If your air plant is looking dull, a bit brown, maybe limp, it could mean that it is very thirsty! To revive a sick air plant that has been a tad neglected, shipped from far, far away, or is just looking a little under the weather, this air plant care guide will show you how to perk it back up!
Air Plant Care: How to Rescue Dying Tillandsia
The first step is to give your sick air plant an overnight soak. Prepare an air plant bath as you normally would to water it, and let it soak overnight. The next morning, shake it off and put back in place. If you need a refresher on watering, here is what I wrote in my All About Air Plants article:
“Without soil, this means that air plants will need to absorb moisture through their leaves. I have heard many, many times that garden centers have recommended spritzing them a few times a week. I find that this is just not enough water and that it is often the reason for their demise. I never found that misting was very helpful or consistent.
Personally, I give air plants an hour-long bath to meet their water requirements. In the summer they need a weekly soak, whereas in the winter it’s once every 3 weeks or so. I like to use rainwater whenever I can, and this is pretty simple given I live in a rain forest! You can use tap water as well, just leave it out for 24 hours to allow the chlorine to evaporate, or use filtered water.
To give them a bath, simply remove the air plant from the shell, bowl, or whatever else you have it in and set it in a bowl that is large enough to submerge the plant in water. After an hour, take the plant out and give it a good shake upside down to remove any water pooling inside the leaves. Put the plant back in place and just enjoy its beauty for another 1-3 weeks before it needs another bath.”
See more on how to water air plants here:
2. Remove dead leaves from a sick air plant by gently tugging at them to see if they come off. If they remove easily, they are dead. If the whole plant falls apart when you do this, your air plant has already bit the dust, unfortunately. If only a few leaves come off and the inside leaves are green and healthy looking, your air plant is going to make it!!
3. If the tips of your air plant are turning brown, try using rainwater or unchlorinated water as described above. If you are not giving them chlorine but they are still turning brown, then your plant may not be getting enough water. Give them an overnight bath, then make sure that you are bathing them more often.
4. If the plant falls apart even though it’s green, it has probably been sitting in standing water too long, or it was not shaken off properly after bath time. Read the section about watering again and you’ll surely have better luck with the next one!
Love air plants? Me too! Read all about them here and check out some of the ways you can show them off.
How to Keep Air Plants Alive and Healthy (They Might Even Bloom!)
I live in Hawaii. I brought a few Tillandsia inside my house as it gets 2 hours of sunlight coming in from West facing glass window. They get a spray of water every Saturday. My Tillandsia brachycaulos started turning yellow. Why do you think this is? Is it getting too much sun? Does it need soaking overnight? My Tillandsia Streptophyla and Gardneri are so far doing well. Any suggestions?
Hi Maria, yes, I would follow the suggestions in this post on care: https://gardentherapy.ca/all-about-air-plants/ and this post on watering: https://gardentherapy.ca/water-air-plants/. Have fun!
I’ve a few air plants that are showing dark grey/black at the base. Is this mold, if so are my plants doomed or is there a way to cure this. They do not look healthy at all, not green like the once were.
I didn’t know that a tillandsia bloom shouldn’t be soaked as well. The bloom has already wilted. What should I do? There are no pups yet.
Just let the bloom fall off naturally and keep watering as usual. It’s hard to get them to bloom so you are doing great!
Hi Stephanie – thanks for posting so many great tips. I’m a total plant newbie and thought airplants were supposed to be easy to look after! Unfortunately, one of mine is looking really worse for wear (it has been neglected and accidentally squashed under a cast iron pot). I have removed those of the leaves that came off without much effort and generally it is quite green (have followed your advice on soaking) but some of the tips have started turning red. Is this good or bad? From a google search I can see that some varieties have red tips so I’m hopeful this might be a good sign?! Any help would be much appreciated.
Mo
Hi Mo, Colour isn’t as much of an indicator of plant health (with tillandsia) than the feel. If the leaves feel cool (ie: filled with water and not dry/crunchy) and firmly attached, then it should be good!