Any jellies raise air plants?
I’ve recently been gifted about 15 air plants. The ebook that came with the one set said to drop them in water & let stay there for 20–30 minutes, remove, turn upside down & let dry for 2–4 hours before placing them in their new home. The 2nd group recommended I go to their website & read up on how to care for them. Their info also said to soak them in water, remove, turn upside down until dry (no suggested time) & then place them in their new home. The confusion for me is that the website said to soak them for 2–4 hours which is a lot more than the 20–30 min!!! So, I started to do my own research on how best to not kill these gorgeous plants. That’s where my confusion grew worse. One “expert” said to NEVER soak them more than 1 hour. The next said to NEVER soak them less than 1 hour. One even suggested ALWAYS soak at least 1 day. Some said to spray them daily to keep moist & the other said to only spray them once a week, with the 3rd recommending to NEVER spray them but to soak them once a week. I want to start these little guys out on the right foot, but there is way too much conflicting info out there for me to know which is the right foot!!!
I did the first set for 25 minutes deciding to split the difference of the 20–30 minutes. I let them dry upside down for 4 hours to be sure they were dry before putting them in their new homes. I thought they felt a little too dry for my liking but assumed that’s how they should feel.
I’m getting ready to soak my 2nd batch..the ones that said 2–4 hours & was wondering IF anyone here had raised air plants & might have MORE experience than I do & has had success growing them that can give me some advice.
IF you’ve successfully raised air plants, how long did you soak them & how long did you allow them to dry before setting them into their permanent location??? Do you have any other info that might make this process more successful for a novice air plant caretaker???
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THANK YOU @Inspired_2write. I used Youtube for my initial research & I had watched that video as my initial source. She agreed with the ebook & I felt more comfortable with the 20–30 minute guideline. Then I was directed to Better Homes & Gardens info & they suggest you leave them to soak overnight which is more than the 2–4 hours recommended by the website of the 2nd batch. The young lady in your video sounds very confident & after watching her I had felt that I knew exactly what to do…that is…until I watched the BH&G vid & I was back to being confused.
Normally, I watch many vids on youtube to see which is the more popular suggestion & In the case of air plants, it seems that people are divided right around the 50/50 mark. That’s when I expanded my search to online info & still had a 50/50 ratio on advice on how to care for them. So, I decided to ask here as I was sure that someone here had tried raising these little guys & could give me some hands on advice.
I’ve already done the 20–30 minute soak & I didn’t think it did enough so I had planned on watching those plants for afew days to see IF they needed more. Now I’m thinking of trying the 2–4 hour soak on the 2nd batch just to see how it differs & IF they come out any better than the first batch. It’s a running joke with my friends that I can kill any plant…even a cactus.They joke that IF you want to get rid of a particular plant, just give it to Marissa & it won’t return home alive. The only plant I seem to be able to consistently grow is Poison Ivy & I have a difficult time killing it…go figure!!!
The friend who gave me these commented that they claim you can’t kill these guys, so let’s see how long it takes you. I know she meant it as a joke; but, I don’t find my killing thumb to be very funny & I’m determined to keep ALL of these guys alive!!!
Thank you again for taking the time to try & help me with my confusion!!!
I bought a very small air plant and did absolutely nothing but place it on a window sill. The plant stayed mostly brown with a little bit of green. Then I read somewhere that a few drops of water each week will make a bid difference. I tried that and now the plant is completely green.
Thank you @LostInParadise. Maybe I’m overthinking this. I just don’t want to kill all these little guys. I was given 15 of them & I’m going to do my best to have 15 still living & having babies so I can return the favor!!! LoL
@LadyMarissa
On that link of the videosghe stated that the TYPE of air plant required a different soak time and that is why.
It depends on the type..remember she described the texture of the two types?
One requires a longer soak and the other type not so long, plus she specified that to turn it upside down on a towel to let it dry off because the root will rot if done right side up.
She also explained about fertilizing etc
Just had a thought as to why some never do anything with there plant..because it depended on if the soak was already done at the plant store already.
So to sole the problem determine which type you have and go from there.
Thanks again @Inspired_2write. I had picked up on the different types of plants. The problem for me is that they ship out what appears to be baby plants & they all look similar to each other. Mine came from 2 different suppliers. From what I’ve read, I will have to wait for them to mature just to be able to see the difference in the plants. In the picture of the ones they are selling you, they show lovely colors & blooms. It seems that it will be a while before mine will get to that point; & even then, ONLY IF I have watered the properly up to that point. IF I don’t get it to flower, it won’t provide any pups. They offer a money back guarantee within the first 30 days; however, it will take longer than 30 days to know IF you can raise them properly. IF you complain after the 30 days, they can simply claim that you didn’t raise them properly. I prefer to not work at raising them for the next year only to discover that I’m doing it wrong!!!
With the ones that I have already soaked for the 25 minutes, I did turn them upside down on a towel & allowed them to air dry for 4 hours before placing them in their new home. I have now determined that it’s probably best for me to begin soaking the 2nd batch & just watch them, removing them when they appear to be ready. Some of the videos said that you could see when they are dry & when they have absorbed enough water. Then I will air dry them as I did last time. I’m hoping that after the first soakings, I’ll become more aware of what is happening & be able to determine for myself what is best for these guys!!! I’ve purchased some fertilizer that’s made just for this type of plant & hope that will help to provide some of the nutrients that my water doesn’t provide. Both sets of instructions said to use Spring Water for best results, so I’ve purchased some Spring Water. Tap water isn’t supposed to be good for them as the chlorine will damage them & distilled water doesn’t provide enough of the needed nutrients.
I do appreciate ALL the info you’ve provided as it has given me numerous ideas on how I can be a better mom to these guys!!!
@LadyMarissa Good luck on your plants as people in my area are also purchasing from a local florist.
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