Just realized I was wrong about air plants being low maintenance

I used to roll my eyes at people who said air plants were easy. I killed three of them in a row last year because I thought you just mist them once a week and they're fine. Turns out I was soaking them wrong and not drying them upside down after. My friend Sarah in the Austin plant swap group finally showed me her setup where she dunks them for 30 minutes every 10 days and lets them dry on a paper towel. Now my Tillandsia ionantha has two pups growing off it and I actually feel proud. I guess I had to mess up a few times to actually pay attention. Has anyone else had a plant they thought was foolproof that actually needed way more specific care?

2 comments

2 Comments

coleman.christopher1mo ago

The 30 minute dunk thing is what got me too. I had no idea they needed to fully submerge and then dry completely upside down, I was just spraying mine like a tropical plant. So question since you mentioned the Austin plant swap - do you keep your ionantha in direct light after the soak or do you give it a shady spot to dry off first? I've heard conflicting things about that part and I'm still paranoid about rot setting in.

lisa_wilson871mo ago

I always let mine air out in bright shade, direct sun just cooks the water right into rot town.