Air plant Watering

About every two weeks, I round up all the tillandsia and bring them into the kitchen and do the following:

• Make sure the sink is clean because we don’t want oil or food crud blocking their trichomes. If trichomes are damaged, they don’t recover or grow back. So also be careful handling them for the same reasons. The ends of their leaves are often quite delicate and can get bent or broken easily.

• Place your air plants in the sink and turn on the water. I like to use warm water (they’re from subtropical/ tropical areas after all) and I use my sink sprayer on a gentle spray. I don’t fill the sink because water from the top is what we want; water on the bottom is not good.

• When they’re all wet in the sink, let them soak for about 20 minutes.

• After they’ve soaked, carefully pick them up, to turn them over, and shake out the excess water. This is VERY important.

• • Place them on the counter top or better yet, on a towel, to help absorb the water so they dry more quickly. Placing them on their side or upside down (as long as they don’t get damaged) is also recommended to ensure drainage out of the base.

    • They should be dry to the touch by 3 hours - check the base. If not, try putting them closer to a window or a place with good air circulation.