How to care for air plant (Tillandsia)

Tillandsia

Air plant (Tillandsia) — epiphytic bromeliads that grow without soil; silvery-grey, strap-like leaves covered in water-absorbing scales form a rosette, and the colourful, long-lasting flower spikes appear when the light is strong enough. Air plant needs partial shade. Water it about every 7 days while it grows and about every 14 days in the winter rest.

Updated: November 4, 2026

Watering and repotting air plant through the year

It lives indoors all year, so it has no sowing or planting dates: it grows from March to September and rests from October to February (the other way round in the southern hemisphere).

When to plant air plant?

Plant or repot air plant in spring, as it starts into growth; early to midsummer also works. It is a houseplant, so it has no outdoor planting date and no frost decides it: just avoid autumn and winter, when growth slows and fresh compost stays wet too long.

Watering in the growing and resting halves of the year: Watering and repotting air plant through the year.

Sources: RHS: How to repot a plant · Penn State Extension: Repotting houseplants

Quick facts

Type	Houseplant
Latin name	Tillandsia
Family	Bromeliaceae
Light	Partial shade
Frost	does not tolerate frost
Grown in	At home

Air plant care by growth stage

At home

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Growth	every 7 days	—	balanced (NPK), 14 days into the stage; balanced (NPK), 44 days into the stage; balanced (NPK), 74 days into the stage; balanced (NPK), 104 days into the stage; balanced (NPK), 134 days into the stage; balanced (NPK), 164 days into the stage; balanced (NPK), 194 days into the stage
Winter rest	every 14 days	—	—

Growing notes

Light

Bright but diffused light, for example an east- or west-facing window or a south-facing one behind a net curtain; flowering needs high light levels.

Soil

No soil or compost at all; mount it on driftwood, bark, shells or rocks, or simply set it in an open dish or terrarium with good air movement.

Care

Soak the plant in rainwater or room-temperature water for 30–60 minutes about once a week (up to two or three times a week in spring to autumn, according to the RHS, and every two weeks in cool, dim rooms), then shake it out and let it dry within a few hours, because water left in the centre causes rot. Hard tap water leaves deposits that block the leaf scales. Keep it above about 12 °C with fresh, moving air. Feed monthly at quarter strength with a bromeliad or orchid fertiliser. Each rosette flowers once and then dies, but it first makes offsets; separate them when they are about a third the size of the parent.

Pests and diseases of Air plant

1 problem is recorded for air plant; it has a page with symptoms, treatment and prevention.

Pests

Scale insects

Other plants of the Bromeliaceae family

Air plant belongs to Bromeliaceae; 3 other plants of this family have a guide here.

Plant lists it is in

Part of: Houseplants

Sources

Figures checked against these sources.