Journal — airplants

Tillandsia plants are in the bromeliad family. They are epiphytic plants, or plants that grow on bark of trees, rather than in soil as a substrate. They collect nutrients from air, water, and the decaying material on the bark of the trees. They are not parasitic. As with most plants, the best way to keep them happy in your home is to replicate their native environments. These guys like filtered light... imagine them living under the canopy of a tree. They like lots of humidity, but not puddles of water. They get rained on regularly, but the water runs off...

Air plants - or tillandsia - are plants that, in their native environments, live on the bark of trees in tropical climates. Plants like tillandsia are called epiphytic - which means they grow on the surfaces of other plants without harming them. They don't depend on the trees for food - they collect nutrients and water from humidity and rainfall. An Epiphyte lives on the surface of the tree, and needs no soil. There is a myth that airplants just live on air, but that's certainly not the case - they need humidity and moisture!  Colorado has a very arid, dry climate. It's...