I created and let your own imagination run wild!
Air Plant & fairy in a Mason jar terrarium.
Air Plants & decorative grass in a handwoven basket.
Air Plants in wooden clogs!
Air Head Family ! Draw faces on terracotta pots with a permanent pen.
Air plants & dried moss in terracotta pots.
Air plant & dried moss in a silver creamer.
Air Plants arranged in a porcelain rice bowl.
Air Plants in a vintage vase.
Air Plants displayed in a bamboo vase.
Air Plants & Orchids arrangement ~ perfect for a centerpiece!
I love the ones in wooden clogs! That’s so creative. Keep up the good work!
Thanks, Johan! Glad you liked the air plant arrangements!
wow i never thought about air plants being this gorgeous, growing up in fl you would see them growing wild in the trees on spanish moss,and by the way i want that brown bird and the rice bowl please lol all of your displays were wonderful xx
Thanks for checking in, Chris! Sometimes the familiar things are beautiful when we look at them in a different way!
Wonderful ideas to display these beautiful air plants. I was visiting in Orlando FL recently and I too noticed these air plants thriving on trees. My favorites would be the rice bowl display with that adorable cat creamer and the one with the orchid. Thank you for the ideas. I will have to get some now.
So happy to hear you enjoyed seeing my different air plant displays, Haydee. No potting, no fuss ~ we should all have some of these easy-care plants!
Love the vintage vase with the little bird next to it. All are really clever :) Can they be seperated once they get bigger? I didn’t know they bloomed either. So pretty :)
Hi, Vickie! The air plants are just nestled in moss – no potting involved! So they can be taken in and out and arranged as you like! How easy is that??
LOVE your ideas ! I have been quite smitten with “Tillies” for about 2 year now. Living in S.E. Florida, some tips to keep ’em happy & healthy. They need fresh air Humid makes ’em Happy. Avoid any kind of copper (wire,planters… s this will kill them) They Love a good rain shower, let ’em dry & no sunburn! I ‘rescue’ mine from the ground after a wind storm & my family thinks I’m nuts ;-)
Thanks for the tips, Terri ! I saw no mention about copper containers, glad you let me know! You are so lucky to have Air Plants readily available and able to be outside so much of the year! Happy Gardening!
These are so cute and would make excellent gifts!
Great, inexpensive gifts!! My favorite kind that shows you care through your time and not necessarily your wallet!
quite impressive photograph!