3 Key Steps to Revive a Dehydrated Air Plant

These peculiar air plants or also called tillandsias are known to have the easiest care of all indoor plants. They are not demanding at all. As a main rule, you just have to ensure that they receive a lot of light, always ensuring that it is indirect. They are also grateful that we give them an extra supply of water, since the humidity indoors is usually not enough, especially if your climate is continental.

But let’s be clear, if you are here it is probably because you have doubts like, “why are my air plants dying?” or you just want to know if your tillandsia plant is healthy or not. Before reading any further, we want to show you how resistant they can be and why we shouldn’t underestimate the power of a dehydrated air plant. Although these two specimens appear to be in their final days, they have begun to have children.

Restoring a Dehydrated Air Plant

In case your plant lacks moisture, to minimize its water consumption it will begin to curl from the ends and thus reduce the area in contact with air and light, two factors that cause it to dry out. Apart from the curls on the leaves, we will also see that some leaves dry out. Tillandsias discard some leaves and feed on their moisture to withstand times of drought.

The good news is that it is easy to treat, you simply have to soak your plant in fresh water overnight, at intervals of 1 to 2 times a week. It is very important that when you remove it from the bathroom it dries well (if we do not want it to rot). We recommend putting it upside down on a dry cloth to drain and avoid the accumulation of water inside and, in turn, have good ventilation to allow the evaporation of moisture that the tillandsia does not need. We will always avoid direct sun, a factor that would dry it out too much.

Within “lack of water” there are milder cases. These can be caused by the lack of environmental humidity, in which you can see how the tips of the leaves begin to dry very slowly. For this you just have to ensure regular sprays to the plant. If you already spray it regularly, simply increase the amount slightly or spray it more often.

dehydrated air plant
A dehydrated air plant