trader joes air plants Credit: Instagram / @traderjoesobsessed
trader joes air plants Credit: Instagram / @traderjoesobsessed
trader joes air plants Credit: Instagram / @traderjoesobsessed
trader joes air plants
Credit: Instagram / @traderjoesobsessed
Along with victory gardens to grow your own produce (and avoid the potential germs at the supermarket), houseplants are having a major moment in 2020. Whether it’s because we could all use a little more nature indoors since we’re staying at home more than usual or because we’re seeking calm hobbies, many seed shops and plant nurseries are seeing sales jump at a rapid clip.
Trader Joe’s has long been home to beautiful and affordable flower bouquets, and more recently they have diversified their botanical selection to include things like eucalyptus, coffee plants and pineapple plants. And now they’ve added trendy and totally-doable-in-any-space air plants to the mix, according to Instagram account @traderjoesobsessed.
Looking like something straight out of a Dr. Seuss book and available for $3.99, the Trader Joe’s Tillandsia by the Sea Air Plants come attached to a small piece of wood or a shell to help them thrive. If you’re new to the air plant care world, the Tillandsia genus actually represents about 650 species of air plants. Air plants lack roots. Instead, the stems and leaves absorb nutrition, which allows them to thrive in diverse and unexpected environments (like the side of a tree in the forest).
Since they grow very differently than most other houseplants, we wanted to share a few care pro tips. Once you master how to grow air plants, you’ll want to stock up on a whole wall-full a la @wildlyurban.
5 Tips to Help Your Air Plants Grow Better
Air plants tend to be quite hardy and don’t need a lot of attention or care. But they do need a lot of breathing room (naturally), so remember these tips for air plant care:
Don’t plant these in soil.
Place air plants in an area with filtered yet bright light that stays between 50 and 90° F.
If the air in your home is very dry, dunk the air plants and allow them to swim in water for a couple hours twice each month.
A good rule of thumb to avoid overwatering: Your air plant should be fully dry in 3 hours or less after you mist it.
