Q&A for How to Care for Air Plants Indoors

The misconception with air plants is usually that they don't need a lot of natural light, but that's not the case. They actually need a lot of bright filtered sun. If you have a northern or eastern window, I suggest keeping your air plant within three feet of the window. For southern or western exposure, you can keep it a little bit further away—it might get a little bit of sunburn if you keep it directly in the window. Three to seven feet from a bright window is ideal.

Usually you can find them at your local nursery, but if that is not an option, Amazon does sell them in little bundles that aren't very expensive.

It's best to use string or fine wire to attach them to structures. A water-based glue from the florist industry would be okay.

Yes, they can be put in plastic containers but not in potting soil. They will probably not attach themselves to plastic. In nature they grow on tree branches, so organic material like pine bark nuggets (landscape mulch) or orchid bark would be best.

Red cedar slabs are often used for philodendron and pothos poles, so they should be fine. Simply use string or fine wire to attach the plants to the bark or wood.

Yes, there are many larger species of Tillandsia and other bromeliads (sometimes called air plants). These plants are more appropriately called epiphytes, because they live upon the surface of other plants. The growing conditions for most bromeliads are relatively similar, some have spectacular long lasting flowers and some have colorful variegated leaves. To care for the larger ones, you fill the cup formed by the leaves once a week, rather than watering the potting soil or medium.