Move over mandevilla, so long finicky ficus; The diminutive air plant is making big moves

When I first heard about air plants a few years ago, I was skeptical of their very existence. How can a plant that barely needs any water also not require soil? Where do the nutrients come from? Oh, the air…. Riiiight.

Turns out it’s all true, and made possible by little things affixed to air plant leaves, called trichomes. This unique arrangement of specialized structures allows for the direct absorption of water (usually at night) and also for gathering nutrients that might float by on specs of dust. It’s incredible, but true. And it’s certainly not the first time I’ve been impressed by Mother Nature’s creative approach to problem-solving.

The air plant craze is real

Why have air plants gotten so popular over the last few years? Maybe it has to do with the fast-paced lifestyle of modern culture. Everyone knows house plants have a relaxing effect on the mind and soul, and they even improve the air quality of your home. Even so, people are often reluctant to take on the responsibility — minimal as it may seem — of caring for plants, especially if they’ve experienced a botanical loss in the past. Air plants, however, offer a low-maintenance solution for anyone’s on-the-go lifestyle. Depending on the variety you own, simply give them a short soak, or spray them down every week, and your little buddies will ask nothing more. Size may be another reason air plants are trendy. Starting small is the easiest way to get into anything new, and tillandia are no exception. Small plants fit nicely into small spaces, like apartments, and when you buy small, you can collect more varieties. That’s music to a retailer’s ears, as is the fact that customers who purchase a small, affordable air plant are more likely to buy an air plant holder to go along with it.

So, if air plants don’t require soil — actually they can’t grow in soil — where exactly would I look for one of these interesting plants in nature? For starters, they like warm weather, so the farthest north you’ll find them is the southern United States. Mexico, Central and South America provide the most hospitable climates for air plants. And you won’t find them on the ground, but if you turn your head to the sky, you’ll see them hanging around everywhere, clinging to whatever branches or tree trunks the winds of chance have blown their silky little seed pods to. Different species — and there are hundreds — have different ways of securing themselves to a host plant. In fact, the host doesn’t have to be a plant at all, just anything they can grab onto will suffice, such as textured rocks or even telephone wires. For this reason, they cannot be considered parasitic organisms; They don’t obtain nutrients directly from their hosts, only a safe place to live with a little shade.

Air plant taxonomy

There are around 650 species and varieties of air plants comprising the genus, Tillandsia, all members of the plant family Bromeliaceae. The fact that they commonly grow on the branches of other trees makes them epiphytes, a cool word for a really cool plant.

To learn more about air plants, check out this English Gardens article, and their YouTube video.