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What Are The Easiest Air Plants To Take Care Of?
Frankly, I’ve treated all my air plants in the same way, but I have had only the more common species. I have never really messed around with exotic or temperamental types.
The only ones I have had are of the smaller variety (under half dollar size) never fooled around with those giant ones. To answer your question more completely though I’m pulling from one particular website with lots of information I find to be accurate.
Watering without a doubt is the most important thing over anything else, some thoughts on that are at the very end.
There are special care requirements for specific varieties however, I’m just picking some more garden variety types below.
What Are The Easiest Air Plant Varieties To Take Care Of?
Tillandsia stricta ‘Black Tip’
Tillandsia stricta ‘Black Tip’ is a small-to-medium sized dark green air plant with vertical, pointed leaves that deepen in color at the ends.
Special Notes: this is considered one of the easiest air plants to grow, so it’s great for beginners.
Learn more about how to grow the Tillandsia stricta ‘Black Tip’ here.
Tillandsia ionantha v. rubra
Tillandsia ionantha v. rubra is a small, ball-shaped air plant with bright green leaves that deepen to a crimson color in the center of the plant. It is heavily covered in trichomes, giving it a fuzzy appearance.
Tillandsia ionantha ‘Conehead’
Tillandsia ionantha ‘Coneheadis large and shaped like a spiky pinecone. The foliage blushes bright red when flowering, and it produces a beautiful purple flower spike. The leaves grow more upright than many other air plants, giving it its characteristic compact cone shape.
Tillandsia ionantha v. scaposa
Tillandsia ionantha v. scaposa has straight, upward growing foliage that forms a tight bundle shape. Its leaves are pale green and can look almost white sometimes. When in bloom, the inner leaves turn red and it produces a bright purple flower bract.
Special Notes: the leaves are more fragile on this Tillandsia than others, so be gentle when you handle it. Tillandsia ionantha v. scaposa likes frequent watering and cool temperatures.
Tillandsia magnusiana
Tillandsia magnusiana has thin, silver leaves that branch out into a wild mane. Its flower is purple and grows on a red spike sent up form the middle of the plant.
Special Notes: this air plant prefers cool temperatures and lots of air circulation.
Tillandsia ionantha Fuego
Tillandsia ionantha Fuego comes in large and small varieties. It has a rounded, stubby base with spiky upward-reaching silvery green leaves that turn fiery red when in bloom.
Special Notes: easy to grow and propagate in various different conditions, these are good air plants for beginners to try their hand at.
Tillandsia tectorum (AKA Snowball)
Tillandsia tectorum (AKA Snowball) is a fluffy, white air plant with heavy trichomes that give it the attractive snowball effect. It comes from Peru where it prefers a drier climate.
Snowball won’t do as well in a hot, humid climate so this is a perfect indoor air plant. Tillandsia tectorum is rare, and therefore quite a bit more expensive than some other varieties.
Special Notes: give Tillandsia tectorum lots of air circulation and let it dry well between watering. Only bathe this air plant and save the misting for humidity-loving varieties.
Tillandsia stricta ‘Stiff Purple’
Tillandsia stricta ‘Stiff Purple’ has sprawling, spidery, green leaves with a purplish hue and makes thick, cylinder shaped pastel pink flowers.
Special Notes: Tillandsia stricta does best in a humid environment with good air circulation. If you live in a warm climate, you can even keep them outside.
Tillandsia argentea
Tillandsia argentea are very small with a mass of thin, wispy, hair-like foliage. The flower is bright red and protrudes straight out of the middle of the plant.
Special Notes: Tillandsia argentea’s tiny size makes it perfect for keeping inside terrariums or other small containers.
Tillandsia harrisii
Tillandsia harrisii has pale glaucous leaves that are thin, sharp, and curl downward. They grow to about three to five inches tall and three inches wide. Blooms are red and purple.
Special Notes: in their native Guatemala, these plants grow in bright, full sunlight on rocks, so keep them somewhere bright in your home.
Tillandsia brachycaulos v. abdita
Tillandsia brachycaulos v. abdita is medium sized with very soft green leaves that turn a bright red when it begins to flower. Tillandsia brachycaulos v. abdita produces colorful flowers in purple, yellow, and pink.
Tillandsia xerographica (AKA the King of Tillandsias)
Tillandsia xerographica (AKA the King of Tillandsias) is a very large (up to three feet in diameter!) rosette-shaped air plant with silvery-blue leaves. Tillandsia xerographica is native to dry forests of Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala.
Special Notes: When this air plant flowers, it produces a huge red and bright green flower spike that will last for months.
Tillandsia plagiotrophica
Tillandsia plagiotrophica has glaucous green foliage that grows in a stunning starburst shape and gets to be four to six inches tall. When in bloom, it produces a pure white flower in the center of its foliage.
Special Notes: Native to San Salvador and Guatemala, Tillandsia plagiotrophica likes cooler temperatures and good air circulation. Place it in a well-ventilated area for best results.
Tillandsia streptophylla (AKA Shirley Temple)
Tillandsia streptophylla (AKA Shirley Temple) has pale green foliage with a slight purple tinge. Its broad leaves curl downward and sometimes turn into ringlets, hence its common name of “Shirley Temple.”
Special Notes: Shirley Temple air plants prefer dry environments, so water them less frequently than other Tillandsia and skip misting them, as they don’t like to be too humid. Instead, give them an occasional bath.
Tillandsia flabellata rubra
Tillandsia flabellata rubra is a large air plant that has wide green leaves with ruby-red tips and bright crimson flower spikes. It usually grows to be about six to nine inches long, but can get up to eighteen inches in length.
Special Notes: can be grown in soil in a pot or without soil like other air plants.
Tillandsia capitata ‘Peach’
Tillandsia capitata ‘Peach’ is a medium-sized air plant with silvery foliage that changes to a peach color when it blooms. They have a symmetrical conical rosette shape.
Special Notes: Tillandsia capitata ‘Peach’ is native to humid parts of South and Central America, so they like to be misted as well as bathed.
Tillandsia baileyi (AKA Bailey’s Ball Moss)
Tillandsia baileyi (AKA Bailey’s Ball Moss) is native to Mexico and the southern United States, where it grows in trees. These air plants are long (six to eight inches) and thin with tentacle-like rounded bright green leaves reaching upward and outward. When in bloom, the foliage turns a deep shade of purple.
Special Notes: this Tillandsia sends out pups easily, so if you want an air plant that will reproduce, this one is a good choice.
Tillandsia circinata
Tillandsia circinata is medium sized (six to eight inches tall with a one-inch base) with silver-green leaves that eventually curl all the way around into circles. Their blooms are vibrant yellow or purple.
Special Notes: Tillandsia circinata are very durable, easy-to-care for plants and do well in areas with low light.
Tillandsia pruinosa (AKA Fuzzywuzzy)
Tillandsia pruinosa (AKA Fuzzywuzzy) is a very small air plant that has trichomes all over it, giving it its characteristic “fuzzy” appearance. The cylindrical leaves twist in different directions but generally grow upwards and are dark green with a silvery tinge. Produces purple flowers on a bright pink stem.
Special Notes: prefers cooler temperatures and areas with fresh, moving air.
Tillandsia butzii
Tillandsia butzii has a rounded, speckled base with thin, curly foliage that shoots upward and is green to yellowish in color. It reaches five to seven inches tall and up to four inches wide.
Special Notes: This air plant likes cool, humid climates and frequent waterings, so bathe and mist it regularly.
